Basic Image Editing

If you want to upload images to your website, they will probably need to be cropped or resized first. When you are replacing an existing photo, you should check the size of the existing photo and make the new photo the same size, in order to avoid distortions in the layout. You can find the size of the original image by looking at the html code on the webpage. The tag for the image will look something like this: <img src="images/imagename.jpg" alt="image description" width="401" height="313" />.

There are very many image editing programs available. If the only functions you will need are resizing, rotating and cropping, it isn't necessary to purchase an expensive professional program. Because there are so many programs we can't provide instructions for all of them! We have some basic instructions here for PhotoCropper, which we have chosen both because it is inexpensive and because it is available for both Windows and Macintosh. This program can be downloaded from http://www.bigsjake.com/products/photocropper/.

When you open the program, the first step is to locate the image on your computer and click open. You can set the height and width you want the image to be in the frame menu in the upper left corner. You can input custom sizes in the width and height boxes. When Fixed Frame Size is selected, the final picture will have the size you defined for the width and height. When Fixed Width is selected, the final image will have the width you select and the height will adjust proportionately.

If your image is not rightside-up, you can rotate it by clicking on the image menu at the top and choosing which direction to turn it.

If you want the entire image to fit in the final size you have chosen, select Fit to Frame in the Photo Menu. You can also crop the image to eliminate unnecessary parts. To do this, move the cursor over the preview image. The cursor will change to a hand image. If you hold down the shift key, the hand will change to a knife. Click and drag the cursor to draw a rectangle around the part of the image you want to keep. This rectangle will keep the same proportions you have specified in the frame menu. You can the move the image within the frame by dragging with the hand cursor.

Before you save your image, you should choose the jpeg quality. Move the slider to the left or right and observe the image preview. Choose the lowest quality that gives an acceptable image; this will give you a smaller file size, which will help your webpage download more quickly.

Finally, from the top menu, select File/Save As to save your image.