Working with Images in Graphic Converter

Changing the View Size of Your Graphic

In Graphics Converter there is a tool that allows you to change the magnification of the image that you are working on. This is very handy if you are working on a small image and need to see details, or if you are working on a large graphic and need to reduce it so that it will fit on the screen. This does not change the actual size of the graphic, only your view of it while you are working.

  1. Click on the zoom tool.
  2. To enlarge the view of your graphic, click on the canvas. It will immediately magnify the image. Keep clicking until you are satisfied with the size of your image.
  3. To reduce the view of your graphic, hold down the OPTION key and click on the canvas.
  4. To return to the actual image size, from the Picture menu select Zoom and then View as 100%.

Drawing and Deleting Graphics

Drawing Freehand

    1. Select the pencil tool.
    2. Click on the foreground color tool in the toolbox and select the desired color.
    3. Click on the pen size tool in the toolbox and select the desired pen width.
    4. On the canvas, click on the spot where you would like to start drawing and drag the mouse to draw freehand.
Drawing Lines
      1. Select the line tool.
      2. Click on the foreground color tool in the toolbox and select the desired color.
      3. Click on the pen size tool in the toolbox and select the desired thickness of the line.
      4. On the canvas, click on the spot where you would like the line to begin and drag to where you would like it to end. (If you want your line to be perfectly horizontal or vertical, hold down the SHIFT key as you drag the mouse.)
Drawing Shapes

There are three different shape tools in Graphic Converter: the rectangle, the rounded rectangle, and the ellipse (ovals and circles).

To draw a rectangle or square:

  1. Select the appropriate rectangle tool.
  2. Click on the foreground color tool in the toolbox and select the desired color.
  3. Click on the pen size tool in the toolbox and select the desired thickness of the line.
  4. Click and drag on the canvas until your rectangle is the correct size.
  5. To draw a square, hold down the SHIFT key on your keyboard while you click and drag.

To draw a rounded rectangle or square:

  1. Select the appropriate rounded rectangle tool.
  2. Click on the foreground color tool in the toolbox and select the desired color.
  3. Click on the pen size tool in the toolbox and select the desired thickness of the line.
  4. Click and drag on the canvas until your rectangle is the correct size.
  5. To draw a rounded square, hold down the SHIFT key on your keyboard while you click and drag.

To draw an ellipse or circle:

  1. Select the appropriate ellipse tool.
  2. Click on the foreground color tool in the toolbox and select the desired color.
  3. Click on the pen size tool in the toolbox and select the desired thickness of the line.
  4. Click and drag on the canvas until your ellipse is the correct size.
  5. To draw a circle, hold down the SHIFT key on your keyboard while you click and drag.

Adding Text to Your Graphic

      1. Double-click on the text tool to open its dialog box.
      2. Select the desired font and size of the text in the pull-down menus.
      3. Select the desired style(s) for the text.
      4. Click OK to close the dialog box.
      5. On the canvas, click on the spot where you would like the text to begin. A dashed box will appear, indicating where your text will be placed.
      6. Type in the desired text.
      7. To resize the text box, move the mouse to a corner of the box until you see a double-arrow, click and drag on the corner to adjust.
      8. To move the text box, move the mouse over the text box so that you see a hand, click and drag to move.

        Note: You can edit the text and adjust the size of the text box as long as you don't click anywhere else on the picture.

Deleting

There are two ways of deleting in Graphic Converter: selecting an area and deleting the area or dragging the mouse over where you would like to delete. One method will be more useful than the other, depending on what you're doing.

Deleting an area

  1. Click on the appropriate selection tool to select the area you want to delete most closely.
  2. Select the area you want to delete. A dashed outline will indicate the area you've selected.
  3. Hit the DELETE key on your keyboard.

Deleting more precisely

  1. Double-click on the eraser tool to open its dialog box.
  2. Select the desired shape and then size of the eraser and click OK.
  3. On the canvas, click on the spot that you would like to delete. If the section you want to delete is larger than the size of the eraser, you can also click and drag on the canvas until you have deleted everything.

Editing Images

Graphic Converter has many image editing features. The first set of features is listed under the Edit menu. These features allow you to copy, paste, crop, or trim an image. The second set of features, listed under the Picture menu, lets you change the size, proportions, orientation, or resolution of an image. The last set of features, listed under the Effects menu, can be used to perform various filtering, smoothing, or sharpening effects on an image to enhance or obscure its quality.

To begin editing an image:

    1. From the File menu select Open.
    2. On the bottom of the window that appears, make sure the Filter is set to All Available.
    3. Select the file you wish to edit, then click Open. To open multiple images, hold down the Apple key while selecting images.

To Copy an image into memory:

    1. From the Edit menu choose Select All
    2. From the Edit menu choose Copy.
    3. The image will be stored in memory. You can then paste the image into a Word document, web page, Excel spreadsheet, or any other file by choosing Paste from the Edit menu in those applications.

To Crop or Trim an image:

      1. Choose either the Lasso or Select tool from the Toolbar.
      2. Enclose the portion of the image that you would like to trim. The portion you want to trim away should be located outside the dotted select line.
      3. From the Edit menu choose Trim Selection. The trimmed portion will appear in a new window.

        Note: You can also select Edit > Smart Trim if you want Graphic Converter to crop the image automatically to get rid of excess white borders.

To Resize an image:

To change the size of an image relative to its current size:

  1. From the Picture menu choose Size and then Scale.
  2. In the Dimension section of the Scale dialog box, make sure that Width and Height are set to Percent.
  3. Type in the percent value you want the image to change by. For example, a value of "0.5" will shrink the width or height by one-half while a value of "3.0" will triple it.
  4. If you wish to maintain the original image's proportions, make sure the Keep Proportions box is checked. If you want to change the width and height of the image separately, leave the Keep Proportions box unchecked.
  5. Click OK.

To change the exact size of an image by actual dimensions:

  1. To find the exact dimensions of your image, from the Picture menu choose Show Information.
  2. An Information window will appear.



  3. The first number (in this case 139) is the exact width of the image in pixels; the second number (200) is its height.
  4. From the Picture menu, choose Size and then Scale.
  5. In the Size section of the Scale dialog box, choose either pixel, inch or cm.
  6. In the Width or Height fields, type a number for the desired change.
  7. If you wish to maintain the original image's proportions, make sure the Keep Proportions box is checked. If you want to shrink the image by only one dimension, leave the Keep Proportions box unchecked.
  8. Click OK.

 

Note: To undo size changes from the Edit menu choose Undo:Scale. Once you perform another operation or save the file, however, the changes cannot be undone. It is a good idea to keep backup files in case you accidentally change an image permanently.

 

To change the Orientation of an image:

To rotate the image by a certain degree:

  1. From the Picture menu choose Rotate
  2. Select an angle by which to rotate the image.
  3. You can use Other Value with Line to rotate at an angle specified by a line drawn on the image
  4. You can type in a specified angle of rotation under Other Value....

To flip the image across an axis:

  1. From the Picture menu choose Mirror
  2. Select an axis on which to flip the image

To change the Resolution of an image:

    1. From the Picture menu choose Resolution
    2. Enter the desired resolution (generally 150-250 for images that you will print out and 72 for images that will be displayed on a screen)

       

To change the Appearance of an image:

Brightness and contrast can be altered to adjust the shading of an image.

  1. From the Picture menu choose Brightness/Contrast
  2. Adjust these values according to the desired appearance.

    Note: You can also use Graphic Converter's various filtering effects to change the appearance of an image. These features are listed in the Effects menu. One of the most useful features is one that sharpens the edges of an image, making most images look cleaner and of higher resolution.

    From the Effects menu choose Sharpen Edges and choose a value. The image will appear sharper than before.

Converting Images among File Formats

Just like word processing documents, images can exist in a variety of file formats. Some computers can read one type of format, while other computers may read a different format. When editing images, it is important to save images in a file format that can be read by the intended computer or program.

For example, Macintosh computers typically use the PICT format for saving image files. PCs generally use the BMP image format. If you want the image to be viewable on a PC, you will want to use Graphic Converter to convert it from PICT to BMP.

Different programs can also use different file formats. Although Microsoft Word can read PICT files, Internet Explorer and Firefox read only JPEG (.jpg), GIF (.gif) or PNG (.png) images files. Again, you can use Graphic Converter to convert images so that other programs can read your image files.

There are two methods for converting files to different formats, depending on the number of images you wish to convert.

If you want to convert a single image file

    1. Open Graphic Converter.
    2. From the File menu, choose Open.
    3. In the Open: GraphicConverter dialog box, make sure the Filter is set to All Available.
    4. Find and select the file you wish to convert, then click Open. If you get a pop-up dialog box, select Don't Change.
    5. Once the file is open, go to the File menu and select Save As.
    6. From the Format pull-down menu, select the desired file format. Make sure that the file extension of the file name matches the format selected.
    7. Click Save. Depending on the file format chosen, more dialog boxes may pop up. Select desired preferences, then click OK.

If you want to convert more than one or two image files, you can convert them all at once using the Graphic Converter's batch conversion feature.

    1. Open Graphic Converter.
    2. From the File menu, choose Convert.
    3. A Convert window will appear.



    4. On the left side of the window, double-click on folders to browse to the image files you want to convert.
    5. Make sure the Filter is set to All Available.
    6. Select the image files you want to convert by clicking on them once while holding down the Apple key. You can also deselect a file the same way.
    7. On the right side of the screen, browse to the folder you want to save the converted images to (you can also click the New Folder button to create a folder for saving the converted images).
    8. Select the desired file format from the Dest. Format pull-down menu
    9. Click Convert.
    10. The selected files in the left box will be converted and copied to the folder indicated in the right box.

 

Modified from tutorial created by Heather Woods for Wellesley College