Remember the other day I wondered why all the Blogdex hits, and one for "Meister du Linkage" in particular? Aha! That, my friends, was Jenny! I have figured this mystery out! Now if only I could figure out this other one: when this machine was purchased, it came with MGI Photosuite (when I click on "About" it tells me I have ver. 6.5, which makes no sense, since the current retail version is 4.0). Anyway, yesterday I thought I'd try to use it to create a button, just for educational purposes. Big mistake. I have repeatedly created text and copied it into a large (800x640) image, and then shrunk the image to button size (100x30), being sure to check the "shrink to fit" box. When I do, the text either disappears or becomes an illegible line. I have searched the Help files (and death be to those who decided printed manuals were too costly to include with software), and I find nothing about layers, overlays, skins, or any other word which might indicate why my text goes awry. Anybody out there know anything about this software?
Is Easter brunch on the menu for anyone? This one is a big deal for us, because it will be the first outing for Mom for purposes other than medical in quite a while. We're (all six of us) headed to the Oceanarium, which has long been a favorite of ours for Easter. My nieces love (well, used to love...they're older!) to watch the fish, and the diver feeding them.
Update: Went to the brunch; here's part of the menu:
Omelet Station
Prime Rib
Salad, Poke, Sashimi, Fruit Bar, Waffles w/ Strawberries or Syrup, Cakes, Pies, Baklava
Eggs Florentine Benedict
Potatoes Boulangere (sliced red potatoes w/ onions)
Rice (huge cooker--must've been 5-gallon size)
"Scottish Bangers" w/ Peppers and Onions (no more Scottish than nothin'--I've had the real thing in Edinburgh; the authentic ones are full of filler and meal; these were good old American sausages, but FAT!)
Veal with Mushrooms in Sauce
Bacon
Smoked Salmon
Snow Crab Legs w/ Drawn Butter
Scallops, Shrimp in Sauce
And who knows what I missed. Mom had a great time; we got there about five minutes before they opened for the 9:00 seating, so I pushed the wheelchair around all the chow for her to look at.
When you start at 800x640 (I am assuming you mean pixels) and put in your text, you have created an image. Then when you reduce your image size to 100x30, your software (any imaging software works the same way) has to throw away pixels to accomplish your order. Everything is reduced by a mathmatical algorithm.
There are two ways to do what you want. First, and my choice, is to begin working at 100x30 pixels and, if need be, magnify (not increase image size) to something you can see. Second, go ahead and work in your 800x640 image size, but instead of reducing the image, crop to the size you want.
I use Photoshop and PaintShop Pro along with a few less well known programs, and they all work the same way. I hope this will help some.
Posted by: the Lonetree Trapper at March 31, 2002 04:49 PMI have Photoshop and PaintShop Pro--they are very powerful. Generally, and this is kinda sad, when I start getting frustrated, I revert to good old MS Paint. Starting at 100x30 is easier than trying to shrink, especially if the dimensions are not in the same proportions. I ended up having to crop and shrink my header into a button--it's fuzzy but readable and I'm too tired to bother. I'm really curious about your mystery graphic . . . good luck!
Posted by: ali at March 31, 2002 09:28 PMMr. Trapper's advice worked like a charm...see that little "Hawai'i Stories" button over on the right? Thank you, sir!
Posted by: Linkmeister at March 31, 2002 09:50 PMYou're welcome. The button looks great. Nice job.
Posted by: the Lonetree Trapper at April 2, 2002 07:21 PM