Waving the Magic Wand Tool

Sometimes you want to select an area so uniform in appearance that you want to simply tell Paint Shop Pro, "Go select that red balloon" or whatever it is. To you, with your human perception, the area is an obvious thing of some sort. In software, anything that even slightly mimics human perception is often called magic. The Magic Wand selection tool is no exception. It can identify and select areas of uniform color or brightness, somewhat as your eye does.<br> <br>One benefit of this tool is that you can select areas with complex edges that would be a pain in the wrist to trace with the Freehand tool. For instance, a selection of blue sky that includes a complex skyline of buildings and trees would be relatively easy with the Magic Wand tool.<br> <br>The Magic Wand tool doesn't, however, work as well as your eye. In particular, if the color or brightness of the area you're trying to select isn't uniform or doesn't contrast strongly with the surroundings, the selection is likely to be spotty or incomplete or have rough edges.<br> <br>Making the selection<br><br>To make a selection, select the Magic Wand from the Selection toolset. Your cursor takes on the Magic Wand icon. Click the Magic Wand cursor on your image, and it selects all adjacent pixels that match (or nearly match) the pixel you clicked. (Note that the selection does not include isolated pixels — pixels that, even though they match, are separated from the place you clicked by nonmatching pixels.)<br> <br>To get the selection you want when you use the Magic Wand tool, consult the Tool Options palette. It lets you define (by using the Match mode list) exactly what you mean by match and lets you adjust (by adjusting the Tolerance setting) how closely the selected pixels should match the one you clicked.<br> <br>If your image uses layers, be sure that the active layer is the one containing the area you want to select. Enable the Sample Merged check box on the Tool Options palette so that the Magic Wand tool examines all layers combined. Otherwise, the Magic Wand tool selects a totally wrong area, and you wonder what's happening!<br> <br>Choosing Match mode for better results<br><br>Click the Match Mode list box and you can choose exactly how you want Paint Shop Pro to select the pixels around the place you clicked.<br><br>Some of the choices are shown in this list:<br> <br>RGB Value: When you choose this option, you tell Paint Shop Pro to "select pixels that match in both color and brightness." Clicking a red apple using this choice may select only the highlighted side where you clicked, for instance. Technically, it selects all adjacent pixels with red (R), green (G), and blue (B) primary color values that match the one you clicked.<br> <br>Hue: You're telling Paint Shop Pro to "select pixels that match in color" when you choose Hue. Hue, however, is somewhat more independent of brightness than the RGB value. Clicking on a red apple with this choice is more likely to select the entire apple than if you chose RGB Value. Technically, it selects all adjacent pixels with hues (in the Hue/Saturation/Lightness color system, or color wheel) that match the hue of the pixel you clicked.<br> <br>Brightness: Brightness disregards color and selects all adjacent pixels whose brightness matches the one you clicked. This choice is useful for selecting things that are similarly illuminated, like shadows and highlights, or that are in a notably light or dark color compared with the background.<br> <br>Opacity: Opacity, if you're not paying attention, is a measure of how transparent your image is. Opacity mode selects anything that's suitably close to the transparency of the selected pixel.<br><br>Opacity is useful only when you're working on layers or images with transparent backgrounds. Even though you can technically paint a low- opacity streak over a white background using the Brush tool, the Magic Wand sees that even though the paint is ghostly and transparent, the background is 100 percent opaque. It then counts the background as part of the selection and goes on to select the entire image.<br> <br>All Opaque: This option is a special choice for when you're working on an image that has transparent areas — areas of no content whatever — usually displayed with a checkered background. It tells Paint Shop Pro to select the area that has content around the pixel where you clicked. For instance, you may have photos of various air freshener products on a transparent layer, artistically floating over a cow pasture in the background. With this choice, you can just click one of the products to select it in its entirety.<br> <br>Experiment to get the mode that works best for you! Press Ctrl+D to deselect each failed experiment, change match modes, and click again with the Magic Wand tool.<br><br>Setting tolerance to include more or fewer pixels<br> <br>The Tolerance setting on the Tool Options palette helps you determine how much of an area is selected by the Magic Wand tool. You may have to undo your selection with Ctrl+D, adjust the tolerance, and click again with the Magic Wand tool several times to get the best selection possible.<br> <br>Tolerance tells Paint Shop Pro how closely the pixels it selects should match the pixel you clicked — in RGB value, hue, or brightness, depending on which match mode you chose. (Tolerance doesn't matter for All Pixels match mode. A pixel either has content or it doesn't.) Here's how it works:<br> <br>Lower the tolerance value to make a less extensive selection the next time you click.<br><br>Raise the tolerance value to make a more extensive selection the next time you click.<br><br>In Paint Shop Pro, low tolerance means that the Magic Wand tool tolerates little variation in color or brightness from the pixel you clicked. The tolerance value itself has no particular meaning; it's just a number.<br> <br>The Tolerance value box on the Magic Wand tool's Tool Options palette has a clever adjustment feature you find in similar boxes throughout Paint Shop Pro. As with these types of boxes in any Windows program, you can type a value (from 0 to 200) in its text box or click its up or down arrow to adjust the value. We find that the best way is to click the down arrow, orClever adjustment feature, and hold your mouse button down. A tiny slider appears that you can drag left or right to set the tolerance value lower or higher.<br> <br>Tolerance can be a sensitive and picky adjustment. A small change can sometimes make a big difference in what gets selected. Unless you're trying to select an area well differentiated by color, brightness, or content, you probably have to adjust your selected area afterward.

Waving the Magic Wand Tool

Sometimes you want to select an area so uniform in appearance that you want to simply tell Paint Shop Pro, "Go select that red balloon...

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Waving the Magic Wand Tool

Sometimes you want to select an area so uniform in appearance that you want to simply tell Paint Shop Pro, "Go select that red balloon" or whatever it is. To you, with your human perception, the area is an obvious thing of some sort. In software, anything that even slightly mimics human perception is often called magic. The Magic Wand selection tool is no exception. It can identify and select areas of uniform color or brightness, somewhat as your eye does.<br> <br>One benefit of this tool is that you can select areas with complex edges that would be a pain in the wrist to trace with the Freehand tool. For instance, a selection of blue sky that includes a complex skyline of buildings and trees would be relatively easy with the Magic Wand tool.<br> <br>The Magic Wand tool doesn't, however, work as well as your eye. In particular, if the color or brightness of the area you're trying to select isn't uniform or doesn't contrast strongly with the surroundings, the selection is likely to be spotty or incomplete or have rough edges.<br> <br>Making the selection<br><br>To make a selection, select the Magic Wand from the Selection toolset. Your cursor takes on the Magic Wand icon. Click the Magic Wand cursor on your image, and it selects all adjacent pixels that match (or nearly match) the pixel you clicked. (Note that the selection does not include isolated pixels — pixels that, even though they match, are separated from the place you clicked by nonmatching pixels.)<br> <br>To get the selection you want when you use the Magic Wand tool, consult the Tool Options palette. It lets you define (by using the Match mode list) exactly what you mean by match and lets you adjust (by adjusting the Tolerance setting) how closely the selected pixels should match the one you clicked.<br> <br>If your image uses layers, be sure that the active layer is the one containing the area you want to select. Enable the Sample Merged check box on the Tool Options palette so that the Magic Wand tool examines all layers combined. Otherwise, the Magic Wand tool selects a totally wrong area, and you wonder what's happening!<br> <br>Choosing Match mode for better results<br><br>Click the Match Mode list box and you can choose exactly how you want Paint Shop Pro to select the pixels around the place you clicked.<br><br>Some of the choices are shown in this list:<br> <br>RGB Value: When you choose this option, you tell Paint Shop Pro to "select pixels that match in both color and brightness." Clicking a red apple using this choice may select only the highlighted side where you clicked, for instance. Technically, it selects all adjacent pixels with red (R), green (G), and blue (B) primary color values that match the one you clicked.<br> <br>Hue: You're telling Paint Shop Pro to "select pixels that match in color" when you choose Hue. Hue, however, is somewhat more independent of brightness than the RGB value. Clicking on a red apple with this choice is more likely to select the entire apple than if you chose RGB Value. Technically, it selects all adjacent pixels with hues (in the Hue/Saturation/Lightness color system, or color wheel) that match the hue of the pixel you clicked.<br> <br>Brightness: Brightness disregards color and selects all adjacent pixels whose brightness matches the one you clicked. This choice is useful for selecting things that are similarly illuminated, like shadows and highlights, or that are in a notably light or dark color compared with the background.<br> <br>Opacity: Opacity, if you're not paying attention, is a measure of how transparent your image is. Opacity mode selects anything that's suitably close to the transparency of the selected pixel.<br><br>Opacity is useful only when you're working on layers or images with transparent backgrounds. Even though you can technically paint a low- opacity streak over a white background using the Brush tool, the Magic Wand sees that even though the paint is ghostly and transparent, the background is 100 percent opaque. It then counts the background as part of the selection and goes on to select the entire image.<br> <br>All Opaque: This option is a special choice for when you're working on an image that has transparent areas — areas of no content whatever — usually displayed with a checkered background. It tells Paint Shop Pro to select the area that has content around the pixel where you clicked. For instance, you may have photos of various air freshener products on a transparent layer, artistically floating over a cow pasture in the background. With this choice, you can just click one of the products to select it in its entirety.<br> <br>Experiment to get the mode that works best for you! Press Ctrl+D to deselect each failed experiment, change match modes, and click again with the Magic Wand tool.<br><br>Setting tolerance to include more or fewer pixels<br> <br>The Tolerance setting on the Tool Options palette helps you determine how much of an area is selected by the Magic Wand tool. You may have to undo your selection with Ctrl+D, adjust the tolerance, and click again with the Magic Wand tool several times to get the best selection possible.<br> <br>Tolerance tells Paint Shop Pro how closely the pixels it selects should match the pixel you clicked — in RGB value, hue, or brightness, depending on which match mode you chose. (Tolerance doesn't matter for All Pixels match mode. A pixel either has content or it doesn't.) Here's how it works:<br> <br>Lower the tolerance value to make a less extensive selection the next time you click.<br><br>Raise the tolerance value to make a more extensive selection the next time you click.<br><br>In Paint Shop Pro, low tolerance means that the Magic Wand tool tolerates little variation in color or brightness from the pixel you clicked. The tolerance value itself has no particular meaning; it's just a number.<br> <br>The Tolerance value box on the Magic Wand tool's Tool Options palette has a clever adjustment feature you find in similar boxes throughout Paint Shop Pro. As with these types of boxes in any Windows program, you can type a value (from 0 to 200) in its text box or click its up or down arrow to adjust the value. We find that the best way is to click the down arrow, orClever adjustment feature, and hold your mouse button down. A tiny slider appears that you can drag left or right to set the tolerance value lower or higher.<br> <br>Tolerance can be a sensitive and picky adjustment. A small change can sometimes make a big difference in what gets selected. Unless you're trying to select an area well differentiated by color, brightness, or content, you probably have to adjust your selected area afterward.

Waving the Magic Wand Tool

Sometimes you want to select an area so uniform in appearance that you want to simply tell Paint Shop Pro, "Go select that red balloon...

Read more »

Correcting Color Cast with Photoshop Variations

<p dir="ltr">Photoshop can provide magical transformations to images, making them unrecognizable from the original, but sometimes what you really want is simply to make an image look the same as the original — only better. Perhaps the colors are a little too warm, or the shadows a bit inky. Whatever's wrong with the image, the last thing you want is to change it so much that it looks like it's been processed more than a freeze-dried floral arrangement. You'd be happy to have everyone admire your image without a clue that you'd made major corrections in Photoshop.</p> <p dir="ltr">Photoshop's Variations feature is a variation (so to speak) on the professional photographer's ring around (a set of color prints, each made with slightly different color balance) or test strip (a single print of an image made so that each section is shown using a different color balance). Both tools let you view several renditions of an image and choose the best one visually by comparing them. You might want to use Variations when you're unsure about exactly how the color is biased, and would like to compare several versions of an image to see exactly what the color cast is.</p> <p dir="ltr">Although not as sophisticated as some color correction techniques, the Variations feature has the advantage of being quick and simple, and it doesn't require a lot of training to use.</p> <p dir="ltr">Following are the components of the Variations dialog box:</p> <p dir="ltr">In the upper-left corner is a pair of images — the original image and the image as it will appear when the corrections are applied.Below these thumbnails is a set of six variations on the original image, each with a fixed amount of correction applied using (clockwise from upper-left) green, yellow, red, magenta, blue, and cyan. In the center of this ring is the current version of the image.At the right edge of the dialog box is a stack of three thumbnails showing a lighter version of the image (at top), the current version (in the middle), and a darker rendition (at bottom).In the upper-right corner of the dialog box is a control area that includes radio buttons that let you choose shadows, midtones, or highlights for your correction, as well as saturation. Beneath the buttons is a slider that controls whether your correction will be subtle (Fine) or dramatic (Coarse).Four buttons also let you save the corrections you've made for use with the same or another photo, load settings you've already stored, apply the current corrections (by clicking OK), or forget about the whole thing (by clicking Cancel).</p>

Correcting Color Cast with Photoshop Variations

Photoshop can provide magical transformations to images, making them unrecognizable from the original, but sometimes what you really want is...

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Correcting Color Cast with Photoshop Variations

<p dir="ltr">Photoshop can provide magical transformations to images, making them unrecognizable from the original, but sometimes what you really want is simply to make an image look the same as the original — only better. Perhaps the colors are a little too warm, or the shadows a bit inky. Whatever's wrong with the image, the last thing you want is to change it so much that it looks like it's been processed more than a freeze-dried floral arrangement. You'd be happy to have everyone admire your image without a clue that you'd made major corrections in Photoshop.</p> <p dir="ltr">Photoshop's Variations feature is a variation (so to speak) on the professional photographer's ring around (a set of color prints, each made with slightly different color balance) or test strip (a single print of an image made so that each section is shown using a different color balance). Both tools let you view several renditions of an image and choose the best one visually by comparing them. You might want to use Variations when you're unsure about exactly how the color is biased, and would like to compare several versions of an image to see exactly what the color cast is.</p> <p dir="ltr">Although not as sophisticated as some color correction techniques, the Variations feature has the advantage of being quick and simple, and it doesn't require a lot of training to use.</p> <p dir="ltr">Following are the components of the Variations dialog box:</p> <p dir="ltr">In the upper-left corner is a pair of images — the original image and the image as it will appear when the corrections are applied.Below these thumbnails is a set of six variations on the original image, each with a fixed amount of correction applied using (clockwise from upper-left) green, yellow, red, magenta, blue, and cyan. In the center of this ring is the current version of the image.At the right edge of the dialog box is a stack of three thumbnails showing a lighter version of the image (at top), the current version (in the middle), and a darker rendition (at bottom).In the upper-right corner of the dialog box is a control area that includes radio buttons that let you choose shadows, midtones, or highlights for your correction, as well as saturation. Beneath the buttons is a slider that controls whether your correction will be subtle (Fine) or dramatic (Coarse).Four buttons also let you save the corrections you've made for use with the same or another photo, load settings you've already stored, apply the current corrections (by clicking OK), or forget about the whole thing (by clicking Cancel). </p>

Correcting Color Cast with Photoshop Variations

Photoshop can provide magical transformations to images, making them unrecognizable from the original, but sometimes what you really want is...

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Animating Digital Video Clips

<p dir="ltr">Wait a minute; don't you call these things "movies" because the pictures are already moving? Why would you need to animate a video clip? You may not need to animate the actual subjects in the video, but you can move the video image across the screen. For example, a small picture-in-picture image can sail across the screen to give a hint of action that will happen later in the movie. You can move a clip across the screen along a fixed path or a zigzag pattern, you can rotate clips, and you can distort them.</p> <p dir="ltr">To prepare a clip for animation, follow these steps:</p> <p dir="ltr">1. Click the clip in the timeline that you want to animate to select it, and make sure that the play head appears somewhere over the clip.</p> <p dir="ltr">You want just about any clip that you animate in track Video 2 or higher.</p> <p dir="ltr">2. Choose Window --> Properties to open the Properties window for the selected clip.</p> <p dir="ltr">3. Click the arrow next to the Motion heading to expand the Motion controls.</p> <p dir="ltr">4. Click the clip's video image in the Monitor.</p> <p dir="ltr">When you click the clip in the monitor, cross-hairs appear in the middle of the clip and square handles appear on the sides and corners of the video image.</p> <p dir="ltr">5. Click and drag the square handles to change the size of the image.</p> <p dir="ltr">6. Click and drag on the middle of the image to move the image to a new location on the screen.</p> <p dir="ltr">The preceding steps help you only resize a clip, not animate it. If you play the timeline to preview your change, you see that your clip has been resized, but it doesn't go anywhere. To actually animate the clip and make it go somewhere, you just use keyframes. To animate your resized clip, follow these steps:</p> <p dir="ltr">1. Click the Toggle Animation button next to Motion.</p> <p dir="ltr">2. Click the Add/Remove Keyframe button next to the Position control.</p> <p dir="ltr">A keyframe appears at the current video frame for the current size and position of your clip.</p> <p dir="ltr">3. Move the play head in the timeline to a different location in the clip.</p> <p dir="ltr">4. Click and drag the resized clip in the monitor to a new location.</p> <p dir="ltr">This step automatically creates a new keyframe. If you want, you can even drag the clip completely off-screen. This causes the clip to appear to exit, stage left (or right, or up, or . . . ).</p> <p dir="ltr">Now play the timeline. The resized clip moves across the screen as it plays between the two keyframes that you created. Unhappy with the results? Play around with it! Animation is one of those effects that you really need to fiddle around with to get just the right look.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4vpdby0_He6AHSUi92ePTkUqHU-1UZyIcw604y8C9MHQAwox-wj0sccTw_Sz5ubx0KhFIM6QSK_Th6bmyVCvdlsECZB2l8-CMZdKxkM0MHa-nsZhnFI4lAjJ9Mdv2gMleHbo1t22NRaGl/s1600/IMG_20140201_210525.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4vpdby0_He6AHSUi92ePTkUqHU-1UZyIcw604y8C9MHQAwox-wj0sccTw_Sz5ubx0KhFIM6QSK_Th6bmyVCvdlsECZB2l8-CMZdKxkM0MHa-nsZhnFI4lAjJ9Mdv2gMleHbo1t22NRaGl/s640/IMG_20140201_210525.jpg"> </a> </div>

Animating Digital Video Clips

Wait a minute; don't you call these things "movies" because the pictures are already moving? Why would you need to animate a v...

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Animating Digital Video Clips

<p dir="ltr">Now wait a minute; don't you call these things "movies" because the pictures are already moving? Why would you need to animate a video clip? You may not need to animate the actual subjects in the video, but you can move the video image across the screen. For example, a small picture-in-picture image can sail across the screen to give a hint of action that will happen later in the movie. You can move a clip across the screen along a fixed path or a zigzag pattern, you can rotate clips, and you can distort them.</p> <p dir="ltr">To prepare a clip for animation, follow these steps:</p> <p dir="ltr">1. Click the clip in the timeline that you want to animate to select it, and make sure that the play head appears somewhere over the clip.</p> <p dir="ltr">You want just about any clip that you animate in track Video 2 or higher.</p> <p dir="ltr">2. Choose Window --> Properties to open the Properties window for the selected clip.</p> <p dir="ltr">3. Click the arrow next to the Motion heading to expand the Motion controls.</p> <p dir="ltr">4. Click the clip's video image in the Monitor.</p> <p dir="ltr">When you click the clip in the monitor, cross-hairs appear in the middle of the clip and square handles appear on the sides and corners of the video image.</p> <p dir="ltr">5. Click and drag the square handles to change the size of the image.</p> <p dir="ltr">6. Click and drag on the middle of the image to move the image to a new location on the screen.</p> <p dir="ltr">The preceding steps help you only resize a clip, not animate it. If you play the timeline to preview your change, you see that your clip has been resized, but it doesn't go anywhere. To actually animate the clip and make it go somewhere, you just use keyframes. To animate your resized clip, follow these steps:</p> <p dir="ltr">1. Click the Toggle Animation button next to Motion.</p> <p dir="ltr">2. Click the Add/Remove Keyframe button next to the Position control.</p> <p dir="ltr">A keyframe appears at the current video frame for the current size and position of your clip.</p> <p dir="ltr">3. Move the play head in the timeline to a different location in the clip.</p> <p dir="ltr">4. Click and drag the resized clip in the monitor to a new location.</p> <p dir="ltr">This step automatically creates a new keyframe. If you want, you can even drag the clip completely off-screen. This causes the clip to appear to exit, stage left (or right, or up, or . . . ).</p> <p dir="ltr">Now play the timeline. The resized clip moves across the screen as it plays between the two keyframes that you created. Unhappy with the results? Play around with it! Animation is one of those effects that you really need to fiddle around with to get just the right look.</p>

Animating Digital Video Clips

Now wait a minute; don't you call these things "movies" because the pictures are already moving? Why would you need to animate...

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Putting Images under the Microscope in Photoshop cs

<p dir=ltr>Digital images fall into two camps:vector images, which are created based on mathematical formulas, andraster images, which are made up of pixels. Photoshop allows you to produce both types of images and even to combine both types within a single file.</p><p dir=ltr>Table 1 gives you the skinny on vector and raster images. For the details, keep reading.</p><p dir=ltr>Table 1: Characteristics of Vector and Raster Graphics</p><p dir=ltr>Graphic Type</p><p dir=ltr>How It Works</p><p dir=ltr>File Size</p><p dir=ltr>Image Degradation Possible?</p><p dir=ltr>Resolution Dependent?</p><p dir=ltr>Vector</p><p dir=ltr>Mathematical formulas precisely locate and connect geometric objects and segments</p><p dir=ltr>Usually smaller</p><p dir=ltr>No</p><p dir=ltr>No</p><p dir=ltr>Raster</p><p dir=ltr>Breaks pieces of an image into a grid made up of pixels</p><p dir=ltr>Usually larger</p><p dir=ltr>Yes</p><p dir=ltr>Yes</p><p dir=ltr>Vector images</p><p dir=ltr>One cool thing about vector images, also called object-oriented images, is that when you zoom in on them, they don't look blocky. That's because vector images are comprised ofsegments — curved or straight — andanchor points — elements that indicate the endpoints of the segments — that are defined by mathematical objects called vectors. Vectors use a unique mathematical formula to define the specific location of an object as well as its geometric shape.</p><p dir=ltr>Vector images are usually the product of drawing programs, such as Adobe Illustrator, but Photoshop is also capable of producing a vector or two. And not to be outdone, its cousin Illustrator can also rasterize (or convert into pixels) vector artwork, thereby providing you with raster images to work with.</p><p dir=ltr>Here is some additional information about vector graphics:</p><p dir=ltr>A curve is still a curve, even at 20,000 feet. Because they are mathematically defined, vector graphics can be sized and otherwise transformed without an inkling of quality loss. Take that little 2-inch spot illustration and size it up to mural size, and it appears identical. A perfect true curve remains a perfect true curve, whether it's 2 inches or 20 feet long.You can get pretty pictures in small packages. Vector images can be small in file size because the file size depends on the complexity of the vector objects, not the size of the illustration.Graphics that need clean lines, such as logos, typographic illustrations, and line art, work great in vector format. Vector images are independent — resolution independent, that is. Not only can they be transformed and printed without a degradation in quality, but they also have no built-in resolution — they take on the resolution of the output device. For example, print something to an imagesetter (a high-end printing device used for color separations) at 2400 dots per inch (dpi), and the image comes out at 2400 dpi. Print it to a 300 dpi laser printer and what do you get? A 300 dpi image.</p><p dir=ltr>Because your monitor can display images only on a grid, vector images display on-screen as pixels. This accounts for the jagged appearance you see when you zoom into a curved vector object. But don't worry; it will print just fine.</p><p dir=ltr>Raster images</p><p dir=ltr>Raster images are usually the result of the digitizing of continuous-toneimages, such as photographs or original painted or drawn artwork. Raster images are comprised of a grid of squares, which are called pixels. Pixel is short for PICture Element and is the smallest component of a digital image. If you've ever looked at a bathroom wall made up of those small square tiles reminiscent of the 1940s, you're familiar with what a grid of pixels looks like: Each pixel lives in a specific location on that grid and contains a single color. When you edit a bitmap image, you are editing one or more pixels rather than an object-oriented shape.</p><p dir=ltr>Although it doesn't seem like it when you're viewing an image that fits inside your computer screen, your entire image can be broken down into a grid of square pixels. But how do you fit a round peg in a square hole? By faking it. Unlike the true mathematical curve possible when drawing vector shapes, raster images must try to approximate a curve by mimicking the overall shape with square pixels.</p><p dir=ltr>Fortunately, the mimicry the pixels have to do is indecipherable with high-resolution images viewed at a reasonable distance. But when you zoom in, you can see that a curve in an image is indeed comprised of square pixels. Raster graphics work great for photorealistic or painterly images where subtle gradations of color are necessary. On the downside, because they contain a fixed number of pixels, raster graphics can suffer a degradation of quality when they're enlarged or otherwise transformed. They are also large in file size.</p><p dir=ltr>Bitmap images are resolution dependent. Because they contain a fixed number of pixels, the resolution of the device they are being printed to is only one of two factors that influence the quality of the image. The quality of the output also depends heavily on the resolution of the image. For example, an image with 72 dots per inch (dpi) doesn't look any better printed on a 600 dpi printer than it does on a 1200 dpi printer. Likewise, a 300 dpi image doesn't look as good printed on an old 72 dpi dot matrix printer as it does on a 1200 dpi printer.</p><p dir=ltr>www.digitalsankalp.org</p>

Putting Images under the Microscope in Photoshop cs

Digital images fall into two camps:vector images, which are created based on mathematical formulas, andraster images, which are made up of p...

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Putting Images under the Microscope in Photoshop cs

<p dir="ltr">Digital images fall into two camps:vector images, which are created based on mathematical formulas, andraster images, which are made up of pixels. Photoshop allows you to produce both types of images and even to combine both types within a single file.</p> <p dir="ltr">Table 1 gives you the skinny on vector and raster images. For the details, keep reading.</p> <p dir="ltr">Table 1: Characteristics of Vector and Raster Graphics</p> <p dir="ltr">Graphic Type</p> <p dir="ltr">How It Works</p> <p dir="ltr">File Size</p> <p dir="ltr">Image Degradation Possible?</p> <p dir="ltr">Resolution Dependent?</p> <p dir="ltr">Vector</p> <p dir="ltr">Mathematical formulas precisely locate and connect geometric objects and segments</p> <p dir="ltr">Usually smaller</p> <p dir="ltr">No</p> <p dir="ltr">No</p> <p dir="ltr">Raster</p> <p dir="ltr">Breaks pieces of an image into a grid made up of pixels</p> <p dir="ltr">Usually larger</p> <p dir="ltr">Yes</p> <p dir="ltr">Yes</p> <p dir="ltr">Vector images</p> <p dir="ltr">One cool thing about vector images, also called object-oriented images, is that when you zoom in on them, they don't look blocky. That's because vector images are comprised ofsegments — curved or straight — andanchor points — elements that indicate the endpoints of the segments — that are defined by mathematical objects called vectors. Vectors use a unique mathematical formula to define the specific location of an object as well as its geometric shape.</p> <p dir="ltr">Vector images are usually the product of drawing programs, such as Adobe Illustrator, but Photoshop is also capable of producing a vector or two. And not to be outdone, its cousin Illustrator can also rasterize (or convert into pixels) vector artwork, thereby providing you with raster images to work with.</p> <p dir="ltr">Here is some additional information about vector graphics:</p> <p dir="ltr">A curve is still a curve, even at 20,000 feet. Because they are mathematically defined, vector graphics can be sized and otherwise transformed without an inkling of quality loss. Take that little 2-inch spot illustration and size it up to mural size, and it appears identical. A perfect true curve remains a perfect true curve, whether it's 2 inches or 20 feet long.You can get pretty pictures in small packages. Vector images can be small in file size because the file size depends on the complexity of the vector objects, not the size of the illustration.Graphics that need clean lines, such as logos, typographic illustrations, and line art, work great in vector format. Vector images are independent — resolution independent, that is. Not only can they be transformed and printed without a degradation in quality, but they also have no built-in resolution — they take on the resolution of the output device. For example, print something to an imagesetter (a high-end printing device used for color separations) at 2400 dots per inch (dpi), and the image comes out at 2400 dpi. Print it to a 300 dpi laser printer and what do you get? A 300 dpi image.</p> <p dir="ltr">Because your monitor can display images only on a grid, vector images display on-screen as pixels. This accounts for the jagged appearance you see when you zoom into a curved vector object. But don't worry; it will print just fine.</p> <p dir="ltr">Raster images</p> <p dir="ltr">Raster images are usually the result of the digitizing of continuous-toneimages, such as photographs or original painted or drawn artwork. Raster images are comprised of a grid of squares, which are called pixels. Pixel is short for PICture Element and is the smallest component of a digital image. If you've ever looked at a bathroom wall made up of those small square tiles reminiscent of the 1940s, you're familiar with what a grid of pixels looks like: Each pixel lives in a specific location on that grid and contains a single color. When you edit a bitmap image, you are editing one or more pixels rather than an object-oriented shape.</p> <p dir="ltr">Although it doesn't seem like it when you're viewing an image that fits inside your computer screen, your entire image can be broken down into a grid of square pixels. But how do you fit a round peg in a square hole? By faking it. Unlike the true mathematical curve possible when drawing vector shapes, raster images must try to approximate a curve by mimicking the overall shape with square pixels.</p> <p dir="ltr">Fortunately, the mimicry the pixels have to do is indecipherable with high-resolution images viewed at a reasonable distance. But when you zoom in, you can see that a curve in an image is indeed comprised of square pixels. Raster graphics work great for photorealistic or painterly images where subtle gradations of color are necessary. On the downside, because they contain a fixed number of pixels, raster graphics can suffer a degradation of quality when they're enlarged or otherwise transformed. They are also large in file size.</p> <p dir="ltr">Bitmap images are resolution dependent. Because they contain a fixed number of pixels, the resolution of the device they are being printed to is only one of two factors that influence the quality of the image. The quality of the output also depends heavily on the resolution of the image. For example, an image with 72 dots per inch (dpi) doesn't look any better printed on a 600 dpi printer than it does on a 1200 dpi printer. Likewise, a 300 dpi image doesn't look as good printed on an old 72 dpi dot matrix printer as it does on a 1200 dpi printer.</p>

Putting Images under the Microscope in Photoshop cs

Digital images fall into two camps:vector images, which are created based on mathematical formulas, andraster images, which are made up of p...

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Converting Office Documents into PDF Files

<p dir="ltr">PDFMaker 5.0 for Windows makes it ridiculously easy to turn any Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document you create or edit with the Office 2000 or Office XP (2002) editions of these programs into the latest and greatest versions of PDF documents — all you have to do is click the Convert to Adobe PDF button on the PDFMaker 5.0 toolbar (automatically added when you install Acrobat 5.0 for Windows on your computer). But before you touch that button, take a gander at these commandments for making perfect PDF conversions.</p> <p dir="ltr">Check for consistent use of heading styles</p> <p dir="ltr">Click the Document Map button on the Standard toolbar to display the headings and their hierarchical relationship in the Document Map pane in Word. Because PDFMaker can automatically convert all Word document headings into bookmarks in the resulting PDF document, you should make sure that all the headings in your document use the appropriate Heading style. Word 2002 users can display the Styles and Formatting task pane (choose View --> Task Pane and then click Styles and Formatting on the Task Pane pop-up menu) to check and, if necessary, reapply the Heading styles.</p> <p dir="ltr">Check the paging of Excel worksheets</p> <p dir="ltr">Choose View --> Page Break Preview on the Excel menus. Because PDFMaker uses the current paging of the Excel worksheet in constructing the pages in the resulting PDF document, you will want to verify the page breaks before doing the conversion. Remedy bad page breaks that separate columns and rows of data that should appear together on a page by dragging the page break markers in the Page Break Preview mode.</p> <p dir="ltr">Verify which type of PDF document you're creating</p> <p dir="ltr">You do this by checking the name that appears in the Conversion Settings combo box on the Settings tab of the Acrobat 5.0 PDFMaker 5.0 dialog box (Acrobat --> Change Conversion Settings). When selecting among these presets, keep in mind the major use of the final PDF document: Select eBook for online viewing, Press for professional printing, Print for in-house printing, and Screen for fast downloading and viewing on the Web. Also, keep in mind that you can customize any of these presets by selecting it in the Conversion Settings combo box and then clicking the Edit Conversion Settings button.</p> <p dir="ltr">Confirm that all Word document headings and styles will be converted into bookmarks</p> <p dir="ltr">Verify which settings are selected on the Bookmarks tab of the Acrobat 5.0 PDFMaker 5.0 dialog box (Acrobat --> Change Conversion Settings) in Word. Click the Convert Word Headings to Bookmarks check box to convert all Heading paragraph styles used in the document into bookmarks in the resulting PDF file. Click the Convert Word Styles to Bookmarks check box to convert all the other paragraph styles used in the document to bookmarks as well. To omit certain levels of headings or particular styles from bookmark conversion, click their individual check boxes that appear in the list box below.</p> <p dir="ltr">Verify which Word features are marked for conversion in the PDF document</p> <p dir="ltr">Verify which Word Features settings are selected on the Office tab of the Acrobat 5.0 PDFMaker 5.0 dialog box (Acrobat --> Change Conversion Settings) in Word. To convert document comments to hidden notes in the PDF document, select the Comments --> Notes check box. To add text boxes to the adjoining text using the PDF Articles feature, select the Text Boxes --> Article Threads check box. To retain the page numbers used in the Word document, select the Page Numbers check box. To convert all cross-references and any table of contents generated in the Word document into links in the PDF document, select the Cross References & TOC Links check box. To convert all footnotes and endnotes added to the Word document into links in the resulting PDF file, select the Footnote & Endnote Links check box.</p> <p dir="ltr">Make sure that you're creating a tagged PDF file</p> <p dir="ltr">Verify that the Embed Tags in PDF (Accessibility, Reflow) check box option on the Office tab of the Acrobat 5.0 PDFMaker 5.0 dialog box (Acrobat --> Change Conversion Settings) has a check mark in it.</p> <p dir="ltr">Confirm how the converted PDF document is set to open in Acrobat</p> <p dir="ltr">Verify the Document Open options on the Display Options tab of the Acrobat 5.0 PDFMaker 5.0 dialog box (Acrobat --> Change Conversion Settings). To open the PDF document without displaying the Bookmarks palette in the Navigation pane, click the Page Only radio button. To display a page other than the first page upon opening, enter the page number in the Page Number field. To open the page at a set magnification, click the percentage (200, 400, 800, or 1600) or preset view (Fit in Window, Fit Width, or Fit Visible) in the Open Magnification pop-up menu.</p><p dir="ltr">www.digitalsankalp.org</p>

Converting Office Documents into PDF Files

PDFMaker 5.0 for Windows makes it ridiculously easy to turn any Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document you create or edit with the Office 2000 ...

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