Copyright: Copyright © 1998 GST Technology Ltd
Citation: Copyright © 1998 GST Technology Ltd


Click on this tab to select the Crop tab card and bring it to the front. With this tab card you can crop an area of the original image to work on.


Displays information about how to crop an image.


Click on this to undo any changes you have made using this tab card. To undo all of the changes you have made and restore the image to its original state, select Undo All from the Edit menu.


Click on this to view information about using this tab card.


Displays the physical size, number of colours and file size of the original image.


Displays the physical size, number of colours and file size of the preview image.


Displays the original image so that you can easily see what effects your changes have made. If you have cropped an image, the cropped original image appears here.


Displays a preview of the image with the changes you have made.


Use PhotoFX to edit your images to create the effect you want.


Click on this tab to select the Brightness and Contrast tab card and bring it to the front. With this tab card you can lighten or darken the image or change the contrast between the light and dark pixels in the image.


Use this group box to lighten or darken the image.


A pictorial representation of the effect that darkening the image may have.


Drag the slider to the left to darken the image. Drag the slider to the right to lighten the image.


A pictorial representation of the effect that lightening the image may have.


Use this group box to change the contrast of the image.


A pictorial representation of the effect that reducing the contrast may have.


Drag the slider to the left to reduce the contrast of the image. Drag the slider to the right to increase the contrast of the image.


A pictorial representation of the effect that increasing the contrast may have.


Click on this tab to select the Focus and Texture tab card and bring it to the front. With this tab card you can sharpen or soften the image or make the texture smoother or more grainy.


Use this group box to soften or sharpen the focus of the image.


A pictorial representation of the effect that softening the focus of the image may have.


Drag the slider to the left to soften the focus of the image. Drag the slider to the right to sharpen the focus of the image.


A pictorial representation of the effect that sharpening the focus of the image may have.


Use this group box to change the texture of the image.


A pictorial representation of the effect that smoothing the texture of the image may have.


Drag the slider to the left to smoothen the texture of the image. Drag the slider to the right to make the texture of the image more grainy.


A pictorial representation of the effect that making the texture more grainy may have.


Click on this tab to select the Rotate and Flip tab card and bring it to the front. With this tab card you can rotate the image by any amount or flip it across a vertical or horizontal axis.


Use this group box to rotate the image.


Click on this to rotate the image by 45 degrees to the left.


Click on this to rotate the image by 45 degrees to the right.


Click on this to rotate the image by 90 degrees to the left.


Click on this to rotate the image by 90 degrees to the right.


Type the amount that you want to rotate the image by in this box or use the up and down arrows to the right of the box to select the amount.


Use this group box to flip the image either vertically or horizontally.


Click on this to flip the image horizontally across a vertical axis.


Click on this to flip the image vertically across a horizontal axis.


Click on this to select the Size tab card and bring it to the front. With this tab card you can determine the physical size of the image.


Use this group box to specify the size of the image.


Type the width that you want the image to be in this box or use the up and down arrows to the right of the box to select the width.


Type the height that you want the image to be in this box or use the up and down arrows to the right of the box to select the height.


Check this check box to make sure that the image maintains its aspect ratio. If you change the height, the width will change automatically to maintain the image proportions and vice versa.


Use this group box to select the units of measurement you want to use.


Select Pixels to specify the size of the image in pixels.


Select Inches to specify the size of the image in inches.


Select Centimetres to specify the size of the image in centimetres.


Click on this to select the Colours tab card and bring it to the front. With this tab card you can change the number of colours in the image or convert it to black and white.


Use this group box to specify whether you want the image to be in colour or black and white.


Select Colour to format the image in colour.


Select Black and white to format the image in black and white.


Use this group box to specify the number of colours in the image.


A pictorial representation of the effect that reducing the number of colours in the image may have.


Drag the slider to the left to reduce the number of colours in the image. Drag the slider to the right to increase the number of colours in the image.


A pictorial representation of the effect that increasing the number of colours in the image may have.


Click on this to check if any other scanners are available. This option is disabled if none or only one scanner is installed.


Click on this to start scanning. This option is disabled if no scanner is installed. The scanning options available (e.g. speed, colour) will depend on your scanner.


Displays the name of the current scanner or informs you that you are not connected to a scanner.


Click on this to close this dialog box without scanning a picture.


Use this dialog box to scan an image into PhotoFX.


Print dialog box


Displays the name of the currently selected printer.


Click on this to drop down a list of available printers.


Click on this to change the properties of the selected printer.


Type the number of copies of the image you want to print, or use the up and down arrows to change the number.


Check this box to print each copy of the image in the page order 1, 2, 3…1, 2, 3… rather than 1, 1…2, 2…3, 3…etc. the option is disabled if you are printing only one copy of a single page image.


Click on this to print at actual size.


Click on this to tile your image across the page.


Drag the slider to the left to reduce the spacing between the photos. Drag the slider to the right to increase the spacing between the photos.


Click on this to scale your image up or down, to fit the page. The original aspect ratio is maintained.


Displays a print preview using the currently selected print options.


Lets you move objects to and from different programs. Click and hold down the left mouse button while you drag the object to the position you want. To place the object, release the button.


A bar that appears at the bottom and/or right edge of a window whose contents are not entirely visible.


A picture that is made up of individual dots created with a paint program or with a scanner.


A list of available commands and actions in PhotoFX.

Menu names are displayed in the menu bar near the top of the PhotoFX window.


A temporary holding place for a picture that has been cut or copied.


A window used to supply information to PhotoFX.

When a dialog box is displayed, all interaction with PhotoFX must be through the dialog box.


Part of a structure for organising your files on a disk. A folder can contain files and other folders called subfolders.


A file stored on hard or floppy disk, or other media.


A key or key combination that you press to carry out a command or action.

If a menu command has a keyboard shortcut, the key combination is listed to the right of the command name in the menu.


To save a picture onto the Clipboard without removing it from the PhotoFX window, so that it can be transferred to another location.


To insert the contents of the Clipboard into PhotoFX.


The horizontal bar displaying the names of PhotoFX’s menus.

It is displayed below the title bar.


A bar at the foot of the PhotoFX window giving you hints and tips as you work.


A standard windows menu displayed by clicking on the icon at the top left of a window. By using Control menu commands you can restore, move, size, minimise, maximise and close the window.


What is PhotoFX?

PhotoFX is a utility that allows you to open and edit images. With PhotoFX you can:

Crop an image to work with only a portion of the original image.

Change the size of the image.

Change the brightness and contrast of the image.

Refocus the image and change its texture.

Rotate and flip the image.

Change the number of colours in the image or convert it to black and white.

You can then save or copy your image and use it in your documents. You can view both the original image and a preview of the changes in the window, so that you can easily see the effect of your changes.

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File menu

Click on the menu command for which you want Help.

Hint:

When you highlight a menu command, the information line displays a prompt for how to use that command.

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Edit menu

Click on the menu command for which you want Help.

Hint:

When you highlight a menu command, the information line displays a prompt for how to use that command.

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Help menu

Click on the menu command for which you want Help.

Hint:

When you highlight a menu command, the information line displays a prompt for how to use that command.

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Click on this menu command to open the image that you want to edit. The Picture Browser appears.


Click on this menu command to save the image with its changes without giving it a new name.


Click on this menu command to save the image with its changes under a different name. The Save As dialog box appears.

Select the drive and folder where you want to save the image. Select the file format you need and type a name for the image.


Click on this menu command to scan a picture into PhotoFX. The Scan Picture dialog box appears.

Select the scanner you want to use. Click on Acquire to display the scanner's Twain dialog box and begin scanning.


Click on this menu command to print the image. The Print dialog box appears, from which you can select all your printing options.


Click on this menu command to open the Picture Browser and load a photo into PhotoFX.


These commands are the filenames of the most recently opened images. Select the image you want to open and after a few moments it will appear in the PhotoFX window.


Click on this menu command to exit PhotoFX.


Click on this command to copy the preview image onto the Clipboard, ready to be pasted into your documents.


Click on this menu command to paste the contents of the Clipboard into PhotoFX, ready to be edited.


Click on this menu command to undo all the changes you have made.


Click on this menu command to display the Help Topics dialog box, from which you can view help about using PhotoFX and search for specific information.


Opening an image
To open an image

1.	From the File menu, select Open. The Open dialog box appears.

2.	Select the drive and folder where the image you want to open is stored.

3.	Select the image you want to open.

4.	Click on Open.

The original image and a preview appear in PhotoFX, ready for you to make your changes.

Note:

You can also open a recently used image by selecting its filename from the File menu.

If you are attempting to open a large image, you may find that you need a large amount of free disk space on your hard disk to complete the action successfully.

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Scanning an image into PhotoFX
To scan an image into PhotoFX

1.	From the File menu, select Scan Picture. The Scan Picture dialog box appears.

2.	The default scanner is listed in the Scanner group box. Click on Select to see any other installed scanners and select the one you want.

3.	Click on Acquire to start scanning.

Note:

Every scanner works differently. For detailed instructions about the scanning process, refer to the documentation that came with your scanner.

If you are attempting to scan a large image into PhotoFX, you may find that you need a large amount of free disk space on your hard disk to complete the action successfully.

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Dragging-and-dropping images into PhotoFX
To drag-and-drop an image into PhotoFX

1.	Make sure that the PhotoFX window and the program that you want to drag-and-drop the image from are visible on your desktop.

2.	Position the cursor over the image you want to drag-and-drop.

3.	Press and hold down the left mouse button.

4.	Drag the image until it is over the PhotoFX window.

5.	Release the mouse button. The image appears in the PhotoFX window.

Note:

You can also drag-and-drop images from Windows Explorer.

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Loading an image from the Picture Browser
To load an image from the Picture Browser

1.	From the File menu, select Picture Browser. The Picture Browser opens and appears on your desktop.

2.	From the Picture Browser, select the picture you want.

3.	Drag-and-drop the picture into PhotoFX. The image is sent to PhotoFX and appears in the Original and Preview areas.

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Saving your changes
To save your changes

1.	From the File menu, select Save As. The Save As dialog box appears.

2.	Select the drive and folder where you want to save the image.

3.	From the Save as type drop-down list box, select the file format that you want to save the image as.

4.	Type a name for the image in the File name text box.

5.	Click on OK.

The image is saved and can be opened again to edit further or to use in your documents.

Note:

You can overwrite the original image by selecting Save from the File menu.

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Copying an image onto the Clipboard
To copy an image onto the Clipboard

From the Edit menu, select Copy.

The image is copied onto the Clipboard, ready for you to paste it into your documents.

Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl C

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Pasting an image from the Clipboard
To paste an image from the Clipboard

From the Edit menu, select Paste.

The image is pasted into PhotoFX, ready for you to make your changes.

Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl V

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Deskewing a scanned image
To deskew a scanned image

You may find that when you scan an image into PhotoFX, the image appears at an angle. You can correct this and straighten the image in PhotoFX.

1.	Select the Rotate and Flip tab.

2.	In the degrees spin box, type the amount that you need to rotate the image by to straighten it. You can type a negative amount in this box.

3.	When the image in the Preview area is straight, press and hold down the left mouse button and drag the image into the Original area. The preview image is copied into the original area.

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Cropping an image
To crop an image

1.	Select the Crop tab.

2.	In the Original area, position the cursor over the original image so that the cursor changes shape to a pair of scissors.

3.	Press and hold down the left mouse button.

4.	Drag the scissors so that they mark the area you want to crop.

5.	Release the mouse button. The cropped area appears in the Preview area.

Note:

To restrain the cropped area to a square, hold down Ctrl or Shift as you drag the scissors.

You can adjust the size of the cropped area by dragging the border edges on the original image.

You can also adjust the size of the cropped area using the arrow keys. Hold down Shift as you press the arrow keys to move the left and top edges of your cropped area, hold down Ctrl as you press the arrow keys to move the right and bottom edges of your cropped area.

Press the arrow keys on their own to move the cropped area over the original image.

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Resizing an image
To resize an image

1.	Select the Size tab.

2.	From the Units group box, select the units you want to use. You have the choice of:

Centimetres

Inches

Pixels

3.	In the Width box, type the width you want the image to be, or use the up and down arrows on the right of the box to increase and decrease the amount.

4.	In the Height box, type the height you want the image to be, or use the up and down arrows on the right of the box to increase and decrease the amount.

The changes are made in the Preview area.

Note:

To maintain your image’s proportions, check the Preserve image proportions check box.

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Changing the brightness and contrast
To change the brightness and contrast

1.	Select the Brightness and Contrast tab.

2.	In the Brightness group box, drag the slider to make the image lighter or darker.

3.	In the Contrast group box, drag the slider to increase and decrease the contrast of the image.

The changes are made in the Preview area.

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Changing the focus and texture
To change the focus and texture

1.	Select the Focus and Texture tab.

2.	In the Focus group box, drag the slider to sharpen or soften the focus of the image.

3.	In the Texture group box, drag the slider to make the image smoother or more grainy.

The changes are made in the Preview area.

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Rotating and flipping an image
To rotate and flip an image

1.	Select the Rotate and Flip tab.

2.	In the Rotate group box, type the angle of rotation in the degrees box, or use the up and down arrows on the right of the box to increase and decrease the angle.

You can also click on one of the rotate tools in the Rotate group box.

3.	In the Flip group box, click on either the Flip Vertically or Flip Horizontally tool.

The changes are made in the Preview area.

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Changing the colours
To change the colours of an image

1.	Select the Colours tab.

2.	In the Format group box, select either Colour or Black and White.

3.	In the Quality group box, drag the slider to select the number of colours you want.

The changes are made in the Preview area.

Note:

The number of colours available depends on the number of colours in the original image and the changes you have made to the image in PhotoFX. You may find that after making some changes to the image, you can increase the number of colours in the image.

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Undoing your changes
To undo your changes

To undo all the changes you have made:

From the Edit menu, select Undo All. All the changes you have made are undone and the preview is returned to the same state as the original.

To undo the changes on each tab:

Click on the Undo tool. The changes you have made on that tab card are undone.

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Exiting PhotoFX
To exit PhotoFX

To exit PhotoFX, do one of the following:

Click on the Close button in the top right-hand corner of the window.

From the File menu, select Exit.

From the Control menu, select Close.

Double-click on the Control-menu icon.


Keyboard Shortcuts

If you are familiar with Windows, you will already know that there are many keyboard equivalents to using a mouse.

Press	To

Ctrl  O	Open an existing image; File menu.

Ctrl  S	Save your changes; File menu.

Ctrl  C	Copy the image onto the Clipboard; Edit menu.

Ctrl  V	Paste the contents of the Clipboard into PhotoFX; Edit menu.

F1	Open the Help; Help menu.

Ctrl  P	Print the existing image; File menu.


The PhotoFX window

Click on an area of the PhotoFX window below to popup a description of the selected area.

The PhotoFX window has context-sensitive Help, right-click on an area of the window to view this Help.

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PhotoEditor window


File: Drops down the File menu, from which you can open, save and print an image and exit PhotoFX.


Edit: Drops down the Edit menu, from which you can copy and paste images and restore your preview image to its original state.


Help: Drops down the Help menu, from which you can view Help on PhotoFX.


Crop: Displays the Crop tab card, through which you can crop the image down to the size and area you want.


Size: Displays the Size tab card, through which you can determine the physical size of the image.


Brightness and Contrast: Displays the Brightness and Contrast tab card, through which you can determine the brightness and contrast of your image.


Focus and Texture: Displays the Focus and Texture tab card, through which you can change the focus and texture of your image.


Rotate and Flip: Displays the Rotate and Flip tab card, through which you can rotate and flip your image.


Colours: Displays the Colours tab card, through which you can change the colour of your image to either black and white or colour and change the number of colours.


Original area: Displays the original image, so that you can compare your changes to the original.


Preview area: Displays the preview of the image with the changes you have made.


Information line: Displays information about PhotoFX and the actions you are performing.


Title bar: Displays the name of the program.


Menu bar: Displays the PhotoFX menus. Click on a menu name to drop-down a list of commands.


Maximise button: Click on this button to increase the PhotoFX window to its maximum size.

When you maximise the PhotoFX window the Maximise button is replaced with a Restore button that contains two overlapping squares. Click on the Restore button to return the window to its previous size.


Minimise button: Click on this button to reduce the PhotoFX window to an icon.

When you reduce PhotoFX to an icon it continues to run but its window does not take up space on your desktop.


Close button: Click on this button to close the PhotoFX window.


Original: Displays the physical size, number of colours and file size of the original image.


Preview: Displays the physical size, number of colours and file size of the preview image.


Tab card: Displays a number of options, depending on which tab you have selected.


Control-menu icon: Click on this to display the PhotoFX Control menu. By using Control menu commands you can restore, size, move, maximise, minimise and close the PhotoFX window.


Information button: Click on this button to display information about the tab card that is currently selected.


Undo tool: Click on this tool to undo the changes you have made to the image with the current tab card.


Cropping information
Crop an image if:

You want to work in greater detail on a specific area.

You want to reduce the file size and speed up performance.


Resizing information
Resizing an image

Change the size of the image so that it is saved or printed at a specific size.

If you increase the physical size (as measured in cm or inches) of the image, the dpi (dots per inch) values will decrease from the original values. If you reduce the size of the image, the dpi values will increase.

Use the pixel setting to change the number of pixels in the image, increasing the number of pixels increases the amount of disk space and memory the image occupies.

Note:

If you have not checked the Preserve image proportions check box, changing the physical size will also change the number of pixels to maintain the optimum dpi and vice versa.


Brightness and contrast information
You may want to change the brightness if:

You want to change the lightness or darkness of an image.

You scanned the image and some of the colour information was lost.

You may want to change the contrast if:

You want to bring out more textural details by increasing the difference between areas of light and dark colours.

You scanned the image and some of the colour information was lost.


Focus and texture information
You may want to change the focus if:

You want to soften an image to give it a blurred or softer effect.

You scanned the image and it appears 'out of focus' or slightly blurred.

Note:

Sharpening the focus increases the contrast between light and dark pixels in an image and softening the focus reduces the contrast.

You may want to change the texture if:

You want the image to appear more grainy or rough.

You want the image to appear smoother.


Rotating and flipping information
Rotating and flipping

When you rotate an image it appears as if you have spun the image around a centre point.

When you flip an image it appears as if you have mirrored it over a horizontal or vertical axis.

Note:

If you rotate an image by anything other than multiples of 90 degrees, extra space is introduced around the image.


Colour information
Changing the colour

You may want to change the number of colours in an image if the image does not use all the colours currently available and you want to reduce the file size.

You can change the colours to black and white or drag the slider to select one of the colour options available.

The number of colour options available depends on the number of colours in the original image.

If you have made some changes to the image in PhotoFX, you may find that you can increase the number of colours from the original.


Additional information about pixels and the dpi value

Every image is made up from a number of tiny dots or pixels. The dpi (dots per inch) value of an image refers to the number of dots or pixels there are in one inch of the image.

Most users will not need to change the number of pixels in an image, but PhotoFX provides the opportunity for its advanced users to change these settings.

The way the changes you make on the Size tab card affect the image depends on whether the Preserve image proportions check box is checked.

With the Preserve image proportions check box checked:

Changing the physical size (as measured in cm or inches) of the image will not affect the number of pixels and vice versa.

If you increase the physical size of the image, the dpi will decrease as there will be the same number of dots or pixels in a larger area.

If you decrease the physical size of the image, the dpi will increase as there will be the same number of dots or pixels in a smaller area.

Without the Preserve image proportions check box checked:

Changing the physical size of the image will also change the number of pixels in the image. This keeps the height to width ratio for the physical size the same as the height to width ratio for the number of pixels, maintaining optimum dpi value.

If you try to export an image from PhotoFX that has a dpi value of more than 300, PhotoFX will display a message asking you if you want to reduce the dpi. This will save disk space and memory, while still producing a good quality image. However, if you later resize the image in another program, the quality will be affected.


The resolution of this image is xxx dots per inch (dpi).

Do you want to reduce it to 300 dpi?

Reducing the resolution will save disk space and memory. It will not affect the quality of the image provided that it is not enlarged.

Every image is made up from a number of tiny dots or pixels. The dpi (dots per inch) value of an image refers to the number of dots or pixels there are in one inch of the image.

If you try to export an image from PhotoFX that has a dpi value of more than 300, PhotoFX will display a message asking you if you want to reduce the dpi. This will save disk space and memory, while still producing a good quality image. However, if you later resize the image in another program, the quality will be affected.


Printing an image
To print your image

1.	From the File menu, select Print Picture. The Print dialog box appears.

2.	In the Printer group box, select the printer you want to use from the Name drop-down list box.

3.	Click on Properties to display a dialog box providing various settings for the selected printer.

4.	Select the appropriate settings on this dialog box.

5.	Click on OK to confirm the new settings.

6.	In the Number of copies spin box, type the number of copies you want to print, or use the up and down arrows to change the number.

7.	At the left-hand side of the Options group box, select a print size option. The print preview shows the size and position of the image in relation to the selected page size.

8.	In the Options group box, check the collate check box if you want to collate the copies (1, 2, 3…1, 2, 3…rather than 1, 1, …2, 2…3, 3…etc). This function is disabled unless you are printing more than one copy of a multi-page document.

9.	Click on OK to send the image to the selected printer.

Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl P

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