As flattering as it is when some website publishes images from Tripawds, this is flat out theft, especially when the source is not attributed. Just because an image can be found online, does not mean it is free to use. All Tripawds content is copyrighted and may not be used without permission. That’s why we recently disabled the contextual menu that pops up when right clicking on any image found on all Tripawds Blogs.
How to Disable Right-Click to Stop Copying of Web Images
Enough about why we’ve disabled the right clicking of images. How did we do it?
After posting on BlogPaws to ask what other bloggers do to prevent image theft, we discovered the No Right Click Images WordPress Plugin developed by Keith Graham.
This plugin works by inserting a bit of javascript in the footer of every page that steps through the tags on the page once loaded. It finds all images and sets them so the context menu won’t appear.
While it is impossible to totally prohibit people from stealing images off any web page, the No Right Click Images plugin will deter casual theft from those who do not want to take the extra steps of viewing source code or digging into the browser cache.
One thing overlooked in the installation instructions for this plugin is whether or not it works with WordPress Multisite. Well, here’s proof. By choosing to Network Activate the plugin, the script is loading on all Tripawds Blogs. No more pilfering of our Ruff Wear harness images by other sites that sell it!
The only drawback I see (so far) is that by disabling the menu that appears upon right-click, one cannot copy the link location – handy, for instance, when copying the link to something like the Tripawds e-book Three Legs & A Spare by right-clicking a banner, like this one…
Thankfully, this plugin only disables the contextual menu for images. Text links and other anchor tags are not affected, so right-clicking this link to Jerry’s blog will still let you copy and email someone the link to the latest Tripawds News!
What this means for Tripawds Users
For most Tripawds members, this function should go completely unnoticed. For those who may have noticed the new “No Right Click Images” tab in their dashboard’s Settings menu, no worries. There are no configuration options available for this plugin. Tripawds members who choose to disable the plugin on their blog, may do so from their Plugins menu.
If, however, you’ve made a habit of right-clicking images in your blog to get their file location so you can embed photos in your forum posts, here’s what you need to do now:
- Visit your blog’s Media Library
- Find the desired image and click “Edit”
- Copy the File URL
Any questions? All feedback is welcome about this plugin or our decision to activate it.
*NOTE: The No Right Click Images plugin functions fine, but has been disabled across the Tripawds network after receiving mixed feedback from members. See comments for details.