Cropping slides for PTE 4.48

[LumenLux]

I am making a presentation of 200-300 slides. The photo files from camera are 3872x2592. (Same as 35mm, 3:2 ratio.) I want the PTE presentation to use the 4:3 ratio to fill my PC screen. I am content in most cases for the photos to be cropped equally left and right in order to fill the screen and leave no black borders at top and bottom.

As best I can tell, the slides need to be cropped before being put into PTE V4.48. I often use Irfanview for batch processing, but I can't understand how to batch crop as I desire. In Batch/Advanced Options, the upper left of window has "Crop" options using X & Y coordinates etc. Can someone explain how I can use that to simply crop equally off both sides of photo so the 3:2 original will then fill top and bottom of my 4:3 screen. I am hoping Irfanview can do such cropping without requiring re-saving the .jpg several times in the process. But so far it seems you have to crop the left side, save, then crop right side and save again, and then resize etc. Again, I just want to fill my PC monitor screen while losing as little of the photo as possible. Can Irfanview batch mode do this?

Alternatively, Photoshop Elements "Save for Web" would be very good, but I don't know if that can be utilized in batch mode?

[Ken Cox]

BOB

i use easythumbs for batch processing - just finished doing 25 that i took this morn

see

http://www.fookes.com/ezthumbs/?Easy%20Thumbnails=2800

i am resizing to 1280/960

+4 contrast

+2 sharpen

resize with LANCZOS3 alogrithm as recommended by Igor

ken

[alrobin]

Bob,

If all your images are the same size to start with, you can batch crop to a specific size and portion of your image in PS.

[LumenLux]

Thank you Ken. I had not looked at EZthumbs recently. On your mention, I downloaded and explored. I think it does not do what I need. It seems to resize nicely with many options. But I think what PTE needs is a slide that has actually been cropped. Unless the slide is "cropped" to the needed ratio (3:2), a resized file still results in the black border at the top and bottom when used in PTE V4.48. So in my immediate case, the camera file 3872x2592 when resized only ends up 1024x685 - which of course does not fill the 1024x768 monitor. I think I need a batch crop which will take the camera width 3872 pixels and remove 208 pixels from left and right edges. The resultant 3664 x 2592 should fill the monitor or could be resized to 1024x768. So I am still looking for the simple batch method of taking 208 pixels off left and right sides.

Bob,

If all your images are the same size to start with, you can batch crop to a specific size and portion of your image in PS.

Do you know Al whether the process is available in both PS and Elements versions?

I have always thought the "Save for Web" in Elements option was a very good way for our PTE use. Do you have any idea if "Save for Web" can be incorporated in a batch process? Maybe I'm "off base" in my perception of the very good quality/file size of "Save for Web." But I remember Guido (Guru) agreed with me long, long ago.

[alrobin]

Bob,

Sorry, I couldn't tell you if it's available or not in PS Elements.

Yes, you can "save to web" in batch mode - it's called "export". (see attached action). The advantages of "save for web" are: 1- you don't have to flatten multi-layer PS files, and 2- the extra information about the image is stripped off, thus saving a small amount of file size (not really significant, compared to 1024x768 size images - maybe 5 or 6 kb on 200 kb). If you choose "save-as (optimised)", you accomplish the same thing. Image quality is virtually the same.

[Hawk]

Hi Robert

Elements

You can Batch Crop in Elements using File – Process Multiple Slides.

However if you check “ Constain Proportion “ you will end up with what you have now 1024 x 685. If you uncheck then they will naturally be out of proportion.

As to “ Save for web “ you will on a file size 3872 x 2592 likely get a message to the effect “ Image exceeds the size – Save for Web – was designed for.

Even if you “ Preceed “ I see no way of doing a “ Batch “

If you do not get an answer in regards to Irfanview

You may want to look at “ BreezeBrowser ver 2.13 “

I took a couple of my original camera images 2272 x 1704 and cropped to your size 3872 x 2592. BreezeBrowser did crop them to 1024 x 768, with a setting change.

I have e-mailed you the samples.

If you care to send me a couple of your images, by all means do so. I will resize with BreezeBrowser and return them to you to check.

[Zioca]

Try to use this utility:

JPEGCrops is an utility to crop JPEGs to different aspect ratios without recompressing.

http://ekot.dk/programmer/JPEGCrops/

Carlo.

[Conflow]

Hi Bob,

The 3 Examples below were made with "PIXresizer 1.09" from www.bluefive.com (Freeware)

and an untouched PTE.Exe was made with them with no White Border ~ could not load the Exe here.

The Program will re-size Single Frames or large Volumes with Lossless JPeg Cropping.

(Switch off Aspect Ratio in Program and decide what you want

Can send you the small EXE if needed (2.9mB)

Brian.Conflow.

[LumenLux]

Hi Bob,

The 3 Examples below were made with "PIXresizer 1.09" from www.bluefive.com (Freeware)

Brian.Conflow.

Thank you Brian and so many others helping. I am trying several recommendations.

In case other users are also seeking, I had to add "pair" after "bluefive" in the link above.

[bmccammon]

You can batch crop or size in Irfanview. The screen to allow the actions is in the "advanced options" section after "start batch operation with selected thumbnails". Good luck

[wideangle]

Have a look at the four free programs at www.faststone.org. One is a batch converter, for resizing, cropping etc. but all are extremely useful.

[LumenLux]

I am making a presentation of 200-300 slides. The photo files from camera are 3872x2592. (Same as 35mm, 3:2 ratio.) I want the PTE presentation to use the 4:3 ratio to fill my PC screen. I am content in most cases for the photos to be cropped equally left and right in order to fill the screen and leave no black borders at top and bottom.

Thank you all for the many possibilities that came out of this!

Some of the referenced software does not do what I was seeking but have other nice features. Hawk did lead me to BreezeBrowzer which does do what I needed. After successfully using BreezeBrowzer, I was also successful in understanding how to use Irfanview to do the same thing. Being that I already use Irfanview, and it is free, that will likely be all I need in the future for this specific operation.

[korporal-kloggy]

After successfully using BreezeBrowzer, I was also successful in understanding how to use Irfanview to do the same thing.

I'm an Irfanview user too, let me in on the 'secret' please!

[Lin Evans]

I'm an Irfanview user too, let me in on the 'secret' please!

Assuming you know already to go to the Advanced Settings menu.....substitute your own pixel dimensions for the original then do as explained below:

In Irfanview simply find the top left coordinate for X (horizontal axis) and Y (vertical axis). Find the original pixel dimensions of your file. In the case of wanting to make a 12x10 into an 8x10 you need to crop one inch on the horizontal axis off each side. So let's say the original dimensions were 2160x1440. You divide 2160 by 12 to determine how many pixels per inch on the horizontal or X axis exist. That gives you 180 ppi. You then place 180 in the X axis block and set the value for Y to zero. Check the "Crop" box in the Advanced options, put a dot in "top left" and the values 180 and 0 in their respective places.

Next you need to subtract an inch on each side of the X axis so you subtract 180 from 2160 twice leaving 1800 as the value to place in the Width space. Since you don't want to change the height, place the original 1440 value in the height space.

Be sure you have a folder assigned to receive the cropped files. If you want them resized you can do it simultaneously by giving the dimensions to Irfanview in the appropriate place in advanced settings.

click on start... That's it\

Lin

Lin

[LumenLux]

Kloggy, I'll just add to Lin's answer, the screen shot of the settings I used. My full camera frame was 3872x2592 (3:2). To change that to 4:3 (monitor) I wanted to remove left and right edges. The 4:3 calculation told me I needed 208 pixels off each side to leave the desired 3456 pixel width. The heigth remains as the original 2592. In the next lower section of the Irfanview screen, I simultaneously resized the cropped dimensions from 3456x2592 to 1024x768.

[korporal-kloggy]

thanks to both of you, I'll sit down at the weekend (when I'm less busy) and have a go!

cheers!

kloggy