Using the GG Portfolio System

[R_Fredrick_Smith]

I see constant complaints about how difficult it is to use the GG Portfolio system. Most of these complaints are simply unfounded and arise because people give up too easily. So I am presenting this straightforward tutorial to show that it really is quite easy to use the system.

1. How to I get to my Portfolio?

The easiest way, is to simply login to GG and go to the Home page. Normally that's the page you'll end up on when you login. But if you are not on the Home page, just click on the Home link at the top left part of any page. Here is what you'll see:

Now click on My Home. It is circled in red above. That will take you to a screen that has the following in the upper right area of the screen:

This same little information area appears at the top of the New Posts page also, etc. Now click on the Portfolio link that I've circled in red. You will now see your Portfolio if you have one. If you don't have one, you'll see the top part of the screen shot below, but no thumbnails below it. Here is the screen shot at this point:

If you have images, then you'll see thumbnails with 20 thumbnails to the page. You'll see a strip at the bottom and top of the screen that allow you to page through multiple pages of images that you might have. If you want to view one of your images, then click on the thumbnail. You will now be taken to a screen that looks like this:

2. How do I upload images?

Again, very simple. Use the above answer to question 1 to get to your portfolio (if you have no photos, you will nevertheless be brought to the same menu that I show above and will see the Upload command that I've circled).

As you may have guessed, you use the Upload link to add a photo to your Portfolio. So click the Upload button.

You will now see this screen:

Select the Category on the left where I've circled the drop down. Be sure to choose the correct category. Then click the Continue button.

Now you will see this screen:

Click the Browse button and navigate to the photo you want to upload from your computer. Then enter a title in the area that I've circled. Now enter a short description (you must enter something here -- I usually put a copyright notice). Then click on the Upload button.

The photo will be saved to the G1 Portfolio system. If you're interested, the system actually saves the original image (at whatever size you've uploaded it --- within the G1 limits). It then creates three copies of your image --- one small (thumbnail), one medium (a bit bigger) and one large (one that is about 600 x 400 or proportional) which is the ideal size for including in a post.

3. How do I edit the information about an image already uploaded?

This too is simple. Just go to your Portfolio the way we discussed in the answer to question 1. Select one of the photos from your Portfolio (the one you want to edit). That brings you to this screen shot:

Notice that Edit is one of the options circled near the top. Click on the Edit button. You will now see the same screen you saw in the second step of uploading your image. You can edit any of the data and then press Upload.

4. How do I delete an image?

Just follow the instructions in the answer to question 3, but choose Delete instead of edit. Confirm the deletion and away it goes.

5. How do I insert an image from my Portfolio in a Post?

Start your post. Place the cursor where you want to insert the image. Click on the Images link. Here is a screen shot that shows its typical location:

If you are replying to a post, rather than creating a new one, then sometimes the [Images] link will be above the Smilies. But just look for the word images in [] (brackets), and click on it. A window will pop up and show the first 10 or so images from your portfolio. You may have to expand the window a bit to see the paging strip which is at the bottom. You can choose a category at the top left. When you see an image you want to use, just click on it, and the code will be pasted at the cursor position that will provide for inserting the photo. If you are in the advanced editor (which you really should not use, because it causes problems --- use the Standard editor for best results) you'll see the photo itself inserted. You can choose the editor you use from Options from My Home. The advantage of the Standard editor is that you can see the code it pastes in and you can modify that code to special effect once you know how.

Here is what a typical block of inserted code looks like:

Notice I've underlined in red the word "large". The large tells G1 to insert the large image that has been best re-sized to fit in a post. This is what you should always try to use as it makes the image viewable for everyone on G1 without having to scroll to see parts of the image. But you could change the large to either "medium" or "small" and you would get correspondingly smaller images. They will be linked images automatically and if someone clicks on them, it will take them to the "large" image and from there they can even see the full size original image in the lightbox. Experiment with this to see what it is all about.

6. What if I want to insert an image that is hosted elsewhere?

That is easy also. Just open another browser and navigate to where the images is in view on your screen. Right click on the image, and select Properties and then copy the complete URL that is shown. If the URL does not fully show, then drag your cursor over it from the start and just keep dragging right and down and you'll be able to select it all.

Now look above the Post box and you'll see the Yellow Icon that I circled in red in an earlier screen shot. Click on that and paste the URL into the box you see. If "http://" is already in the box, then you must highlight that first, and then paste so that you don't end up with two "http://" strings in your URL (this is a known problem with the system, but it has never been fixed).

When you click OK, the image code is inserted at the position of the cursor. The image will now show up in your GG post. Of course, this assumes that you are allowed to link to images in this manner if it is from a host you do not control. It is better to insert the images in your G1 portfolio, because they will then always be found.


Well that is the quick and dirty of adding, editing, deleting and using the images in your GG Portfolio. I may expand or edit this article at any time if questions arise. If you have questions, post them as a response to this article. I hope it helps you out.

Cheers,
rfs