How to Download Images from the Internet

Downloading images from the Internet is easy. I know, I say a lot of things are easy, but it really is. ...especially compared to do-it-yourself brain surgery.

In Internet Explorer:

1. Right click on the image.
2. Choose the 'Save Picture As' option.
3. In the Dialog Box that pops up, choose what folder to save it in.

In Netscape:

1. Right click on the image.
2. Choose the 'Save Image As' option.
3. In the Dialog Box that pops up, choose what folder to save it in.

Mac users:

1. Click and hold on the graphic. A pop-up men of options will appear.
2. The Microsoft Intellimouse gives full-right click options.

AOL users:

If you've never changed your browser preferences, AOL will save the beautiful GIF and JPG images you find as compressed .art files. Not only are .art files useless to anyone NOT using AOL, but the image quality is greatly reduced. You'll need to find a place in your AOL browser preferences to not use the compressed image format. I used to give the instructions, but they change too often for me to keep up with as a non-AOL user, so if you can't find where to make that change just do a Google search, plenty of other AOL users will have the how-to online for you.

NOTES

Intellectual property is the same on the Internet as it is in other media. That means almost everything is Copyright protected. It would be illegal to use whatever images you want in whatever way you want. Be sure you have permission before using someone else's graphics. The legal expenses, fines, and penalties can ruin your life unless you're wealthy - it's not worth it to steal a simple graphic!

Some sites, like my original BoogieJack.com site or my i-Backgrounds.com site offer images you can use legally. As the copyright holder, I still retain the copyrights, but allow you a conditional and nonexclusive 'license' to use the images. As long as you comply with the Terms of Use you're free to use the images. A copyright holder can revoke this license at any time by notifying you that you may no longer use the images. This would usually only happen if you were found violating the Terms of Use. When in doubt, just ask first.

Furthermore, in most cases, you may only use images from graphic archive sites like mine in the design of your site, not to build image galleries of your own. Some sites declare the images they offer are in the public domain. If so, you can use probably them to create your own image archive -- but be careful about public domain images too. The person that says they are public domain may have stolen them, may be ignorant of the legalities involved, or was mislead or otherwise confused or incorrect about the state of copyright.