Reference: Picture Adjust Tab
From PlantX.net
This reference details the options available on the Picture Adjust Tab.
Contents |
Overview
Pictures straight from the digital camera or scanner are typically not ready for use on the website. The Picture Adjust Tab can be used to apply the final touches.
Rotating Pictures
If the camera was rotated when the picture was taken (a portrait photo), it will likely need rotated to look correctly on screen. The Adjust Tab has two buttons to rotate the picture left or right, counterclockwise or clockwise respectively.
Cropping Pictures
Pictures are primarily shown on the website in two different sizes; full size and thumbnails. Since it quicker to browse the catalog with smaller pictures, PlantX.net supports shrinking photos to a thumbnail size. When the customer clicks on the thumbnail, it will show a full size image. Although using the entire picture for both is perfectly acceptable, thumbnails and even full size views will often look better when you concentrate on a specific portion of the picture. Also, the thumbnails and full size pictures on the website are rarely the same dimensions (shape) as though from a digital camera. Cropping your pictures for the thumbnail and full crop will not only improve picture quality, but will show more picture.
Thumbnail vs. Full Crop
Since thumbnails get their own crop rectangle, separate from the full crop, select a detail part of the picture that captures the essence of the plant. The main crop (full crop) is used to outline the largest usable portion of the picture and is used when showing the full view of the picture. The full crop is typically used to exclude unwanted portions of the background.
Cropping Proportions
The thumbnail and full view picture dimensions used in your website design will impact the size of the thumbnail and full view rectangle set using the cropping feature. PlantX.net will keep the height and width of the cropping rectangle proportionate to the website so long as you drag the corners of the crop. Dragging the sides or top and bottom will change the proportion. Some pictures will just not fit the website proportions, requiring side adjustments. As a rule of thumb, you should avoid dragging the sides, top or bottom unless it is absolutely necessary.
Moving the Crop
The entire crop region can be moved by clicking and dragging from anywhere inside the crop rectangle.
Resetting the Crop
If you want to ensure that you have the correct thumbnail or full crop proportions or dimensions, you can press the crop reset button. It will reset the crop rectangle to the optimal size centered in the picture. The reset, or initial size, is the smallest rectangle the you should use to set the crop. If you make the crop smaller, the image will be scaled up and look grainy. Since thumbnails and website pictures are relatively small to begin with, it is unlikely that you should need a smaller crop than that caused by a reset.
Clearing the Crop
If you decide that you want to use the entire picture without the selected crop rectangle, use the clear button to remove it completely. Since the thumbnail crop is managed separate from the full crop, you will need to explicitly clear both crops, if desired.
Options
- Crop Type
- Use this option to select the current crop rectangle.
- Reset Button
- Press the reset button to reset the crop to it's initial size and proportions. Use this to start over with the optimal crop size.
- Clear Button
- Use the clear option to remove the crop rectangle completely. Do this when you just want to use the whole picture without any cropping.
- Rotate Left
- Rotates the picture counterclockwise.
- Rotate Right
- Rotates the picture clockwise.
