IrfanView English

[Gerda]

Word documents containing the information below are available at: www.esnips.com/web/GerdasOtherStuff
First is 3 pages, the two others are 2 pages.

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Download the program and the plugins at www.IrfanView.com

I have changed some settings.



IrfanView:
Menubar: Options>Properties <P> (or red P at toolbar)
Misc.1 Checkmarked Show PNG alpha transparent colour.
Misc 2. Set External view/editor. Browse to C:\WINDOWS\System32\mspaint.exe
Misc. 3. I have checkmarked all.
JPG/PCD/GIF: Deleted the checkmark at: Play animated GIF’s and checkmarked: Show transparency in non-animated GIF’s too.
Viewing: Main window color is black. You can change this colour pushing the button: Choose. NB. Transparent GIF and PNG take over the main window colour.




Thumbnails:
I checkmarked: Show common shell folders (Desktop, My Pictures…)


Start with opening a picuture and save it. At the right is a little option window:



Save it as JPG format and set the quality to the highest. This is 10.
Checkmark also:
Save as progressive JPG
Disable color subsampling




Save it also as PNG. Set the compression level to 9.
Checkmark:
Save Transparent Color
Use PNGOUT PlugIn

[Gerda]

IrfanView Batch Dialog.

What looks like white, is not always white. It is transparent mixed with white. That makes a file cheaper for use on Internet. If you use these pictures in a tileset it shows in game at: Show Large is On .You see it better with coloured tiles: The backgrounds are blurred. I don’t like that. It is not necessary.
Transparent is colour number 255. That is nice to know.

I have made ElephantFun tileset entirely with IrfanView and MSPaint.

I collected the pictures in folder named: ElephantFun Original.
I made a second folder named ElephantFun IrfanView.



In IrfanView at menu bar go to: File> Thumbnails <T> or open IrfanView Thumbnails.
Browse to de folder: ElephantFun Original.
Select all files:
Menubar:Options>Select all <Ctrl-A> (Format of the files is of no interest)
Start batch conversion:
Menubar>File> Start Batch dialog with selected thumbs… <B>

NB. Change Output directory. Browse to the ElephantFun Irfanview folder
Output format: JPG-JPEG format.

NB Checkmark: Use advanced options and use the following settings:



Use Resample function
Change color depth: 16.7 million colors
Use Floyd Steinberg ditherering.

Important: Checkmark Color balance –R, -G and –B at the right and set the value to -2.
The minus for the 2 is very important.

Left up in the middle: Click at Start

Batch Conversion done: Click at Exit button.

[Gerda]

IrfanView Modify Images.

Time for a thirth folder named ElephantfFun Final

Open the first picture in the folder ElephantFun IrfanView.
You can remove letters and spots with mspaint:
Menu bar>File>Open with external editor <Shift-E>

Choose the colour next to the spot and brush it. I resize to 6x. to have a good view on what I am doing. Save the file and close mspaint.

In IrfanView nothing is changed. Press the blue arrow back and forward. (At the first picture forward and back) You can also use the shortcut <Shift-R>

Enhance colors:



Something like the above image shows. You have to experiment, what is best for a picture.

Don’t forget to push the button: Apply to original.
BTW. IrfanView doesn’t save automatically.
So save the pictures whether altered or not in the new made folder i.g ElephantFun Final.

Cropping and Resize/Resample.

Time to create the Tilesetfolder named: ElephantFun. Game uses the name of the folder the pictures are in.


Open the first picture in ElephantFun Final folder.



Open the first picture in ElephantFun Final folder.
Point the mouse somewhere at the upper left. Draw a line to the right and down.
A retangle appears. You can resize this by putting the mouse at the line. The cursor changes to a two way arrow. Push and pull to get the part you like to have. Take care the ratio is somehow 8x10.

After you go to:
Menubar>Edit>Crop Selection <Ctrl+Y>

Sometimes the picture is fine as it is and you can skip this. I often go directly to Resize/Resample as well. It depends.

Menubar>Image>Resize/Resample <Ctrl+R>



The new size has to be: Width: 80 and Height 96.If this not the case, you have to go back to the cropping part.
If I stick to 80x95 pixels, I delete the checkmark at: Preserve aspect ratio and change 95 to 96.

If you don’t want to crop the picture or stick to the ratio of the original, you can use Canvas size: Resize the picture to width: 80 Look at the Height. If it is lower, go to Canvas Size.
If it is higher: Put in at height: 96 and look what it says at width. Divide the difference by two.

Menu bar>Image>Canvas size <no short cut for this one>



In this example I had a picture sized: width 62 and hight: 96

It is sometimes fun to keep the border color transparent. Push the button Choose to change the color. Change the values of Red, Green and Blue to 255. At my PC, I can also choose the white in the right lower corner. If you don’t want it transparent, you can choose another color.
Setting the values to 253 makes it non transparent white.

At last I am satisfied with the picture and save it PNG format.

Menu bar>File> Save as <S> Browse to ElephantFun folder Scroll down to PNG and push the Save button. If you use transparent parts, you click at one of the white borders. Otherwise you can use <Escape>

The next pictures is automatically saved in the last used folder and format.

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Notes: Some example images are half Dutch, but I do think you get the picture. That’s because program never turns back to English entirely, aAfter I changed it to Dutch. Just a glinch.
(I do like to do a lot for members, but Fdisking hardisk again???)
The symbols between < and> are shortcuts. That you already figured out.

I know the post contain errors. (Ever tried to translate a text from English into Dutch?) I hope you get the idea of it. It it are really bad errors, please send me a personal message.

For links to sites about this program: Goto Help>Frequently Asked Questions. Scroll way down to the bottom. Select, copy and paste the link in your browser to surf to the site.

It has even been one, used this program for fractals. Halo Acme, sounds interesting huh?

[Gerda]

Download site of IrfanView: www.irfanview.com/

Open IrfanView Thumbnails if installed or open IrfanView and press "T" (shortcut for: File - Thumbnails)

Select and open the Tileset folder
Press "CTRL+A" to select all files.

Click at: File at the toolbar.

Select: Create contact sheet from selected thumbs. (It's located somewhere in the middle)

Collage of 9x4 pictures with image size: 80 x 96 pixels

Put in:
At Sheet dimensions: Width: 740, Height: 394
At columns: 9, At rows: 4
At Thumbnail Spacing: Horizontal: 0 Vertical: 0 (optional amount)
At margins: Horizontal: 0 Vertical: 0 (optional amount)

In the right area:
At Color/Text option select a color suitable to the tileset.
Uncheckmark: Write file info's (So the check box before it is empty)
Click at "Create"

A pop-up with the collage appears.

Go to Image (at toolboor) - Canvas Size
Left and Top Side: 2
Right and Bottom side: 0 (zero)
Click OK

To resize it, press "CTRL+R (shortcut for Image-Resize/resample)
Click at "Half" in the area at the right.

Press "S" to save as...

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After upload to PhotoBucket. Please copy and past in the contents of Img:

(Using the contents of Url: makes the picure look very tiny in a post. (this one is in use to put in an avatar.)

[Gerda]

To make a screenshot I also prefer to use IrfanView. It is freeware.
It is ca. 1 MB to download at:
www.irfanview.com/

Getting Started:

1. Open IrfanView
2. Click at "C" (shortcut for: Options - Capture/Screenshot)

Some setting. You have to do this only one time:

3. Checkmark: Foreground window - client area
4. Un checkmark: include mouse cursor (optional)
5.Checkmark: Show captured image in viewer
6. Click at Start
7.Open MTE
8. In options: choose classic mode and select the tileset. (or concentration if you don't want to have a tileset on it at all)
9. Select desired layout


10. Press CTRL-F11 (Irfanview pops up)


11. Press: CTRL-R (shortcut for Image- Resize/Resample)
12. Checkmark the second option: set new size as percentage of original to 50 %.
N.B. Maximum width to post in forum is 550 pixels!
13. Press "S" (shortcut for: File- Save as)
14. Select the folder and select the format (jpg) and name the file (like NightieNight.jpg)

[Oleta]

I want to thank you Gerda! Thank you for making the IrfanView available to us. I find that it has different effects that I never even dreamed of. Maybe...dreamed of, just didn't know was possible. I'm really liking the embossed look. I've redone some of my backgrounds and I'm thrilled with how they have turned out! That's just one small thing. I'm sure going to find out what else I can do different on this.

God Bless You this Christmas season. Merry Christmas to you Gerda!

[Gerda]

I am still in progress learning this program. Here are some additions:

IrfanView is version 4.10 now. It has a little paint tool in. You can find it under "Edit" on the menu-bar. Just play around with it,to see what it does. As we all know, with IrfanView, you have to save an image to keep the alterations. I always save the modified image under another name or in another folder.

Another nice new feature is the "auto adjust color" option in batch dialog under advanced button.

To improve an image I choose to "enchange colors" (under "image" in menu bar. I set brightness to a negative number and contrast to a positive number. Sometimes but not often set saturation to a higher number. I never use sharpening. I think it makes the image looking granular. Well it has a preview in. So you can see what it does to the image before you hit the button: "apply to original". And even then you have to save the image to get the changes.

[Gerda]

I changed the way to save images:

Unchecked:save as progressive JPG. I have no need to see how an image is build up.

Unchecked: Disable color subsampling. Because subsampling is said to improve an image if it is resized.

I checked the two options under GIF and set the "Set transparency value..." at 255.

[Gerda]

The last remark brings us to transparent images and how to save them. This goes for transparent GIF and PNG pictures.

A transparent image takes over the colour of the background. With IrfanView it is black on default. I am not a default girl. Before I start creating a tileset. I set the background to white. Here follows an instruction how to set the background of an GIF image to the colour you want:

Load the GIF image into IrfanView.

Click at "properties/Settings" at the toolbar. (The icon looks like an X made of a wrench and a screwdriver):



Click on the "Viewing" tab
Choose the colour you like to have as a background:



This is in Netherlands language, because IrfanView borrows it from Windows and my Windows Version is set to my own language.:



OK the background of IrfanView changed, but the background of the GIF images is still the same colour as before. If there are more images in the folder, click the back or forward arrow on the toolbar. If you have only one picture in the folder, click on Thumbnails and select the image. The background colour has changed now.




The above is only said to simplify the action. To create a tileset I collect loads of images. That can be JPG, PNG, GIF or BMP images.
I learned, that to modify images, it is best to set them to BMP.
So, I go to thumbnails, select all images and start Batch conversion to set all images to BMP. As I set the background to white, all transparent images get a white background.

To crop images, I set the IrfanView's background later mostly to gray.

With my last tileset I noticed that making it with BMP 80x96 pixels sized images it was less heavy. The difference with saving them as JPG was 65 KB. So I kept the tileset made of BMP images.