Resizing pics with Windows 10 and Paint

[RICH MUISE]

OK, new thread to keep other threads from getting cluttered up.
When I got my new computer with Windows 10, I had a heck of a time with my picture files. I've forgotten most of what I knew with computers, and at this stage in my life, I want to keep things simple as possible. I'm totally aware of downloadable programs for pic management, but right now all I want is a simple way to find and  resize pics, and that way to resize simply is already installed on any Microsoft operating system in a program called Paint.
The issue I had with my picture files was using the right way to open up the files. I discovered there are TWO "filing systems" on my Windows 10, and at first, before I realized that, I was using the one that seems to have a mind of its own. Not sure how that program got on the computer, I think it was an automatically installed thing when I got the computer. trying to manipulate a photo and find it later was a nightmare.
This is a screenshot of Windows 10:
note the arrow pointing to the windows icon in the lower left corner.

[RICH MUISE]

Clicking on that icon brings up this:
Note the menu with the colorful photo icons, and that one circled is "photos". Clicking on that to get to your pics is where I got in to trouble as mentioned above. It brings up your pics on a screen that looks like the second screenshot. this is the "pic management program" I hate...........got a mind of it's own it seems.
PERFECT EXAMPLE..........note in the second screenshot, this program decided to put the screenshots I took today in the file with pics I took in Oklahoma last week!!!
(btw, if your looking at the thumbnails in the screenshot, you'll notice the other issue I've got with pics, and that being my camera's dating system is screwed up. Some of those pics were NOT taken in 1980, lol)

[RICH MUISE]

So, that's what you DON'T want to use. Go back and look at the 1st screenshot in the post above Note just above the circled Window icon there is a verticle row of icons where I circled the middle one. That is what you want to open your pic files with. Your pic files will now look like this, and I think you can see why I talk about 2 different filing systems for pics.
I'll be back later.

[RICH MUISE]

So, let's open a picture in folder 2016-7-15 and resize it.........
note the size in the selected pic is 2.31 Mb
RIGHT clicking on that opens the options screen. select "open with" and paint
note, up top on the left, when it opens in Paint, I am selecting "resize"....(the "printscreen does not show the cursor hovering over the resize button)

[RICH MUISE]

when the resize menu opens, select the method you want to use to resize. I use percentage and want to reduce it to about 1/4 the original size, so I replace the 100(%) by typing in 50. (it will automatically fill in the second box with the 50% to keep the pc in the same proportions). click the OK button at the bottom.

a few notes on resizing. If you make it too small, it will get fuzzy (pixelated) if you try to expand it. I like them just under 1k so I can post 4 photos on the forum staying under the 4k max total, and still have them reasonably sharp. Keep in mind when you resize using percentage, you are decreasing both the length and width, so, with my theory, if your using a 50% reduction, the final size will be approx. 1/4 the original. Once downsized,and saved, it cannot be "upsized", or the original size recovered. That's what will happen if after resizing, you hit "save"!! If you want to keep the original pixel size version as well, you need to use the "save as" option to save the reduced version AND the original.
When the resize window opens it will show the 100% (pic 1) that needs to be changed (pic 2)

[RICH MUISE]

If you are just saving only the resized picture, click on the "X" button, top right of the window, and it will ask if you want to save the image as altered. Click yes, and it will return it to the original folder reduced in size.
If you want both the original size and the reduced size saved, open "file", top left, and select "save as" . create a name for the new version. (I usually just add "resized" to the original designation, that way it files the new version right next to the old.
Sometimes the new version is put at the end of the folders, and you have to click on it and drag it to the folder you want it in.

[CobraJoe]

Nice tutorial Rich, very well done.

I just click on this Folder that brings me to my pictures, downloads, etc....

[RICH MUISE]

Here's the folder with both versions. The new size btw is 831kb, which is not 1/4 of the original 2.31 ()
.
That was alot of talking/tyiping for a simple task. In a nutshell: Open your pics with the correct icon, find the pic and open it with paint by right clicking. resize, save. good to go. takes less than a minute

[RICH MUISE]

That gets you there as well, Joe, thanks. Main point is NOT to use that menu with the photo icons to open up the files. I noticed also when doing this tutorial that windows created an easy to find folder for screenshots......cool.

[djfordmanjack]

great info for those who are not so much used to computer stuff. I can only second your thoughts, Rich. The new photo managing program is pure nightmare. I have always been using paint, in exactly the same way you described, ever since I got a digital camera.
I personally prefer to downsize them to 25%, as this is reasonably sharp for forum use. all my pics that I post on the build thread are 25% and they are around 200kb. it helps in quick uploading.
I have a little trick that I use. when saving the downsized pics, I always give it a suffix 's' just behind the original file name. ( ie s = small).
So I immediately know a downsized pic from the original photo, when browsing through the files.

[rmk57]

I'm still using windows 7 that has photo gallery for saving pictures. Open photo gallery, click on the picture, click on properties then click resize and choose from 5 different size pictures.
I usually pick medium for hosting on this site. It's dead simple.    Lately I've been using Imgur which works really well to.

[Tom S]

I have a little trick that I use. when saving the downsized pics, I always give it a suffix 's' just behind the original file name. ( ie s = small).
So I immediately know a downsized pic from the original photo, when browsing through the files.

I've done the same thing but usually just add a number behind the original file name.  I use my photo program to downsize or modify pix as to their brightness, crop out irrelevant stuff, sharpen, & other things that MS Paint will not do. Even swap colors sometimes.
I may have several different versions of the same pic & a different number at the end keeps them all together.  I like messin' with pix.