Much Ado About Graphic Software...Part 7

In the last graphics post, I suggested that you might already see how you can change colors in a piece of clip art. Here are the tools again.

Most pieces of clip art have solid color areas in the drawing. Photographs include shaded color. So all of what we're going to do in this post applies to clip art. The exception is correcting something small like red eye in a photograph. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Download a Graphic

1. Download the pen and paper graphic at the following address: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/results.aspx?qu=pen&ctt=1#ai:MC900088568|mt:0|. 
2. Click Download and a download dialog opens. You can get a different dialog depending on the version of Windows you are using. However, they are all similar with similar options. 
3. Click Save. A pop up appears. Select Save As to display a Save As dialog. Or, a Save As dialog appears automatically.
4. Navigate to a location on your system where you'll be able to find the graphic. I keep a folder in my Pictures folder labeled Delete. I place all miscellaneous downloads like this one in that folder. When the folder gets full...and my system starts slowing down...I delete everything in the Delete folder. 
5. Give the graphic a name you'll recognize; for example, Pen.png.
6. Save the graphic.
   
   Note: We're downloading because if you copy the graphic (click the Copy button), the graphic comes in very large. You can always resize it; however, that takes a bit of practice so that you don't distort the graphic. 

Changing Colors

1. Open Paint, and open the downloaded graphic (select File, Open, and locate the downloaded graphic). 
2. Resize your drawing palette if necessary.
   The drawing area is the bright white space you see when you open Paint. When you open a file, the palette should resize automatically. However, depending on what you've been doing in Paint, the auto resizing might not happen. To resize the palette, look for small circles along the outer edge. Point at any circle and your cursor changes to a double-headed arrow. Click your mouse once to grab the circle and drag your cursor to resize the palette. When the palette is the size you want it to be, release your mouse button.
3. Pick a color using the color tools you read about in the last post.
4. Click the bucket tool...you're going to dump a lot of color at once. Your cursor turns into a bucket. 
5. Click in a pink area of the drawing. All contiguous areas where pink was turns into the new color. 
6. Resize the graphic to see details. See Part 5 if you need a refresher. 
7. Replace more colors using the bucket. 

Results

Using the bucket, you should be able to reproduce the changes I've shown in this graphic. 

Erasing and Other Tasks
Since this graphic is simply for practice, we're going to mess it up. Click the eraser tool and just move it over any part of your graphic. The tool does exactly what you'd expect it to do. Press Ctrl + Z to undo the changes. One of the tasks you might do is remove the bottle of ink. 

1. Use the Eraser to remove the ink bottle. 
2. Draw the black lines necessary to complete the page edges at the bottom of the page. Adding these lines divides the drawing into areas where you'll dump color later.
   --Pick the color black, and then click the Pencil tool.
   --Draw the lines to complete page edges. 
3. Draw the pink edge (or whatever color you're working with) to isolate the area below the bottom black line.
   --Click the Eyedropper tool and click in the pink area to sample the color (pick it).
   --Click the Pencil and draw the pink line to complete the lower edge. 
4. Use the bucket to fill in the empty space.
   --Click the Eyedropper tool and click in a color area to sample the color (pick it).
   --Click the bucket and then click in a area where you want to replace the color. 
5. Save your alter graphic. 

This post should have opened up a host of possibilities for you. Remember that this works best on a piece of clip art because of the contiguous colors. The methods don't work as well on photographs because of the shading that photographs include.

Future Posts
As much fun as playing with colors might be, there's so much more we have to do. So stay tuned for more Paint-related posts. 

Much Ado About Graphic Software...Part 6

When you use clip art, you are able to change the colors to match or contrast with other colors in your document. To change colors you need to know about the tools you can use and how to use the Paint color pallet.   

Tools

Here are the tools, you'll use.

You've already used the text tool and the magnifying glass. That leaves the following tools:

• Eye Dropper--Use it to sample an existing color. When you click the eye dropper, you can then click a color in the drawing to change the default color to the color you picked. After you have a color you want, you can use the bucket or pencil to change colors to the selected color.
• Bucket--Use it to replace one color with the selected color in a large contiguous area of the graphic. 
• Pencil--Use it to replace one pixel with the selected color; that is, detail replacement. 
• Eraser--Use it to remove anything from the graphic that you don't want. 

Colors--New Version of Paint

This dialog should look familiar. It's the standard Microsoft color dialog that you've seen in other posts.

1. You need to pick a color for Color 1. You can:
   --Pick a color in the default color strip beside the Edit Colors button.
   --OR--
   --Click the Edit colors button to display  the Edit Colors dialog. 
2. You can:
   --Pick a color in the Basic colors area.
   --OR--
   --Define a custom color using the pallet on the right. 

Defining a Custom Color

1. To define a custom color, click in the pallet near the color you want.
2. Use the slider to the right to fine tune the color. The color definition appears in the fields below (Hue, Sat (saturation), Lum (luminosity)) and (Red, Green, Blue). 
3. Write down the color definition if you think you'll want the color at a later date. You can enter the numbers into any color pallet and reproduce the same color.
4. Click the Add to Custom Colors button to add the color to the Custom colors list to the left. 
5. Click OK. The dialog closes and the custom color is added to the color strip beside the Edit Colors button. 

Tools and Colors--Older Version of Paint

The same tools I describe above are available on the sidebar menu. The default colors display at the bottom. 

Selecting Another Color

1. Click Colors on the main menu, and then select Edit Colors. The Edit Colors dialog appears.
2. You can:
   --Select a Basic colors.
   --OR--
   --Click Define Custom Colors to display the Edit Colors dialog. This is the same dialog that appears above. Please scroll back to the instructions Defining a Custom Color. 

More Information on Colors

If you would like more information on colors, see this website: www.wilsonmar.com/1colors.htm. 

Next Post

After reading this post, I'm sure you can guess what's is going to happen when we actually change the colors in the graphic. However, I'll save the actual instructions until the next post. 

Much Ado About Graphic Software...Part 5

I happen to be the editor of the Florida State Genealogical Society newsletter. One of the joys of producing an electronic newsletter is that you can add color without affecting costs; i.e., no ink + no paper = no money. Locating vivid clip art that is exactly what you need to dress up a page isn't hard. However, finding clip art that is the exact color you need might present more of a challenge. 

View and Zoom

To work with a piece of clip art--for example, change colors, you need to be able to see detail. To assist you, Paint includes Zoom in, Zoom out, and 100% buttons.

1. Click Zoom in (repeatedly) to make the clip art larger.
2. Click Zoom out (repeatedly) to make the clip art smaller.
3. Click 100% to restore clip art to its original size.
4. Do not confuse zooming with re-sizing.
   --Zooming doesn't affect the actual size of the drawing.
   --Re-sizing affects the actual size of the drawing...a task we'll tackle on another day. 

If you're using an earlier version of Paint, you'll find the zoom options on the View menu. I usually select View, Zoom, Large to blow up the piece of clip art. For more control, you can also select percentages to enlarge the display.

In addition, the tool bar includes a magnifying glass that you can also use to enlarge clip art. I tend to use the menus to complete these tasks; however, you might find this tool useful.

Since you're going to need a piece of clip art, I suggest that you download the same piece I'll be working with so that what I'm saying has meaning to you.

Get Clip Art

1. Click here to go a page with the pen and ink clip art. 
2. Locate the clip you've seen here.
3. Click the Download button to download the piece of clip art.
4. Give the clip art piece a name you'll recognize. 
5. Open Paint and then open the piece of clip art. 
6. Play with the zoom tools. 

Next Post
We'll start changing colors in graphics.

P.S. As an aside, when you get text that you cannot read--for example, in a will, sometimes if you scan the document, save it as a .jpg, and open it in Paint, you can use the zoom to make it larger and decipher the text. The better the scan, the better chance you have of being able to read the text.

Much Ado About Graphic Software...Part 4

When you save a graphic in Paint, you have a number of formatting options. Those formatting options are expressed as a file extension (.bmp, .gif, .png, .jpg, or .tif). Understanding what the different formatting options will do to your graphic is important. In most instances, the format that you pick when saving a graphic depends on what you plan on doing with the graphic. Following is a run down that offers some thoughts and notes on these different formats.

Bitmap (.bmp)

A bitmap (BMP) is the lowest level graphic you can use. You frequently see this type of graphic in newsletters and they are often referred to as clipart.

To find clipart, visit the Microsoft Images site (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/). This site is literally the only one I trust. Lots of other sites where you find free clipart are littered with viruses and other nasty stuff that you just don't want to deal with.

When you download one of these images from the Microsoft site, it may come in as a WMF, which stands for Windows Meta Format. The graphics are specifically formatted to be used in Microsoft programs like Word. If you open the graphic in Paint, the format is converted to .bmp (BMP). You may well want to do this because you want to alter the colors in the graphic to better conform to the color scheme in your document. I'll talk about actually changing colors later.

BMPs, like all graphics, are composed of tiny dots. The density of the dots increases as you move to a higher-level format. You can see this in action if you open a bitmap and try to save it as a GIF. You get warning messages that the graphic will lose transparency and color...which is a fancy way of saying, "It's gonna be a mess!" If you proceed the graphic pixelates...you can see the dots of color!

GIF (.gif)
A GIF is a mid-level graphic that is frequently used for photographs that are going to be posted to websites. You can convert JPEGs to GIFs without suffering much loss of quality. The point of converting to a GIF is that you get a good photograph with a smaller file size...good thing when you're posting to a website.

PNG (.png)
A PNG (ping) is a mid-level graphic that is frequently used for graphics that are going to be posted to websites. You can convert BMPs and JPEGs to PNGs without suffering much loss of quality. For the most recent version of Paint, PNG is the default format because it creates graphics with the least loss of quality. Most of the graphics you see on this blog are PNGs.


JPEG (.jpg)

A JPEG (Jay-Peg) is a format that is used for photographs. For example, this scanned photograph of my father was saved as a .jpg. JPEGs are larger files; however, they give you better quality (more dots per inch) so that images look like photographs.

If you open a graphic that is formatted as a .jpg in Paint, Paint will save it as a .jpg without loss of quality. The problem arises when you take a lower level graphic (GIF or PNG) and try to save it as a JPEG. You can experience a loss of quality. So the rule of thumb becomes scan the original and save it as a JPEG. Convert it to a lower-level graphic if you want to post the smaller file sized graphic to a website.

TIF (.tif)
Avoid using a TIF unless you're a seasoned graphics producer...but then, you wouldn't be using Paint! TIF is the highest-level graphic you can produce (lots of dots per inch and a huge file). I suspect that Paint provides it for those instances when you receive a photograph that is formatted as a TIF and you want to work on it but don't have high-end software. If you bring a graphic in as a TIF, you can save it as a TIF with little or no loss of quality. You can also save it as a lower-level graphic (for example, JPEG or PNG) so that you can print it without using every last drop of ink you have in your printer.

Summary
As always, I suggest that you play around with all of these options. You can pick up all of the graphics you need to work with at the Microsoft Images site. If you'd like to read more about these formats, visit Wikipedia. Oh...and remember to have fun!

Inserting Graphics

Inserting a graphic (picture or clip art) is easy. Depending on what you do after you insert the graphic can make dealing with it not so easy. Let's start with just inserting a graphic.

Insert Graphic in Running Text

In Word 2003: Select Insert, Picture, and then select Clip Art... or From File...

• If you select Clip Art..., the Clip Art pane open on the right side of your page. Your system comes with a few pieces of clip art and you can add to the collection. Type a word in the Search For field, and the available clip art appears. Try typing the word line.
• If you select From File..., the Insert Picture dialog appears and it defaults to the My Pictures folder. You can use the dialog to navigate to and select a picture to add to your document. If you're practicing and don't have any pictures of your own, Word includes a few samples.

In Word 2007/2010: Select Insert, and then select Picture or Clip Art.

• If you select Picture, the Insert Picture dialog appears and it defaults to the My Pictures folder. You can use the dialog to navigate to and select a picture to add to your document. If you're practicing and don't have any pictures of your own, Word includes a few samples.
• If you select Clip Art..., the Clip Art pane open on the right side of your page. Your system comes with a few pieces of clip art and you can add to the collection. Type a word in the Search For field, and the available clip art appears. Try typing the word line.

Displaying More Clip Art
You can go to Microsoft's online clip art website from the Word Clip Art pane. Look at the bottom of the pane and you'll see some additional links. Click the link that tells you it's going to the Microsoft website.

• Clip art on Office Online
• Find more at Office.com

In Line With Text
When you simply insert a graphic, Word picks an alignment of In line with text. Sometimes this is what you want; however, sometimes it's not. We're going to talk about additional options in the next post...and that's when the anchors appear and madness begins.

Graphic Anchors

When you paste a piece of clip art into a Word document, it will frequently paste with a position selected based on where you clicked in the document. If you display hidden codes, you will find a small anchor near the clip art, which is your hint that a position has been selected. Note that the anchor is sometime embedded in the clip art and not easy to see.

If the automatically selected position is good; that is, what you need in that instance, you don't need to worry about the anchor. The trouble starts when you begin to edit. The graphic goes where the anchor goes and the anchor can sometimes move to some most unfortunate places.

The workaround that I've already given you is to insert a table. See Word Tables Aren't Just for Lists. However, this workaround isn't always the most convenient way to handle a graphic...any graphic, including clip art. So in the next few posts we're going to talk about properly placing graphics...that is, the method you're supposed to use but attempt to avoid because so much can go wrong! Still, if I'm honest, I should give you all the options I know and I know how to work with graphics.

Clipart

A few years back, I had to find a piece of clipart--a dradle, which is a four-sided spinning top associated with Hanukkah--for a presentation to a Jewish society. I'm not Jewish and I know only a passing bit about Hanukkah. What I did know was the address that would get me to Microsoft Clipart (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/). When I got there, I typed in Jewish...a nice broad term that should net lots of results. The broad search term worked and not only did I pick up a dradle but I also found lots of other Hanukkah-related graphics that I could use in the presentation.

In addition to presentations, I routinely use Microsoft clipart when producing newsletters. A piece of art or two can be just what you need to take up that bit of extra space at the bottom of a page and make lines of text bump right up to the bottom margin...the ideal layout.

When you visit the site, you can search for just about any type of clipart. Be sure to enter a number of different search terms. You'll also get some funny results because of word association.

When you find a piece of clipart that you want to use, you usually have the option of Download (for Chrome) or Copy or Download (for Internet Explorer (IE)).

Copy

Click Copy and IE places a copy of the clipart on your pasteboard (a.k.a. clipboard), which is a temporary memory area on your system.

Open a new Word document and paste (Ctrl + V) the graphic in the blank Word document.

Resize the graphic. Copied graphics frequently are large and they are easier to resize in a blank document.

Click the graphic to display handles, and then point your cursor at the lower right handle until a double-headed arrow appears ( ↔ ). Click your mouse button and do not let it go. Move your mouse and the graphic will resize larger or smaller, depending on how you are moving your mouse. When you get a size you're happy with, let go of your mouse button.

Copy and paste your resized graphic into the document where you want it to appear; for example, to the right of the first line in a newsletter article.


Download

Click Download to download the graphic to a location on your system. A download dialog appears with two options: Open or Save.

Click Open to open the graphic on screen.

• If the graphic is a drawing, it will most likely open in MS Paint, a graphics program.
• If the graphic is a photograph, it will most likely open on screen...frequently in Picasa.

If you know how to use either of these programs, you can alter your graphic and save it to a location on your system.

Click Save to save the graphic to a location on your system, and then insert it into a new Word document, resize it, and then copy and paste (Ctrl + C, then Ctrl +V) your resized graphic into the document where you want it to appear; for example, as a new chapter graphic in a book. 

I keep a file folder on my system titled Delete. Everything that I think I'm going to use once and not need again, I place in this folder. When the folder gets too crowded, I delete all contents.

Comments

Microsoft Clipart is free...one of my favorite words. It's reliable...you won't pick up a virus. It's updated regularly by pros. Can you find additional clipart online? Yes, you can. I tend to shy away from it because I've had problems. When your're on the Web, it's always better to be safe than sorry.

On the next post, I'll talk about the dreaded text wrap around a graphic...we'll talk about anchors...they won't sink you but some days you'll swear they are trying.