cropped image for web – order?

AT
Posted By
A.Translator
Oct 20, 2003
Views
331
Replies
12
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Closed
I am writing this with a red face knowing my question is absolutely basic, and has been asked millions of times before, but somehow or other everything I read on the subject just seems to complicate things.

What I want: to crop an image and change the resolution to 72 for the web.

Sounds simple, but I can’t do it.

What is the order I should work in?
First crop, then change resolution?
First change resolution, then change image?

I seem to end up with either a much too large or far too small picture. The image that has been driving me mad is 1600 x 1200 pixel, resolution 72. I can resize to 160 X 120 pixels, at res. 72, but that is the whole image I want a detail at 160 X 120.
But how is it done?

Again: I am really sorry to have to ask this again. I tried all afternoon (Europe) and finally decided to post this message before I go mad.

I have been pointed before to Wayne Fulton’s scantips (he argues 72 is nonsense, but my webdesign guru says it does matter, so I’ll stick to it) but it doesn’t seem to get through to what few brains I have left.

Can someone please just tell me what order I should work in?

Thanks!

Regards / Groet, Adriana.
[Gravity is a myth. The Earth sucks.]

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Byron_Gale
Oct 20, 2003
Adriana,

You can use the Rectangular Marquee tool to select exactly the size you wish.

With the Marquee tool active, on the Options bar, set Style to Fixed Size, and then enter your desired dimensions into the Width and Height fields.

Then, when you click in the image, the exact size selection will appear. You can reposition the selection by dragging it. When you are satisfied, click Image->Crop to complete the process.

If you wish to keep a larger portion of your original image, but reduce it to the smaller dimensions, you can use the Rectangular Marquee with the Style set to Fixed Aspect Ratio. Again, enter your dimensions into the Width/Height fields. This time, though, you will have to draw out the selection, as normal. The Marquee will keep itself to the correct proportions.

After you have selected the amount of your image which you wish to keep, click Image->Crop. Then, you can go into Image->Resize->Image Size.

First, check the Resolution. If it is not already 72, set it to 72 first. Have Constrain Porportions and Resample Image both selected. In the Width, enter your desired width dimension — Height will automatically change. Click OK.

I hope that you will find some help in these methods… both work for me depending on my goal.

Byron
JD
Juergen_D
Oct 20, 2003
Adriana,

The easiest would be to use "save for web" which automatically produces a 72 resolution. That would require any cropping to be done beforehand. To do the cropping you should use the rectangular marquee tool and set the style to ‘fixed aspect ratio’. Then enter 160 and 120 in the width and height boxes. When doing "save for web" you have to enter the width or height again. One will suffice.

Juergen
AT
A.Translator
Oct 20, 2003
On Mon, 20 Oct 2003 09:16:22 -0700, wrote:

When doing "save for web" you have to enter the width or height again. One will suffice.

Thank you both. It sounds so easy!
I’ll give it a try tomorrow for it is getting towards bedtime here and my head is spinning.


Groet, Adriana.
[Gravity is a myth. The Earth sucks.]
LK
Leen_Koper
Oct 20, 2003
Adriana, the answer might be closer than you might have imagined, just only about a 100 miles away from home. ๐Ÿ˜‰

Choose the crop tool, set it to 160×120 at 72 ppi, choose your selction, crop and save it with another name. That’s all.

Leen
MM
Mac_McDougald
Oct 20, 2003
Choose the crop tool, set it to 160×120 at 72 ppi,

ppi totall irrelevant.
pixel dimensions are same regardless of ppi, and that’s all browsers understand.

Mac
CS
Chuck_Snyder
Oct 20, 2003
ppi totally irrelevant.
pixel dimensions are same regardless of ppi, and that’s all browsers understand.

Adriana: Mac is right, of course. It’s best to get ppi out of your mind when it comes to pictures for e-mail. What you want is a picture with pixel dimensions of 800 by 600 or thereabouts, which will fill a screen at that resolution and fit nicely on one with 1024×768 pixel resolution. As mentioned by others, that can be done either using Save for Web (by putting those pixel dimensions in the New Size box on the right near the bottom, or using Image<Resize<Image Size, Resample checked and put the desired pixel dimension (one side – the other calculates automatically) in the pixel dimensions portion in the upper portion of the Image Resize dropdown. You can get your thought processes all twisted up with ppi and inches when dealing with screen images; the only time you want to deal with ppi and inches is when preparing an image for printing.

I’ve gone so far as to have the rulers in the Elements main window set to pixels, because the inches have no meaning in that display.
BB
Barbara_Brundage
Oct 21, 2003
Just a note that one benefit of using Save for Web instead of the resize is that just resizing will keep EXIF data in the photo, while SFW strips it out, making a slightly smaller file–a consideration for web use.
AT
A.Translator
Oct 21, 2003
On Mon, 20 Oct 2003 16:17:07 -0700, wrote:

Choose the crop tool, set it to 160×120 at 72 ppi, choose your selction, crop and save it with another name.

If only! I tried, but it results in the image getting blown up to huge proportions the moment I hit the Enter key. Perhaps I have some basic setting wrong somewhere?

Maar evengoed bedankt!

Groet, Adriana.
[Gravity is a myth. The Earth sucks.]
AT
A.Translator
Oct 21, 2003
On Mon, 20 Oct 2003 09:11:53 -0700, wrote:

After you have selected the amount of your image which you wish to keep, click Image->Crop. Then, you can go into Image->Resize->Image Size.

Sorry for being so thick, but I don’t understand this bit: haven’t I just resized by cropping?

I am beginning to feel I have some basic setting wrong somewhere.

When I use the marquee tool (that wรกs a good tip, I had only tried the crop tool before) and crop to the image size I want, and then try to save for Web, the *wrong* part of the original image is show in the preview pane. If I actually save, things have gone fine, but I now realize I was thrown by the preview and did not actually complete the processing, thinking it was no use.

Thanks a lot for your help!


Groet, Adriana.
[Gravity is a myth. The Earth sucks.]
JD
Juergen_D
Oct 21, 2003
Adriana,

Choose the crop tool, set it to 160×120 at 72 ppi, choose your selction,
crop and save it with another name.

Leen’s approach is even simpler than mine… Please try it again and fill in the dimensions including the unit of measure (px). In other words fill in ‘160 px’ and ‘120 px’. That should do the trick.

Juergen
LK
Leen_Koper
Oct 21, 2003
Adriana, je bent welkom. ๐Ÿ˜‰
(beware, Richard can understand Dutch too, we are, Robert S. included, not the only ones on this forum)

I shouldnot have mentionned the 72 ppi, as it was, just like Mac wrote, nonsense as you have to go for the pixels. I suppose you applied centimeters like the default setting of the box.

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

Leen
AT
A.Translator
Oct 21, 2003
On Tue, 21 Oct 2003 09:21:26 -0700, wrote:

I suppose you applied centimeters like the default setting of the box.

Yes! I knew it would be something stupid.
I really thought I had checked all settings a hundred times…

I will now go and look for the right default setting, but so far everythings seems to be set to ‘pixles’ apart from ‘rulers’ which were in centimeters. I’ll change that and see what happens.

Groet, Adriana.
[Gravity is a myth. The Earth sucks.]

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