How to produce document mixing text and photos

[Mousetick]

Apologies in advance for the general topic not particularly related to HOI 4. You may want to ignore this thread. This was originally a private conversation but for some reason the forum doesn't allow uploading pictures in private messages, so I had to move it to a public thread.
Moderators: Feel free to move elsewhere if you think it should be moved, please let us know where, thanks.

This is intended to help @dasaard200 who desperately wants to learn how to make AAR-type posts with text and pictures:

How does one produce such a document; for the Fumble Fingered as a "step-by-step", mixing text and photos ??

On to Step 1! Are you ready? Let's go...

Step 1: Write a message and add a picture to it.

Write a message in this thread with some text, and place a picture inside it. It can be any picture, it doesn't have to be a screenshot of HOI 4, but if you have one handy, go ahead and use it.

How do you do that? In Windows, open the folder containing the picture, select the picture, and drag-and-drop it into the forum's message box:

When you hover the picture you're dragging onto the message box, the insertion point (thin vertical bar) shows where the picture will be inserted:

Let go of the mouse button. The picture will be uploaded to the forum server (you may see a progress bar pop up briefly), then appear in the message:

Then you may write more text following the picture. The pictures I used here are large and may not fit within the message width. The forum automatically shrinks them, but the readers can display them in full size by clicking on them. Click to enlarge:

Bonus tip: once a picture has been inserted into a message, you can reposition it elsewhere, let's say from one paragraph to another, by drag-and-dropping it within the message.

Now it's your turn, @dasaard200. Post a message with some text and a picture. Don't hesitate to ask any question if something isn't clear.
Good luck

 

[dasaard200]

Sorry about the delay, had to drive wife to Doctor's; traffic sucked both ways, shot coming soon .

 

[Mousetick]

Sorry about the delay, had to drive wife to Doctor's; traffic sucked both ways, shot coming soon .

No worries, please take your time. There is no pressure.

Friendly reminder: this is not a private conversation anymore. This is a public thread that any forum member, or even anonymous visitor, can read. So be careful what you say, unless you want to share your life story with everybody

 

[dasaard200]

Testing .
Here is my current 'Boss Hoss' XX .
I'm trying to get into Chita state to grab the airfield there .

 

[dasaard200]

OK, I think got this, does this work for multiple shots and commentary ?
So how do I do screenshots from my saved Library, coming from the in-game screenshot page; I'd like to show shot and comments OF "Z2Rr,, q121" ?

 

[Mousetick]

OK, I think got this, does this work for multiple shots and commentary ?

Yeah, you did it! Congratulations

Yes this works for multiple shots and commentary. Just repeat the same step for each picture you want to put, inside the same forum post. Why don't you experiment in a message here in this thread. The goal is to learn, this is not a contest. Nothing bad will happen if you mess up

So how do I do screenshots from my saved Library, coming from the in-game screenshot page; I'd like to show shot and comments OF "Z2Rr,, q121" ?

I'm not quite understanding what you mean. By "my saved Library, coming from the in-game screenshot page" do you mean your Steam screenshots library, or something else? Perhaps you could post a screenshot of what you're talking about?

If you have any other questions, ask away.

 

[dasaard200]

Steam screenshots Library, of course !
I could take the time to transcribe the captions of each 'shot into on-screen commentary, 121 'shots ... and would be easier than looking up those images through the stored files, by timestamps !!

 

[Mousetick]

Steam screenshots Library, of course !
I could take the time to transcribe the captions of each 'shot into on-screen commentary, 121 'shots ... and would be easier than looking up those images through the stored files, by timestamps !!

Alternative Step 1. Add a picture found by browsing your Steam screenshots in the cloud.

From the Steam client, go to your screenshots library, by selecting 'Content' from the User menu:

You now see your library of Steam screenshots in the cloud. Here in the example below there's only one screenshot, but in your case there might be dozens or more. You can browse the library and filter it by using the options next to the 'VIEWING' heading below the 'Screenshots' tab.

Once you have found the screenshot you want to put in your message, click on it. A new window pops up, showing the picture and some details, such as its caption, if you had entered one previously:

Now click on the picture, again. Another window pops up, now showing only the screenshot by itself:

We're not done yet... but we're close. Now right-click on the picture and select 'Copy' from the pop-up menu:

Then switch to the web browser where you are composing your forum message. In the message editing window, right-click at the place where you want to insert the picture, and select 'Paste' from the popup menu. Note: the menu may look different depending on the web browser you use, but the 'Paste' choice should be there:

Alternatively, you can press the Ctrl+V shortcut keys and the picture will be placed at the current cursor position.
And, ta-da, the picture finally appears in your message:

Now, if you think this is complicated, there are too many steps, I'd agree with you - but don't blame me. Blame Steam instead and their clumsy, messy and meandering user interfaces, made by geeks (no offense, I'm a geek too) who haven't got a clue or any regard whatsoever for user-friendliness and ease-of-use.

Bonus Tip: How to use the screenshot caption in your commentary without having to copy it by hand.

Back at the Steam window showing the screenshot details, with its caption. Position your cursor over the text of the caption:

With the cursor still over the caption text, triple-click, so that the entire caption text becomes highlighted:

Now press the Ctrl+C shortcut keys. Then switch to the web browser where you are composing your forum message. In the message editing window, right-click at the place where you want to insert the caption text, and select 'Paste' from the popup menu (see further above). Alternatively, you can press the Ctrl+V shortcut keys.

Result:

This is a caption for the nice screenshot.

So how do I do screenshots from my saved Library, coming from the in-game screenshot page; I'd like to show shot and comments OF "Z2Rr,, q121" ?

Does this guide answer your question?

 

[dasaard200]

I hope so; 2 shots included .

 

[Mousetick]

I hope so; 2 shots included .

What? Where?

 

[dasaard200]

So I got a picture onto a message, should I have waited for progress bar to 'wink out' before releasing the mouse ?; and then continue ??

 

[Mousetick]

So I got a picture onto a message, should I have waited for progress bar to 'wink out' before releasing the mouse ?; and then continue ??

You get the progress bar as a result of releasing the mouse button. Releasing the mouse is how you complete the drag-and-drop of the picture into the message, and the forum 'takes in' your picture. You don't need to re-press the mouse button and keep it pressed at that point.

If you're inserting several pictures, just wait until the progress bar 'winks out' and the first picture is displayed in your message, before continuing to the next one. Same thing with typing in text after the picture: wait until the progress bar 'winks out' and the picture is displayed in your message.

I saw you posted a screenshot in one of your recent messages. Nice!

Looks like you're getting the hang of it but feel free to ask more questions if something isn't clear.

 

[dasaard200]

Testing 2;
I'm having trouble here, I can see that in step 1, you need to tap the picture icon (lowest right) to cause a shot to be transfered, BUT :
1] the 'file' screen ]Windows[ takes up the whole screen, and leaves nowhere to drop a shot in the message ; and
2] do I need to attach the picture files TO the message, and after text, then drag-and-drop the shot(s) into position ?

I get the 'step 1a. png' ; can I use the 'content' feature for this ? (it seems simpler to use)

I'll give #8 this thread a shot, but with no 'side comment', preferring a longer text .
So how do I stay in-message while going to my library shots, to insert them into message ?

 

[Mousetick]

Testing 2;

I'm not sure I'm quite understanding what you're saying and asking, but I'll try my best to answer.

I'm having trouble here, I can see that in step 1, you need to tap the picture icon (lowest right) to cause a shot to be transfered, BUT :

In step 1, you drag-and-drop and that's it. Just like you would normally do for moving a file from a folder to another folder in Windows. The only difference is that the 'destination' is not a folder, it's the forum message box. No additional tapping needed. Do you need more explanatory details about this?

1] the 'file' screen ]Windows[ takes up the whole screen, and leaves nowhere to drop a shot in the message ; and

You can resize the window that displays the content of your screenshot folder, to make it smaller, and move it to the side so you can see the rest of your screen, and reach the message box.

2] do I need to attach the picture files TO the message, and after text, then drag-and-drop the shot(s) into position ?

You don't need to use the 'Attach files' button that is at the bottom left of the message box, if that's what you're asking:

Just drag the picture file to the message box while keeping the mouse button pressed, then 'drop' it by releasing the mouse button while inside the message box. The picture file is then automatically attached to the message, and displayed inside the message. You can then move the picture inside the message, let's say before or after some paragraph of text that you already typed in the message, by dragging-and-dropping it, if you want - but that step is not necessary. If you're happy where the picture is displayed in your message, just leave it there.

I get the 'step 1a. png' ; can I use the 'content' feature for this ? (it seems simpler to use)

If you took the screenshot with Steam (i.e. with F12 shortcut key) and it was uploaded to Steam cloud, yes.

So how do I stay in-message while going to my library shots, to insert them into message ?

You create your message on the forum like you usually do, and then you switch back-and-forth between your web browser (i.e. where the forum and your message are) and Steam. You have two options to switch back-and-forth: a) Using the Windows taskbar with the mouse or b) Using the Windows task switcher with the keyboard. As follows:

A. Using the Windows taskbar:

That's the bar at the bottom of your screen, showing the Windows logo in the far left, and the icons of running applications, extending to the right. To switch to Steam, click the icon for Steam. Do the steps to find and select your screenshot, copy it. Then to go back to the forum message, click the icon for your web browser (in the screenshot below it's the icon for the Google Chrome browser, yours may be different, e.g. if you're using Microsoft Edge). Paste the screenshot. Repeat the switching back-and-forth as many times as needed, or as you wish.

Your taskbar will look different: different color perhaps, different icons. You should be able to identify the Steam icon and your web browser icon in your taskbar.

B. Using the Windows task switcher:

Press the Alt+Tab keys simultaneously on your keyboard to bring it up, and keep holding the Alt key to keep it up. It pops up in the center of the screen and shows thumbnails of all windows of all applications currently running:

The white frame around one of the thumbnails (Steam in the example above) shows the currently active, foreground window. You use the keys to navigage from one window to another. Then you let go of the Alt key and you are switched to the window you had picked.

This will switch to the web browser when you release the Alt key:

This will switch to Steam when you release the Alt key:

Or you can use the mouse to directly pick the window you want to switch to, instead of navigating with the keyoard:

 

[dasaard200]

To re-cap;
1] find picture in files ;
2] drag-&-drop into forum ;
3] wait for progress bar to end before releasing the picture ;
4] continue commentary, with extra pictures .

 

[Mousetick]

To re-cap;
1] find picture in files ;
2] drag-&-drop into forum ;
3] wait for progress bar to end before releasing the picture ;
4] continue commentary, with extra pictures .

Almost, but not quite

1] find picture in files ;
2] drag-&-drop into forum, releasing the picture into the message box ;
3] wait for progress bar to end ;
4] continue commentary, with extra pictures .

Oh and stop theorizing and do it already!
Just try it here in this thread with a couple of pics and some dummy text, nothing is going to break down if you mess up, and nobody will care.
Practice makes perfect...

 

[SchwarzKatze]

You can even just hit the PrtSc key in game, then ctrl-V in the reply section, and the screenshot will be directly uploaded from your clipboard.