Copyright: PIXresizer Help by © David De Groot - Bluefive software


General Information

What is PIXresizer

PIXresizer is a tool for quickly generating screen-friendly versions of your images with dramatically reduced file sizes. It is a photo resizing program that enables you to quickly resize one file or a selection of image files for use on the web and in e-mail. The reduced files are saved in a different directory, so your original pictures are not changed.

The program offers several different resizing methods to choose from and can automatically recognize image sizes to calculate the best fit. PIXresizer includes a built-in image viewer and you can also convert between graphics formats: it opens and saves in .bmp, .gif, .jpg, .png, and .tif formats. A great companion for webmasters and digital photographers.

Help

This help file is available at anytime in the program by pressing the F1-key.

TIP: whenever you position your mouse over an object and pause a moment, a so called tooltip (also known as a text balloon) will popup and tell you what will happen if you press a button or click some item.

Thanks for using PIXresizer!

David De Groot.


Requirements

PIXresizer runs on all 32bit Windows OS platforms, including Windows 95,98,ME,NT4,2000 and XP.

Windows 95 and Windows 98 users

may need the VBruntime. You can read about this file and download it at the BlueFive homepage at http://bluefive.pair.com/vbrun.htm

Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 users

need to have Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher installed.


New/History

Version 1.0.7

Major update

- new: option to include source subfolders

- new: option to batch resize based on height

- new: option to set JPEG quality values

- new: duplicate filenames will be uniquely renamed

- new: dialogues will remember previously chosen files & folders

- new: improved help file, smaller setup, lots of minor improvements

- fix: in some cases the aspect ratio was not correct

Version 1.0.6

Minor update

- support for images with unusual or non-standard filenames

- fixed incorrect display on systems with 'Large fonts' setting

- improved error handling

Version 1.0.5

Minor update

- Minor improvements on the interface.

- Bugfix install script for Win98 systems.

- Improved picture file-naming

Version 1.0.4

Minor update

- Bugfix for Win95 and WinNT4 systems.

- Initial public release.


Work with one file

Click the Work with one file tab and follow steps 1 to 4:

1. Load picture:

Load your picture here (I can't believe I'm actually typing this).

2. Select new size:

Select one of the size options here or enter one of your own in the Custom size section. Mark Maintain aspect ratio to keep proportions. (PIXresizer calculates the aspect ratio for every single picture it 'sees', also when you work with multiple files).

3. Select file format:

Select the desired type of extension for your picture here or select Same as original if there is no need to convert.

4. Save picture:

Press this button to save your picture.

Mark Output Grayscale if you want a black and white picture.

You can use the Apply recommended button to set the options for you:

it will force a 600 pixels size (larger dimension) and the .jpg format. (600 pixels is the recommended size for sending images via e-mail, and posting on the web).


Work with multiple files

Click the Work with multiple files tab and follow steps 1 to 4:

1. Select source and destination:

Click on the Source button to select the folder containing the images that need to be resized. Click on the Destination button to select the folder where PIXresizer will put the resized images.

Additional: Include subfolders

2. Select new size:

Drag the slider to set the larger dimension (measured in pixels) for the resized images. The sample images show you the approximate size of the images as they would appear relative to the standard monitor resolutions.

Additional: Batch resize based on height only

3. Select file format:

Select the desired type of extension for your picture here or select Same as original if there is no need to convert.

Additional: Set JPEG quality

4. Save pictures:

Press this button to start resizing and save your pictures.

- Mark Output Grayscale if you want black and white pictures.

- Mark Enlarge picture size if needed if you want pictures that are smaller than the desired size to enlarge (not recommended).

You can use the Apply recommended button to set the options for you:

it will force a 600 pixels size (larger dimension) and the .jpg format. (600 pixels is the recommended size for sending images via e-mail, and posting on the web).


Include subfolders

Tick the Subfolders checkbox to include subfolders.


Set JPEG quality

Click the Joint Photographic Experts Group (if you selected the JPEG extension) to set the quality value for your JPEG file. Default value is 90.


Create thumbnails

To produce THUMBNAILS from your pictures move the slider all the way to the left. The pixel-box will show 96, which is the default size for thumbnails (larger dimension).


Cancel a batch resize

If you need to cancel the process, click the Click here to Cancel label, just beneath the progress bar.


Batch resize based on height only

Tick the Use for height only checkbox to use the size of the slider for a HEIGHT resize of your images (all images will have the same height after resizing).


Speed

Work with files on your hard disk

If your source images are on CD or other media, do copy them to your hard disk before using PIXresizer. This will speed up the process considerably. The same counts for the destination folder: use a folder on your hard disk, don't save them to floppies, ZIP drives, whatever. You can do that afterwards.

Avoid Show Preview

The time PIXresizer needs to complete the process depends on the number of images being processed, and their original sizes. Having the Show Preview on slows things down.


Spot how many images there are in the Source folder

Here you can see the number of images found in your source folder.


Spot the values of the aspect ratio

Here you can see the values of the aspect ratio on the loaded image.

(Position your mouse over the Maintain aspect ratio label to see the tooltip).


Skipped files

PIXresizer won't process files when they:

 - are in use

 - are not real images

 - are of the same size as your size setting

It will however produce a list of errored files for your examination afterwards.


Protection fault in shlwapi.dll

If you get a protection fault on a shlwapi.dll, or an error message that mentions a shlwapi.dll, you need to install Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher, which includes the missing or an updated shlwapi.dll file.

You will usually get shlwapi.dll related error messages on Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 systems with Internet Explorer 2.x or 3.x installed see requirements.

The shlwapi.dll library is not directly installed with PIXresizer.

It is a shell library used by the operating system and updated only by Microsoft utilities or Internet Explorer. Bluefive software is not allowed to overwrite or install this file.

There are also a few download sites around that have the DLL available, for those that don't allow Internet Explorer on their machines.

Use at your own risk!


EXIF info

At this point PIXresizer does not store any EXIF information in the picture files it produces. This may be supported in the future.


Pancakes

Can I bake pancakes with PIXresizer?

No, you can't.

PIXresizer was written with ease-of-use and novice computer users in mind. People that want to stay miles away from Photoshop and don't want to know about terms like "Baseline mode", "BitsPerPixel" and "Lossless Transformations".

If you want to do more with your pictures, I recommend IrfanView. This superb freeware will allow you to do things you couldn't dream of. (Although I doubt it can bake pancakes... :-) Here's the link: http://www.irfanview.com/


The Visual Guide

The Visual Guide is there to help you "visualize" the output size for your image files. It has no impact whatsoever on the resizing of any pictures.

The sample images in the PIXresizer-monitor show you the approximate size of the images as they would appear relative to the standard monitor resolutions.


Registry

If you are interested in the entries PIXresizer makes to the Windows Registry you will appreciate this little info.

The Registry Path is:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/BlueFive/PIXresizer

All the settings related to PIXresizer are kept here.

Nothing PIXresizer added to the Registry is critical to the operation of Windows. You can totally remove all of its entries from the Registry without any side-effects. Of course, if you do, it will be as if you were running PIXresizer for the very first time.


Disclaimer

This software is provided as is and without warranty. The author assumes no liability for damages, either direct or consequential, which may result from the use of this product.

Distribution

This program is freeware. There is no charge for using it and it may be distributed freely so long as the files are kept together and unaltered. You may neither sell nor profit from distribution of this software in any way. Distribution on CD-ROMs, Shareware-disks, in shops or through networks are allowed as long as

a) no money (for the program itself) is taken

b) each file of the original ZIP-file is included and

c) you informed me about it.

Thanks

Special thanks to:

Clark Vansteensel for his contributions, time, effort and support.

Brad Martinez for his superb CCRP BrowseDialog Server.

Domenico Statuto for his superb CCRP FileDialogs Control.

More info: http://www.mvps.org/ccrp/

Keep your copy up-to-date

Please check regularly for updates at:

http://bluefive.pair.com/