How to make media file link to "large" image instead of full size?

  • So this is a rehash of an issue that I’ve seen brought up numerous times in the past. (see: Previous Support Post)

    There are several posts with “solutions” on sites outside of WP.org, but they were all dealing with older versions of WP and don’t appear to work with 3.9.1 (that I currently run)

    Here’s the issue: You place an image file in your post as a Thumbnail or Medium or Small image, and you have it linked to the media file. That way users can click on the small image for a view of a larger version. And if you have a Lightbox plugin (as I do) then even better. The problem is that this links to the fullsize image uploaded. That may be a 8mp+ image, which is far too large for viewing on a screen and just wastes bandwidth.

    There should be an option to have links to the Medium or Large (or other author defined size.)

    Sure you can use one of the many plugins to reduce your media file sizes, but it’s nice to have the full size image on the server should you need it for a specific purpose. But for just a reader browsing your site, no need to have them load a 2/3/4/5mb size image.

    Really should be an integrated feature into WP, but I’m open to any plugins or hacks. I’ve searched high and low, unfortunately all the previous fixes don’t appear compatible with 3.9.1 (or even 3.5 in most cases.)

    Thanks in advance,
    Chad

Viewing 12 replies - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)
  • Thread Starter Chadwickhugh

    (@chadwickhugh)

    BUMP. Still looking around for a solution but coming up empty handed.

    Hi Chadwickhugh, I found this post looking for the solution to the same problem you expose here. Sadly, I haven’t found any.

    I just wanna add that this week I tested WordPress 4.0beta and the problem is still there, no aditional option in the dropdown menu.

    Hope we find a solution soon…

    I tried it from a thumbnail size of 150 x 150 to a 460 x 258 sized Image…It works perfect. I call 460 large.

    I could have gone bigger to 4608 X 2592 But as you saybandwidth would be crazy.

    it just works. Just ajust the sizes you need in your WordPress gallery.

    <a href="https://flowersnpalms.com/floraandfaunauk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/bcrose.jpg"><img src="https://flowersnpalms.com/floraandfaunauk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/bcrose-150x150.jpg" alt="Brother Cadfael Rose" width="150" height="150" class="aligncenter size-thumbnail wp-image-1796" /></a>

    See it works here:

    Thread Starter Chadwickhugh

    (@chadwickhugh)

    Luis, yeah I’m still looking for a solution.

    Julienne, I’m not sure you understand the issue. You just provided html for an 150px thumbnail linked to a fullsize image.

    Thread Starter Chadwickhugh

    (@chadwickhugh)

    And I should point out that some of those fixes I mention in my original post actually work if you are using gallery shortcode. Unfortunately that isn’t very helpful for a classic blog with individual images floated through the text (and thumbnails of different sizes)

    Hi Chadwickhugh. Just like you and Luis, I’m also looking for a solution to this issue.

    I’m currently trying to hunt down any hooks or filters that will enable the “Link To/Media File” URL field, and swap it out with the *Large* (or any other size) version of the image.

    With any luck, something may turn up… fingers crossed. ??

    Hi guys!
    Have you found any solution for this problem?

    Check out this plugin, it automatically resizes the “full-size” image to a resolution you can define in its settings. Solved this problem for me and is very easy to use. Be sure to backup first.

    Keep in mind that if you want to crop images in WordPress, the resolution might become much smaller than expected because the original full sized file will be gone.

    Thread Starter Chadwickhugh

    (@chadwickhugh)

    That plugin just resizes the original full size image.

    And no, unfortunately I have not found a proper solution to this yet.

    stevygee1987,
    Chadwickhugh is right. This is not a solution. For me it’s important to keep original image.

    Chadwickhugh,
    did you see that:
    https://wordpress.stackexchange.com/questions/3523/link-to-large-image-version-instead-of-original?answertab=votes#tab-top
    Actually, I don’t understand what they are talking about but may be there is a way to solve this problem?!

    I may have stumbled across a partial solution, but it doesn’t allow you to specify an image size so much as it simply displays the image as large as possible while still fitting on the user’s screen.

    Please understand I am relatively new to WP and prefer to use plugins over editing php files whenever possible. This may also only work in specific circumstances, as the prettyPhoto plugin appears to be integrated into my current theme, rather than installed as a discrete plugin.

    My issue was that linking to the original image displayed it at its full size, which is seriously problematic for large images.

    This is what worked for me:
    Make sure you have the prettyPhoto plugin installed.
    Add the image as normal to a post, linking to the media file, then edit it and go to the Advanced Options section. Enter “prettyPhoto” (no quotes) in the Link Rel field.

    That’s it. Worked for me. Hopefully it will help someone eles.

    Natai – I don’t think prettyPhoto is a solution – it seems to be just displaying the original image scaled (within the browser) to fit the screen.

    This topic is not about displaying an image, it’s about controlling the link that is used when a link is added to an image.

    Has anyone found a solution for this? It seems really strange that such an important feature is missing.

Viewing 12 replies - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)
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