The Ultimate /SIL Guide

[AlexaNightfire]

The Ultimate /SIL Guide

What is /sil ?

Hello! If you are here, you probably want to learn more about /sil, or the sign painter plugin. Or maybe you’re just having issues with it. Well you’re in the right place, and hopefully this guide can help you!

/sil is available on our modded servers, Scourge and Survival. It can be used to paste an image from the Internet onto a sign. Pretty cool, right? Here’s an example of what /sil can do:

How you do this is simple. You have to find a direct image link. You can then write the following into chat while looking directly at the sign you are trying to paste the image on: /sil directimagelink

It should look something like this:

Once an image has been successfully pasted, it will show up on the sign , and you will get the following message in chat: "The image was successfully loaded to the sign."

How do I use /sil?

There are a few criteria that you have to follow in order to successfully paint the image.

1. You have to use a direct image link. This is a link on the Internet that directly links to the image. It has to end in .jpg or .png. If the link is too long, you may get an error.
I highly recommend using an image hosting service, such as Imgur, for sign painting. All you have to do is create a free account, upload the image, and then click on “copy link.” This ensures you are using a direct image link. Using a free hosting image service is also a great way to keep all your pictures and links together and organized.

2. The image has to be a .jpg or .png file, and has to be less than 1MB in size.

.jpg files are compressed and generally are small enough anyways to fit this criteria. Using any image program (like Preview on Mac or Paint on Windows), you should be able to easily save  and export almost any image as a .jpg file.

3. The dimensions of the image cannot be that far off from the ratio or size of the dimensions of the sign you are trying to paste on. This means images that are way too small, or too big may not work and give you errors. Trying to put a tiny square image on an XXL sign for example, might  give you errors. Sometimes, it might say in chat that the image pasting was successful, but the sign remains blank. This is usually due to the dimensions being too far off.

Thanks to @ScarletFox for this guide here, as well as  [STRS] Johnny Silverhand on RustLabs, I was able to find image sizes that work on different sizes.  I also added the minimum surface size required to place the sign.The minimum image sizes for each sign, in pixels, that I tried and tested to work are as follows:

• Single Sign Post: 256x128 Needs to be placed on ground (underwater and on rocks works, too)
• Double Sign Post: not currently working with /sil, works with /sili, Needs to be placed on ground
•  
• Small Wooden Sign: 256x128,  Needs low wall to place, can place on some rocks
• Medium Wooden Sign: 512x256, Needs low wall to place, can place on some rocks
• Large Wooden Sign:    512x256, Needs half wall to place, can place on some rocks
• Huge Wooden Sign:  1024x512,  Needs 2x2 full walls to place, does not like twig, can place on some rocks
•  
• Landscape Picture Frame: 512x256 Needs low wall to place, can place on some rocks
• Portrait Picture Frame:  256x512, Needs half wall to place, can place on some rocks
• Tall Picture Frame: 256x1024, Needs half+low wall to place, can place on some rocks
• XL Picture Frame: 1024x1024, Needs full wall to place
• XXL Picture Frame: 2048x1024 ,Needs two full walls to place
•  
• Large Banner Hanging: 128x256, Needs 3 full wall heights to place
• Large Banner on Pole: 128x256, Needs to be placed on ground
•  
• One Sided Town Sign Post:  512x256, Needs to be placed on ground (underwater and on rocks works, too)
• Two Sided Town Sign Post: 512x256, Needs to be placed on ground (underwater and on rocks works, too)
•  
• Spinning Wheel: 570x570 ,Needs low wall to place. Can be placed on some surfaces as well
• Two Sided Hanging Sign: 256x512, Needs full wall height to place
• Two Sided Ornate Hanging Sign: 512x256, Needs half wall height to place (but clips into ground)
•  
• Landscape Photo Frame: 256x128,  Needs low wall to place, can place on some rocks
• Large Photo Frame: 256x256, Needs half wall to place, can place on some rocks
• Portrait Photo Frame: 128x256 ,Needs low wall to place, can place on some rocks

Other tips and useful tidbits:

-If you have followed all the criteria and it still isn’t working, or you get the error “unable to find a sign” make sure you are standing close enough. Try also looking at it from different angles. Make sure there are no objects in the way, like furniture or lights. Eventually, it should work.

-If your signs seem to be disappearing after server restarts, try locking the sign first before pasting the image. This usually seems to fix this issue.

-I use a free photo editing service called Canva to make most of my graphics. While there are paid tiers, the free one is enough and very useful for making basic graphics, as well as changing the dimensions of an image. What I do is create a new image with the desired dimensions, drag or add the photo I am editing into this document, and adjust it to size as needed. I then save it as a .jpg file on my computer, which I then upload to Imgur for use.

-If you are having trouble placing the sign, try rotating the walls behind it. Some signs prefer to be placed on the soft side, some on the hard side. Most signs don’t like being placed on a mix of the two. Twig tends to be the trickiest material to paste signs on. If all else fails, tear the wall down, replace it, upgrade to stone, and try flipping the wall and placing the sign to find the side it sticks to easiest.

-As of right now, /sil works on all signs and frames, EXCEPT for neon signs, and double sign posts. Hopefully this will be a functionality that is added in the future!

-Large hanging banners are probably the most difficult sign to place, and require a wall of about 3 walls high. What I usually do is build supports up with netting and floor frames, place the sign, lock it, paste the image, and then remove the supports. An example is as follows:

Other similar cool plugins:

There is also a new offshoot of /sil called /sili. This pastes the image of whatever is equipped/in your hand to a sign. It’s an awesome and super quick way to, for instance, organize items in your base!

Another variation of /sil is /silt which lets you paste text directly on to a sign. For more information on /silt see here.

Closing Notes:

Hope this helps everyone in their journey to creating the next Guggenheim or MOMA, or maybe just decorating their base a little more. Just a reminder that any NSFW images must be kept in a locked base with no windows and no public access.

If there’s any further questions, or if I missed anything, please let me know in the comments!

[Darktweets]

Since you've recently mentioned /Silt, which can be used like this  [/silt "Text" FontSize #textcolor #backgroundcolor]
Using quotes allows for spaces in the text pasted on the sign. 

Here's an handy link to make colors or decide what you want.
If you scroll to the bottom, you'll see Sliders for RGB that you can use to make any color you want.

HTML Color Picker 

The basic colors [red, green, yellow, black] can be used as #red, #green, #yellow, #black, #cyan, etc.

[Lord McGuffin]

@Death can we pin this please? It becomes harder and harder to find through search every time someone adds a "SIL" topic.

[Death]

16 hours ago, Lord McGuffin said:

@Death can we pin this please? It becomes harder and harder to find through search every time someone adds a "SIL" topic.

[Lord McGuffin]

Ah finally, we get to see what you really look like!

I would have imagined a couple years younger, but I was pretty close.

[ツDeejayBolero]

How to fix /sil. It says succesfully loaded but i cant see it on my account. But other player can see what i put.

 

 

Edited July 10, 2023 by ツDeejayBolero

[TiffDust]

6 hours ago, ツDeejayBolero said:

How to fix /sil. It says succesfully loaded but i cant see it on my account. But other player can see what i put.

 

 

Hit Esc and in options there's an option to hide signs, turn it off and back on again. The signs should be visible for you.

[Daniplay]

How do I add a instant camera image onto a frame?

[epopp]

You can put photos in the following frames by pressing "E" on them and putting the photo into the inventory.

Landscape Photo Frame

Large Photo Frame

Portrait Photo Frame

Hope this helps!

[Lord McGuffin]

CORRECTION :
 

• Portrait picture frame dimensions are NOT 256x512. If you do that it'll squeeze your image vertically. Below, on the left is an image where I used the 256x512 dimensions, on the right I used 256x320. The one on the left got all squeezed up, the one on the right is showing as desired.
   
• 

 

Edited October 15, 2023 by Lord McGuffin

[ScarletFox]

Correct @Lord McGuffin FP have updated and changed the sizes of some of the signs  thank you so much for testing this