Is precise image editing possible in Contribute?

[cfdoyle]

I designed a site for a client and gave them a guide with precise instructions
for the sizes of images in different layouts. The problem is, Contribute
doesn't seem to allow for *precise* image editing. For instance, I have a
layout which uses graphics at 106x106 pixels. The client has photos from a
digital camera that they need to crop/resize to go into this layout. I can
resize the shorter dimension to 106 by entering a number in the toolbar.
Theoretically, I should then be able to simply crop the image to 106 in the
other dimension. But as far as I can tell, there is no way to crop something
numerically, and the width/height fields do not change dynamically as I move
the crop window. So the only way to do it is visually, by trial and error.
Which means I shave off enough that it's close, and then try to count the
pixels as I move the crop window, and hope I haven't moved it two pixels in one
move, or its UNDO and try again.

A related issue: is there any way for the Contribute user to change the dpi of
an image? They often shoot photos at a higher dpi for using in print, and it
would be nice if they could reduce these photos to 72dpi in Contribute. The
whole point of my recommending Contribute was so they could update their own
webpages just using this program. If they have to call me to modify images, or
purchase a separate piece of software just to crop/resize images adequately,
then that really defeats the purpose of their using Contribute.

[Rhenan]

Thanks for posting this. I'd not discovered the right-click menu that allows
for cropping, rotating, etc. This seems a very useful feature.

Having found it I thought I'd see if I can find a way to do what you're
looking for, but unfortunately I can't find any way to set the crop width and
height either. I suspect that without an external application, such as
Fireworks (pay) or Gimp (free), you'll not be able to crop the image to a
specific size other than through the trial and error approach you're using.

Also, I could find no way to reduce the DPI of an image, but to be honest this
doesn't suprise me, as this is more of an advanced feature and Macromedia sell
a product capable of this. You did mention that you recommended Contribute so
your client could update their own web pages, and while graphics are included
within a web page, they are seperate files and for the most part will require a
seperate application to update them.

My suggestio would be to get a separate application for the image, but you're
not limited to purchasing one. One pretty good, and FREE, editor is Pixel
Editor ([url]http://www.iconempire.com/pixel-editor/index.htm[/url]) which should be fine
for reducing DPIs and cropping, as well as a host of other features. You could
also try GIMP for Windows (an open-source product), which is also free and very
well respected in the open-source community. However, both these will require
your client learning a new product, so I conceed to your initial point of kind
of defeating the point of using Contribute, except that you'd be hard pressed
to find a similiar product to Contribute for web page design that include the
feature you're needing.

Hope this helps, even a little

[ben_bloom]

DPI is irrelevant when working with GIF/JPG images displayed on the screen.
The only statistic that matters is the absolute pixel lenghts. If you have a
400x600 jpg that's 72dpi it's exactly the same as a 400x600 jpg that's 300 dpi.


For resizing, check out Irfanview. Free, small, and fast. It has batch
processing capabilities if you need to change a lot of files. (No affiliation,
just a satisfied customer.)

Sorry, I don't have any advice on using Contribute in this situation.

[Rhenan]

ben.. THANKS!!! hehe I was searching for a batch processing application this
morning, and was trying to remember one I'd used before without success (nview,
lview... none were the one I wanted)

As soon as I read your post and saw "Irfanview" I remember that was the one I
was wanting! hehe thanks for that ;)