Editing Images with the ImageWizard

With the ImageWizard you can not only insert images to your posts - it's possible to edit them as well (crop, resize, rotate, shadow etc.).

Insert Image

Using the Insert Image command in the Edit menu you can Choose a File or Insert from Clipboard (if there is an image in the clipboard). The image is loaded in the ImageWizard - you then can insert it directly to your post or edit it first. The ImageWizard can be opened afterwards by double-clicking on an image or by using the Edit Image command in the Edit menu.

If you insert a local image, the file will be copied into the sub-folder Images under the program path. So even if you edit the image, the original file will always remain unchanged.

Edit Image

On its right side the ImageWizard offers you several sections. If you click on the title of a section, its options and tools will appear.

Within a section you can change the options (e.g. the rotation angle) as you like - the changes are applied once you activate another section or you leave the ImageWizard.

The Undo all Changes command restores the initial image. The Open new Image command let's you choose a new image file.

Size

The size of an image is very important because if it's too large it will break the layout of the blog. For that reasons the ImageWizard shows a warning message whenever the image is too large.

The actual width of the blog can be selected and edited with the Blog Width button. If necessary you have to examine the blog layout a bit to find out the width (in pixel). The default width (450 pixel) corresponds to the width of Kubrick, a very popular theme under WordPress.

You can change the image width to three pre-defined sizes (Big, Medium, Small) or Free. In the textbox you can enter the width directly or change it with Key-Up and Key-Down step by step.

With the Create Thumbnail command you can create a preview of the image. This preview will be shown in your blog. When the reader clicks on the image, he will see the original (big) version. The preview is created with the maximum allowed width (which is the width of the blog) and can then be edited or scaled down at will. Afterwards, you basically have two images that are linked together. But you shouldn't bother about the details because BlogDesk will do all the necessary linking and uploading.

Crop

It's often a good idea to use just a certain part instead of the whole image. With the left mouse button pressed you can select a region within the image. After releasing the mouse button you can still move the borders. If you press Cut, the selected region becomes the new image.

With very large and very small images it's not that easy to select the desired region. In this case you can activate the Fit view to Window option. The image will be shown at the size of the window during cropping. Once cropped, the display will change to its actual size.

Rotate & Flip

You can rotate the image in pre-defined angles or completely free. In the textbox you can enter the angle directly or change it with Key-Up and Key-Down step by step.

The two buttons Flip horizontal and Flip vertical let you flip the image.

Shadow & Borders

In this section you can add a shadow or border effects to the image.

Colors

Here you can adjust the color depth of the image. You should adjust the Background color if you use something different than white in your blog. This can be important in case of transparency or when rotating the image (because empty regions get filled with the background color).

Alignment in text

This option has no effect within the ImageWizard, the result is only visible once you return to the text of your post. It's about the alignment of the image between or next to the text and the distance from the text.

If you align the image next to the text (left or right) there must be enough text to float around the image. If there is not enough text, it may happen that the text of the following article gets pulled up.

Format

The file format of your image is determined by the format of the file you load. You can change the format in the Format dropdown list. E.g. it would be a good idea to change a BMP to JPG or GIF because a BMP uses much more memory. Be aware that most browsers can display WBMP, but the BlogDesk editor can't.