scrapbook page

[Leslie]

Good morning,

I hope this isnt a dopey question... :o)

I am following the directions in PE Techniques volume 3, number one, on template design. I have created the template, but for the life of me, I can't figure out how to add the pictures to it. Is it that I need to have two files open at the same time and if so, how do I do that?

Thanks in advance!

[Wendy]

Hi Leslie ...

Try this ...

Open the file you want to add
then do Select>All
Edit>Copy

Now open your new template file
or ... just click on it if its already open
and do Edite>Paste
... that should get the image into your template.

You may have to resize the image once it is in the ... but just use the move tool to do that.

If you need anymore help then just let us know :) ... and do let us see it when you have finished it ...

Wendy
PS ... There is no such thing as a dopey question! ... its just one that you don't know the answer too yet :)

[Leslie]

Oh Enlightened One,

Thank you for your sage advice. Very cool!

One more question..shot were taken with 8 mp camera so files are big. Should I make them smaller so the entire page doesn't end up being huge?

I can see that this is going to take me a while, but I will try to post it when I am done.

Thanks again! :o)

[Wendy]

Hi Leslie ..

If I am doing a full page layout then I do tend to make the photographs smaller ... otherwise the file just gets very big.

I just create the page at a reasonable size and 300 resolution then scale the images to match :)

Looking forward to seeing your image ...

Wendy

[ATR]

I read your Thread and was happy to see that you and Wendy have worked out a way to create your template.

There is no copying and pasting in the lesson that appeared in the Newsletter. There are many good routes to get to a final product. Exploring is part of the challenge. If you have the time, you might want to explore the technique actually described in the Newsletter.

If you are curious, you might want to check out the Thread dated 2/12/06 "Need Help With A Lesson In This Month's Newsletter", Forum For Beginners. In that Thread I made comments #6 and #7 on how I got the technique as written to work for me.

Good luck.

ATR

[Wendy]

Hi there ...

For some reason people who are new to Elements seem to have all sorts of problems with using drag and drop and of course most tutorials do use that method ... so when they are having difficulties with it I tend to suggest the copy and paste method as an alternative.

I have to admit that I don't know why it causes so many problems :confused:

Wendy

[Leslie]

Thanks again for your help, Wendy.

[Virginia]

The tutorial about the template came just in time for me to make one for a 4x6 portfolio card. I'm very thankful that the techniques worked great for me.
When I read this thread, it did raise a question for me about the image size. I have been using the drag and drop method (I used to copy and paste, and then with practice and getting more comfortable with the program, I was able to start using the drag and drop, so I agree with Wendy in giving the copy/paste adaptation). Does the image size (file size) reduce as you reduce the copied/dropped image to fit in the template document? I set my document to 300dpi, and just assumed, that as I used the move tool with alt-shift depressed(PC), that the end product would be 300dpi like the template document. But you know what can happen when you assume :o!
I didn't look at my final file size to see if it was larger than it should be. I know the psd file was large secondary to about ~a million layers I added, ha ha! What I did seemed to work OK. So, if they do stay large, does it become more of an issue when your final document has larger dimensions? Like a full letter size or 12x12?
Thanks for satisfying my thirst for understanding!
Virginia

[Wendy]

Hi Virginia ...

When you copy and paste or drag into a new file the "paste or drag" takes on the resolution of the new document and adjusts its dimention to match. So if it starts off as a higher resolution then when you put it in the new file it will look physically larger. Once its in the new file and you resize it thee then I donlt think that it changes the actual file size (in kb) at all.

Wendy

[Leslie]

For the time being, I have given up on the template idea because I have discovered that I like a more casual look better...with the pictures kind of tossed on the page. I had an "aha moment" when I realized that I was doing the "drag and drop" backwards (from photo bin to open file rather than the other way).

I notice that the quality of the pictures drops as I manipulate them (move them around, rotate them etc). Is this because they are being "over-resampled"? I hope that question made sense.

Match the resolution...that explains the different sizes I have been getting and makes perfect logical sense..thanks!

[Wendy]

Hi Leslie ...

The quality of the images doesn't actually drop when you rotate them within your image but sometimes because of the size you are viewing at (66%, 90% etc) it can look as if it changes and straight lines may look odd. If you view them at 100% then you will find that there is no change. When I first got Elements this point confused me totally :)


Wendy

[Virginia]

Hello Leslie,
I have noticed a decrease in quality when I try to increase the size of an image that I have already added to the document. So if I copy/paste or drag/drop an image onto the page, resize it, accept it and then come back to it and try to make it larger, that's when I get into trouble. It probably is a problem with not enough pixels available anymore to keep the same resolution. So, when I add an image to a document, I try to resize it to the largest that I may use in the final design and then fine tune once I have all the images and design elements on the page. If I end up having to make it larger, I delete that copy from the document and go back to my original and copy it again.
As for the template, I think the advantage of creating one is if you would like to use that design again, it saves you some steps when making the next page. If you like a freer design, you can not use the grid and place the areas for pictures how you prefer. I believe you can also use other shapes to create the "holes" for your pictures to show through.
Hope this helps :)!
Virginia