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1. cnhutch
   Member
   Jul 30, 2008, 4:45 AM

   The new image uploader puts pictures on a gray background - kind of like a polaroid picture. Is there a way to change the background color? Or the size? Right now, when I post a vertical picture, there is a whole bunch of gray space surrounding the picture - especially on the sides. I'd like to get rid of it... the theme I use is black and I like the way the pictures look on the black background. I did figure out how to add a border, but changing the whole background would be better.

   I am not a very technical user... I don't understand code really, so if anyone knows of a semi-simple fix, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks!

2. cnhutch
   Member
   Jul 30, 2008, 4:47 AM

   Oh, if you need to see, my blog is: calebandnicolette.wordpress.com

   Thanks again in advance for any help with this!

3. wpvstp
   Member
   Jul 30, 2008, 5:07 AM

   That is not the new image uploader's fault. The grey background is the caption function. I'm not sure if the caption can be edited from within the post or whether you need a CSS upgrade to do that.

4. nellalou
   Member
   Jul 30, 2008, 5:42 AM

   Caption can actually be removed completely by using the html code for the post but the link to the image file itself has to be used.
   An easy way to do this is to upload the image into the visual editor then switch to html view then delete the code in the square brackets at the beginning and end of the entry and delete the square brackets as well. Then you are just left with the image.

   Example before:

   [caption id="attachment_1290" align="alignnone" width="550" caption="My Photo"]<a href="http://bazaarofdreams.wordpress.com/files/2008/07/myphoto.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1290" src="http://myblog.wordpress.com/files/2008/07/myphoto.jpg" alt="My Photo" width="550" height="413" /></a>[/caption]

   Example after editing:

   <a href="http://myblog.wordpress.com/files/2008/07/topoftheworld.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1290" src="http://myblog.wordpress.com/files/2008/07/myphoto.jpg" alt="My Photo" width="550" height="413" /></a>

5. justjennifer
   Member
   Jul 30, 2008, 5:51 AM

   Anyone who is shy of using the HTML Editor may end up deleting something more than just the bracketed text, which is an even bigger headache.

   Since the caption is what inserts the "alt" text in the image, it would be nice if we could choose to display the actual caption under the image or not. Just sayin'...

6. wpvstp
   Member
   Jul 30, 2008, 6:15 AM

   Ehrm...why insert a caption in the first place. If you don't write a caption when you upload the image, no caption and frame is made. That's your choice. But yes, it would be nice to have the caption but still being able to turn it on and off without writing or deleting it every time you want it to appear or disappear.

7. nellalou
   Member
   Jul 30, 2008, 6:17 AM

   If someone just does a test post to try out the edits until they get the gist of the thing then maybe they would have the confidence to do it on their real posts. The test posts can just be deleted then without harm.

   If one uses the normal image insertion method including the caption before switching to HTML view then the alt tag will appear in the pointy brackets where it should be.

   It's going to take a little time to get used to some of these new features. There's probably all kinds of work arounds waiting to be discovered.

8. justjennifer
   Member
   Jul 30, 2008, 7:01 AM

   @wpvstp-because no caption = no "alternate text" for your image. That alt text is what search engines pick up and what is displayed if the link to your image is broken for some reason. (where we were 10 days ago)

   http://faq.wordpress.com/2008/07/24/image-settings-titles-descriptions-captions-etc/
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alt_attribute

9. wpvstp
   Member
   Jul 30, 2008, 7:25 AM

   @jennifer
   OK, thanks for setting that straight. Guess I should start using my captions more often. IMO it actually makes things look nicer.

10. justjennifer
    Member
    Jul 30, 2008, 7:38 AM

    BTW-there's another important reason for inserting "alt text" for your images and that's for site visitors who use text browsers like Lynx. If you really want to have an eye-opening experience, check out your site in something like Any Browser's site viewer.

    And it looks to me like the poster has resolved the issue. :)

11. cnhutch
    Member
    Jul 30, 2008, 4:13 PM

    thanks all!

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