saving pictures

Hi all

How can I protect some of our pictures from being download and save onto someones desktop by right clicking on it....is there a feature in Dreamweaver that will allow me to do this.

Thanks

Manny

Hello Manny, I just tried this javascript out.  It will do as you want, but there will still be ways around it.  Hope this helps,

Best of luck,

Gary

The quick answer is that you can't. You can do some things to make it harder, but the very nature of how the web works means that the photo is downloaded to the persons' computer when viewing the page. Or they can save the page to their computer and will get the pictures as well.

Check Google for various Javascript techniques that you can use that will stop most casual downloading. You can disable right-clicking and/or put a popup that says this picture is protected/copyrighted and shouldn't be downloaded.

If you are that concerned about it, consider a digitial watermark in the file and/or putting a copyright notice into the picture itself. A digitial watermark makes it easier to prove someone took your file and a copyright notice, strategically placed, is difficult to remove without damaging the photo.

Hi, Rsmither.

rsmither:

consider a digitial watermark in the file

I've seen these and wonder how they are created. Is it just another image layer, or is there some unique way to apply digital watermarks? Some I've seen are really not that intrusive and do make the picture unusable in its current form for other people.

Thanks,

Sasha

Hi Manny,

Like Gary and rsmither have mentioned, you can use the various Javascript methods to disable the right-click feature, but there's no failsafe way to prevent someone from using your pictures.  Basically the rule of the game is to accept that anything you put on your site is accessible to the world.  If people have a problem putting text or pictures on their website because they fear their materials might get stolen, then simply don't put it up.

That said, the digital watermark idea is a good workaround solution.  It's not hard to create one that you can place in the background of your images, so at least your watermark is harder to remove if your pictures do get used by someone else.

Sasha, to answer your question:

You can create your own digital watermark in just a few steps using Photoshop.  I'm by no means a Photoshop guru, but there are a couple of different ways of making a watermark -- for example, by creating a "Pattern" in the program which you can then apply to your photo or graphic.  Basically the pattern is a separate image (which can be your signature, logo, etc.) that gets superimposed onto your original picture in Photoshop.  You can then use the program to control the opacity of the watermark -- for example, making it appear lighter in the background of your pic.  Pretty straightforward.

For those of you interested in adding a watermark to your own pictures, here are two different approaches for achieving this effect in Photoshop:

• Make Your Own Watermark with Photoshop
• Create a Custom Watermark in Photoshop (video tutorial)

Hope this helps,

Yann

This might be a good place to throw out a little copyright information.

The presence of a copyright symbol, or lack thereof, does absolutely nothing with regards to allowing or disallowing someone else to use it. In other words, just because the copyright symbol is NOT there, does not mean it is free to use. The rule of thumb is, if YOU did not create it, then YOU do not have the right to use it, unless you get specific permission to do so.

The copyright symbol's value comes in to play AFTER someone sues for copyright infringement and WINS. At the point of discussing damages, the violater is often found to be MORE wrong, if you can call it that, because they were put "on notice" that the creator of the image acknowleged copyright by placing the symbol.

I know it sounds trite, but many people feel that the lack of a symbol means it is fair game. This is patently false.

tclaremont:

The presence of a copyright symbol, or lack thereof, does absolutely nothing with regards to allowing or disallowing someone else to use it. In other words, just because the copyright symbol is NOT there, does not mean it is free to use. The rule of thumb is, if YOU did not create it, then YOU do not have the right to use it, unless you get specific permission to do so.

The copyright symbol's value comes in to play AFTER someone sues for copyright infringement and WINS. At the point of discussing damages, the violater is often found to be MORE wrong, if you can call it that, because they were put "on notice" that the creator of the image acknowleged copyright by placing the symbol.

Very good follow-up points, Tim!

This is another reason why I always make sure to have a copyright © symbol with the current year on each page of a website.  This is one way of protecting yourself against copyright infringement.  If you have a copyright on every page of your site, you're esentially protecting all the content on your site by saying that all of this material (text, graphics, and so on...) belongs to you -- and nobody else can use (read: steal) it without your permission.

Yann

Another comment, from a different angle on copyright or the lack thereof, snd viral marketing.

One of the most successful fundraising consultants that I know has used the lack of copyright on his site to promote himself, at http://www.raise-funds.com.

He encourages people to copy and reproduce his articles, with credit to him, as a way to promote himself. He says it has been the most successful marketing move that he has made.

His content is of high quality, so for people like myself who publish a regular newsletter, his site is a real resource. I do pass along the info, with his byline and link, and that goes out to a wider audience. He's retired now, but will answer email question, both from me and from others who email him, so again I know that I am passing along a good resource and am happy to use his content .

It's a take on viral marketing and in his case it worked because the content was excellent, and his credibility and credentials good.

Best wishes,

Sasha

That is a good way of looking at it Sasha.  I have never really been worried about sharing my photos.  I've had people comment on some pictures I took for the company website and asked if I would share.  I've given them the full size shot as I find it flattering that someone enjoys them. 

Since we've veered a little away from brute force protecting my work, to what license do I allow with my work.  Let's not forget creative commons

http://creativecommons.org/about/what-is-cc

Which is reverenced in this thread here on Tech soup

http://forums.techsoup.org/cs/forums/p/15079/97274.aspx#97274

Dave