How do screenshots and videos work exactly?

[voidCaster]

I've seen other users just drop a URL into their posts and it becomes a thumbnail with a clickable link. Both screenshots and videos, when launched from these links, open in a modal HTML element (without opening a new tab or window). Users are posting links directly to their uploaded Steam screenshots and videos come from youtu.be or steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/ -- nobody uses any markdown or tags around these URLs. It's all automatic.

Whenever I copy a URL from a screenshot and put it in a forum post, it's just an ugly long string of text (URL address plus HTTP GET parameters). It stays that way after I click submit. No link, no thumbnail, yet I think I'm doing exactly what everybody else does.

Video is even worse. I can't for the life of me figure out how to access or upload to steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/ -- documentation says I have to link my Steam account to a YouTube Channel (which I don't have and am not going to start) -- yet folks are posting videos just fine without a youtu.be or youtube.com link.

[Krash Megiddo]

Steam->Library->NMS->
share your screenshot pic and make it public
Steam->Username->Content
Click on your pic, then click on the URL at the top of your pic (not the address field URL)
Copy&Paste URL in your forum post and its embedded ^_^

[voidCaster]

What about video then? How do I access /sharedfiles/ to upload a video and post its url?

[Krash Megiddo]

Originally posted by tekmunkey:

What about video then? How do I access /sharedfiles/ to upload a video and post its url?

Maybe Jaggid knows. I always post my videos from youtube so its just the simple URL that becomes embedded.

[Jaggid Edje]

To bring Videos into Steam, you need a YouTube account with video content, and then you can import it into steam. All Steam does is link back to the YouTube video though, so there's no real benefit of bringing it over to Steam other than that it shows up in the community hub/feeds here.

Having it hosted here does make it a Steam link rather than a Youtube link, which is why you see people linking videos that don't have "YouTube" in their link. BUT, if you play the video, it's going to be a Youtube video.

You manage the linking to YouTube by going to your own profile, and then the "Videos" section. Linking to YouTube is a button at the top right, and that's also where you can import videos to Steam once an account is linked.

Edit: To set up a YouTube content account, if you want to do that, I think this is the link: https://studio.youtube.com/

As far as why you're links aren't working, it is just because you aren't using the correct urls that work for Steam's automatic embedding. Krash has explained how to do it for screenshots, and for videos on youtube you can just use the "copy" button right next to the Video URL that shows on your content.
Or use the same method as steam screenshots if you have imported them to your steam profile.

The method I use is a bit simpler than Krash's, btw. I just bring up my "Screenshots" or "Videos" page on my profile and then right click whichever video or image I want a link for, selecting "Copy Link". Works like a charm to make a perfect embedded link for the forums.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2965229579