# Relaxed image resizing (less params)
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/relaxed-image-resizing-less-params/95442
**Category:** Feature
**Created:** [August 23, 2018, 1:24am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/relaxed-image-resizing-less-params/95442 "2018-08-23T01:24:37Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Artoria2e5](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Artoria2e5)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2018, 1:24am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/relaxed-image-resizing-less-params/95442/1 "2018-08-23T01:24:37Z")
[The current resizing syntax](https://meta.discourse.org/t/66812) accepts a size argument in the form of `|WxH[, perc%]`, where the `WxH` part appears always madatory. However, folks (read: I) occasionally want to only specify either the width/height (maintaining ratio, of course) or the percentage only. Will it be a good idea to relax these constraints?
Here’s a list of possible extensions, meant to duplicate the functionalities of [MediaWiki’s image sizes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Extended_image_syntax#Size):
- `WxH` extensions
- `|W` (e.g. `![foo|220]`) can interpreted as a request to only add a `width` attribute to the `img` element generated.
- `|xH` (e.g. `![foo|x200]`) can interpreted as a request to only add a `height` attribute to the `img` element generated.
- _brainless scalng_: `|MWxH` (e.g. `![foo|M200x200]`) sets the maximum dimension of the image to 200x200px, but does not distort it when scaling. (Inline `style`?)
- usage note: on Wikipedia this is most useful for fitting images into a box of a given size, centered and padded automatically. There aren’t many fixed-size boxes in discourse, so it might be more useful making it an `img` with margin/padding added to reach the target size. Sounds a bit too complicated though.
- Most modern browsers does a proportional scaling with only one dimension given. Something along the lines of `img { width: auto; height: auto }` may be required for older stuff.
- Only specifying one dimension obviously can cause abrupt layout changes as the image gets loaded. To avoid it, maybe auto-rewrite the expression into the full `WxH` form on save?
- percent-only sizing (`![|50%]`)
- This is the same as `[|WxH,perc%]`, where `WxH` are the real dimensions of the image.
- Applying percentages to `img`’s dimension attributes is awful, so this must get rewritten into the full `WxH` form.
## Security considerations
- Expanding the expression into a usual `WxH` form involves opening an image and reading its dimensions. If there’re some vulnerbilities in your image-handling libraries, you may be doomed.
- Having the server fetch a remote image is a good way to expose the server IP, which might be hidden behind some sort of an anti-DDoS CDN. Maybe only rewrite the sizes on local imgs?
- Discourse already fetches remote images to generate a metadata section.
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2018, 3:16am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/relaxed-image-resizing-less-params/95442/2 "2018-08-23T03:16:47Z")
No, because images that change unpredictably in dimension are anathema to infinite scroll.