Resize attachments

[lc62003]

This mod:

http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=2206

would be great to have standard, particularly in 2.1.  With proper configuration it sure saves a LOT of server space.   

[Kindred]

Well

for one thing, it's not that popular a mod. only 5000 downloads.
for another, many folks prefer to keep images as the image (for example, a PNG or gif with transparency would lose that transparency using this mod and would look ugly)

[Arantor]

Agreed. Much better to stay as a mod for those users who feel that is better for their specific use. I certainly would never use this on at least two of my forums where I regularly get PNGs attached and need them uncompressed with all transparency intact.

[lc62003]

How hard would it be to have it differentiate between file types?

[Arantor]

Not particularly, but that still doesn't mean I'm going to include it in 2.1's core. This sort of behaviour should not be in the core by default.

[lc62003]

"I'm" tells me everything I need to know.   


This mod is a life-saver for some of us who can't fork out the coin for massive amounts of storage.  Some sites are media heavy as you well realize.  The mod also makes it far easier on users who aren't as technically savvy as yourself to resize pix.  Or perhaps it simply isn't convenient for them. 

Leaving it as a mod is great assuming the mod author decides to update it for 2.1.  Or further releases.  What if that isn't the case?

[Kindred]

ask the author...   or better yet, ask the author to release the mod under an open license - then anyone can re-release it in the future, if the author gets bored.

Seriously, this really should never be a standard feature.

[Arantor]

"I'm" tells me everything I need to know. 

That's because I have a developer badge and thus the power to actually directly change what gets added to SMF But the fact the SMF project manager is telling you the same thing is a fairly good indication too.

Especially note that the 5000 downloads encompasses all versions, including people who downloaded a previous version and then a later version to upgrade. So it really isn't so popular as you might imagine.

This mod is a life-saver for some of us who can't fork out the coin for massive amounts of storage.  Some sites are media heavy as you well realize.

Sure they are, I realise that. I'd suggest the ones that are media heavy use something more dedicated to the task like a gallery which typically includes this functionality anyway. I know Aeva Media has this sort of functionality, though maybe not *exactly* the same. Other galleries may or may not, I don't have experience with them.

And yes, it does make it easier - but so too would a gallery that has it built in, which I would suggest is the place for such functionality and whatnot. There are also side benefits to using a gallery, such that you can add information about images and view things like EXIF information. Seems to me that for a media-heavy use this is a much better solution than using attachments.

Leaving it as a mod is great assuming the mod author decides to update it for 2.1.  Or further releases.  What if that isn't the case?

Well, 'further releases' of 2.0 shouldn't be an issue because they should work just fine presuming we don't change major functionality for security reasons (which is always possible)

Ideally the mod should be under an open licence so that if the originator decides not to maintain it for whatever reason, someone else can. In that situation, worst case scenario is that I can pick it up if I get time to make it compatible.

See, here's my problem, since I'm one of the people responsible for deciding what goes into 2.1 and beyond.

Firstly, 2.1 is nearly at the beta stage, major changes in functionality, especially backwards incompatible ones like this should not really be added at this stage.

Secondly, we'd have to modify the upgrader to support this to do it properly (which is a major job)

Thirdly, for the users who actually need it NOT to do this (like me), we'd be screwed. Yes, I realise it benefits you - but on the other hand it screws me up. (As I also store JPGs that shouldn't be further recompressed or resized as attachments) And I'm not going to do something that screws my use up

Now, yes, I could go through all the effort of integrating it as an option and leave it off by default - and then most people wouldn't use it or benefit.

Frankly, leaving it is as a mod is by far the best way to support this *major* functionality change.

[lc62003]

Thanks for your clarifications.  Making a discussion with explanations is far better than being told how it is.   


Please understand from this perspective I'm planning the future of my sites.  This gives me a dichotomy.  Upgrade when the time comes and lose an important feature even though it is a mod?  Or wait it out and eventually lose support?  It isn't unheard of to see the response to an issue being "upgrade".  While it's totally correct, particularly in the light of better security, one may see why the owner wishes to retain an old version.  That's all I'm saying or asking.   

BTW we have a gallery and no one uses it.  Yet we get 200+ attachment uploads per week.  Yeah, I know........   That's why I have to make it convenient for them.  But thanks for the suggestion. 

[Arantor]

Oh, please understand that I can see where you're coming from. Despite the fact that 1.1.x is now 7 years old and will be officially unsupported soon, we have a surprising number of users on 1.1.x who won't be upgrading any time soon for mods that aren't out yet. But we can't make them all core features.

As far as the gallery goes, I know Aeva at least tried to do something about that by adding a button into the main editor area where users could upload images directly to the gallery (though I wouldn't argue it was not the best solution)

This is one of the times a gallery is just begging for better support in the core, and it's something I have thought about tentatively doing with 3.0 in general.

[Kindred]

actually, what I wish someone would write is a converter that takes the attachments from a board and imports them into a gallery (like aeva)

I have the same problem with attachments being used (because the gallery was only recently implemented)

That would solve both our problems.    When the users suddenly see their attachments moved to the gallery they will realize that the gallery provides a much better experience for folks who want to view images and also allows the admin to set up an image rotator to highlight images (which you can't do easily with attachments)

[Arantor]

I'd actually go several further and have a gallery that is properly maintained and supported by SM as a whole that could import from the various gallery solutions AND do that.

[lc62003]

This is one of the times a gallery is just begging for better support in the core, and it's something I have thought about tentatively doing with 3.0 in general.

^^ this is a drool-inducing idea!  Particularly if it strikes a good balance between good functionality and light weight so as to be useful while not being a resource hog.     Oh, and resize images to reduce file size which was the original concern.   



Guys, I am hardly a coder.  Perhaps I have asked a lot in this thread but I do have a strong sense of loyalty to SMF.   If it helps in some small way I am glad to help test alpha and beta products.  Hit me up.   

[Arantor]

Well, there's all kinds of options that have been tossed about. What is certain is that 3.0 will represent a major overhaul of SMF, end to end. We have talked, briefly, about having a gallery of some kind that's maintained and supported by the SMF team, which would cleanly integrate and offer better facilities than we currently have - something akin to what IPB offers would be great.

But right now 3.0 is essentially still in planning stages, while we get 2.1 out (which is some general improvements, this functionality is not going to be touched as far as I'm concerned)