Much Ado About Graphic Software...Part 3

See Much Ado About Graphic Software...Part 1 and Part 2 for background on this post.

When we last looked at Paint, I had explained that you could draw a line around an area of interest in a graphic to call attention to the area. You can also add a text comment and draw a line from the marked area to the comment so that the two are associated. When you add comments, you are creating a call out. 

Adding a Call Out and Drawing Lines

The easiest way to handle the task is to create the text first. After you have the text written and placed, you can draw the line.

1. Decide what your text is going to say. For example, the comment above is: This 1850 census entry was missed during indexing.
2. Resize the drawing palette so that you have space to add the comment. Look for small circles in the corners and along the side of the graphic. Point at the circle on the side of the graphic and your cursor changes to a double-headed arrow. Click your mouse once to grab the circle and drag your mouse to the right. Paint adds additional white space to the right of the graphic. Release your mouse button.
   
   Note: For earlier versions of Windows, the circle might be a small black dot that is very difficult to see. Unfortunately, I have no advice to offer other than they do put the dot exactly half way between the top and bottom of the drawing area.
   
3. Pick a color if you want a color other than black, which is the default. Think about your end projection...print (black) or online (color).
4. Add a text box. Click the Text tool, and then click in the white space beside the graphic.
   
   
   If you're using Windows 2007, Paint adds an outlined box with handles and display a Text Tool tab with additional options. You can use the Text Tool menu to make changes to the text. As long as you do not click outside of the dotted outline for the text, you can continue to edit the text box. When you click outside of the dotted outline the text is added and the call out is permanent.
   
   
   If you're using an earlier version of Windows, Paint adds the text box. Look for text formatting options under on the Edit menu. Once you click outside the text box, the call out is permanent. Use caution because earlier versions of Paint are not very forgiving.
   
   Note: You can also type text in a Word document and copy and paste the text as a comment in Paint. Also, if you make a mistake, undo (press Ctrl + Z) and try again.
   
5. Draw a line from the call out to the area you have outlined.
   --Select a color for the line.
   --Click the line tool (on the Home tab for the Windows 2007 version of Paint).
   --Hold down the Shift key while drawing the lines to get straight lines.
   You'll have to experiment with line drawing to get the arrangement you like. 
6. Save your graphic. Select the File button and then Save As. The Save As dialog appears.
   
   
7. In the File Name field, add a name.
8. In the Save as type field, accept the default of PNG (*.png). If you're using a earlier version of Paint, click the drop-down arrow and select PNG. 

Next Post

In the next post, we'll explore the different formats in which you can save a graphic.