# Quick image resizing and markdown image dimensions
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/quick-image-resizing-and-markdown-image-dimensions/66812
**Category:** Announcements
**Created:** [2017年七月25日 21:29 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quick-image-resizing-and-markdown-image-dimensions/66812 "2017-07-25T21:29:52Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [2017年七月30日 07:49 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quick-image-resizing-and-markdown-image-dimensions/66812/21 "2017-07-30T07:49:29Z")
> [@codinghorror](#):
>
> `e76d2a89947069f0ce624d5989fa20c47a13d383`
> `7v26IM9P2kmVepd7ZxuXyQ`
I think the encoding difference is pretty obvious, it’s almost 2x as large using hex encoding vs. base64 encoding, for the same 128-bit GUID.
---
### Author:  [@gerhard](https://meta.discourse.org/u/gerhard)
#### Post date: [2017年七月30日 08:31 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quick-image-resizing-and-markdown-image-dimensions/66812/22 "2017-07-30T08:31:38Z")
Google Photos also switched to base64 (?) encoding some time ago for shared photos… Shorter URLs, but still as secure as the long ones.
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### Author:  [@Tom\_Newsom](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Tom_Newsom)
#### Post date: [2017年八月3日 10:28 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quick-image-resizing-and-markdown-image-dimensions/66812/23 "2017-08-03T10:28:39Z")
I know the technical reasons so I’m not expecting an easy solution, but I do find it sad that in such forward-looking software as Discourse, computerese like this is visible to the user at all.
``
vs.
``
is neither here nor there, really.
---
### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [2017年八月3日 10:29 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quick-image-resizing-and-markdown-image-dimensions/66812/24 "2017-08-03T10:29:45Z")
It is 80% file name though. So that is the reality. Count the chars!
---
### Author:  [@elijah](https://meta.discourse.org/u/elijah)
#### Post date: [2017年八月3日 21:18 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quick-image-resizing-and-markdown-image-dimensions/66812/25 "2017-08-03T21:18:02Z")
> [@codinghorror](#):
>
> Count the chars!
The hostname is 41 chars, and the image ID 40 chars in the first example. The full URL from `//` to `.png` is 104 chars. I bet you could shorten that URL a lot with a suitable CNAME. Register a WX.YZ host and assign two or three character labels there:
```plaintext
//cdck-file-uploads-global.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/meta/
//dm.cd.cs/
```
44 versus 11.
(Of course, Czechoslovakia doesn’t register hostnames anymore.)
---
### Author:  [@sam](https://meta.discourse.org/u/sam)
#### Post date: [2017年八月3日 21:24 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quick-image-resizing-and-markdown-image-dimensions/66812/26 "2017-08-03T21:24:42Z")
I already mentioned I can make image:// work 🍭
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [2017年八月3日 21:31 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quick-image-resizing-and-markdown-image-dimensions/66812/27 "2017-08-03T21:31:33Z")
``
is 134 characters, of which
`//cdck-file-uploads-global.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/meta/original/3X/e/7/e76d2a89947069f0ce624d5989fa20c47a13d383.png`
is a whopping **105 characters**. That means 78.3% of the string is the filename ❗ Without the filename altogether, the markup is
`![fat-city-apple-ii|690x473]()`
with the smallest _possible_ URL path it would be **78 characters**
``
which is a reduction of 57% in size!
That assumes, however, that:
1. we can map to a tiny 2-char domain `dm.cd.cs`
2. we can use `o` instead of `original` in the path
3. we can switch to base64 encoding instead of hex encoding for the GUID in the filename
cc @zogstrip
---
### Author:  [@sam](https://meta.discourse.org/u/sam)
#### Post date: [2017年八月3日 21:36 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quick-image-resizing-and-markdown-image-dimensions/66812/28 "2017-08-03T21:36:28Z")
> [@codinghorror](#):
>
> [fat-city-apple-ii|690x473](https://dm.cd.cs/o/3X/e/7/7v26IM9P2kmVepd7ZxuXyQ3.png)
image://3/7v26IM9P2kmVepd7ZxuXyQ3.png
works without any changes to storage, and a fairly straight forward change to the md pipeline
No magic domains needed.
---
### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [2017年八月3日 21:39 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quick-image-resizing-and-markdown-image-dimensions/66812/29 "2017-08-03T21:39:08Z")
Nice, let’s make that so when you are back, then! 👍
``
vs
``
---
### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [2017年八月21日 18:48 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quick-image-resizing-and-markdown-image-dimensions/66812/30 "2017-08-21T18:48:33Z")
@sam is working on this now so we should be able to get
`image://vaLFE+HaBPe06ZIwhR6iqv64zE4.png`
vs
`//cdck-file-uploads-global.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/meta/original/3X/d/8/d813b1138aa816ad87eeeebf55af33ebf3c66cf0.png`
which I, at least, view as a substantial quality of life improvement for day to day image handling in posts.
(note that [we’ll need to use **base62**](https://github.com/steventen/base62-rb), to avoid the `/` and `+` chars in URLs though)
---
### Author:  [@riking](https://meta.discourse.org/u/riking)
#### Post date: [2017年八月21日 23:07 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quick-image-resizing-and-markdown-image-dimensions/66812/31 "2017-08-21T23:07:45Z")
> [@codinghorror](#):
>
> (note that we’ll need to use base62, to avoid the / and + chars in URLs though)
Just use URL-safe base64 - uses `-` for 62 and `_` for 63. [RFC 4648 - The Base16, Base32, and Base64 Data Encodings](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4648#section-5) [base64 package - encoding/base64 - Go Packages](https://godoc.org/encoding/base64#RawURLEncoding)
---
### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [2017年八月21日 23:18 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quick-image-resizing-and-markdown-image-dimensions/66812/32 "2017-08-21T23:18:30Z")
Cool up to @sam how he wants to handle it, then. Not a huge fan of `-` and `_` both (potentially) being in URLs though.
---
### Author:  [@sam](https://meta.discourse.org/u/sam)
#### Post date: [2017年八月22日 21:24 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quick-image-resizing-and-markdown-image-dimensions/66812/33 "2017-08-22T21:24:20Z")
This is now implemented, I opted for base62 cause it is super friendly on the eyes. I could have allowed `$` and `*` or some other stuff in the URL to shorten it some more and bring it up to base64 but honestly I feel base62 is good enough ™
```
```
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [2017年八月23日 00:00 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quick-image-resizing-and-markdown-image-dimensions/66812/34 "2017-08-23T00:00:44Z")
Very nice!
``
---
### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [2017年八月23日 00:08 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/quick-image-resizing-and-markdown-image-dimensions/66812/35 "2017-08-23T00:08:30Z")
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