Using this Site

More about www.weberhigh62.com:
 
The site is ours until at least 2017!  Use  'Edit Profile' at any time to update yours.  People ARE interested in what you've been up to, your plans and more!
 
Share stories and more on the Classmate Forums (check the vintage music videos, and add your own, e.g.)See pages from the '62 Golden Spike. Pick folks and topics to 'follow.' 

You also have personal privacy settings for who can access (or search the web for) your profile. Be as public (or not) as you wish. These settings are on Edit Profile and can be changed at any time.

You may also Comment on classmate pages.  These are visible to all.  (Comments can be edited or deleted by the commentor - and can be deleted by the classmate or Admins.)


Message Center  is your personal mailbox - including conversations with multiple classmates (all recipients automatically get all replies). A great way to re-connect, catch up and reminisce!

(There's also 'Instant Messaging.' Look for 'Members online' on the lower right - where you can choose to be visible or not.)

Using this Site has 'how-to' info. And you can use Contact Us to get help with any site matters.


 eMail "Blasts"

The Committee can send group eMails.  These may come from the eMail addresses of site administrators or the "WHS Class of '62 Committee," but may be marked as "suspicious" or get sent to your junk mail or spam boxWhatever your system says, please mark them as "not junk or spam," "move to inbox," "always show email from bigpics@hotmail.com," etc. as applicable.


Tips, Tricks and Problem Solving

 Updated 5/12/12

We're using this page to provide (hopefully useful) tips and  info about common questions, concerns and issues you may have using the site.  Some things are a little complicated! And we can also provide personal help if anything's unclear. So feel free to  Contact Us !


Here's our first few "how-to" instructions:

These are Step-by-Step directions (we tried not to leave anything out), and so a little long, but after you've done them once, they should be a piece of cake the next time you need to do the procedure.


A. Uploading photos to the site:


Notes for the "technically challenged":

A. If learning new computer procedures (as described below) is not your thing, but you have  photos or articles for the site, and live near Ogden or Salt Lake, we can assist you directly in getting them scanned and posted.  Just use "Contact Us" and we'll make arrangements.

B. If you have images that are already in digital form (from a camera or cell phone, e.g.,) you can contact us from anywhere.  And if you know how to attach a file to an email, we'll send you an email address to send them to and then get them posted.  


Meanwhile, here's the step-by-step, do it yourself method:

Note:  In addition to our instructions here, there's a Help Video on the "Edit/Upload Photos" page.  Look for the icon below and click on the link  that says "Introduction to the Image Editor."  This video covers most of what's below, and also has additional information.

 

Here are the step-by-step directions:

  1. Click on the “Edit /Upload Photos” button on the bar on the left side of the page under “Member  Functions.”
  2. Click on "Upload Photos"
  3. A window called “Image Editor” opens.  Click on “Browse” near the right of this box. 
  4. Select a picture from your computer and click on “open” or “upload”
    • (The exact procedure depends on your computer's type and operating system).
  5. An upload progress bar appears, and when finished, the picture appears.
  6. At this point you can edit and resize the picture in various ways.  Or simply save it, and then visit your profile to see if you’re happy with how it looks. 
  7. If changes are needed, you can then go back to “Edit/Upload,” open the image editor again and make your changes. 
  8. In any case, when you’re finished, press “Save.”
  9. Pictures can be edited, enhanced, resized and captioned (inside the photo in the editor, or outside after the picture is posted).
    • Hint: Life is generally easier if you upload the picture as you already like it and just use the tool here as a basic uploader.  And while you can add text ONTO the photo, you can also just come back to Edit/Upload and write short or long captions that appear beneath it.  However, to be complete:
    • a) If you change the size of the pic at this point, it should change.  Or you can wait to see how  it looks when you’re finished, and come back to the image editor later.  
    • b) Text comments about the photo can be added or changed at any time.
  10. To EDIT an uploaded photo, click on “Edit /Upload Photos” again.  Each picture will have an Edit” button.
  11. We’ve found that you can only make a picture smaller once, and that if that’s too small, the solution is to delete the picture, re-upload the original and start over.

 


B. Getting old (or any) printed photos into your computer for uploading:

So you have some old photos, you don't own a scanner and you don't want to snail mail them to us (but you can and we'll send 'em back).  So how do you get them ready for uploading to the site

Taking Pictures of Printed Photos

  1. Most modern digital point and shoot cameras - and the better cell phone cams - can do a surprisingly good job of standing in for a scanner.
  2. The keys are paying attention to light and keeping the camera steady.  Flash is almost always a no-no, because it causes glare - but you can experiment.  Light bulbs, depending on where they are in relation to the picture and camera can also result in glare - especially on glossy photos (matte finish is easier to re-photograph).  
  3. On the other hand, more light means less blur from camera shake.  What to do??
    • The ideal lighting conditions for using a camera as a scanner (or "digital capture device" for the geeky) are actually outside on an overcast day when there's plenty of light, but the sunlight is diffused instead of direct (which may not be much fun in the winter, admittedly!).
    • If the sun is out and fairly high in the sky, there may also not be much glare.  Or you might try a lightly shaded area.
  4. Second best is a well-lit room (preferably white or light-colored) - where the lighting is mostly being reflected off the walls and ceiling instead of pointing right at the picture.  But there is an exception to this rule:
  5. If you put two lamps or other lights - one on either side of the picture - so that the light is coming onto the picture at about a 45 degree angle from each side and the camera is directly above the picture - AND - above the lamp lights, this should also minimize glare.

If none of the above work for you, many printing or photo stores should be able to scan your old pictures (and restore them if needed and you want to).  We have scanners, so we don't know the price of these services, but they are available - and, no, we don't care if there are scratches or tears on the pictures, we'll just be happy to see them posted!

Note: There are also businesses that convert VHS or other old videotapes and movie film into digital files suitable for uploading to YouTube (see "C" below for the procedures to get videos on the site once you have these files.)

Getting your photos from camera/cell to the site

  1. You apparently cannot upload photos directly from an iPhone or iPad, at  least according to the administrator of another class website who's tried. But another admin said she was able to go from their site on her Android phone and that the "Edit/Upload photos worked for her.  And that's all we know for sure.  Try either - or another type, like Blackberry or Windows Phone and let us know if you're able to upload photos.
  2. But for sure, if you copy or move the photos from your cam or phone to a computer connected to the net, the procedures described in "A" above will work.
  3. There are various ways to copy or move photos from cameras, cells and iPads to various kinds of computers, e.g., PC's and Macs.  And too many options to describe here.  If you're having trouble with this, consult us about your particular devices and we'll try to help.   

 


C. Adding Videos to your profile or to the Classmate Forums:

Unlike photos, you can't directly upload your own video footage. Instead you have to go to a video on YouTube.com and "embed" the video on the website.  The YouTube video is then visible on your profile or in one of the Classmate Forums.  

This might be a video of a fave song you found on YouTube from back in the day, or it might be video footage of your own that you've uploaded to YouTube (covered below, separately)

The procedure for getting the "embedding code" for YouTube videos is the same for your Profile or one of our Classmate Forums.  But the actual embedding procedure for each of these on our site is slightly different.

Embedding videos on your Profile

When you click on Edit Profile under "Member Functions, there are areas to enter various kinds of info and one is an area for posting Videos.  You may post one or more videos here.

Right beneath "Videos" there's a "sign board" (see below)  and a link to a video  which explains how to do this.  Click directly on the Signboard itself to see the video.

  • However, YouTube has recently slightly changed its procedures - for SOME users - since this video was posted by the people we license this site from. So please note the following:
  • If you don't  see the "Embed Code" where the video says it is (right beneath the video window on the old "look"), that means you're using the newest version of YouTube and the procedure is slightly different. 
  • That is, the "Embed Code" is no longer visible beneath the video.  Instead, you have to click on the "Share" button beneath the video to see the"Embed" button.  Clicking on Embed will give you the "embed code" to copy and paste into your profile page back here as described in the video.   
  • There may also be different "options" than the ones described in the help video. If you choose "Show Options," the only important one is to select "640x480" as the screen size. This choice plays the video at the largest size our website supports.
  • The "embed code" is pre-selected (highlighted in blue).  To copy the text from YouTube, right-click on the selection and pick "Copy" - or - press Crtl+C (Command+C on a Mac).  To paste it, return to the Videos window on your profile editor.  Right click over the window and select "Paste" - or - press Crtl+V (Command+V on a Mac).

 

Embedding videos in a Classmate Forum

You'll need the same embedding code here - as per the instructions above.  Once you have it, when you click on Reply to a Forum topic or start your own topic, you see a different window with a tool bar.  You need to click on the YouTube icon to embed a video here.  The picture below shows where YouTube is on the tool bar:

Click on the YouTube icon, and paste the "embed code" into the box that pops up (see procedure for pasting above) - then click "OK." Your video will appear in the window - as a blank box - until you save it, when it will appear as a video.

You can enter text above or below the video to describe it before saving (or come back and edit the text later). And you can enter multiple videos in one post.  Click on the black button here ⇒    Movin' and Groovin'  for an example of how this looks and works when done.

 


D. Uploading videos to YouTube.com:

  • You need a YouTube account to upload your own videos to YouTube, but NOT to share a video already there.  
  • If you have a GMail account, you can use this ID to log into YouTube.
  • The procedure for uploading your own videos to YouTube is easily found on YouTube.com.  
  • Once you sign in there's an "Upload" button with pretty clear instructions on the upper right of the YouTube page.  Or, if you're already signed inclick here to go that page

E. Site Icons and options:

When you click on Classmate Profiles and see:     it means that profile's been updated since the last time you visited it.

You can choose to see the whole profile or just the latest changes:

 

and you can even "surf" profiles:

 


That's all for now!  Again, please send feedback about whether this page has been helpful and what else you'd like to see covered by clicking here:     Contact Us