When using bb code to link to image help at http:// locations (and possible without a www. address) the image link doesn't work, you see the raw BB code.

Is this correct, or can such links be made to work?

SO - https or http finally? https should work.

It's by now forbidden to use apostrophes/quotes in images description. Most common reason of why image can't be inserted.
The image's URL itself can not contain specific symbols.

If you would provide the code you're trying to insert, I could clarify more.

[imgs=https://photos-5.dropbox.com/t/0/AADLffu8f_8esY1Unf0ceZ9z63t_UMcgWOSQuyJlBhV9dQ /12/2169011/jpeg/32x32/3/_/1/2/2013_BOG-1.jpg/E2PmMCM-xp9g9waizQJhenpAodtS5fegMM08dvG 8WPs?size=1280x960]Here[/imgs]

But, I see characters that are probably not allowed, and it doesn't end in .jpeg, so I guess that's bad too...

:o(

This is too suspicious, not formatted URL for just an image... of course, it won't pass.

The most suspicious part is that the URL doesn't end with an image extension.
It doesn't end with .jpeg, it ends with regular .jpg; but even if it would end with .jpeg, it's allowed.

What you see in this abnormally long part in the URL, is kind of virtual or even physical folders structure. If you analyze it carefully, you will see it has a lot of internal folders separated by slash; and this path, finally, leads to 2013_BOG-1.jpg ('jpeg' appears to be folder's name); BUT after this filename, there is another string of params added, consisting of some encoded string and the 'size' var.

Obviously, any image you refer in miniBB, should end with an extension and should not have any kind of params or vars followed after. This is a security rule. I guess, if you just provide the URL ending with extension (removing the params part), it should work.

I.e. it should be this URL:

https://photos-5.dropbox.com/t/0/AADLffu8f_8esY1Unf0ceZ9z63t_UMcgWOSQuyJlBhV9dQ/12/2169011/jpeg/32x32/3/_/1/2/2013_BOG-1 .jpg

Or, if it will not, then it's not possible to insert such an image in miniBB.

Hi Paul - it's a DropBox held image, and that's the format they use... I guess you just can't use DropBox to hold images you want to link to.

Steve

If you want to give users possibilities to provide suspicious image URLs, you have all ways to do that, it's open source program :-)
Just edit bb_codes.php and remove this portion of regular expression:

from all the codes of enCodeBB() function following in the "external images" section.

We will not allow such URLs in the default release.

P.S. DropBox guys might be more smart to provide valid URLs for their content... but it's not our problem to fix their defects, don't you agree?..