Informalex -- Editing Photos Down to Size

From Jordy.Shepherd@xxx.xxx Mon Oct 20 23:39:57 2003
Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2003 09:46:52 -0700
From: Jordy.Shepherd (you can get his email address via the rockies informalex list page)
To: Tom Wolfe
Subject: Photo Software

Tom,

Here is a copy of the application that I use: Irfanview

It is freeware, available to anyone. I use it daily, for resizing photos, viewing photos in a folder etc.

Irfanview's home page is located at http://www.irfanview.com (for updates, instructions, etc.)

I would also recommend downloading the plugins to allow you to play mpeg videos etc.

Once you have installed it, it is super easy to use.

• A few instructions (first, open a photo using Irfanview):
• to change the viewing size on the screen, go to VIEW, then DISPLAY OPTIONS, and select the viewing size (this does not alter the actual size of the photo.
  to resize the photo, go to IMAGE, then RESIZE/RESAMPLE. Then choose your new size. Once this is done, I save the new smaller photo in a different file. Be careful not to save over your original hi-res file with the new smaller low-res file.
• To easily flip through photos in a folder, open the first photo in a folder, then hit SPACE BAR to go forward one photo at a time, or BACKSPACE to move to the previous photo.
• There is also a thumbnail option, which shows all the pictures in a folder in a separate window. There is a slideshow option as well, where you can put selected photos into a slideshow, similar to powerpoint, but easier for just photos.
• You can change color pics to black and white.
• You can set any photo as your wallpaper on your desktop by opening a phots, then selecting IMAGE, then RESIZE/RESAMPLE. Then resize the photo by selecting SCREEN SIZE. Hit OK. You do not need to save the resized photo. Now hit OPTIONS, then SET AS WALLPAPER, then CENTERED. You now have new wallpaper.

This is an amazing program. The whole program fits on a floppy diskette, it is very user friendly, and it is completely free. It also uses very little RAM, so you can view large photo files quickly.

You can also convert from jpeg to bitmap or whatever by saving a photo with a different extension.

I use this as my default photo program, so that any photo I open is opened by Irfanview. Do this by hitting OPTIONS, then PROPERTIES, then EXTENSIONS, and select SELECT ALL.

For viewing .mov movie files with this software, download the plugins off the website, then install them. Then open Irfanview, hit OPTIONS, then PROPERTIES, then VIDEO/SOUND. Select USE QUICK TIME PLUGIN FOR MOV FILES. I think you have to have Quicktime installed to use this option.

Let me know if you have any questions. I use this program more than Photoshop or any other, because it is simple, fast and easy to use, and I can install it quickly on any computer. Of course, if you are using a Mac, then I don't know if this will work for you. [it won't. Use The Gimp (also free) if you're using Mac OSX - Ed.]

Keep yer tips up!

Jordy