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Photo Editing Tips to help get your photo ready to upload in the 
e-Parts Source Classifieds or the "Readers Rides" section


The tips below where done in Paint Shop Pro which is an inexpensive program that is a very good product for the price. I personally use Photoshop,

Here are some basic tips for scanning your photos.

When scanning your photos. DO NOT scan over 100 dpi. Most people think that they have to scan at 600-720 to get a good quality photo.  This is only on printing. When your talking internet, you are comparing dpi (scanner) to pixels (computer monitors). These are completely different. Plus this will save tremendously on your hard drive. I have actually had 10 megabyte photos sent to me (that's HUGE!). All you are doing when scanning at a higher dpi is making the file size bigger NOT the quality.

Re-sizing and "cropping" photos seems be the biggest problem for most people,
so here's a basic tips on how to do both :

Open your photo in your favorite editing software (I use Photoshop 6).  This  demo will be shown using Paint Shop Pro (about $99) since it is most affordable and a very good program for doing photo editing, graphics..... (sure beats paying $700 for Photo Shop!  Paint Shop Pro is what I used to start out with. Most photo editing software works about the same, but you can use most any type of graphics program to achieve the same results.. 

You can download a trial version of Paint Shop pro here. If you like it, visit you local computer store and pick up a copy. You can order it online as well. It's always nice having the manual though.

Look for a toolbar located on the left hand side (in Paint Shop Pro). If you do not see a toolbar at all go to "View- Toolbars-Tool Palette". Then you will  see an icon somewhere on your left toolbar  that looks like a "dotted square". This is called a cropping tool. You will need to activate this by clicking on it, then you will need to draw a nice rectangle around what you would like to keep (everything on the INSIDE of this square will be saved). If you mess up simply click on the "Undo" arrow or go to "Edit"-Undo. redo it until you get it the way you want it.

Then you will need to go to "Edit-Crop to image" (Paint Shop Pro). This will cut away any excess photo that you do not want in the photo.

Then go to "image"-resize.  This will bring up a box with your current dimensions in it. Now you should see the "width" section already in blue ready for your new size.  Before typing in anything be sure the "Maintain aspect ratio of "x.xxx to 1" is checked (this will keep your dimensions in proportion). Now go back to the "Width at the top of the same box and type in 525 (New enlarged size allowed!!!)* as the width. You should not have to worry about the height since most car photos are wider than taller, your height should fall WELL below the maximum of 525 (height) that the e-Parts Source Readers Rides and Classifieds Requires.


Once you have typed in 525 (our maximum size allowed in our classifieds is now 525 wide, so you can type this in if you wish),  you can click on "OK". This will bring your image to the maximum width dimension. Now to save it simply click on "File-save as" and this will bring open your "local" folders. Find a folder you will remember, or create a folder and name it a_photos.  I name all my useful folders with an "a_" in front (i.e. a_scripts  a_photos a_showphotos...), this way, the folder will be listed at the very beginning of your folders since they are alphabetical.  Anyway, once you find a folder you want to save your photos in, open that folder, then you will find at the bottom of that box "File Name". Name your photos, then in the "Save as Type" drop down box, look for .JPG or .GIF (I strongly recommend .JPG for photos). Then click on save. There you have it, your photos are all set for either the Classifieds or your "Display Page". So have at it Hope this helps you! Ready to place your ad now?

A couple of tips on saving your image files:

  • When saving photos, its a good idea to name them something like 63chevy_01.jpg or 63chevy_frt.jpg. (notice no spaces, I  use the underscore to fill a space).

  • Also when naming your photos, its a good idea to keep the first word the same, this way when you open the folder all the photos of that same car will be grouped together. Name them like in the above tip  NOT  63_chevy.jpg  and frt_of chevy.jpg these photos will be completely separated and hard to find. This is just a useful tip in file management.

If you still need help, still don't want to edit your own photos, or you don't have any type of editing software, we offer a photo editing service in which we will edit you photos and also upload them to your ad.

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Color Choice Tips and Info for the "Readers Rides" section

There is a "Color" and a "Hex" next to each color choice, that when clicked on will give you a separate window to choose colors form. You can either use a real color name (i.e. Red, Silver) or a Hexadecimal .All hexadecimal start with a # followed by a 6 digit number and or letter sequence, (i.e. #FF0000 , #EBEBEB).  There is also a link named "Tip" that when clicked on will bring up a separate window with an identification of what you are about to choose a color for.

You can keep choosing different color combinations by simply filling out your form, including color choices, then click on the "Preview My page" button. This will take you to your preview page. If at that time you do not like your color combinations or you find a text error, you can click on the "back" button on the preview page or on your browser and make your changes.

Colors-It seems best to choose a Darker "bar background" color, then choose a lighter "bar text color". It will show up much better on your display page. Other Tips are available next to the corresponding color choice fields on the form. Each tip also shows a screenshot of the area in which you are about to make a color choice for.

Even if after you save your page, and you decide you would like to make color, text, photo changes, you can do this as well. Be sure and remember your password and user name to make these changes.

If you do decide to go back and make changes, everything that you placed in the impute fields will remain intact including color choices and all text that you originally placed.

You can post, modify, or delete your page by clicking on the appropriate link. If you want to renew your ad or upload or delete a photo from your ad, click on the "Edit" link at the top of the page.

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