Number 312 - May 2009

Making a Digital Image Smaller Dimensions or File Size?
by Don Edrington
Other size issues concern images, where I'm often asked how to make a photo's size smaller. Well, this depends on whether one wants the physical dimensions of a picture smaller, such as, 4x6 inches instead of 9x12 inches, or wants the "byte"; size smaller so that the picture takes up less disk space. Well, I recommend Irfanview (free from www.Irfanview.com) to handle both these chores. When installing the application be sure to click "Yes" when asked if you want it to be your default program for opening and editing images. This will ensure that when an image's filename is double-clicked it will be displayed in Irfanview and be ready for physical resizing (which can include cropping) and for "byte" resizing.    If the picture is too large to fit comfortably in the Irfanview window, clicking the toolbar minus sign (-) will reduce it to a manageable size. To crop the picture, use your left mouse button to	draw a box around the area you want to preserve. Then click the toolbar scissors, followed by clicking the "Paste" icon. The cropped image will then appear for further editing and/or being saved.    To change a picture's physical dimensions click "Image" "Resize/Resample" and type in the preferred width/height numbers or choose a percentage of the existing size. To change the byte-size of a JPG, click on "File Save As" and give the picture a new name, whereupon the new file size will be approximately 80% of the original. However, this percentage of file compression can be adjusted to suit your particular needs.    Printed with permission of Don Edrington the Senior Tutor www.pcdon.com
Number 312 - May 2009