• On Sep, 21, 2010
•  Webnovation
•  General, How To's / Tips & Tricks

HOW TO RESIZE IMAGES FOR WEB

(condensed from gimp.org)

Do you need to resize images for a website?  The Gimp software is the perfect solution.

Once you have downloaded this program, follow the instructions below to resize images as required.

1. Open your image at File -> Open.

2. Change the size of an image (Scale) . Go to Image -> Scale image,  then Scale Image Options.

1. Check Mode under Image tab. It should say RGB.

1. You only need to change one dimension, either the width or the height. Gimp will adjust the other dimension to make the image look correct.

1. To make a huge image smaller, change its size or weight. First reduce your image to a better width or height, then save image as follows:  <Image> File -> Save As….     

Type the filename and Gimp will tell you the available file format.  If jpeg is grayed out, change the mode:  Image -> Mode -> RGB. This is the default mode, used for high quality rich colour images. This is also the mode to do most of your image work with including scaling, cropping and even flipping as it gives the computer more information to work with. This extra information also makes RGB Mode the largest to store as a result.

1. Cropping is necessary to bring out the subject better by cutting a lot of useless background.  To get to the crop tool, you can either push the button on the toolbox or right click on the image and follow the menu <Image> Tools -> Transform Tools -> Crop & Resize. This will change the cursor and allow you to click and drag a rectangular shape. 

After completing the click and drag motion, a little “Crop & Resize Information Dialog” (shown above also) pops up, telling you information about the borders that were defined in the click and drag.  

This window will tell you the pixel lengths. Right click on the image and follow <Image> View -> Info Window. If you are just making a square out of a rectangle, like in the Crop An Image Quickly, you need only to open the dialog and find the lesser length and use that as described.