If you blog, chances are that you have uploaded a picture file into your blog in the past. I noticed some bloggers do not optimize the size of the pictures before uploading them into their blog. Failure to do so not only increases the uploading time of the pictures but also increases the downloading time and bandwidth of the server.
The 3 methods to optimize the size of the pictures are:
Method #1: Image Resizer (Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP)
Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP is packed with a tool called Image Resizer. It enables a user to quickly resize an image by right-clicking on the image and selecting “Resize Pictures”. Image Resizer can be downloaded here.
Examples on how to use it can be found here and here. This tool requires Windows XP to run. I do not know if it works on other OS.
Method #2: Picasa from Google
If you haven’t downloaded Picasa, get it from the link below. The software is free to download.
Select the file you want to resize and click on the Export button at the bottom right of the program.
Insert the number of pixels you want to resize the image into. Set the “Image Quality” to “Normal” or the desired setting you want. Click OK to export the image.
Method #3: Adobe Photoshop
This is a two step process. Firstly, resize the picture to the desired size by selecting the menu (Image –> Image Size) or Ctrl+Alt+I. Select the “Constrain Proportions” checkbox to ensure the image is resized with the original ratio.
Next, further optimize the size of the image by saving it to web quality. You can do so by selecting the menu (File –> Save for Web) or Alt+Shift+Ctrl+S. Select the “Optimized” tab. Check out the size of the image if it were to be saved as gif or jpg as circled at the bottom left in the screenshot below. Depending on the image itself, sometimes saving it as gif will result in a smaller file size, or vice versa.
To get the best quality for jpg, select the “JPEG High” preset option. To get the best quality for gif, select the “GIF 128 Dithered” preset option. Save the image.
Stumble it!
Share it!
Subscribe to my feed
Kelwin, thanks for sharing.
I used Paint Shop Pro to resize so that the images fit into my blog.
If resizing is all you need, you might want to take a look at IrfanView.
It’s a small, lightweight image viewer with some cool image manipulation functions.
@hanneng
Welcome. I’ve used PSP many years ago. I wonder how it has developed in these years.
@Azmeen
Nice app. Thanks for the recommendation.
I use Photoshop for editing photos. Usually I set the quality to 5~6 when saving to JPEG.Then I reopen the saved file using MSpaint and click save again(without editing anything).This trick saves a few KB.
@tk2
Didn’t know about that. Thanks for the tip!
I prefer use Adobe Fireworks since this software is specifically designed for web used!
@np
Thanks for the info!
i am using PIXresizer, which can found in my blog, “graphic design” category… sorry not to promote my blog, just lazy to dick out the link…
@iCalvyn
Thanks for sharing. Nice program with some extra features compared to Image Resizer.