Using Irfanview to resize images for RMWeb

[beast66606]

This applies to Windows platforms only.

 

First of all get yourself a copy of Irfanview and the plugins - it's free but I donate a few quid each year as it's such a good product.

 

Install it (I hope you are all following my advice on Windows users ...)

 

Irfanview (current version 4.33) can be used as a viewer / simple editor of images, it does not allow painting as such, but sticks to basic tasks such as sharpen, lighten, resize, flip, so it's not a creative tool, it's for simple manipulation of images already in your collection - it can also handle and convert to/from a wide range of formats.

 

In it's "one" picture mode you can simply open an image using it and there you go - viewed !

 

 

Obviously we want to do something more, and for this I'm going to concentrate on resizing for RMWeb use, taking a standard size of 800x600 as suitable.

 

Again, using it in single picture mode.

 

If you are unsure then ALWAYS create yourself a temporary folder and copy the images into it and WORK ON THE COPY (the capitals are to emphasise this, it will help avoid overwriting your originals) - we can choose to save our resized image to a new folder and that's what I will do, but if in doubt WORK ON A COPY.

 

First, select and open the image

 

Then either press Ctrl+R together (this shortcut to invoking a command is known as an accelerator key) or click the Image menu and then select Resize/Resample or Press Alt, then I and then M

 

A new dialog appears

 

 

Check that "Set new size" is set and "Preserve aspect ratio (proportional)" is also set and then type 800 in the width, depending on the aspect ratio of your image the height will now change to, in my case 533, but something around the 500-600 mark - do NOT use the standard size of 800x600 as this will skew the photo.

 

 

Click OK and the image should be resized

 

 

If your image still appears full screen and your screen is bigger than 800x600 then check the settings in the Options menu, Properties/Settings then Full Screen/Slideshow and ensure the fit to screen (large images only) is selected.

 

We now need to save the image - where possible I use PNG format for uploading, this is a non destructive compressed format and is handled well by browsers and RMweb alike.

 

To save

 

Either press S (just S, this is the accelerator (see above) for Save As...) or click the File menu and then Save as... or Press Alt then F then S

 

Fill in the relevant bits

Set the "Save as type" to "PNG - Portable Network Graphics", leave the compression as the default.

Select the folder (if required, this is how to open an image in one folder and then save to a different folder)

enter the filename - if you want to change it.

 

 

Click OK and there you have an image, resized and in PNG format, ready to upload.

[RedgateModels]

Very useful Beast - but would it be better reserving the png format for line drawings etc and use jpg for pictures?

 

I've used Irfanview for years - ever since I worked for a software house almost 15 years ago

[beast66606]

Very useful Beast - but would it be better reserving the png format for line drawings etc and use jpg for pictures?

 

I've used Irfanview for years - ever since I worked for a software house almost 15 years ago

 

jpg is a lossy format, and when people save and resave it looses quality, either will do fine of course.

 

 

If saving in jpg then choose a quality of about 80%, this is good enough for most things, some will get away with as low as 50-60 and some will need more, basically the higher the quality the bigger the file size

 

[RedgateModels]

[halfwit]

I've been using Irfanview for as long as I've been on here, but I've always set the width to 1200 rather than 800. Have I being doing something wrong?

 

Set at 1200;

 

 

Set at 800;

 

 

Should I always set the width at 800 in the future?

[RedgateModels]

well ....

 

I've always used 1024. Don't think it matters as long as you're getting your filesize down to a few hundred Kb as apposed to a few Mb

[gwrrob]

My image of autocoach 190 in the gallery was done using this program but the image is still not large on the screen.What have I done wrong ?It does get bigger if I click on it but not on first opening.

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/gallery/image/44022-autotrailer-190/

[raymw]

Historically, a sort of default size for web images was 800 by 600 pixels. Most likely this forum defaults images to that size for display in line with the text - thank goodness. Nothing worse in having to scroll round a large image (or repeatedly hitting 'ctrl -' to shrink the web page). If you really must show highly detailed large images, you'll need to get your own web site and host them yourself, or pay for them to be hosted.

 

Nowadays, many folk will be viewing the web on iphones/tablets and the like, so no point in massive images taking time to download, and they won't be able to see the detail anyway, so I guess the default will stay around the 800 by 600 mark.

 

jpeg files are smaller than png, and well suited for images to show on the web. It is an advantage that jpeg is a lossy format, since it makes it less suitable for editting, but at web sizes it won't matter anyway.. If you value your images - i.e. you think they are worthy of stealing, then don't put them on the web, or compress them as much as you can as a jpeg file.

 

Best wishes,

Ray

[micklner]

Just purchased a Apple Mac , tried to download Irfanview which I had used without any problem on Windows.

 

On a Mac search The Irfanview sites have all been corrupted with a Scan prior download  app and then asks for money to fix all the faults on the Computer !! really !! its brand new !! and then nothing else appears.

 

Any suggestions for a new Image downsizer  using MAC format ??   please .

 

 

thanks

[The Stationmaster]

Just purchased a Apple Mac , tried to download Irfanview which I had used without any problem on Windows.

 

On a Mac search The Irfanview sites have all been corrupted with a Scan prior download  app and then asks for money to fix all the faults on the Computer !! really !! its brand new !! and then nothing else appears.

 

Any suggestions for a new Image downsizer  using MAC format ??   please .

 

 

thanks

I don't think there is a version of Irfanview which is compatible with Mac - should you find one please let me know!

 

Resizing on an IMac is extremely simple, no need for any other software!!!! - I prefer to load images to RMweb off the desktop as I find it saves time, especially if the images are coming from different folders.  I process all the images to size first before saving them to desktop and thus they are all in one place and easy to find and load.

 

So -

1. Go to the required folder and open your selected image (by clicking on the image it should open in Preview un;less you are using iPhoto - which I avoid like the plague)

2. With your image open click on 'Tools' in the Preview toolbar and then click on 'Adjust Size' - I always set it to 1600 horizontal by 1200 vertical (pixels) with the default of 'Scale Proportionally' and 'Resample Image' ticked.

3. Click 'OK' - the size of the image on your screen will probably change - depends what size it was when you started.

When that step has been completed, and remaining in Preview, click on 'File' then click on 'Save As' in the drop down menu.

4. When that opens you can use the top line to alter the filename (if you want) the next box down is where it will save to - select 'Desktop' from the drop down list; the box below that is for file type, I select JPEG from the drop down menu.

5. Below that is a slider for file quality - ideally adjust it towards best but make sure the file size does not exceed the limits for RMweb - I normally set the slider to give c.550kb as that gives a good image with the size set at 1600x1200 but that is just my preference.

6. Then click 'Save' and the file will appear on your desktop and can now be loaded in a very simple manner into an RMweb thread.

 

Try it and see how you go - takes a bit of getting used to but once you have got used to it you'll find it a simple process and easy to use.  Incdetally you can also use the 'Crop' feature in Tools to do exactly what it says on teh tine an d selectively edit your image to concentrate on a particular part of it.  Oh and once your image is on RMweb you can click on it to bring it up to its full size.

[micklner]

Many thanks for the reply.

 

Totally new to Mac and the one set of photos I have downloaded went straight into I Photo without any other option offered ( very quick compared to my old windows laptop too  !! ) .

 

 

Are you using some other kind of software to store the original photos please ? 

[The Stationmaster]

Many thanks for the reply.

 

Totally new to Mac and the one set of photos I have downloaded went straight into I Photo without any other option offered ( very quick compared to my old windows laptop too  !! ) .

 

 

Are you using some other kind of software to store the original photos please ? 

I was caught by iPhoto in my early days with a Mac and I don't like the way it seems to want to tell me what to do!  So I adopted the same solution I have used in the past on PCs - I simply created a  folder in Documents for photos and then have folders within that main folder for each lot of downloads - mostly sorted in date order although some is sorted by subject heading.

 

To download from the camera I take the card out of the camera and put in in the slot in the iMac (does of course mean you have to be using compatible cards and beware the 

biggest trap of all, it is all too easy to not be careful and you finish up putting the photo card into the DVD drive slot; strange tho' it might sound there are numerous tips on teh ;net about how to get your card out of the DVD drive slot and some of them are excellent advice and work.  Guess how I know!).

 

Anyway once the card is in the slot it will open as folder on your desktop and I simply drag and drop the files from there to the destination folder I have already set-up for that particular download.  i can then access the pics as I need them from their folder.  I have found this is far better for me than messing about with the dreaded and its ideas of how to organise my pictures under irrelevant headings.

[micklner]

Thanks , I don't think I will use the DVD drive slot in that case 

[micklner]

Test using current I Photo

[micklner]

Well it works on this forum without modification . Perhaps Apple have changed the format .

 

I doubt if it will be the same on other Forums i use , much more less friendly download limits. 

 

 

Thanks again Stationmaster

[The Stationmaster]

Well it works on this forum without modification . Perhaps Apple have changed the format .

 

I doubt if it will be the same on other Forums i use , much more less friendly download limits. 

 

 

Thanks again Stationmaster

Glad you've got there Mick - all a different world from PCs and it takes time to get used to different ways.  Nice rose too, blows-up enlarges beautifully.

[micklner]

Thanks for your help. The Rose is as actually as photographed not enlarged.

 I was correct re other forums way to large file size. Someone else suggested using the image editor on here , once reduced that worked fine as well on other forums.