How do I down size my photos before I UPload them to this website?

[Raggs]

Hi everyone...I need to know how to down-size my photos that I want to upload into the gallery. The ones that I am uploading now, when you click on the larger photo, comes out far too large. So please help me find a way to resize them BEFORE I upload them into this website. Thank you...Raggs

[another view]

Your digital camera or scanner should have come with software to do this with, but if you don't have it you can down IrfanView for free. With this software, assuming you're using Windows:

1. Click File > Open > select image
2. Click Image > Resize/Resample, make sure "Set New Size" is selected, also Preserve Aspect Ratio at the bottom left of that window.
3. For a horizontal shot, put 600 in for the width; for a vertical shot, put 600 in for the height. IrvanView will figure out the other dimension, and leave whatever is in DPI - it makes no difference here. Click OK.
4. Click File > Save As, and then select desktop. Click OK and don't worry about what's in the window on the right side for this use.

This is important - make sure you "Save As" instead of Save, that way you don't do anything to the original. Of course, it's always best to backup your files if you ever have a problem anyway. I usually save this copy to Desktop so it's easy to find. I use 600 pixels on the long side because it's an easy size to view; 500 would also be OK. Bigger than that may not fit completely on the screen but smaller ones might be hard to see detail in.

[DownByFive]

Depends on the quality that you want...If you have Windows XP, you can download the picture resizer powertoy here...http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/d...powertoys.mspx

I have to have pretty small files for my website, so I find that this tool works well, and it's quick and easy. If you want to shrink while maintaining quality, use something a little more advanced.