Got a Graphic in Your Electronic TOC?

Every once in awhile, I have a graphic turn up as part of my electronic table of contents in a Word document. The cause? The cure? It's easy but not necessarily intuitive.

Graphics are usually on a line of their own with their own style tag applied. You can confirm that this is true by clicking the Show/Hide button to see hidden codes. See Hidden Word Codes for more information.

The diagnosis: Look for a hard return (a paragraph icon like the button above) after the graphic. Click after the graphic and check to see if a Heading style was selected for the graphic.

If you don't see the hard return icon:

• It might be that there's just a space after the graphic. Click after the graphic and press the Enter key. 
• It might be that the graphic is on a line with a line break (Shift + Enter). Click after the graphic and press the Enter key.

The cure: Apply a non-heading style to the graphic and update your table of contents.

See Electronic Table of Contents and Styles for more information.

Four Generation Chart in Word SmartArt...Inserting Chart as Graphic

Click below to see the posts in this series:
Click here to see the Introduction
Click here to see the Layout Page and Insert SmartArt
Click here to see Altering the Chart
Click here to see Word 2003
Click here to see Using Chart and Resizing Boxes

While having a working chart as a Word document is convenient when you're creating the chart, trying to control the chart inside of a working Word document--think page in a book--can be a challenge for a host of reasons. In addition, charts frequently must be rotated and resized to fit into a portrait oriented page.

When you create charts, I suggest that you create them as an individual documents, and then use Paint to convert the charts to graphics, which you can insert into your document (article or book). If you need to make corrections later on, you can correct them in the live chart...the individual Word document, use Paint to turn the chart into a graphic again, and replace the graphic in your document. The advantages of this approach are that you can easily rotate and resize the graphic.

If you're a longtime reader of this blog, you know I'm a big time fan of Paint...and you've probably read all of the posts so that you're way ahead of me on this suggestion.

If you're a new reader, following are the posts you need to read to learn how to use Paint to capture the chart and resize and rotate it.

Much Ado About Graphic Software...Part 1 Capturing a Screen
Much Ado About Graphic Software...Part 8 Resizing and Rotating

If you want to read more about Paint, click here to go to the Archive post with links to Paint-related articles listed in sequence.

Adding Text to a Photograph

I'm constantly amazed at the stuff I never identify as a problem. I've been sitting on a Facebook page reading all about several photographs that were lifted on Ancestry. Apparently, person one posted photos on Ancestry and person two took photos, cropped head shots, and added the photos to their tree...but misidentified the people in the photos. I've never had this problem but it's generating lots of traffic as people debate what you can do about the problem, whether it's a copyright violation, and how you go about adding a watermark to a photo.

I googled Watermark Photos and received lots of hits. In a light read, I can see that much of it is swatting a fly with a sledgehammer. If you have a need to do this task, you can do it directly in Paint.

Adding text to a photograph:

1. Find a photo to which you want to add text or a watermark. 
2. Open Paint. Select Start, All Programs, Accessories, and then Paint. 
3. Open the photo. Select File, Open, navigate to the photo, and select it.
   Note that whatever format the photo is currently in (most likely .jpg) is the format in which it opens in Paint. After you add text, you will save the photo and it will be saved in the same format. 
4. Save the photo under a new name (for example, Lillie with notes). Completing this important step preserves the original photo file. 
5. Use the Text tool to add text to the photograph.
   --Click the Text Tool button, move your cursor over the photograph. The arrow cursor turns into an I-beam cursor.
   --Click somewhere in the photo and drag your cursor to draw a box. Paint adds an outline and the Text tab appears.
   
   
   --Type the text you want to add to the photo. 
6. Use options on the Text tab to format the text. As long as you do not click outside of the text box outline, you can select text in the text box and apply formatting. 
7. After you have the text you want in place, click anywhere outside of the text box outline to make the text a part of the picture.
8. Save the annotated photo.  

I'm assuming that most of the Font buttons you see will make sense to you. The Background buttons may be a bit of a mystery. 

• Opaque: Click it to make the background of the text box solid.
• Transparent: Click it to make the background of the text box transparent (default).

If you need help with picking colors for the text (like gray if you want a more subtle watermark), see the post Much Ado About Graphic Software...Part 6.

To move the text--for example, to render the photo unusable--use the handles of the text box to re-size the text box so that the text is positioned in an inconvenient location for copying. 

And finally, if you make a mistake, use the undo key combo (Ctrl + Z) to make it all go away and start over. 

So there you have my suggestion for making lifting your photos a little harder for those who have sticky fingers. 

Table as Graphic

With this particular type of blog, I am able to see what search terms are leading users to this page. Recently, someone was searching for information on turning a table into a graphic. If you're a longtime reader of this blog, you know that the answer is to create the table, do a screen capture of the table, open Paint, paste the screen capture, clip the area with the table, and save the table as a .png, .gif, or .jpg. You can then insert the graphic into other documents and rotate and resize it as necessary. 

Here's a sample of what the end product looks like.

Following is a list of the posts you need to complete this task:

• Create Table: Table It!...Part 6...Creating the Table 
• Capture the Table, Create the Graphic, Insert Graphic into Document: Table It!...Part 7...Turn Word Table into Graphics

I find it interesting that I've written enough that I'm beginning to circle back on myself and posting links rather than writing instructions. 

And the search goes on for a Picnik replacement...

I ran across a site that made me laugh. The site presents 500 (500!) alternatives to Picnik. Driven souls at more of it have create bots to search the web looking for Picnik replacements. I've settled in happily with iPiccy, but if you're still searching, you might want to check out the more of it list.

The interesting thing about the list is that it includes a line at the bottom of each entry that allows you to quickly evaluate each entry. Here's a sample of the bottom line.

Much Ado About Graphic Software...Part 10

Sorry I haven't been posting this week. Work has been challenging...a combo of the words hell and handbasket come to mind. So, in exasperation, I'm going to do a post in the graphic series, and then try to catch up on my sleep. Perhaps I'll be able to do better next week.

Moving Pieces of Graphics 
In the last post, one of the steps you completed to construct the graphic from pieces involved you grabbing a pasted piece and moving it to a position so that it wasn't covering another pasted piece that you wanted to show. You can take that idea one step further and alter displays to present data in a different way.

Think about a census. My people are usually listed starting on about line 17 or worse. I'm usually fussing with a copy of census headings and trying to match them to interpret the data.

Using Paint, I can move the census lines I want to see and align them directly under column headings.

Turn this...

Into this... 

Click the graphic to see a larger version, and then click the Esc key to close the graphics. 

Altering the Display

1. Use the PRT SC button to capture a copy of a census page on your clipboard. Remember to press the extra button if you're on a laptop.
2. Open Paint (Start, All Programs, Accessories, Paint). 
3. Paste (Ctr + V) the copy of the census into the Paint palette.
4. Use the Select tool to select the lines in the census that you want to move. Paint adds a dotted line around the area you selected.
5. Click inside the dotted line and do not release your mouse button. You just grabbed the selected area and you're holding on to it. 
6. Move your mouse around and you'll find that the selected area moves too.
7. Align the select lines with the column headings.
8. When you're happy with the display, release your mouse button. The dotted lines remain so if you need to make adjustments, just click in the dotted area and do not release your mouse button. Make the adjustment, and then release your mouse button.
9. Click anywhere outside of the dotted area to make the change permanent. 

This same method works if you open a scanned census page (or whatever) that you've saved as a .jpg.

Are you going to want to alter every census page like this? Certainly not. However, when you need to make a point with a picture, knowing how to alter the picture to illustrate your point certainly can't hurt.

Much Ado About Graphic Software...Part 9

When you do newspaper research, one of the frustrations is that the information you need for a reference is at the top of the page, and the beginning of an article--for example, an obituary--might start near the end of a column and wrap to the top of the next column. Getting all of the pieces in one document isn't easy. You can always print the pieces you need and use scissors and tape to get the arrangement you want. If you use Paint, you can do the same task electronically.

Prior to doing this task, we need to discuss a computer concept...instantiation. When you own software--for example, Paint--you can open as many copies (instances) of Paint as you like and as your system can accommodate. Each time you start a new instance of Paint, Windows adds an icon in the task bar at the bottom of your screen. 

Each instance of Paint is running separately, which means that what you do in one instance of Paint has no affect in another instance of Paint. Another word for instance is session.

Instructions

Capture Reference Information

1. Find an online article you want to copy; for example, an online newspaper article. 
2. Display the reference information at the top of the page on your screen.
3. Click the PRT SC (print screen) button to place a copy on your clipboard.
   Note: On a laptop, you'll probably have to press two keys--FN + PRT SC. 

Paste Reference Information

1. Open instance one of Paint (select Start, All Programs, Accessories, and then Paint).
2. Paste (Ctrl + P) the copy on your clipboard. 
3. Use the Select tool to select the reference information.
4. Copy  (Ctrl + C) the reference information to the clipboard. 

Create Master Graphic

1. Open instance two of Paint (select Start, All Programs, Accessories, and then Paint). 
2. Paste (Ctrl + P) the clip of the reference information. 
3. Resize your palette so that you have lots of empty space. You're going to add more pieces to the palette of instance two of Paint.
4. Save instance two of Paint as a .png under a name you'll remember. 

Capture the Article Text

1. Return to the online article. (Press Alt + Tab repeatedly to cycle through your open programs.) 
2. Show as much of the article as possible on your screen. 
3. Capture the article. Click the PRT SC (print screen) button to place a copy on your clipboard. 
4. Open instance three of Paint (select Start, All Programs, Accessories, and then Paint). 
5. Paste (Ctrl + P) the clip of the article. 

Update the Master Graphic with Part 1 of the Article

1. In instance three of Paint, use the Select tool to select the first portion of the article.
2. Copy  (Ctrl + C) the first portion of the article to the clipboard.
3. Return to instance two of Paint (the master)--Press Alt + Tab.  
4. Paste (Ctrl + P) the clip of the article. It overlays the reference information clip and it has a dotted outline.
5. Move the clip.
   Click the clip of the article and do not let go of your mouse button. You've just grabbed the first portion of the article. Move your cursor around and you'll find that the article clip moves with your cursor. 
6. Move the clip of the article below the reference information clip.
7. Save instance two of Paint (the master).

Update the Master Graphic with Additional Parts of the Article

1. Return to instance three of Paint and use the Select tool to select the next portion of the article.
2. Return to instance two of Paint (the master). 
3. Paste (Ctrl + P) the clip of the article. 
4. Move the clip. 
5. Repeat these steps until you have the whole article arranged to your satisfaction.
6. Save instance two of Paint (the master).
7. Close all of the programs you have open.

Sample Clipping

Click the graphic to see a larger version, and then press the ESC key to close it.

I completed the instructions four times to get the four pieces of the article into one .png file. Can you see the four pieces? Because I'm not dealing with color, I can also save the document as a .gif or a .jpg and attach the file to a record in my genealogy software. 

The other option I have is to insert the .png into a Word document and save the file as a .pdf...a huge step toward becoming a digital genealogist. 

Perfecting this method takes a bit of practice. However, after a while it becomes second nature. Remember that Ctrl + Z (undo) usually gets you out of trouble.

Fun part...

Now here's the fun part...being able to move pieces around on a Paint palette is an undocumented feature of Paint. In addition, I've never seen instructions for piecing together the display I want from various clipped pieces. So there you have it...you're now privy to some super secret info...stuff that not a lot of people know how to do. I hope you find it useful.

Much Ado About Graphic Software...Part 8

Resize Option
To have something to resize, you need an over sized graphic. I'm going to ask you to download the hand and pen, open it in Paint, and then resize it. We will use the resized graphic to look at the rotate options too.

Get the Graphic

1. Click here to go to the graphic in the Microsoft clip art. 
2. Click the Download button. A save option appears.
3. Select Save As so that you can save the graphic under a name you'll recognize. In the case of the dialog above, I would click the drop-down arrow beside the Save button to display a pop-up with a Save As option. 
4. Save the graphic under a name (pen_hand) and in a convenient spot on your system.

Open the Graphic in Paint 

1. Open Paint. 
2. Open the graphic (pen_hand). It should be too big for your screen. 

Resize the Drawing

1. Select the entire drawing (Ctrl + A). You have options here.
2. If you're comfortable using the handles (small circles along the right size and bottom edge of the drawing), point your cursor at the handle at the bottom right corner of the graphic. When your cursor turns into a double-headed arrow, click once to grab the corner. Move your mouse toward the upper left. The trick with this method--and this takes some practice--is to make sure that you keep the ratio the same. I use this method; however, you have to take into account that I've done this for a long time and sometimes I can't get one of these to resize without distorting it. 
3. Your other option is to use the Resize and Skew dialog.
   --In Paint 2003, select Image, Resize and Skew.
   --In Paint 2007/2010, in the Image group, select Resize.
   The Resize and Skew dialog appears.
   
4. Accept the default of Percentage, and in the Horizontal field enter 50, and then click OK. 
5. If the graphic isn't small enough, repeat these step--enter 50% again--and Paint resizes the drawing. 

In the dialog, Pixels refer to the dots that make up the image. Unless you really get into to this, you're most likely will have no need to resize based on pixels. The skew pulls the drawing. You should try playing with the skew particularly if you have an artistic bent.

Rotate Option

1. Select the entire drawing (Ctrl + A). 
2. Use the Rotate/Flip options.
   --In Paint 2003, select Image, Rotate/Flip.
   --In Paint 2007/2010, in the Image group, select Rotate. 
3. Click the Flip Horizontal option. 

You have several other options: Rotate right or left for various degrees and the vertical flip option. When you look at other software, you'll find lots of additional options for rotation. However, my needs have always been relatively simple and I've found that the options in Paint have served my needs.

Next Post

We'll build a graphic from pieces. For example, we can take an obituary that starts at the end of one newspaper column and wraps to the top of the next column. We'll build a graphic that puts the pieces together.

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. 

Photoshop Beta Download and Video Preview

For those of you who follow my posts about graphics, you know that I don't normally recommend that hobby genealogists purchase some of the more expensive pieces of software that are available and promoted. However, I'm sure that many of you are curious as to what some of this software can do and what it looks like.

Photoshop in particular is pricy and it has a steep learning curve. Professional photographers and graphic artists use it. The latest version is in beta (limited release) but Adobe is offering everybody a peek. And, they are including videos that show you how to do some of the new stuff included in this release of Photoshop.

1. Click this link to go to the Adobe Labs site.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the page to Getting Started.
3. Look for the links that will let you download a beta copy and view video(s).

In addition, Lynda (software training website) is offering free videos too. I'm not sure if they're the same videos or Lynda's own videos (a mixture I suspect). I didn't stop to look at them. Click this link to go to the Lynda website page with the training.

b.t.w. Lynda offers lots of training for reasonable sums. The site used to offer unlimited training for a year at a flat fee. So you might want to click around to see if there's something you're interested in pursuing.

Anyway, I'm not a fan of Photoshop; however, it is considered the premier piece of software for photographs. Professionals frequently use it for photo restoration. If you decide to take a peek, I hope you have fun!

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!

PicMonkey

I received an email announcing that PicMonkey has launched. If you want to play with it, go to www.picmonkey.com. So far, it's basic; however, this is only the first salvo. I'll be watching this site to see what they offer.

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.  

Picnik Replacement...PicMonkey...

Blog reader Jenn posted a comment about a new possible replacement for Picnik. See her comments at  iPiccy...Picnik Replacement.

The new candidate is PicMonkey at http://www.picmonkey.com/. From what Jenn is saying some Picnik alumni have gotten together to create a new and improved piece of graphic software. I can't wait to see it.

If you want to get in on the ground floor, go to the site and enter your email address for updates on their progress. I've already signed up because as you all know I struggle with graphics.

Much Ado About Graphic Software...Part 2

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

After you have a graphic, you can do a number of tasks with it. One of the primary tasks that you'll do is to annotate. Annotation can be as simple as drawing a rectangle around an item in a list that you want someone to look at or as elaborate as drawing the rectangle, and then adding lines that go to a call out box where you make a comment. Here's a census sample that has been annotated using Paint.

Click the graphic to see a larger version.
Click the ESC (escape) key to return to this post.

I'm going to talk about draws rectangles, squares, ovals, circles, and lines today. In the next post in this series, I'll tell you how to get text in a call out box.

Paint (2007) Drawing Rectangles and Ovals

1. Open Paint, and then open a graphic. Any graphic will do for the sake of this post. However, if you use a list, the instructions will have more meaning to you. 
2. Look at the Home tab. It contains the tools you'll need. 
3. Pick a color on the color palette. I like a bright contrasting color for something that is going online; for example, as an attachment in an email. For a graphic that will appear in print, I pick black because printing in color is expensive. 
4. Pick a shape from the Shapes group. I mostly use rectangles, ovals, and lines. For this exercise, pick a rectangle. 
5. Pick a line size (thickness) from the Size group. Click the down arrow to display a few sizes. I usually use the second or third line thickness.
6. Select the area you want included in the square. This action is just like selecting to clip, which you did in the last post. You start in the upper left of what you want included in the square, click and hold your mouse, and drag your mouse to the lower right. As you move your mouse, Paint draws the rectangle.
7. Let go of your mouse button. 
8. Notice that the square has dotted lines and handles (circles). The dotted lines mark the area that you can resize using the handles. 
9. Resize your square. Click any circle and a double headed arrow appears. Click the arrow and move your mouse to resize the rectangle. 
10. Click anywhere else in the drawing and the dotted lines and handles disappear. You're committed to the rectangle you've drawn. 

These exact same instruction work for drawing an oval. Paint has assumed that you will want to draw a rectangle or an oval. To draw a perfect square (or circle), pick the rectangle (or oval), press the Shift key, click where you want to start drawing the shape, and drag your mouse. You'll get a perfect square (or circle). 

Draw a Line

The process is the same. Pick a color, pick a line tool, pick a line size, click where you want to start, press the Shift key (to get a straight line) and drag your mouse to where you want to stop.

When you make a mistake...

Because Paint is a Microsoft product, the same fix-all method works...undo (Ctrl + Z)...use the key combo to undo what you've done. 

Paint (Earlier Versions)

If you're using an earlier version of Windows, you have an earlier version of Paint, and as a result, you don't have as many options. 

• You can pick a line color from the color palette at the bottom of the screen.
• You can select a rectangle, oval, and line; however, you only have one line weight...too thin so pick a bright color.
• You can hold down the Shift key while drawing a rectangle or oval to get a perfect square or circle. 
• You can hold down the Shift key while drawing a line to get a straight line. 
• You get one shot at drawing...no dotted lines...no handles to resize...nothing.
• You can use  the same fix-all method...undo (Ctrl + Z)...to remove anything you've messed up. 

The Word 2003 advantage...

If you are using Word 2003 (or an earlier version), you have a drawing toolbar built in to Word. The toolbar works the same as what you see in Paint. What does that mean to you? You can insert a graphic directly into a document and annotate it in the document. 

This same toolbar was removed from Word 2007 and 2010. Some of the functionality was added back to the ribbons; however, much of it was removed. If you're going to annotate using either of these versions of Word, you need graphics software to do it. 

The Upshot...

Learning to annotate takes patience because it's tedious. However, when you see the results, you'll want to add annotation to your skill set. Next post in this series is call out boxes. 

Much Ado About Graphic Software...Part 1

One of the presentations at RootsTech was for a piece of screen capture software called Snagit. I didn't attend the session in part because I've used Snagit in the past. It's an excellent tool for creating graphics, for doing large scrolling screen captures, for sharing to social media, and for completing an assortment of other tasks. If you google screen capture software, you'll find that there's lots of this type of software available. Some of it is free. Some of it is commercial software with varied costs. Snagit is going for $50.00 these days.

If you're a professional genealogist, you may want to consider purchasing software. If you're a hobby genealogist on a tight budget, you might be surprised to find that you already own a lesser but similar tool that might meet your needs.

Paint

For as long as I can remember, Windows has included a low level graphics program called Paint. Most people don't know that the program is there, and if they do know, they've never learned to use it. In my opinion that is ashamed because many screen capture software programs are modeled off of Paint.

What does that piece of info mean to you? It means that if you learn to use Paint before you purchase commercial software, you'll have a better chance of assessing the software you are considering for purchase. Learning to use Paint will also cause you to assess your needs and decide whether you need to purchase additional software at all.

You may also be interested in knowing that I use Paint to produce every screen sample you see in this blog. I use it to clean up graphics, to add the circles around and arrows to items I want you to look at, to add comments directly in the graphics, and to layer one graphic over another so that you can see the results of a selection process. In my own genealogy, I use it for several addition tasks; for example, clipping sections of newspaper columns and placing the clips so that I create one graphic.

If you are using an earlier version of Windows, you'll find that Paint is somewhat limited. You can still accomplish ordinary tasks; it's just that you'll have to click more to accomplish those tasks. If you are using Windows 2007 or greater, you'll find that Paint is very useful for doing everyday graphical tasks.


In addition, if you use a Mac, there's a free clone that you can download.

If you're a long time reader of this blog, you may remember that I've had you use Paint to crop and turn graphics. We just did that with tables. I haven't given you much background where Paint is concerned. So I thought I'd do that in this post.

Opening Paint

Select Start, All Programs, Accessories, and then Paint. The palette appears.

The Home tab contains the majority of the tools you'll use. I'll go through the tools and give you a run down of what I use (if I use it) and how I use it. If you're using an earlier version of Windows, here's what your palette looks like.

If you look closely, many of the buttons use the same icon for the same function. For example, regardless of the version the Eraser, Pencil, and Eye Dropper present with the same icon. Other items that are on the toolbar in current version of Paint are in menus in earlier versions of Paint.

Resizing the Drawing Area

The drawing area is the bright white space you see in the sample screens above. When you capture a screen and paste it into Paint, the palette resizes automatically. However, as your use becomes more sophisticated, you'll need to know how to resize the drawing palette. The process is the same regardless of the version. The palette has 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.

Capturing a Screen

1. Display any web page you like (actually anything on your screen).
2. Press the PrintScr button. If you're on a laptop, you'll probably need to press a color coded function key too. On my laptop, I hold down the FN key, and then press PrtScr. Windows places a copy of your screen on a clipboard (temporary storage area).
3. Open Paint if you don't already have it open.
4. Paste the screen capture (Ctrl + V). You get the whole thing. You don't want the whole thing.

Clipping and Saving What You Want

1. Use the Select tool to select the portion of the capture you want. You've already done this task.
2. Click the select tool.
3. With your mouse, click in the upper left of the area you want to keep.
4. Move your cursor to the lower right of the area you want to keep.
5. Let go of your mouse button. Paint has added a dotted line around the selected area. The outlined area is what your graphic will look like.
6. Crop the area.--In Windows 2007/2010, click the Crop button beside the Select tool. Paint displays the cropped area.
   --In earlier versions, copy the selected area (Ctrl + C). Open another instance of Paint (you can run more than one session of the same software). Paste the selected area (Ctrl + V).
7. Save the cropped area. Select File, and then Save As to display the Save As dialog.
8. In File name, add a name.
9. In Save as type, select PNG (*.png). Your version of Paint may default to .png. Just be sure to confirm you have the right file format selected so that you don't loose color in the graphic.
10. Click the Save button.

Evaluation

Can you do this same task easier with Snagit? Yes, you can. Is that ease of use worth $50.00 of your cash? In my opinion, no, it's not.

Can you do more with Paint? You can do lots more with Paint just as you can do lots more with Snagit. What you learn to do with software is often a reflection of your needs. In my opinion, these needs should be assessed before a cash outlay.

Future Postings

I've just started talking about Paint and I have to be careful because I have an outstanding article on the topic that I hope to have published. I don't want to rob myself of my own thunder! However, Paint offers lots of capabilities that I didn't talk about in the article. So, we have lots of territory to cover while I wait out seeing if the article makes it into print.