Jan's Working with Windows:

Step-by-Step: Image- Resize & Print

Start with:  

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What you will learn:

to open an existing picture from the Recent Files list to view the file size to resize the canvas to save an existing picture to print a picture

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Open an Existing Picture from File menu

Start with: Paint is closed

1. Start Paint using the method of your choice:
   WinXP: From the Start menu or Run.
     Vista, Win7: From the Start menu or Search.
   Win8, Win8.1: From Start screen > Search or All apps.
    
2. Open the list of recent files:
   WinXP, Vista: From Paint's menu bar select  File .
   Win7: Click on the Paint button.
   Win8, Win8.1: Click the File tab on the ribbon.

    

   Menus: WinXP and Vista, Win7, Win8

3. After the menu appears, look at the entries of recent files.
   WinXP, Vista: At the bottom of the File menu are the last 4 images that Paint used.
   Win7, Win8, Win8.1: To the right of the File menu are the last 9 images that Paint used.
   Other programs may list more items in this list of recent documents.  
4. Click on myname.bmp.
   Alternate Method: Press the key that is the shortcut key for the fist file in the list. It's the number to the left.
   Your image will be first in the list unless you have worked with other pictures since you saved your work in the previous lesson.
   The image you created opens again.

   Problem: myname.bmp  is not in the list
   Either you did not save the file in the previous lesson, you didn't save it using this computer, or too many other files have been opened in Paint since you saved the your file.
   Solution 1: If you did save the file, select  Open  from the  File  menu and use the dialog box to open myname.bmp.
   Solution 2: If you did not actually save the file, go back to the previous lesson and create the file. Then return to this page to continue.

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Check File Size

1. Open the Save As dialog:
   WinXP, Vista: Select from the menu bar  File  >  Save As .
     Win7: Click on the Paint button and click on   Save As .
   Win8, Win8.1: Click the File tab on the ribbon and click on    Save As .
2. Navigate, if necessary, in the Save As dialog to the folder my docs on your Class disk.
3. Show the Details view in the Save As dialog:
   WinXP: From the View button, select Details.
   Vista/Win7: Use the Views button to select Details.
   Win8, Win8.1: On the View ribbon tab, click on the Details item in the Views palette.
   
   The display changes to show columns of info about the files.
   

    

4. Write down the size of the original file.
   The size of the canvas determines the size of the bitmap image.

5. Click on the Cancel button.
   
   

   Ways to reduce file size

   • Resize the canvas, without changing anything else about the picture except the amount of white space.
   • Save in a file format, such as PNG or GIF, that compresses the image information.
   • Resize the whole picture.

   A more advanced graphics program will produce a better result than Paint does when using a compressed file format or when resizing the picture!

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Resize the Canvas

1. Move your pointer to the bottom right corner of the canvas and place it over the handle there.
   The pointer will change to the Diagonal Resize shape.

   A handle is a small square at the corners and side centers. It is tiny!

   Cannot see bottom right corner handle
   Solution 1: Maximize the Paint window. The handle is in the bottom right corner, even if you cannot see it.

   Solution 2: Use the scroll bars to show the bottom right corner of the picture.
   The display will not scroll by itself as you drag the handle so you may need to resize in several steps. 

   Solution 3: Use the Zoom command to make the whole canvas show in the window.
   Some versions have the Zoom command on the View menu. Later versions have a slider control on the Status bar.

2. Drag the bottom right handle of the picture until your picture just fits in the dotted box and then release the mouse button.
   The canvas will resize to fit the box.

    

3.  Save this new version:
   WinXP, Vista: Select from the menu bar  File  >  Save  .
    Win7: Click on the Paint button and click on   Save .
   Win8, Win8.1: Click the File tab on the ribbon and click on  Save .
   

   You will NOT see the Save As dialog box this time because the file has been saved previously. The Save command just replaces the old version with the new one.

   Use Save As: If you want to save a file under a different name or in a different place, you must select  Save As .
   

4. To see how the file size has changed, open the Save As dialog one more time.  
5. Change to Details view:
   WinXP: From the View button, select Details.
   Vista/Win7: Use the Views button to select Details.
   Win8, Win8.1: On the View ribbon tab, click on the Details item in the Views palette.

6. Compare the size reported to what you wrote down before.
   It should be much smaller now. The actual sizes for your file will almost certainly be different from those shown in the illustrations.

   Resizing the canvas will always make a file smaller, but in some formats the difference will not be as large as with BMP files.

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Print a Picture: Page Setup, Print Preview, Print dialog

What will happen when you tell Paint to print your image? There are settings in Page Setup that you must check first!

Print Preview shows how the page(s) will look. The Print dialog lets you pick how many copies, which printer to use, and which pages to print. So many choices!! Happily the dialogs are very similar in these versions of Windows. What a pleasant change!

1. Open Page Setup:
   WinXP, Vista: From the menu bar select  File  >  Page Setup .
   Win, Win8, Win8.1:
   Click on the Paint button or the the File tab and then hover over Print, Click on Page setup.
   
   The Page Setup dialog box will appear. Paint remembers the settings you used last.
   

   A sample document shows how your picture will appear on the page. There is only a placeholder for your image, rather than the image itself.

   Paint's Page Setup dialog is quite similar in all versions!
2. Match the settings in the illustration:
   Orientation = Portrait
   Margins = 0.5" all sides
   Scaling = Adjust to 100% normal size
   
3. If necessary, make changes to make your image fit nicely in the center of the paper.
4. Click the OK button. 
5. Open Print Preview to see what your picture will look like when printed:
   WinXP, Vista: From the menu bar select  File  >  Print Preview  .
   Win, Win8, Win8.1: Click on the Paint button or the the File tab and hover over   Print  . Click on  Print Preview.

   

6. Click the Zoom In button to enlarge the page you are viewing.  
7. Click the Zoom Out button to reduce the size of the page again.  
8. Look carefully to see if the Next Page or Page 2 button is available.
   If the button text is black, your print job will take at least one more sheet of paper. This happens when your image is larger than the space between the margins as set in Page Setup. Unfortunately Paint does not tell you how many pages there will be all together.
   Win7: Paint in Win7 automatically sizes the image to fit on the page.

   Problem: The picture is too wide or too tall to fit on one page
   Solutions:

   • Change the margins or orientation in Page Setup to keep your image on one page.

   • Edit the picture to reduce its dimensions.

   • Change the scaling in Page Setup to fit 1 x 1 pages.

   • Accept a divided picture and in the Print dialog box, choose to print just the page that has the part you want.

9. If you do need to change the image itself, click the Close button and proceed with your changes in Page Setup, then return to this step.  
10. Click the Print button on the Print Preview toolbar or ribbon, after making sure that your image fits on one page.
    The Print dialog box appears.

     Here is where you can choose to print only certain pages. Be sure your picture fits on one page.

    

    Inspect the other choices on the Print dialog -

    • which printer
    • what pages to print or just what was selected.
    • the number of copies
    • preferences for how the printer behaves, including color or gray scale or black-and-white, orientation of the paper, quality of the paper (especially important if you are printing photos)
11. If you have a color printer, select it and then click on Preferences button.
    The dialog that opens will be different for different printers.
    Check to see if the page will print in color or in gray scale or in black-and-white.
    Change, if necessary, to the mode you want.  
    
    Once you are satisfied, close that dialog to get back to the Print dialog.
12. Click the OK button to print your picture.  
13. Close Paint.