Image Resizer Powertoy Clone For Windows 7

Image Resizer Powertoy Clone 
For Windows 7 / Vista

This is a clone of the Image Resizer Powertoy for Windows XP -- a PowerToy that allows you to right-click on one or more image files in Windows Explorer to resize them. It was created (by me) to extend support to non-XP and 64-bit versions of Windows (including 2000, Vista & 7). Screenshots

This is a clone of the Image Resizer Powertoy for Windows XP -- a PowerToy that allows you to right-click on one or more image files in Windows Explorer to resize them. It was created (by me) to extend support to non-XP and 64-bit versions of Windows (including 2000, Vista & 7). Image Resizer (32 bit) Image Resizer (64 bit) Visit Addictive Tips for more information regarding the (cloned) Windows 7 image resizer

Picture Tools in Windows 7?

As much as I am enjoying Windows 7, one can't help but wonder why Microsoft stopped including an email client and why the have not updated the paint program...
While MS Paint allows for minor photo correction like crop and resize, it's not all that effective.  It's similar to the cigar box I had when I was a kid, you know the one... it held my crayola crayons, some kid safe scissors, a pencil or 2 and gigantic pink eraser. While that was fine when I was 4, it just doesn't work for me today.
My computer is fast, my screen is wider than most of paper sheets I had, and the pictures... well, they speak for themselves yet sometimes, I want modify them a bit more than trimming off the edges or making them larger or smaller.  Windows Photo Viewer is nice tool that is included with Windows 7 but it doesn't allow you to resize or modify your pictures aside from rotating them in 90 degree increments, burning them to a disk or attaching pictures to an email but even then, if it's a raw photo from your camera, it's likely to large to send via email.. Not that it wouldn't go, it's the file size being more than a megabyte that would slow it down, takes up more bandwidth, makes it harder to see the full image on most monitors etc etc.
So, how are we supposed to manage pictures with the base install of Windows 7, doesn't matter which version of windows 7, not even ultimate has anything better than paint and photo viewer.  You have a couple of options and the range in cost from free, to a few hundred dollars.  Which method for resizing pictures is free you ask..?
It's not actually a resizing method at all - it is done before you even take the picture with your camera. While today's digital cameras can take some very detailed photographs, the compromise is in how many of them you can take and store on your camera at one time.  Granted, you can buy additional storage for your camera in the way of memory cards, you are still limited to how many will fit on a given card. This of course may or may not be an issue depending on how many pictures you might take on a given outing with your camera.
The limitations are due to file size, those high quality photos you take require quite a bit of storage space and are also quite large in (physical) size when viewed.  The simple method for resizing them is in the camera itself, simply turn down the settings to something that is more manageable like 1024 or 640.  The method for doing this will vary from camera to camera but will allow for you to store more photos on a given storage media as well as providing an easy method for sending those pictures by email as they will already be at a more friendly file and viewing size. So much for the free method as it does have it's drawbacks such as detail levels in those pictures, for example, the lower resolution settings won't allow for the better printouts on you photo printer - ying and yang my friend, shake hands and work it out.  An alternative is to leave the camera at higher setting and then crop the excess and resize what is left.  This won't produce the best results but, might be better than using the camera at the lower settings, I suggest you try both methods and see what works best for you.

The not so free solutions require the purchase of additional software. Depending on how detailed you want your resulting photographs to be can reflect on how much money you might need to spend.  There are a multitude of photo editing applications available  and some are even included with your new camera; Kodak for example has some nice software that allows for photo management including editing, online storage, email, and a few other things at no extra charge.  Last time I checked, it can be downloaded for free as well.  Beyond that, a very nice set of options are available from Adobe including photoshop elements, photoshop, and many other graphic editing / creation software applications.  While they can be expensive, they are also limited in the sense that they only edit particular types of graphics files.

I mention this because in the larger versions of MS Office 2003 and 2007, you also get MS Office Picture Manager which has some nice photo editing and management software.  So for about the same cost, you can get MS Office - Word, Excel, Outlook, Publisher and more. If you are not wanting to do much more than resize, tweak the colors, email and manage pictures, and you have a need for the MS office suite of applications, this might be a good solution.

How to resize pictures; How to email pictures

How to Make Digital Images Smaller

This document discusses how to make pictures smaller; it is provided “as is”, and without warranty of any kind.

Read through the entire article before you take any actions.

If you already have photo / image editing software, you likely do not need to read this article as you likely already know how to make pictures smaller.

Digital Cameras are everywhere these days and they can take very detailed photographs. The issue lies within the fact that these photos can also be quite large, both in pixel size as well as file size. This is important when it comes to emailing pictures as large file sizes can be restrictive and restricted by your ISP. This is where image editing software can be helpful; making pictures smaller with very little quality loss.

The following steps are written to assist in making your pictures smaller and are intended to be accurate and complete.

The directions outlined in this document are offered “as-is” and without warranty. The steps are only to be followed at your own risk. Neither the author nor webmaster assumes any liability from the misuse or, the inability to use, the steps outlined in this article.

The following image resizer tool (Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP, Image Resizer) enables you to resize one or many image files with a right-click. The graphics tool only provides the basic options for altering picture size and does not offer any image enhancement tools such as Adobe Photoshop, or other Adobe Graphics / Photoshop Family Products.

Most computers that a run a Microsoft Windows Operating System, will have a very simplistic graphics editor known as MS Paint. Paint is a drawing tool you can use to create simple or elaborate drawings. These drawings can be either black-and-white or color, and can be saved as bitmap files. Windows XP also has Windows Picture and Fax Viewer, which does not provide any picture editing tools. Should you want to edit your pictures, please consider the purchase of quality photo editing software from your choice of software providers.

Click here to Download Microsoft Image Resizer.

The picture resizing tool suggested for use is provided at no charge by the Microsoft Corporation. PowerToys are for Windows XP only and will not work with Windows Vista.
Any questions regarding this tool should be directed to the Microsoft web site.

Once the app has been installed, you will be able to right click on an image and choose a resize option; a few simple clicks more and the image will be resized. You can even choose multiple images and resize all of them at once.



How to Resize Digital Camera Pictures


















Install the Microsoft Image Resizer for Windows XP.
Navigate to the folder with the pictures you want to resize. (typically in “My Documents/My Pictures”)
Right click on the picture ( press and hold the control key to left click multiple images ) release control key after making selections. (Be careful as you can also create copies while clicking with the control key pressed.)

Right click on one of the highlighted pictures.

Choose resize from the menu with a left click.

Click Advanced button - Choose Small 640x480 is acceptable for uploading.

The two check boxes only appear after Clicking ‘Advanced’. The two buttons are not checked by default; you should consider the options offered and make the best decision for your requirements. Please read all of the options carefully; ask someone for assistance should you have any questions. Any questions regarding the MS Power Toy should be directed to the Microsoft web site.

How to e-mail a Picture

The following steps are based on the computer in question having Microsoft Office / Outlook installed and an active email account set up.

Navigate to the folder with the pictures you want to resize. (typically in “My Documents/My Pictures”)











Right Click on the picture you want to send.
Left click on ‘send to’ –
When prompted, you will need to make a choice between making the picture smaller, or leaving it at original size.
You can choose ‘Keep the original sizes” if the images have already been resized otherwise, you might need to choose “Make all my pictures smaller” (This does not mean ALL of your pictures, just the one(s) you want to send by email and have just previously clicked on).

A new Outlook email message should then open with the highlighted images – add the address and send. If you do not have a compatible version of Outlook installed, the 'send to' option may not appear or be available. Any questions should be directed to http://www.Microsoft.com