How to shrink pictures with Irfanview for emailing to friends & family

If there is a better way, more automated freeware way to shrink a directory
of pictures for emailing to friends and family, please let me know.

When I take a batch of pictures, like Halloween pictures, to send to
friends and family, here are the dozen steps I constantly perform.

1. Move the pictures from the camera to the computer hard disk
2. Manually rotate each JPG using the ctrl-J Irfanview lossless plugin
3. Create a directory in the photo directory called "shrunk"
4. Open a JPEG with Irfanview & press B (Batch Conversion)
5. Press the "Add All" button in the Batch Conversion box
6. Press the "Use this directory as output" button
7. Press the "Browse" button to select the "shrunk" subdirectory
8. Press the "Options" button & set JPEG Quality to 75%
8. Press the "Set advanced options" button
9. Set RESIZE to "Set long side to 640 pixels"
10. Enter "72" for the "Set DPI value" & "Use Resampe function"
12. Press "Set rename options" & set "Name pattern" to halloween07_##
12. Press the "Start" button to create the emailable shrunken photographs

This works fine to create 100Kbyte pictures out of 3megabyte JPEGs but it's
a dozen steps, even if you save a template, and the result is 100 to 150
kbyte pictures.

Is there a more automated, freeware method to get small pics in batch mode?

In message ,
Erica Eshoo Proclaimed from the tallest tower:

If there is a better way, more automated freeware way to shrink a
directory of pictures for emailing to friends and family, please let
me know.

When I take a batch of pictures, like Halloween pictures, to send to
friends and family, here are the dozen steps I constantly perform.

1. Move the pictures from the camera to the computer hard disk
2. Manually rotate each JPG using the ctrl-J Irfanview lossless plugin
3. Create a directory in the photo directory called "shrunk"
4. Open a JPEG with Irfanview & press B (Batch Conversion)
5. Press the "Add All" button in the Batch Conversion box
6. Press the "Use this directory as output" button
7. Press the "Browse" button to select the "shrunk" subdirectory
8. Press the "Options" button & set JPEG Quality to 75%
8. Press the "Set advanced options" button
9. Set RESIZE to "Set long side to 640 pixels"
10. Enter "72" for the "Set DPI value" & "Use Resampe function"
12. Press "Set rename options" & set "Name pattern" to halloween07_##
12. Press the "Start" button to create the emailable shrunken
photographs

This works fine to create 100Kbyte pictures out of 3megabyte JPEGs
but it's a dozen steps, even if you save a template, and the result
is 100 to 150 kbyte pictures.

Is there a more automated, freeware method to get small pics in batch
mode?

You could try looking at Picasa (available from Google) which will 'shrink'
and email photos pretty much automatically(certainly in a lot less steps
than you list above!!).

--
Regards,
Chris.
(Remove Elvis's shoes to email me)

On Nov 9, 9:58 am, Erica Eshoo wrote:
If there is a better way, more automated freeware way to shrink a directory
of pictures for emailing to friends and family, please let me know.

When I take a batch of pictures, like Halloween pictures, to send to
friends and family, here are the dozen steps I constantly perform.

1. Move the pictures from the camera to the computer hard disk
2. Manually rotate each JPG using the ctrl-J Irfanview lossless plugin
3. Create a directory in the photo directory called "shrunk"
4. Open a JPEG with Irfanview & press B (Batch Conversion)
5. Press the "Add All" button in the Batch Conversion box
6. Press the "Use this directory as output" button
7. Press the "Browse" button to select the "shrunk" subdirectory
8. Press the "Options" button & set JPEG Quality to 75%
8. Press the "Set advanced options" button
9. Set RESIZE to "Set long side to 640 pixels"
10. Enter "72" for the "Set DPI value" & "Use Resampe function"
12. Press "Set rename options" & set "Name pattern" to halloween07_##
12. Press the "Start" button to create the emailable shrunken photographs

This works fine to create 100Kbyte pictures out of 3megabyte JPEGs but it's
a dozen steps, even if you save a template, and the result is 100 to 150
kbyte pictures.

Is there a more automated, freeware method to get small pics in batch mode?

After reading your post, I have no idea what you're trying to
accomplish with all of that. Here's a MUCH easier way to do it. I
use Thunderbird but there's an equivalent in Outlook. Highlight all
of the pictures you want to send and drag them into Thunderbird as
attachments. Then hit "Send". Thunderbird then asks if you want to
resize for emailing. You say yes and it's done. It's no harder than
that.

Am I missing something?

Erica Eshoo wrote:
If there is a better way, more automated freeware way to shrink a
directory of pictures for emailing to friends and family, please let
me know.
[...]
This works fine to create 100Kbyte pictures out of 3megabyte JPEGs
but it's a dozen steps, even if you save a template, and the result
is 100 to 150 kbyte pictures.

Is there a more automated, freeware method to get small pics in batch
mode?

Well, although it's not freeware (but comes with MS Office and therefore may
be on your HD anyway) and I'm risking a flame war.

Microsoft Office Picture Manager makes it very easy:
- Open MS Office PM
- add all the files you want to shrink
- click Ctrl-A to select all files
- Click on "File - Export"
- select the size you want
- select a destination folder
- click "Ok"
and you are done.

J|rgen wrote on Fri, 09 Nov 2007 15:18:32 GMT:

JE Erica Eshoo wrote:
?? If there is a better way, more automated freeware way to
?? shrink a directory of pictures for emailing to friends and
?? family, please let me know.
JE [...]
?? This works fine to create 100Kbyte pictures out of
?? 3megabyte JPEGs but it's a dozen steps, even if you save a
?? template, and the result is 100 to 150 kbyte pictures.
??
?? Is there a more automated, freeware method to get small
?? pics in batch mode?

JE Well, although it's not freeware (but comes with MS Office
JE and therefore may be on your HD anyway) and I'm risking a
JE flame war.

Have you ever looked into Microsoft's Power Toys, available for
free? Once installed, you will have a resize option on
right-clicking: 240x320, 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768 or custom.
An unlimited number of pictures can be resized at once by
selecting them all.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

How about

1. Move the pictures from the camera to the computer hard disk
2. Copy them to a directory called "toshrink"
3. Run "do.bat"

It rotates, shrinks and puts the photos in an archive called
"latest.zip" that you can email or upload.

You can find do.bat and supporting files (all free software) he

http://img.ourdoings.com/windows.html

--

http://ourdoings.com/
Amazingly simple photo sharing

On Fri, 09 Nov 2007 07:14:34 -0800, Pat wrote:

Thunderbird then asks if you want to resize for emailing.
Am I missing something?

I'll try Thunderbird!

"Erica Eshoo" wrote in message
et...

When I take a batch of pictures, like Halloween pictures, to send to
friends and family, here are the dozen steps I constantly perform.

1. Move the pictures from the camera to the computer hard disk

Can't avoid that although IView could probably just resize them from the
flash drive.

2. Manually rotate each JPG using the ctrl-J Irfanview lossless plugin

Why are you rotating EACH picture? Do you take all your photos sideways or
something? In any case, I think Irfanview can do this in bulk too, so no
need to do this manually for each photo.

3. Create a directory in the photo directory called "shrunk"

Why do you create a new folder each time? Why not just keep using this same
folder?

10. Enter "72" for the "Set DPI value" & "Use Resampe function"

No need to set the DPI if they are going to view it on their computer. If
they are going to print it, the program they use to print will likely set
the DPI to something like 200 at their end. No need for you to specify the
DPI for email.

12. Press "Set rename options" & set "Name pattern" to halloween07_##

Why do this at all? When you send them off with an explanatory email, I
think people will figure the subject material out. You could simply choose
to give them a more generic name. Irfanview will forever simply afterword
simply increment the number so that you never have to do this step again.
(See comments below).

12. Press the "Start" button to create the emailable shrunken photographs

Is there a more automated, freeware method to get small pics in batch
mode?

Irfanview keeps the same settings unless you change them. So you should only
have to do steps 4, 5 and 13 (i.e. "press start") ever afterwards.

M

M wrote:
Erica Eshoo wrote

10. Enter "72" for the "Set DPI value" & "Use Resample function"

No need to set the DPI if they are going to view it on their computer. If
they are going to print it, the program they use to print will likely set
the DPI to something like 200 at their end. No need for you to specify the
DPI for email.

Another thing to add is sharpening.

Irfanview keeps the same settings unless you change them. So you should only
have to do steps 4, 5 and 13 (i.e. "press start") ever afterwards.

You can save out the settings also & reload those in case you change
settings for different tasks.

Is there a more automated, freeware method to get small pics in batch
mode?

It's possible to set up a batch file to run iview at the command line.
Probably a hassle to figure out though.

On Fri, 09 Nov 2007 14:58:33 +0000, Erica Eshoo wrote:

If there is a better way, more automated freeware way to shrink a directory
of pictures for emailing to friends and family, please let me know.

When I take a batch of pictures, like Halloween pictures, to send to
friends and family, here are the dozen steps I constantly perform.

1. Move the pictures from the camera to the computer hard disk
2. Manually rotate each JPG using the ctrl-J Irfanview lossless plugin
3. Create a directory in the photo directory called "shrunk"
4. Open a JPEG with Irfanview & press B (Batch Conversion)
5. Press the "Add All" button in the Batch Conversion box
6. Press the "Use this directory as output" button
7. Press the "Browse" button to select the "shrunk" subdirectory
8. Press the "Options" button & set JPEG Quality to 75%
8. Press the "Set advanced options" button
9. Set RESIZE to "Set long side to 640 pixels"
10. Enter "72" for the "Set DPI value" & "Use Resampe function"
12. Press "Set rename options" & set "Name pattern" to halloween07_##
12. Press the "Start" button to create the emailable shrunken photographs

This works fine to create 100Kbyte pictures out of 3megabyte JPEGs but it's
a dozen steps, even if you save a template, and the result is 100 to 150
kbyte pictures.

Is there a more automated, freeware method to get small pics in batch mode?

Imagemagick would do that quite easily. I use imageindex to resize an
entire gallery for placing on my web site.