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Subject:Re: Using Bitmap Resize - all tools From:David Demyan <dbdemyan -at- WORLDNET -dot- ATT -dot- NET> Date:Mon, 4 Jan 1999 13:04:02 -0500
Darren said:
>These included Fullshot, Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro
>and RoboHelp's re-sizer. Our conclusion: It doesn't make one bit of
>difference what you use, re-sizing does bad things to fonts. We do,
however,
>reccomend Fullshot as our screen capture utility of choice. We worship at
>www.fullshot.com on a regular basis. Check it out if you haven't. DB.
[snip]
Darren and List:
I recently documented the SnagIt/32 Ver. 4.x upgrades that included
smooth bitmap screen resizing. I concur that resizing bitmaps is
generally a disappointing exercise because all programs must
interpolate the number of bits and make decisions on line thickness,
colors, shading, antialiasing, and so on when they perform a resize.
I have generally been pleased with SnagIt's smooth scaling feature
because it produced the best results in a variety of ways: during
capture or post-capture. Also, the included catalog feature works
well to see file details or thumbnails about the resulting scaled images.
Some tips from SnagIt/32 Help for making better scaled images:
*******************
The scale factor you select will reduce the size of the IMAGE, if it is less
than 1.00, or enlarge the image, if it is greater than 1.00.
· A scaling factor of .50 will produce an image 50% smaller in length and
width than the original. This factor would be appropriate for full image
captures being sent as mail note attachments. The resulting image and file
size would be 25% of a similar full scale capture. For example, if the
original was 200 by 100, or 20,000 pixels, the scaled image would be 100 by
50, or 5,000 pixels.
· A scaling factor of 1.00 means the output image will be the same size as
the captured image. A factor of 1.00 will usually be appropriate for
captures to the Windows clipboard and to graphic files.
· A scaling factor of 3.00 means the output image will be three times as
large, in length and width, as the original captured image. The resulting
image and file size would be 900% of a similar full scale capture.
· Smooth Scaling can improve the appearance of scaled images by applying a
slight ?smoothing? effect to the edges. This can be particularly effective
with images that are scaled smaller than the original (50-90 percent, for
example) and are destined for an on-line application.
SCALE OPTION TIP: Integer values (whole numbers) scale faster than scale
values with non-zero decimal places. Setting the scale value to a whole
number will give you the best performance. It also produces the most
accurate replica. If you use a factor that is not an integer (0.75, for
example), you may also want to try the Smooth Scaling option to improve
on-screen appearance.