Basics of image editing with PhotoShop v. 7
1) Open an image file on your disk and make a copy of it, with
a different name, then open the copy:
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Click File, Open -- to open an image file on your disk
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Click File, Save Copy As -- assign a new name. You should never edit the
original image
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Click File, Open -- to open the copy you just made.
2) Flip or Rotate an image: click Image, Rotate -- to rotate or
flip an image that is upside down or sideways.
3) Crop: select the Crop tool on the toolbar, click on the image
at the upper left of the area you want to keep, drag to the lower right
of the area you want to keep, then doubleclick(?) inside the marked rectangle
-- all areas of the original image outside the marked rectangle are deleted.
4) Image Information: click Image, Image Size to check on dimensions.
5) Resize the image: click Image, Image Size to change dimensions.
Make sure that Constrain/Maintain Aspect Ratio is checked or you will get,
say, a face that is really wide or incredibly long. Do not enlarge an image
too much, or it will lose quality.
6) Save to a different format: Click File, Save As.... or Save
for Web.
Each graphics package has its own format, e.g. .psp for PaintShopPro,
.psd for PhotoShop; etc.
Or
Click File, Save for Web and select gif or jpg, as well as attributes
(see next).
The two most common options for the web are
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GIF Version 89a: Interlaced or Noninterlaced
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JPG:
Standard encoding or Progressive encoding. Select compression rate.
Noninterlaced=progressive: the image loads row by row from the top down
Interlaced=standard: the image loads in one go, filling in the pixels
as it goes. Preferred.
Compression rate: the more compressed, the smaller the file size, the
faster the download, the worse the image.
Create a course banner for your Blackboard course:
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Click File, New -- to open a new file. Dimensions(400 pixels wide and 50
pixels high), Resolution 72, Mode RGB
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Select a color for the background and a color for the foreground.
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Using the Paint Bucket tool, color the background with the selected color..
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Using the Text tool, type your text, select it and format it: select a
font, a size, such as 18, and bold and/or italicize it.
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Select the Move tool and center it inside the background rectangle.
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If you like the result, save your banner in .jpg format: name it, e.g.,
eng101banner.
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Upload it to your Blackboard course: Control Panel, Course Images.
last rev. April 2004