Resizing photos for posting with Irfanview.

19 years ago

When we post pictures we do it so that others can see and enjoy the pictures. It is a fact that 50% of internet users in the United States have dial up connections. I don't know how that rate applies to gardenweb members, but I do know that some of our members are stuck with dial up and have no other choice. I remember very well watching pictures appear line by line for several minutes when I used dial up and feel strongly that we should compress our photos when posting them for the benefit of those with slower connections, especially when we can do so without detracting from the appearance of the picture on a computer screen. Although I have photoshop elements and other commercial photo editing programs on my computer I have found the freeware utility Irfanview to be the easiest to use to do this. One reason is that you can compress several photos at the same time using the batch conversion feature. I emailed my granddaughter instruction for doing this and will post those instructions below. I will be happy to try to clarify or expand the instructions if anyone has questions. If you are interested google Irvanview Tutorials and you will find many places to download and use the tutorials.

Open Irfanview

Click File . Batch conversion/Rename

In the ÂLook inÂ window select the directory your pictures are in.

Select the pictures you want to resize. You can select pictures in the same directory by clicking on the first one, then hold down the Ctrl key while you click on each one you want to select. If they are all in a row you can also select them by clicking on the first one then hold the shift key down while you click on the last one.

Click the ÂAddÂ button and you will see the file names of the pictures in the window.

Under the ÂUse this directory as outputÂ click -BrowseÂ and choose the directory you want the resized pictures to go into. You may want to make a directory for this before you start.

Under ÂWork asÂ select the Batch conversion option.

For ÂOutput formatÂ select JPG, and click the ÂOptionsÂ button to the right of JPG. Set the ÂSave qualityÂ slider. I use anything between 20 and 30 %. This should give you files the right size.

Check the ÂUse advanced optionsÂ choice and click on the ÂSet advanced optionsÂ button.

Put a check mark for ÂResizeÂ and put a dot in the ÂSet new sizeÂ option. I choose set new width to 800 and put a dot for ÂPixelsÂ.

Put a check mark for the ÂPreserve aspect ratio (proportional)Â choice and also for the "Use resample function(better quality)Â choice.

Use the ÂSave settingsÂ button to save these choices in a directory of your choice. Any is OK just remember it.

Click ÂOKÂ.

Click ÂStartÂ. This will resize your pictures and put them in the directory you have chosen.

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Comments (6)

gailr
19 years ago
Thanks so much for taking the time to do this, Bob. It should be really helpful.

Many folks have digital cameras now, and probably many received one as a Christmas gift and may not even realize they can do this so easily.

Gail R (WNY)
bob414
Original Author
19 years ago
I hope it will encourage people to compress their photos. Some may have never had dial up and don't realize the problem. So many beautiful photos to enjoy-they should be enjoyed by everyone. If people only realize that the appearance of their photos will not be changed and their original photos remain untouched maybe they will be willing to take the little extra time to do it so their photos can be enjoyed by all.
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jmc7104
19 years ago
Hey; I think this is great and thanks for sharing it. I try to resize when I feel it is necessary, but the program that I use is photo plus 4 and you can only do one photo at a time. Will definaqtly try this. Like the idea of being able to do batches at a time. Thanks, jim
IndianaKat
19 years ago
Bob, thanks for this time saving tip. I've used Irfanview from the very beginning, used it on the first photo I ever took...great little fixer. But, I've always resized just one photo at a time....didn't know about "batching"....gosh, what a time saver. I also use another little online "freebie" for photo editing since I don't have a program like Corel or Photoshop. Its called Photofiltre (from a French firm I believe). I downloaded from their site and it has some pretty good little features. Those are the only editing programs I have and they both do a decent job. I resize with Irfanview, save the pix, and use Photofiltre for sharpening, contrast and any other little fixes I might need to do. It has a number of filters that you can use too. I usually save my pix at 20 to 25 percent compression so as not to lose too much resolution. I almost never save a photo at more than 1600 x 1200 pixels unless I'm going to have that particular pic printed.....then I don't resize until after printing and then usually store them at less than that...usually about 800 x 600. Bob, thanks for the heads up on batching.....this is really going to save a lot of time.....

~Kathy~
bob414
Original Author
19 years ago
Glad to help. It's really nice to know that someone finds help that you offer useful.
gailr
19 years ago
Image Editing .. now I am wondering what software programs everyone is using to edit & manage their digital photos?

I think I will start a new thread on this Conversations part of the forum and ask what programs everyone is using, so as to not change the subject of this thread.

Also, where are you finding bargains on Image Editing software & hardware?

And there are some great websites that offer FREE online Tutorials, and downloadable Plug-Ins, Filters, Frames, Borders, etc.

Hopefully there will be enough interest in this topic!

Also, what hardware is everyone using?
Graphics tablets, Logitech NuLooq, laser mice, external hard drives, flash drives, DVD Burners, photo printers, whatever?

Okay, going next to add a post here titled, "Image Editing Your Digital Photos". Hopefully, we can all share what we have learned, or tell of software or hardware to avoid, or whatever! Could be a good way to learn and have some fun AND save some bucks, too!

Gail R (WNY)

Resizing photos for posting with Irfanview.

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gailr

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Resizing photos for posting with Irfanview.

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