Digital picture files, particularly those taken with top-end cameras, can be very large indeed and unless you reduce the file size they can, depending on your Internet connection speed, take ages to load to the forum. Similarly, if the person reading your post clicks on your unreduced picture, s/he too may have to be very patient while your file loads. Reduced picture files are also useful when emailing as they don't 'take over' the addressee's computer while they download. This can be very annoying.

Most of the pictures on this forum and other forums can be quite adequately viewed at smaller physical size and reduced file size. Here is an example. Picture #1 has been reduced to 200KB while Picture #2 has been uploaded at its original size as taken.

P1010380.jpg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)
This one took 3.5 seconds to upload at my connection speed (199KB)

P1010380.JPG - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)
This original picture took more than a minute to upload. When it opens, click to enlarge it and you will see it at its original size which is too big to display on the screen. (3.5MB)

The following is one way of reducing picture files to a more manageable size for quick and efficient posting.

1. Go to Irfanview and download the latest version of Irfanview to your computer

2. Now go to PlugIns and download all the plug-ins and add-ons. (You will need the RIOT PlugIn that is part of this package)

3. In your Pictures library click on ‘New folder’ and create a new folder for your reduced pictures. I call mine ‘Reduced pictures for email’

4. Open Irfanview and click on ‘File’ at the top left of the screen

5. Click on ‘Open’ and using the little black down arrow in the dialogue box, find the folder where your original photo is located.

6. Double click on the selected picture and it will appear full screen in the Irfanview window.

7. Click on ‘Image’ then on ‘Resize/Resample’ in the drop down menu.

8. Click on the button next to the required size of your reduced image (I use 1024 x 788 pixels - see Picture #1 above) then click ‘OK’

9. Your picture will now appear at its reduced physical size (as it will appear on screen) but it still needs to be reduced from the original file size down to a more manageable number of KiloBytes (this can be anything you want but 200KB seems adequate for most forum and email purposes)

10. Click on ‘File’ and this time select ‘Save as’ from the drop down menu.

11. In the ‘Save in’ box at the top select your newly created folder (e.g. ‘Reduced pictures for email’)

12. You can give your reduced picture a name or just leave it with the camera-assigned number

13. In ‘Save as type’ select ‘JPG-JPG/Jpeg format’

14. Now for the final setting, in the box to the right of the picture tick ‘Set file size KB Riot PlugIn’ type in ‘200.00’ (or your chosen reduced file size) and click ‘Save’ at the bottom right of the box. That’s it. Whenever you want to reduce a picture in the future the program will automatically reduce it to 200KB (or the alternative size that you selected).

15. Finally, click ‘Save’ at the bottom of the left hand box and your reduced picture will be saved into your newly created folder.

To add your picture to a post, start typing and then at the appropriate point where you want your picture to appear, click on “Attach file”; “Browse”; double click on your reduced picture; “Upload” and then “Insert” and a thumbnail of your picture will appear in your post.

I just tried that, Mick, but although the physical size of the picture was reduced by 75%, the file size remained at 3.5MB.

The above method reduces both the picture size and the file size - or did I miss something?

Zitat

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You're invisible now, You've got no secrets to conceal

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Yeh but how does it feel......

I've just used Paint to reduce this picture (originally 5.43MB) by 50% and it is now 406KB so, yes, your method works but it would appear that the size is determined by the program and not by the user and depends on the original file size.

P1000727.jpg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)

As I said, Irfanview is one method of reducing photo files.

Quote: hampshireman wrote in post #7

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Is this a subtle hint that I am doing it wrong?

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"Just like a rolling stone" ?

Zitat

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Could this be a fellow member with good taste in music? or am I "on my own"

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What, you mean "a complete unknown" ?

Thanks, Neville.