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SCRAP Photo Editor User Manual » Reference » Cropping, Scaling, and Rotation

# Cropping, Scaling, and Rotation

Scaling, cropping and rotation are three of the most basic operations done on photographs. Scaling reduces the resolution (size) of an image without changing its composition (i.e., it still looks the same). This is useful for situations such as inserting an image in an email, or uploading a photo to social media (e.g., Facebook). Cropping involves selecting a part of the photo to keep, and removing (i.e., cropping) the rest. Removing unwanted parts changes the composition, and can make for a better photograph. Rotation changes the angle of everything in the photo, and is useful when the camera was inadvertently left on a lean.

The Scale, Crop, and Rotate editor provides the means to scale and crop the image numerically, and also provides a way to scale & crop to fit a desired output resolution and/or aspect-ratio. This editor can be opened either by clicking on the scale icon () in the Image Toolbar, double-clicking on the crop () or rotate () icons. Cropping can also be done visually, as is explained below. The Scale, Crop, and Rotate editor looks as follows:

## Scaling

To scale an image, click on the scale icon () in the Image Toolbar. This will open the Scale and Crop editor (shown above). The "Scale" section of this window is for editing the scale (see below).

There are three ways to adjust the scale:

- Selecting a predefined common scale from the "Common Scales" drop-down box (e.g., choose "Email" in order to optimise the size for sending in an email);
- By percentage relative to its original size using the "Scale Factor" control; or
- By adjusting the width or height to the desired dimensions.

NOTE: Adjusting any of these controls will automatically update all of the others based on the new scale.

The currently available preset scales are:

- Original Size – Sets the scale to the original size (i.e., 100%);
- Email – Adjusts the size to be optimal for inserting into an email;
- Social Sharing – The optimal size for uploading to social media sites such as Facebook;
- Fit Inside HD Screen (1080p) – Adjusts the scale so that the image fits inside a 1080p HD screen (1920x1080);
- Fill HD Screen (1080p) – Adjusts the scale so that the image fills a 1080p HD screen (i.e., the width and height are minimum 1920x1080); and
- Custom – A custom scale set using the controls below.

There is one other control for adjusting the scale: the "Prevent enlargement" checkbox. Enabling this option will prevent the scale from being greater than 100% (i.e., no enlargement). This overrides all other options. It is useful if you want to scale an image for sending in an email or fitting in an HD screen, but don't want it to be enlarged (which could look ugly).

## Cropping

To crop an image, click on the crop icon () in the Image Toolbar. This enables editing the crop region in the main panel. Next, move the mouse pointer to the edge of the area that you wish to select in the main panel, hold down the mouse button, and drag the crop region out. You will see the crop region dynamically resize as you are dragging the mouse. Release the mouse button once done. The screenshot below shows cropping in action.

The crop region can easily be moved or resized if you are unsatisfied with the result, or just want to experiment. To move the crop region, move the mouse pointer into the middle of the crop region, and the pointer will change to a move symbol. Next, drag the crop region to the desired location. The crop region's edges and corners can be adjusted in a similar fashion. Simply drag the relevant edge/corner handle to a new location using the mouse.

Clicking on the crop icon again, will disable editing the crop region.

### Cropping Numerically

While editing the crop visually is undoubtedly the easiest, it is also possible to do so numerically in the Scaling and Cropping dialog. This has been provided for those moments when such precise control is required. In order to crop the image numerically, either double-click on the crop icon (), or click on the scale icon () in the Image Toolbar. This will open the Scaling and Cropping dialog, which contains the numerical cropping controls (see below).

Any adjustments made numerically will be instantly shown in the main panel, as they happen.

### There is No Need to Click "Ok"

Unlike with other image processing software, there is no need to click "ok," push enter, or do anything else to finish cropping. Once you've selected the region, that's it, you're done. Relight will continue to dimly show you the original photo outside of the crop region for reference, but rest assured that the image has been cropped. When you save the image, it will be correctly scaled and cropped as requested.

You may wish to click on the crop icon () again to disable cropping, though. Doing so will prevent you from accidentally adjusting the crop region when you didn't intend to.

## Scaling and Cropping to a Desired Size and/or Aspect Ratio

Sometimes you may need to crop and scale an image to a specific size and/or aspect ratio. For example, you may need to print the photo on standard 4"×6" (102×152 mm) photo paper. This can be done easily via two methods:

- Hold down the control (Ctrl) key while cropping to lock the aspect ratio; or
- Lock either the output resolution or the aspect ratio in the "Output Size" part of the Scale and Crop editor (see below).

Holding down the Ctrl key while cropping will lock the aspect ratio to whatever it is right now. To choose a specific aspect ratio, enter the x and y components into the aspect ratio fields (entry boxes) shown above, and then click on the padlock button on the right () to lock it. For example, for a 4"×6" photo, enter 4 and 6, and then click on the padlock. The padlock will be displayed closed () to indicate that it is locked. You can now choose the crop region, and it will have an aspect ratio of 4:6.

The output size (resolution) can be locked in a similar manner to the aspect ratio. For example, a 4"×6" photograph at 300 DPI is 1200×1800 pixels. Entering 1200 and 1800 in the resolution entry boxes, and clicking the packlock button on the right (), will lock the output image to that size. Once this is done, the crop region can be selected in the main window, and both the crop region's size and the scale will be adjusted so that the output image is the specified size (1200×1800, in the example).

## Rotation

To rotate an image, click on the rotate icon () to enable rotation. You will see the rotation tool in the middle of the screen, as shown in the screenshot below.

The cross-hairs in the middle is the centre-of-rotation, the circular ring to the right is the rotation handle, and the smaller circles are snap points. To rotate an image, simply grab the rotation handle in the middle using the mouse, and drag it. This will rotate the image. You can move the centre-of-rotation elsewhere on the image by dragging it. Likewise, the rotation handle can be moved by grabbing its outer rim and dragging the handle to a new location. This is useful when trying to precisely align part of an image (e.g., the horizon, or a building edge).

NOTE: Once you're finished rotating the image, you may wish to click on the rotate icon () again to disable rotation, though. Doing so will prevent you from accidentally adjusting the rotation when you didn't intend to.

### Precisely Aligning an Image Feature

Sometimes you may wish to carefully align something in an image. For example, you may have scanned in an image, and it ended up at an angle. Or, maybe the horizon in a photo isn't horizontal. Relight's rotation tool makes it easy to fix these kind of problems. Simply drag the centre-of-rotation and the rotation handle onto a line in the photo that you wish to rotate precisely, such as is shown below.

Next, grab the rotation handle by the middle, and drag it to the appropriate snap point. The image will snap to the correct alignment.

You can find more examples in the rotation tutorial.

### Rotating Numerically

As with cropping, rotation can also be done numerically. Simply double-click on the rotate icon (), and the Scale, Crop and Rotate dialog will pop up. The controls are down the bottom. There, you can rotate by 90 degrees at a time, or set a specific angle.

## Tutorials

The cropping and scaling tutorial gives you a quick overview of how to use the cropping and scaling features. Likewise, the rotation tutorial shows you how to use the rotation tool. These video tutorials are provided below for your convenience.

HINT: These video tutorial are best viewed full-screen in HD.

SCRAP Photo Editor User Manual » Reference » Cropping, Scaling, and Rotation