Slow uploading/processing?

Tedology

Hello all,

I've noticed a slow down of uploading some simple (about 600 kb) images using the Smugmug uploader (I right-click on the file and "Send to SmugMug").

Is there a better way to upload images to SmugMug? When I say slowing down, it's VERY noticeable...

Also, when my blog page loads right after I embed the images from Smugmug it takes a very long time to fully load.

Again, these are PNG files and they're 700 KB max.

Any advice on how I can speed things up (both uploading and loading on pages) is appreciated.

Thanks much!

Andy

Hi Ted, the fastest uploading is with our Simple Uploader: http://www.smugmug.com/help/upload-pictures
Why are you uploading 700Kb PNGs? We can't print from them - and JPGs are much leaner

If you want help troubleshooting a slow connection, please write our Support Heroes, we have some diagnostics we can run with you.

Tedology

Wow, Andy...thanks for an incredibly fast response!

I'll use the simple uploader from now on.

The images are just for viewing on a monitor... I have the originals on my hard drive.

It's for a papercrafting blog... so just to show my cards I make, etc.

Andy

Tedology wrote: »

Wow, Andy...thanks for an incredibly fast response!

I'll use the simple uploader from now on.

The images are just for viewing on a monitor... I have the originals on my hard drive.

It's for a papercrafting blog... so just to show my cards I make, etc.

You would have faster uploads if you made JPGs, for sure

Tedology

Oh?

Oh! I didn't know that. For some reason I thought PNGs were faster.

May I ask: is there any advantage of PNGs? Or are those just not valuable?

(Still learning here! )

And thanks for the patient help, Andy!

jfriend

Tedology wrote: »

Oh?

Oh! I didn't know that. For some reason I thought PNGs were faster.

May I ask: is there any advantage of PNGs? Or are those just not valuable?

(Still learning here! )

And thanks for the patient help, Andy!

I only use PNGs when I need transparency because JPEGs don't support transparency.

NostalgicDad

And, FWIW, when I've had a png file in a gallery then try to create a package that applies specifically to that gallery, it never creates due to a bug. I had to remove the png file before it would work. This was acknowledged in a case I had opened last month with the help desk.....


"[FONT=&quot]Sebastian Hosche [SmugMug Hero], Oct 13 10:21 am (MDT):[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT] [FONT=&quot]Hi Danny,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Thanks for your reply. Oh, yeah, looks like a PNG isn't working very good with packages. They can't be ordered and are likely to cause problems. I'd recommend to revert to a regular JPG file as a placeholder.
Can you try that instead and remove the PNG?"[/FONT]

jfriend

NostalgicDad wrote: »

And, FWIW, when I've had a png file in a gallery then try to create a package that applies specifically to that gallery, it never creates due to a bug. I had to remove the png file before it would work. This was acknowledged in a case I had opened last month with the help desk.....


"[FONT=&quot]Sebastian Hosche [SmugMug Hero], Oct 13 10:21 am (MDT):[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]Hi Danny,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Thanks for your reply. Oh, yeah, looks like a PNG isn't working very good with packages. They can't be ordered and are likely to cause problems. I'd recommend to revert to a regular JPG file as a placeholder.
Can you try that instead and remove the PNG?"[/FONT]

I only put PNG images in unlisted site-management galleries, never in galleries where I'm selling.

NostalgicDad

jfriend wrote: »

I only put PNG images in unlisted site-management galleries, never in galleries where I'm selling.

Same here. But, When I create a new gallery, I always put a "placeholder" image there to inform visitors that images are coming soon. That image has always been a PNG for no particular reason. It was only after I uploaded all the JPGs and then created packages for that gallery that I found out I needed to remove the PNG before I could create the package.

jfriend

NostalgicDad wrote: »

Same here. But, When I create a new gallery, I always put a "placeholder" image there to inform visitors that images are coming soon. That image has always been a PNG for no particular reason. It was only after I uploaded all the JPGs and then created packages for that gallery that I found out I needed to remove the PNG before I could create the package.

I'm not arguing that Smugmug shouldn't fix their bug, but it should be easy enough for you to change your habit to using a JPEG for the placeholder image, right?

I'm a little bit curious why there's a long time between creating the gallery and uploading the images. I only create the gallery moments before I start uploading. You can also make the gallery unlisted while uploading so viewers won't see it until you're ready when you flip it to public.

NostalgicDad

jfriend wrote: »

I'm not arguing that Smugmug shouldn't fix their bug, but it should be easy enough for you to change your habit to using a JPEG for the placeholder image, right?

I'm a little bit curious why there's a long time between creating the gallery and uploading the images. I only create the gallery moments before I start uploading. You can also make the gallery unlisted while uploading so viewers won't see it until you're ready when you flip it to public.

John, it's no big deal for me at all. I was just relaying to the OP about the fact that if he used PNGs, the possibility exists that he would have problems with packages. After I discovered that bug, I quit using a PNG as a placeholder image.

And as far as as why there is a length of time between me creating a gallery and actually uploading images to it.......It's simply the way I do some swim meets and other events. I know I can keep it unlisted but I happen to like creating a gallery ahead of time when I think about it so it's just ready when I'm done PP my images. If swimmers or parents start looking before I'm done, they know that I was there and do in fact have images on the way. So since the gallery is there, why not just put a nice image letting them know that images are coming? It's just my way of communicating with them since they may not know if I was even there. Everybody does things differently.

jfriend

NostalgicDad wrote: »

And as far as as why there is a length of time between me creating a gallery and actually uploading images to it.......It's simply the way I do some swim meets and other events. I know I can keep it unlisted but I happen to like creating a gallery ahead of time when I think about it so it's just ready when I'm done PP my images. If swimmers or parents start looking before I'm done, they know that I was there and do in fact have images on the way. So since the gallery is there, why not just put a nice image letting them know that images are coming? It's just my way of communicating with them since they may not know if I was even there. Everybody does things differently.

Got it.

SamirD

I sometime also create the gallery ahead of time. But what I'll usually do is set a password and for the hint say, "Password prompt will go away when images are ready". People read the password hint even if it's just out of curiosity.

Tedology

Okay... well I created another gallery for a baking project I did and uploaded pictures using the easier method suggested by Andy. I also had them .jpgs instead of .pngs.

There were 24 photos I uploaded...and 19 seem okay...but 5 seem stuck on "Processing Image".

How long should it take to process a simple .jpg?

This is getting very frustrating.

Here's the gallery:

http://tedology.smugmug.com/Papercrafting/Miscellaneous/Thanksgiving-Bread-2010/14655185_ZobbP#1090539958_sRHzq

I don't expect the images to show up instantly, but within 5 minutes would be nice... seeing as these are not large files at all.

Andy

Tedology wrote: »

Okay... well I created another gallery for a baking project I did and uploaded pictures using the easier method suggested by Andy. I also had them .jpgs instead of .pngs.

There were 24 photos I uploaded...and 19 seem okay...but 5 seem stuck on "Processing Image".

How long should it take to process a simple .jpg?

This is getting very frustrating.

Here's the gallery:

http://tedology.smugmug.com/Papercrafting/Miscellaneous/Thanksgiving-Bread-2010/14655185_ZobbP#1090539958_sRHzq

I don't expect the images to show up instantly, but within 5 minutes would be nice... seeing as these are not large files at all.

They all look good here, please let us know, thanks.

Tedology

Thanks for taking the time to check, Andy.

I guess I'm a bit impatient and just need to realize that sometimes it takes ten or so minutes to process.

SamirD

Jpgs normally render very quickly. I upload hundreds a week and I'd say your 10 minute delay experience is definitely the exception to the rule.