Pictures - Preperation for web presentation.

How to prepare photos using any photo editing tool on any computer

This is a fast tutorial on preparing photos, if you stay for a couple of minutes you will know how to prepare your pictures or graphics for placing on the internet. In this mini-manual we will be using the photo program, Macromedia Fireworks on a Macintosh computer, but the information remains the same for all photo handling programs

1. Open your photo handling program (Fireworks)

The first thing you have to do, is to locate program and open it. In this tutorial we'll use a lot of graphics and images, to help visualize what we do but you should be able to find your Photo program.

2. Open your picture or graphic in (Fireworks)

	In the menu line at the top of your screen, choose File>Open; the Open File dialog box appears, you're now able to browse to the location of the picture file. Notice the ability in fireworks to preview the image, you are about to open, (at the left hand side of the dialog box) When you have browsed to the location of your image, press open

3. Choose what you want to show - Crop

	With your image opened in Fireworks, choose the Marquee tool from the Toolbox, (left of this text, you can see part of the Toolbox). Now drag a frame around the part you want to use, holding down the mouse button while dragging. If you didn't exactly get it right, just drag again until you're satisfied.
To crop the image to this selection; choose Edit>Crop Document, and press return on your keyboard.
		Underneath this text you can see the result of what we just did, our picture has been cut to only contain the part we selected.
		If you would like to make the frame of the window fit the cropped image, select the Zoom icon in the top-right corner of the active window. Look at the window above this text, the Zoom icon is where the arrow is placed.

4. Resolution and Image Size - Very Important

In the next small process it is important that we do things in the right order. Open Modify>Image Size... in the menu line.
	First set resolution at 72 Pixels/Inch. Second set width and height no larger than 300 Pixels square and no smaller than 25 Pixels square. This is a rule of thumb to avoid to long load time or too small images. Last Press OK.

View your image at a 100 percent To be sure, that what you see is what you get, you need to double-click, on the magnify-tool in the Toolbox, (view the illustration on the left of this text). If your window no longer fits your image, you can fit it by pressing the Zoom-icon in the top-right corner of the window, (where the pointer is placed, at the illustration on the right). At this point you're able to evaluate your work, and decide if your picture or graphic has the right size for the purpose, not too big nor too small. If the size is right continue, if not open the Image Size dialog box, and resize.

5. Preparing for exposure on the internet

The general rule is: Pictures are presented as JPEG (jpg) and Graphics are presented as GIF (gif). Any Photo program cab be used for compressing files into these formats.
First you need to press the 2-Up tab, in the active window, this gives you the possibility to compare the original with your compression.(The 2-Up tab is where the pointer is placed).
Second you need to locate the "Optimize Window", when located press the optimize tab, if not already done. (Look at the right it's where the pointer is located).
Third, in this tutorial we are compressing a picture, that's why we choose JPEG as format; remember picture is JPEG (jpg) and graphics are GIF (gif). Until you are familiar with Fireworks use ' JPEG smaller file ' or ' GIF Web 216 '; when you've learned a little bit more you will start adjusting quality in JPEGs or colors in GIFs. The key in the process of compressing to the internet in Fireworks, is playing with the different opportunities in the "Optimize Window", while observing the change in file size. Keep in mind that what you'll have to keep the quality or the number of colors at such a level, that your image still shows, what you originally intended it to.

6. Exporting the image

In Macromedia Fireworks you export the result of your work. Export is the way to place what you have just been working at in the right folder. Press File>Export.
	In the Export dialog box, Fireworks will suggest a name plus the current format of the image, in this case royalty.jpg; you should only change what is in front of the period, since the last part is obviously connected to the compression type you have used.