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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.

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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