Posting Images for Tournaments

First, let’s capture and save the image.

Once you’ve submitted your game, go to your metaverse profile screen and press the “Print Screen” key. This will copy the entire screen into a memory buffer. On a standard keyboard, the Print Screen key is on the top right next to the F12 Key.



Open the Windows Paint program. It can be found under Accessories.

HINT: I like to make the default picture really small. That way, when I paste into it and enlarge the resolution, there’s no extra white space to get rid of.

From the EDIT Menu, click “Paste”. When it asks you if you want to enlarge the resolution, click “Yes”. Your screen capture will appear.


Choose the SELECT Tool from the Toolbox.


Using the SELECT Tool, drag a box around the area of the screen that you want to use as the image.


From the EDIT Menu, click “Copy”. This puts the area you just outlined in the box into the memory buffer.


Since there isn’t a Crop command in Paint, we need to use a workaround. In this case, we’ll just use the new memory buffer to create a new image. We no longer need the original screen shot, so from the FILE menu, click “New”.


From the EDIT Menu, click “Paste”. When it asks you if you want to enlarge the resolution, click “Yes”. Your new image will appear.


Under the FILE Menu, click “Save As”.


Choose a name and save the picture as a .JPG file. Use the drop down menu Save As window to choose .JPG.


Congratulations! You have now saved a screen capture.

Now, let’s put that image in your post. First, go to your web hosting site that you set up in the first post above. As stated there, I’ll use Webshots for this tutorial.

Navigate to your online album and click “Upload” or Upload More”


Click “Select Files”.


Find the image you saved on your computer earlier and double click it.


Click on “Upload”.


Once the image is uploaded to the hosting site, you’ll need to copy the link into your memory buffer. The box to do that is located towards the bottom right of the screen.

IMPORTANT: Make sure the resolution is selected to 600. If you use the default 100, the picture will show up as a thumb instead of an image. (Kinda like the "Edit, Copy" one in my post above). Oops.

Right click the “Direct Link To Image” and click “Copy”.


Now, we’re ready to paste the link into your post. In the reply box on the forum, there’s a little box that looks like a mountain with a sun over it. It’s the “Insert Image” button for the forum. Click it after you’ve written the obligatory taunt.


In the Insert Image Window, right click into the top text box and click “Paste”, then click the “OK” button.


Finish your post and you’re done.

MottiKhan, thank you for this useful summary.

One thing to add is that if you use "Alt-Print Screen" instead of "Print Screen" it actually saves only the selected window instead your entire desktop. This can save you some cropping in Paint, particularly if you have more than one monitor.

Also you can post images at ImageShack if you don't feel like registering. I won't go into the details of the usage of imageshack but they do allow you to resize images and they give you a wide variety of thumbnail, hotlink or direct link display options. The biggest downside is that I have seen some images disappear after a few months.

I personally always create the screenshot with no resizing and use the direct link option. This counts on the excellent feature of these forums that automatically thumbs large images to the largest acceptable size while allowing the full resolution to be viewed when clicked.

As an aside, once we finish with the current MVC elections one of the first orders of business is to be able to support Tournaments and other features (Metaverse Scenario's and Metaverse Mods) via some kind of direct submission to the AltMeta.

This will undoubtably take a bit of time so it's good for these to continue as they are for some time, but we are looking at coming up with a more seemless way to submit these as well as provide for a graphing ability similar to that already provided in the AltMeta for individuals and empires.

Good idea MottiKhan .

Alternately, rather than copying, pasting, and saving the selected area of the image, just select it then choose 'edit->copy to' to save it directly.

Great guide, MottiKhan.
Thanks for the effort you put into this, a very helpful post and a surprisingly
altruistic act from a member of the "Tyranny of Evil".
Two thumbs up.

I have a small question, I have a laptop and the print screen key is combined with the insert key and I dont know how to chose one over the other.

Try all the key modifer keys like Alt, Ctrl, also the funky windows logo keys (what these do I have no clue). When in doubt you could read the manual or if you don't have it you should be able to find it based on the model number of your laptop.

It also could be context sensitive so try the Alt Printscreen for copy current window and go paste into paint and see what you get.

There's generally an extra function modifier key on the bottom row that is used to access additional actions on the keys (usually marked in a different color, matching that on the modifier key). Usually blue.

On my laptop, on the bottom left side of the keyboard is a button left of the Ctrl key that spells Fn. Fn will be highlighted blue. Hold this down and then hit the Ins/PrtSc. Hope that helps   After all, our laptops may be different.

Great tips, Mumblefratz and kryo. I'll try them both. Thanks!   



Thanks, Swiffo. It's a political ploy to aid our effort in taking over the world!!! [EvilGrin] Mwahahahahaha!!!! [/EvilGrin]