What is Tri-State Scene? - Tri-State Scene is an online picture forum where you can build collections of photos and share them with others. It's free and available to all online registered users.

What is a Photoblog? - A photoblog, short for photo web log, is your visual personal journal that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. You can share your memories and special events on the web with your family and friends.

Use the links below to learn the steps to getting started and uploading your photos into your collections.

• Tri-State Scene Overview
• Tri-State Scene Dictionary
• Register
• Sign-On as Registered User
• Special url for your individual page
• Changing Your Username
• Uploading an Avatar

• Create a Collection
• Delete a Collection
• Re-Name a Collection

• Create a Gallery
• Delete a Gallery
• Move a Gallery
• Re-Name a Gallery

• Upload Pictures
• Delete Pictures
• Move Pictures
• Edit Picture Information
• Re-Order Pictures
• Rotating Your Pictures

• Creating a Scrapbook
• Edit a Scrapbook
• Delete a Scrapbook

• Before and After

• About Buying Photos

Tri-State Scene is a community-based, user-contributed photo site. The site has two main sections, "We've Scene" and "You've Scene".

"We've Scene" features photos taken by the site's staff at events throughout the community. These event pictures are then uploaded into an event gallery created by the site staff.

"You've Scene" photos are user contributed and grouped by user created collections and galleries. Registered users are free to create collections which house galleries, which in turn house photos.

Here is a list of common spotted terms.

Avatar

A graphical image of a user, such as used in graphical instant messaging applications.

Collection

A collection is a user-defined group of galleries

Gallery

A gallery is a group of photos, which can be user created or staff created (events)

Photoblog

A photoblog (short for photo weblog) is a visual personal journal that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption.

Scrapbook

A scrapbook is a user-defined collection of favorite photos. Scrapbook photos can be from other users� photo collections as well.

We've Scene

Photos taken by our staff and grouped into galleries by event.

You've Scene

Photos, galleries and collections taken by users

To join the Tri-State Scene community and start uploading your pictures, you need to register with your online newspaper. To register:

1. Click the register for Free link in the top right-hand corner of the page
2. Follow the three easy steps outlined on the registration page and click the Create Account button at the bottom of the page
3. An email message will be sent to the e-mail address you supplied
4. Click on the link provided in the e-mail to validate your account

PLEASE NOTE - Until you've validated, you have 72 hours of temporary access

If you are already a registered user of the online newspaper, you can access Tri-State Scene once you login to the newspaper site. Click on the Tri-State Scene link on the newspaper's main page

You can access your user page at a special url. Your gallery page is available by typing in username.spotted.domain.com.

If you have spaces in your username, you must add "+" in some browsers in place of the spaces.

To change your account's username

1. Click on the My Stuff link at the top right-hand corner of the page
2. Click on the "My Profile" link located on the right side rail
3. From the resulting profile administration page, type your desired user name into the text field under the "Display Name" heading
4. Click the Save Change button to save and return to the collection�s page

To change your account's avatar

1. Click on the My Stuff link at the top right-hand corner of the page.
2. Click on the "My Profile" link located on the right side rail .
3. From the resulting profile administration page, click the "Choose File" button
4. Browse to the image on your local computer that you want to use as an avatar
5. Click the "Upload Avatar" button
6. Refresh the page and your new avatar should show as the "Current Image"

A collection is a group of galleries that you define. To create a collection:

1. Click on the My Stuff link at the top right-hand corner of the page.
2. You will be taken to the My Photos page, which is the default starting page for My Stuff.
3. Under the photos heading, click on the Create a new collection link.
4. You are now taken to the collection creation page where you can specify a Collection Name and a brief description.
5. Once you have entered a name and brief description, click the Create button.

Since a collection is made of a group of galleries, it can only be deleted after removing all of its galleries or moving the galleries to another collection. To delete a collection:

1. Click on the My Stuff link at the top right-hand corner of the page.
2. Click on the name of the collection you want to delete.
3. Click Collection Options from the menu on the collection administration page.
4. Click Delete Now from under the Delete This Collection section.
5. You will be taken back to the My Photos page.

As you develop collections, you may wish to change the name from the one originally created. To re-name a collection:

1. Click on the My Stuff link at the top right-hand corner of the page.
2. Click on the name of the collection you want to rename.
3. From the resulting collection administration page, click on the Collection Options link.
4. From the resulting page, edit the Name field.
5. Click the Save Changes button to save and return to the collection�s page.

A gallery is a group of photos that you define. To create a gallery:

1. Click on the My Stuff link at the top right-hand corner of the page.
2. You will be taken to the My Photos page, which is the default starting page for My Stuff.
3. Click on the link beside the collection name that says Add Gallery.
   You must create a collection before you can create a gallery.
4. You will be taken to the Gallery creation page where you can specific a name and up to 3 categories that describe the content of this gallery.
5. Click the Create button. You will then be taken to the galleries default page where you can upload pictures to that gallery.

You may wish to delete galleries on occasion. To delete a gallery:

1. Click on the My Stuff link at the top right-hand corner of the page.
2. Select the collection you want to delete the gallery from.
3. Click the check box next to the gallery name.
4. Select Delete Gallery from the Actions� drop-down menu.
5. A pop-up window will ask if you are sure you want to delete the file, select yes, and the gallery will be deleted.

Galleries can be moved as desired. To move a gallery:

1. Click on the My Stuff link at the top right-hand corner of the page.
2. Click on the name of the collection you want to move the gallery from.
3. Click the check box next to the Gallery name.
4. Select the name of the collection you want to move the gallery to from the Actions� drop-down menu.

Galleries can be renamed as desired. To re-name a gallery:

1. Click on the My Stuff link at the top right-hand corner of the page.
2. Click on the gallery you want to rename.
3. From the resulting gallery administration page, click on the Options link in the menu to the right of the gallery�s name.
4. From the resulting page edit into the Gallery Name field.
5. Click the Create button and the changes will be saved and you�ll be returned to the gallery administration page.

Upload your digital images by doing the following:

1. Click on the My Stuff link at the top right-hand corner of the page. You will be taken to the My Photos page, which is the default starting page for My Stuff.
2. Click on the collection you want to place the image(s) in. You will be taken to a page with all the galleries that are contained in the selected collection.
3. Select a gallery to place the image(s) by clicking on the name of the gallery or the default image if images already exist in that gallery. You will then be taken to a gallery administration page.
4. Select Upload from the menu to the right of the gallery name.
5. If you have Java enabled on your browser (checked in browser Internet options):
   You can simply drag and drop image files into the Java application (the area under the List, Details, Tree menu).
   Or you can utilize the Add Files button to the right.
   Once you have all the images added to the Java application, click the Upload Files button.
   You will then be taken back to the gallery administration page where in a few seconds the page will refresh itself with the images you have selected (or you can refresh the page manually by clicking F5).
6. If you do not have a Java-enabled browser:
   Click the link under the "Don�t Have Java" section that says "non-java upload page".
   For each image click the "Browse" button and select the file from your machine.
   Once you have selected your file(s), click "Upload Photos." or if you have more than one batch to upload, select "Upload, Then Add More.' You will then be taken back to the gallery administration page where in a few seconds the page will refresh itself with the images you have selected (or you can refresh the page manually by clicking on F5).
   Depending on your site guidelines, there may be an administrative hold on your images that will keep them from appearing till the site administrator approves them.

You may wish to delete pictures that are not the same quality as others or to make room for more images. To delete a picture:

1. Click on the "My Stuff" link at the top right-hand corner of the page.
2. Select the gallery you want to delete the picture from.
3. Click the check box under the picture you want to delete.
4. Select "Delete Image from Server" from the "Other actions:" drop-down menu.
5. A pop-up window will ask if you are sure you want to delete the file, select yes and the picture will be deleted.

Exchanging pictures among galleries can be accomplished easily. To move pictures:

1. Click on the "My Stuff" link at the top right-hand corner of the page.
2. Select the gallery you want to move the picture from.
3. Click the check box under the picture you want to move.
4. Select the name of the gallery you want to move the picture to from the "Move To�" drop-down menu.

To change the existing photo captions:

1. Click on the "My Stuff" link at the top right-hand corner of the page.
2. Select the gallery which contains the picture you want to rename.
3. From the resulting page, click on the picture you want to re-caption.
4. From the resulting page edit into the caption field.
5. Click the "Save" button to save and remain on that page, or click "Save and Return to Gallery" to save and return to the picture�s gallery.

Perfecting the order of your images is essential to telling a pictorial story. To reorder your pictures:

1. Click on the "My Stuff" link at the top right-hand corner of the page.
2. Click on the gallery which contains the pictures you want to reorder.
3. From the resulting gallery administration page, click on the "Reorder" link in the menu to the right of the gallery�s name.
4. The resulting page allows you to simply drag the pictures you want to reorder to the position you want to reorder them. For example you can drag the last picture in the gallery in front of the first picture in the gallery by clicking on the picture and holding down the mouse button (the left mouse button on a PC), then slide the pointer to the new location and release the button.
5. Click the "Save" button to save and return to the gallery�s administration page.

To rotate an existing photo:

1. Click on the "My Stuff" link at the top right-hand corner of the page.
2. Select the gallery which contains the picture you want to rotate.
3. From the resulting page, click the checkbox under the photo(s) you want to rotate
4. In the "Other Actions" drop down box select how you want to rotate the image:
   • -90° - turns the image 90 degrees counter clockwise
   • +90° - turns the image 90 degrees clockwise
   • 180° - turns the image 180 degrees

To create a scrapbook:

1. Click on the "My Stuff" link at the top right-hand corner of the page.
2. Click on the "My Scrapbooks" link located on the right side rail
3. Enter a name for the scrapbook in the text field under the "Create A New Scrapbook" heading
4. Click the "Create ScrapBook" button

To edit a scrapbook:

1. Click on the "My Stuff" link at the top right-hand corner of the page.
2. Click on the "My Scrapbooks" link located on the right side rail
3. Click the "Edit" link under the scrapbook you want to edit
4. From the resulting page, you can select "Reorder" to reorder the photos within your scrapbook or "Options" to change the name of the scrapbook

To delete a scrapbook:

1. Click on the "My Stuff" link at the top right-hand corner of the page.
2. Click on the "My Scrapbooks" link located on the right side rail
3. Click the "Edit" link under the scrapbook you want to edit
4. From the resulting page, click the "Delete This Scrapbook" link from under the "Other Options" heading

One of the great features of Spotted is that it allows you to purchase the professional photos from the "We Spotted" section of the site, as well as your own personal photos.

The only eligible pictures are:

• Pictures from the "We Spotted" section of the site
• Pictures that belong to you

To purchase a picture that either you or the Spotted staff have taken:

1. Click the "Buy this photo" link below any eligible picture
2. Select the print or product (you can get your photos on variety of things such as: mugs, magnets, t-shirts ornaments... scroll down the menu for all the available options)
3. To purchase multiple items you must:
   1. Select the first item from the list of prints and products
   2. Select the desired quantity from the drop down list
   3. Click the "Order Products" button
   4. Select options, if any
   5. From the Sub-Total page, click the "Return to Photo" link
   6. Click the "Buy this photo" link
   7. Select the print or product as before
   8. Repeat these steps for each item you wish to purchase for this picture
4. Click the "Check Out" button
5. If you have purchased items before
   • Enter your email address under the "Or are you returning?" heading
   • Enter your password password
   • Click the "Log In" button
6. If you are purchasing items for the first time through My Capture
   • Enter an email address
   • Create a password
   • Verify password
   • Click the "Continue" button
   • Complete the subsequent registration information
   • Read the Terms of Service Agreement and click the checkbox acknowledging that you have read the agreement
   • Click the "Submit" button
7. Confirm your billing and shipping address info (Click the "Edit" link to make changes)
8. Confirm the list of items you want to purchase (Click the "Edit Your Cart" link to make changes)
9. Select a shipping method by clicking the radio button beside the shipping method you want
10. Click the "Proceed to Final Step" button
11. Enter your credit card information
12. Click the "Complete Your Order" button

Before and After is a section of the site devoted to galleries showing a picture of something before and a picture after something has occurred.

When you make your gallery a 'Before and After' gallery, you are presented with a different set of categories to add your gallery to. You must add your gallery to at least one of these categories.

Remodeling part of your home? Take a picture before the process starts and a picture after the process ends, and upload them to a gallery in this section. You can even take pictures at every step along the way to show users the whole process.

Getting braces? A tattoo? New haircut? Restoring your car? Anything can be added to this section.

Don't see the category you want? Contact your site administrator to suggest one.