User talk:Sfbooks52

Welcome!

Hello, Sfbooks52, and welcome to the ISFDB Wiki! I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are some pages that you might find helpful:

• Help pages
• Field-by-field guide to entering new publications into the database
• Help:Getting Started
• What the ISFDB Wiki is for
• FAQ
• Wiki editing help - Tips on how to use the wiki-specific features when editing wiki pages.
• Wiki Conventions - How things are usually done on this wiki.
• Help:How to upload images to the ISFDB wiki

Note: Image uploading isn't entirely automated. You're uploading the files to the wiki which will then have to be linked to the database by editing the publication record.

Please be careful in editing publications that have been primary verified by other editors. See Help:How to verify data#Making changes to verified pubs. But if you have a copy of an unverified publication, verifying it can be quite helpful. See Help:How to verify data for detailed information.

I hope you enjoy editing here! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will insert your name and the date. If you need help, check out the community portal, or ask me on my talk page. Again, welcome! BLongley 18:52, 27 October 2009 (UTC)

Deleting Images

Hopefully I've answered your question here, but if not, feel free to ask for more information or a demonstration. Thanks for editing! BLongley 18:55, 27 October 2009 (UTC)

How about a LOT of questions. I tried to follow your instructions about adding the image url to the publication, but I lost looking for the "add url image" section. Then it took me a few minutes to find this section to respond to you. I don't even know if I could find it again. Help me delete the "This Side of Infinity" cover image and add it correctly. My SF paperback collection spans 1975 and older. I would like to add needed images to this database. Thanks in advance. Brian —The preceding unsigned comment added by Sfbooks52 (talk • contribs) 15:23, 27 October 2009

See Help:How to upload images to the ISFDB wiki for detailed directions in uploading images to the ISFDB, and linking themk to publication records. -DES ^Talk 20:48, 27 October 2009 (UTC)

If you go to a publication display page, the page with details about a spcific publication, where an image should appaear, there will be a link on the left labeled "Edit this pub". If you click this you will enter the Publication Editor. This has fields for a lot of different data values. Just above the large Notes field is the ImageURL field. This is where the URL for a cover image must be entered or pasted. See Help:Screen:EditPub for more details on the various fields on this screen and what to enter into them. -DES ^Talk 20:52, 27 October 2009 (UTC)

See, "a LOT of questions" isn't a problem! There's plenty of people willing to help you. I've no idea what time-zone you're in (feel free to tell us a bit about yourself on your User Page, but we have editors and moderators from all around the world, and hopefully can respond to you fairly quickly. Back to the specific question: "This Side of Infinity" is fine as it is, scan-wise. It's better if you use a Publication-specific name rather than a Title-level name, as there may be many other versions we want scans of - but I think you've found that already. But all extra data is valued, so keep persevering! Thanks again, I look forward to more covers. BLongley 21:05, 27 October 2009 (UTC)

Wiki stuff

This is your user talk page. People will leave msgs for you here. Please sign your wiki posts with four tildes (~~~~). The software will convert this into uyour useer name and a timestamp. Responses are generally indented, onle level per response in a thread. Indent by starting a paragraph with a colon, one colon per level of indent. See Help:Wiki Conventions for more on usage on the wiki. -DES ^Talk 20:56, 27 October 2009 (UTC)

Can anyone email me with some help. It seems the more I dig, the more questions I have. Sfbooks52 21:39, 27 October 2009 (UTC)

Email sent. -DES ^Talk 23:05, 27 October 2009 (UTC)

The Best of Randall Garrett

I am about to reject your submisison adding a cover image URL to The Best of Randall Garrett. You added "[TBSTRNDL1982]" which is not valid. The URL must be a true, full URL, that is, a web address. I could fix this, but instead I will guide you through doing this in our telephone conversation this evening. -DES ^Talk 15:07, 28 October 2009 (UTC)

I just saw that you made a 2nd edit of this publication. here you submitted the URL as " http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/images/2/27/TBSTRNDL1982.jpg.". This is almost correct. The closing period should not be included, leaving " http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/images/2/27/TBSTRNDL1982.jpg". I am going to accept this edit and correct the URL, and will coach you through a different example this evening. -DES ^Talk 15:53, 28 October 2009 (UTC)

Images by artist

Since you are particularly interested in cover images, you might want to look at Category:Artist Images. This is a list of artists for which we have at least one cover hosted on the ISFDB server. The list is not yet complete -- probably it is not much better than half done -- but over 600 artists are currently listed. Many, of course, are obscure and have only a single cover listed. But many others are more or less well known. Each item is a link to a list of covers by the artist now on our server. -DES ^Talk 06:37, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

More Wiki stuff

Please don't indent paragraphs on wiki pages. lines (paragraphs) of wiki text which start with one or more balnk spaces, are rendered without word-wrap and in a different font:

Like this. Even a very long line will not be wrapped when it starts with a blank space, and this is not useful for ordinary discussion.

This technique can be useful for rendering program code and some other cases, but not for ordinary discussion.

Also please don't forget to sign your comments on wiki discussion pages with four tildes (~~~~).

See Help:Editing and Help:Wiki Conventions. Thank you. -DES ^Talk 23:10, 30 October 2009 (UTC)

Artist credit

You have submitted an artist credit to Chris Foss for [Ten Thousand Light Years from Home] by Tiptree. Since I am one of the primary verifiers I am interested in the source. As the record states there is no credit and no signature. If you have a source it should go in the notes. Thanks for editing! ~Bill, --Bluesman 00:56, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

Compare with The View from the Stars. (Pointer supplied by this page).BLongley 19:04, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

That is where I found it, on the Pop Sensation site. It also looked like his style of artwork. Sfbooks52 20:58, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

I love cover pelmanism. I think that started here, where the question had an immediate answer. BLongley 21:25, 12 November 2009 (UTC)

HP scanner

I saw your posting on Bill Longley's page about resizing scanned images. I have an HP printer/scanner and might be of some assistance. Sfbooks52, have you installed the HP software that places the HP Solution Center icon on your desktop, or can you access it through a program look-up? (If not look for file "hpqdirec.exe" There should be a settings tool on the home page of the Solution Center. From this you can change the scan settings. I've chosen a resolution of 200 dpi as a default (which is good enough for book covers). After the cover has been scanned it will be saved to the default folder (or one you assign), and this folder will pop up in a new window (as HP Photosmart Essential) showing your scanned image. Double click on the image and you'll see a menu on the left with an option to resize. Choose the "Custom" button, keep the aspect box checked, change the height to 600, and choose "pixels" if not already shown at the bottom. Then click save. My printer is about a year old, so I hope the software hasn't changed that much. If so, the procedure should be similar. Hope this helps. MHHutchins 22:35, 13 November 2009 (UTC)

There are some differences, but I did find the edit page. However, I cannot save the settings and have to redo the saved folder and edit settings each pic I scan. But, I am a step closer than I was before. Thanks.

Sfbooks52 03:15, 14 November 2009 (UTC)

Nebula Science Fiction October 1957

Rejected your image replacement for this record for these reasons: we do not have permission to use images from the site ( see [here] for those sites we do have permission from and a way to get that permission); the image is no different than the one on record (and it was likely obtained from this site but downloaded onto a personal computer first and then uploaded to the DB, the proper way to deal with images we have no permission to use [and this refers to covers only and must not be expanded to include author images]). Images stored on the DB should only be replaced if they are the wrong image or if the newer one is better, as in clearer, sharper, price not blacked out, that kind of thing. Keep adding the pics, just be careful where you get them from! Cheers! ~Bill, --Bluesman 04:30, 17 November 2009 (UTC)