PicSizer 2.0 Help

Introduction
PicSizer is a utility for resizing images in batches and individually. It was designed with owners of digital cameras in mind, but it can also be very useful for designers and other people who work with images on a daily basis. It's the perfect tool for quickly generating screen-friendly versions of your images at dramatically reduced file sizes.

Before using PicSizer to resize images, take a little time to acquaint yourself with the interface. Roll your cursor over each button and interface element, and read the description displayed at the bottom of the screen. The mouseover descriptions should be all you need in the way of help, but nevertheless, a more detailed reference is available here.

Controls

Output Size and Visual Guide The output size control incorporates a visual guide, which is a scale representation of a computer monitor. The guide images inside the "monitor" show you how an image of a given pixel dimension looks on a 1024 x 768 pixel display, which is the most common resolution. Change the output size and the guide images are scaled to the correct proportions. PicSizer resizes images by applying the output size to the larger dimension, and scaling the smaller dimension to the correct value based on the aspect ratio of the original image. The output size range is from 1 to 1024 pixels.

Most computer displays have a horizontal aspect ratio, which means that vertical images have less space than horizontal images to display. As the example above illustrates, a width of 800 pixels fits nicely inside 1024 x 768 resolution, but what the example doesn't show is that a height of 800 pixels doesn't fit completely inside the same resolution. To help you make sure your images will all be resized within an acceptable range, PicSizer includes two guide images - one with a horizontal aspect ratio, and the other with a vertical orientation. Click on either image to toggle between them. Although the included guide images are beautiful, you may want to use your own masterpieces as guide images. To do this, just Shift + Click on either image. Your image will be scaled to the guide image's natural aspect ratio, which is 4:3 for the horizontal, and 3:4 for the vertical. If you select an image with a different aspect ratio, it may appear distorted. D + Click resets the guide images to the images the program came with.

Resize Control The resize control is used to selectively apply resizing to images. With the Down option selected, PicSizer only resizes images that are larger than the output size. If the image is equal to or smaller than the output size, it will be ignored.

Select the Up option to only resize images that are smaller than the output size. Images that are equal to or larger than the output size will be ignored. The third, Bi-Directional option forces all images to be resized to the output size. Note: Digital images of the sort PicSizer works with resize nicely when the output size is smaller than the image's original size, but they don't enlarge as well. Since there is no way to "add resolution", an enlarged image can only look like a magnified version of the original, complete with oversized pixels. For this reason, it's a good idea to always archive high-resolution versions of your images, and only work with copies that can be replaced if you make a mistake.

Formats to Process The formats to process control allows you to choose from the group of formats PicSizer is able to read (RGB - jpg, gif, bmp, png, tif, and tga). Only files that match the selected formats will be resized. If you keep track of what formats your images are in, this control can be applied selectively to great effect.

Output Format The output format control lets you select one from the group of formats that PicSizer can save to. Your resized images will all be saved to the selected format. Each format has unique properties that make them suitable for different purposes. JPG is arguably the most popular format for displaying images on the web, and for transferring images electronically. It uses a "lossy" form of compression to create small

file sizes while attempting to preserve image quality. Lossy means that subtle visual data is discarded forever. Usually the missing subtleties aren't really missed, but occasionally their absence can be enough to ruin a picture. For this reason, JPG isn't recommended as a format for archiving or working on digital images. The degree of compression is variable, and is represented in PicSizer as a measure of quality ranging from 0 to 100. Higher numbers produce better quality images at higher file sizes. A value between 75 and 85 is good for most purposes. PNG is similar to JPG in many ways, the most important of which is its use of lossy compression. Although it's not as ubiquitous as JPG, PNG format is widely supported by web browsers, email programs, and imaging applications. It often produces better results at lower file sizes than JPG. The degree of compression is variable, and is represented in PicSizer as a measure of quality ranging from 0 to 9. Higher numbers produce better quality images at higher file sizes. A value of 7 or 8 is good for most purposes. BMP is the native file format for digital images on Windows. It uses no compression, which makes it an ideal working format, although this limits its use as a transfer format. It can be used as an archival format as long as file sizes aren't an issue. This format preserves every bit, but it falls short as an archival format due to a lack of "lossless" compression. TIF uses "lossless" compression, which generally reduces a file's size while preserving every bit. The resulting file sizes aren't small enough to make TIF a good transfer format, but they're good enough to make it an excellent archival format. It preserves every bit, like BMP format with the added benefit of reduced file sizes. TGA format is similar to TIF and offers virtually the same benefits.

Rotate Images The rotate images control allows you to specify which images to rotate, and by how many degrees. The top row of options are for specifying which images to rotate. Select V to rotate images that have a vertical orientation. Select H to rotate horizontal

images, and S to rotate square images. All three options can be selected or deselected at the same time, or used in any combination. By default, all three options are deselected, which means the rotate control won't be applied to the images. The bottom row of options are for specifying how many degrees to rotate the specified images by. Only one value can be selected at the same time. If no images are specified to be rotated, this setting will have no effect.

Name Files The name files control gives you several different options for naming your resized images, some of which aren't readily apparent. Select the Same option to give the resized images the same names as

the source images. Selecting this option could put irreplaceable files in danger of being overwritten by mistake. When this situation arises, PicSizer will warn you and give you the opportunity to change your mind. The Text Before Name option uses the original file name, but adds custom text at the beginning. If this option is selected, and the custom text field is blank or reads "Click to enter or edit text.", sequential numbering will be added before the original file name. The Text After Name option works the same way as the Text Before Name option, except it adds custom text (or sequential numbering) at the end of the original file name. Select the New option to replace the original file name with custom text and sequential numbering. If the custom text field is blank or reads "Click to enter or edit text.", sequential numbering will be used by itself. To enter or edit text, just click on the Custom Text Field. PicSizer automatically filters out characters that aren't allowed in file names, and truncates all strings longer than 255 characters. Keep in mind though that each version of Windows has its own set of rules regarding file and path names. If you're pushing the upper limits, you may end up with a file that can't be opened by any application, or worse, you may not even be able to rename or delete the file without using a DOS prompt! The From value is what PicSizer uses to construct a sequential numbering scheme, starting from the specified number. The range of this number is between 0 and 9,999,999. PicSizer always uses leading zeros in the interest of keeping your files in alphanumeric order. In the example above, hypothetically assuming that there are 350 files in the queue and PNG is the output format, the files would be named in the following fashion: my_new_pictures_001.png, my_new_pictures_002.png, all the way to my_new_pictures_350.png.

Source & Destination Click the Source button or click on the Source Field to select a file or folder to process. Whether or not you have the One option checked determines the type of dialog box you're

presented with. With the One option checked, you're presented with a file selection dialog box, which allows you to choose a single file to resize. With the One option unchecked, you're presented with a folder selection dialog box, which allows you to choose an entire folder to process. Click the Destination button or click on the Destination Field to select the folder where your resized images will be saved. Whether or not you have the New option checked determines the type of dialog box you're presented with. With the New option checked, you're presented with a sequence of two dialog boxes, which allow you to create a new folder. With the New option unchecked, you're presented with a standard folder selection dialog box, which allows you to choose an existing folder as the destination. When creating a new folder, PicSizer automatically filters out characters that aren't allowed in folder names, and truncates all strings longer than 255 characters. Keep in mind that each version of Windows has its own set of rules regarding path names. If you're pushing the upper limits, you may end up with a folder that's inaccessible, or worse, you may not even be able to rename or delete it without using a DOS prompt! Clicking on the field slightly differs from clicking on the corresponding button, but chances are that you'll find this small difference useful. When the field is clicked, the dialog box opens to the path displayed in the field. When the button is clicked, the dialog box opens to the system's current folder setting.

Process Images Once you've set the Source and Destination and you've set the various options to your satisfaction, click on the Process button to start processing the images. If there are any problems during the process, you will be alerted to them and have a chance to respond. The Process Status Field shows you the number of the file being worked on.
The time it takes to complete the process depends on the number of images being processed, and the sizes of the source and destination images. If at any time you need to stop the process, just press "s" on your keyboard.

Program State The program state control works in conjunction with the file "workspace.ini", which PicSizer reads every time it's opened. This file contains all the necessary settings to save the exact state of your workspace. Checking the State option before closing PicSizer activates the control.

If you want the interface to always default to a particular state, set it the way you like it, check the State option, and close the program. The next time you use it, make sure to uncheck the State option before closing the program. After that, PicSizer will always default to your original settings, and you won't have to worry about the State option until you need it again. If you want the interface to always default to the previous state, always leave the State option checked, or just make sure to check it before closing the program. If you ever want to reset PicSizer to its original defaults, just delete the file "workspace.ini". PicSizer will create a fresh version the next time it's launched.

Tips

600 pixels is the recommended size for sending images via email, and posting on the web.

Try different JPEG and PNG compression settings, compare the visual results vs. the output size, and use the setting that suits you best.

PicSizer is a great way to generate thumbnail images. 80 pixels is a good size for thumbnails.

If your source images are on CD, I recommend that you copy them to your hard disk before using PicSizer. This will speed up the process considerably. It is also a good idea to use a folder on your hard disk as the destination folder.

Copyright ⌐ 2003, Luisa Arevalo Klose