Last week I covered the first of a few new Windows 7 tidbits. Little programs with added functionality. For, well almost 10 years, I’ve been showing clients how they can use a built in feature of Windows XP to easily resize giant digital images for the web. The feature was originally designed to size them down for emails, but it’s a great way to batch process a bunch of images on the fly, without any knowledge of photo editing software.
In Windows XP, you would right click on the image > Send to > Mail Recipient. The popup box had two radio buttons that would prompt you to send it as its original size or resize it. This was a great feature for its time. Broadband was not as widely used and a 17” CRT monitor was a healthy option back then. Between the speed and size restrictions, the default 640x480 size worked fine. Over the years of change, it’s now a tiny image size for a computer. For comparison, the new Motorola Droid boasts a very detailed 480 x 854 screen. This is a cell phone that fits in the palm of your hand. So we need a better option.
Windows 7 has you covered, in style. Now when you right click > Send to > Mail Recipient you get a popup window with a drop down box. It defaults now to Medium at 1024x768 but it goes down to Smaller at 640x480 and up to Original Size with additional presets at Small at 800x600 and Large at 1280x1024. Lots of numbers but bear with me. Another great feature is that it shows you a Total estimated size. This gives you an idea of the size of the image file that you’re mailing so you don’t clog up your friend’s email account with a 3MB attachment.
So for quick photo resizing on the fly, now you have an easy answer.
So what’s your favorite feature of Windows 7?
Have a great day.