MediaFire changes (no more previews)

[PX0]

MediaFire seems to change for the worse yet again...

As of today (?) I can no longer generate preview links. When clicking on the share button, it only shows a direct link to the image and options for various social media platforms. There is no more option for forums (with a preview image).

Am I missing something? Or does somebody know of a workaround?

[Tech13]

Me just testing

Old

New test

2nd test


Kinda found a workaround but I am unable to force a resize.

Woo Hoo I found it.
ok so you want this ["img width=500 height=500]Paste The image URL Here[/img"] All without the quotes

Can we change the Default image insert to img width=500 height=500 ?

[TDIRunner]

I noticed the same thing this morning.  I could not figure out how to imbed an image into a forum.  What am I missing?  What are you doing as your "work around?"

[TDIRunner]

Woo Hoo I found it.
ok so you want this ["img width=500 height=500]Paste The image URL Here[/img"] All without the quotes

Can we change the Default image insert to img width=500 height=500 ?

You might want to put this in a separate post.  I almost missed it since the enormous size of the example pic almost causes you to not see it.

[TDIRunner]

I figured out how to do it by looking your posts, but shit, it sure is a pain in the ass to do it now.

[Arseen]

My best explanation:

Preview linking seems to work, the link just has to be build by oneself.
Click quote to to see how I changed the link.

This is the link you get by clicking copy link: https://www.mediafire.com/view/9vz56k95rdlz2zt/Poliisit_2019.jpg/file

This is an old working preview link:

Yould need to insert 2 parts of the the copied link in to it.
1: Part of the url after URL= between the [] marks.
2: Insert short part of the link after the /convkey/2db5/. Note the added 6g, it tells the preview size (can be between 1g (minimal) and 7g (huge)) and .jpg. 

This is an old working preview link:

Compare the two share links to see what and how I changed.

[PX0]

My best explanation:
Preview linking seems to work, the link just has to be build by oneself.

[...]

Yould need to insert 2 parts of the the copied link in to it.
1: Part of the url after URL= between the [] marks.
2: Insert short part of the link after the /convkey/2db5/. Note the added 6g, it tells the preview size (can be between 1g (minimal) and 7g (huge)) and .jpg. 

Thank you all, for your replies.

I tried looking at old preview links, yesterday, to figure out a pattern, but I got confused by the four digits ("2db5" in your case) after "convkey".
I could not figure out how they relate to the image and they seem to be different for everyone of them.

But you are right. You can just insert the four digits from another image to make it work:

https://www.mediafire.com/convkey/13a9/zu8o1hh9o72kvhv5g.jpg

https://www.mediafire.com/convkey/2db5/zu8o1hh9o72kvhv5g.jpg


Actually, after playing around with them for a bit, it seems that almost any number works. (It does not even have to be four digits.):

https://www.mediafire.com/convkey/1234/zu8o1hh9o72kvhv5g.jpg

https://www.mediafire.com/convkey/1/zu8o1hh9o72kvhv5g.jpg

https://www.mediafire.com/convkey/1111111111111111111111111111111111111/zu8o1hh9o72kvhv5g.jpg

[Tech13]

Woo Hoo I found it.
ok so you want this ["img width=500 height=500]Paste The image URL Here[/img"] All without the quotes

Can we change the Default image insert to img width=500 height=500 ?

[Arseen]

Actually, after playing around with them for a bit, it seems that almost any number works. (It does not even have to be four digits.):

Yep, I was just trying to keep the changing to minimum.

[ShoothimNow]

Why do width and height?  I usually only do like... width=1000 (to fill the screen).  That way it's not a square lol.

width=500


width=500 and height=500

[PX0]

Woo Hoo I found it.
ok so you want this ["img width=500 height=500]Paste The image URL Here[/img"] All without the quotes

Can we change the Default image insert to img width=500 height=500 ?

Thank you, that is good to know.
I was not aware that you can further specify the image size within the bbcode.

It does not really work in this case though, because the link you get from MediaFire does not work with the [img] bbcode.

You would still have to modify the link manually to look like the old preview links.

Yep, I was just trying to keep the changing to minimum.

I googled some more and found some documentation of MediaFires image conversion.
Apparently the number after "convkey" is supposed to be the first four digits of the images hash key.

https://www.mediafire.com/developers/multimedia_api/images/

I figured out how to do it by looking your posts, but shit, it sure is a pain in the ass to do it now.

I agree.
There is also no telling how long this workaround might work.

Maybe it is time to look for an alternative. Does anyone know of a similar image / file hoster with a preview function (or direct links to uploaded images)?

[ShoothimNow]

There is also no telling how long this workaround might work.

It's not really a workaround.  It's HTML / PHP code.  The only way it's going away is if SnowCone updates the forums to completely remove it.  And after 15 years of not changing the backend, I don't see it being a problem.  width=___ and height=___ is always a thing I use.

The only difference now is that if you have poor internet... the full image is loaded.  So if you post 100+ photos using the html resizing code... whoever views the page is viewing 100+ photos at the full size they are rendered.  If each photo is 5MB each, prepare for some loading time lol.

[rockabilly1983]

I was having so much trouble inserting preview images when I was posting my two Harry Potter covers for Game Boy Color on May 29, 2021. When I found out that MediaFire removed the "Direct Link" option, that made me really angry. I even ranted about it in my Game Boy cover post. I looked at Arseen's example. I even looked at my previous cover posts to check the link source. I edited the link source and finally, the preview images came up. I can't tell you how stoked I am! I can sleep better now that I know what to do. I'm going to show you what I did. I made these instructions as simple as I could. I'm going to use my cover of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as an example:

First, click "Insert Image" to get the ["img"] ["/img"] brackets.

Go to MediaFire and click on the options for your file. It's located on the far right and it consists of three vertical dots. Click "Share", and then click "Copy Link". Paste the link here using Ctrl+V on the keyboard. This is the link you will be given:
https://www.mediafire.com/view/ix6vrucaw0z6pj9/GBC_Harry_Potter_and_the_Sorcerer%2527s_Stone_%2528USA%2529_CGC.png/file

To make a preview image, we need to edit the link. Delete the file name from the link first. This is what you need to get started:
https://www.mediafire.com/view/ix6vrucaw0z6pj9

Next, change "view" to "convkey". Add another forward slash with "2db5". You can also use any four letters or numbers you want. At the end of the link, add "6g.jpg". This is what the link should now look like:
https://www.mediafire.com/convkey/2db5/ix6vrucaw0z6pj96g.jpg

Last, but not least, put the link in between the ["img"] ["/img"] brackets. Don't use quotation marks inside the brackets. Voila! Now you have a preview image in your forum post. Yay!

If you have any questions, please let me know.

My Covers: https://app.box.com/s/hote51vbfehfqo0yu5j0

[marioxb]

Why do width and height?  I usually only do like... width=1000 (to fill the screen).  That way it's not a square lol.

width=500


width=500 and height=500

I can't believe that no one else commented and or agrees with you. That's always how I do my previews. Just enter ONE dimension, so you don't end up with a stupid looking square, like some of the previews in the "look what I got" threads.