Glossary

Capture
To store a part of the monitor screen in memory and
turn it into an image, which can be saved and modified
just like any other image. Capture utility programs
(such as that in IrfanView) let you choose exactly
which part of the screen to save.
 
Check-box
A small square box, usually to the left of some text;
clicking the box with the mouse makes a mark appear,
showing it as a selected option. The text identifies
what the option is for. Often check-boxes appear in
groups, to allow multiple selections.
 
Dialog
In Windows, a box that appears when you click a menu item
or button. The box will contain items from which you can
select, to more accurately perform a function. For example,
a Files dialog allows you to browse through the files on
your hard drive, choose the one you want, and open it.
 
Drag, Dragging
Pulling the mouse, usually while holding down one of the
buttons. This is used to highlight or outline an area, so
that some special operation (such as cut or paste) can be
performed on the area you select.
 
Extension
The part of a filename that comes after the dot (.)
character. In a filename such as "i_view32.exe" the
"exe" is the extension, and tells us this is an executable
file - one that performs a function. (In this case, it is
the IrfanView program file.) Some common graphics file
extensions include .jpg, .gif, and .tif.
 
Fill color
A color used to fill a large area, as opposed to drawing
individual lines; if you see a drawn circle and the inside
area of the circle is yellow, yellow is the fill color.
 
Filter
For images: a small computer program that performs some
action on the image, changing it in specific ways; filters
can be used to smooth or roughen an image, correct or
remove the color, and perform many other editing functions;
most often, filters are used to create special effects.
 
Greyscale (grayscale)
Despite the name, greyscale is actually a mode of color;
it uses 256 shades of grey to render an image, producing
a richly varied tonal quality; black and white uses just
two colors, black with white spacing to render.
 
Image
The graphics you see on your screen; they can be photographs
showing your home town, line drawings showing Mickey Mouse,
even the undulating, weird backgrounds you see at many WWW
websites. They can range in size from a single dot on your
screen (so small it is difficult to see,) to huge objects
that go off the screen in all directions, causing you to
scroll the screen back and forth, up and down, to see them.
 
Interlaced
In terms of some image types, such as gif: an image which
builds up on the screen, showing the full image, but of low
quality, then gradually building until the full quality
image is visible. This allows the user to see some of the
image as it builds. This is much the same as Progressive.
 
Landscape
In reference to printers, printing an image so that it is
faced with one long edge of the paper nearest you, as most
landscape paintings would be faced. The other standard
facing is Portrait.
 
Maximize
To "blow up" a program window so that it fills the entire
screen. This is useful if the information in the program
does not fully display at a smaller screen size.
 
Minimize
To remove a program, such as IrfanView, from the screen
and have it appear as a button on the task bar at bottom
of the screen. Click the button to restore the program
to the screen.
 
Option button
A small circle, usually to the left of some text;
clicking the circle with the mouse makes a mark appear,
showing it as a selected option. The text identifies
what the option is for. Option buttons appear in groups,
to allow a single selection from many choices; clicking
one automatically "unclicks" all the others. Sometimes
these groups are known as radio buttons, for their
similarity to selecting a station on a radio.
 
Pixel
Picture element: One dot in an image. It is the smallest
(practical) element used to make up a picture.
 
Portrait
In reference to printers, printing an image so that it is
faced with one short edge of the paper nearest you, as most
portrait paintings would be faced. The other standard
facing is Landscape.
 
Progressive
In terms of some image types, such as jpg: an image which
builds up on the screen, showing the full image, but of low
quality, then gradually building until the full quality
image is visible. This allows the user to see some of the
image as it builds. This is much the same as Interlaced.
 
Slider control
A control used in Windows to set a value for something.
An example: in IrfanView, click on the Image menu, then
select Brightness. A dialog opens with a slider control
that allows you to set the value of brightness you want.
In the Brightness control, the value starts at zero, and
you can move the slider down to -255 (less bright,) or
up to +255 (more bright.) Click on one of the arrows to
move the setting slowly. Click the area between the
arrows to move the settings more rapidly. Put the mouse
directly on the control bar (the box that starts at the
zero setting,) press the left mouse button and hold it,
and drag the bar to change the settings very rapidly.
Most slider controls are similar.
 
Sub-Menu
On a Windows menu, an extra menu that "pops up" when you
point the mouse at one of the menu choices. This sub-menu
gives further control over the choice. An example: on the
Image menu, point the mouse at Effects; a sub-menu will
appear to let you choose which effect to perform.
 
Tabs
Small extensions at the top of a dialog box; they look
like tabs on a file folder; clicking one changes to a
different section of the dialog, allowing access to
other options
 
Task bar
The area of Windows along the bottom of the screen. This
displays various information about Windows' status, such
as the clock in the lower right corner. Also shown in the
bar are the buttons representing open programs, such as
IrfanView. If you minimize a program, you remove it from
the screen, but leave it active. Only its button shows,
until you click the button to restore it.
 
Thumbnail
A small version of a larger image. Thumbnails are used as
"stand-ins" for images where space is a problem. Example:
pages on the WWW often use thumbnails to represent images
stored at the website. The thumbnails take a fraction of
the time to load that the large images would take. Usually,
the thumbnail is linked to the large image, so that a click
on it will load the full-sized version.
 
Transparent Color
In an image, one color that does not show onscreen. This
is most often used to allow an image background to be
invisible against other colors. An example would be a
company logo used on an internet web page; a transparent
background color would allow it to be placed directly
over other images on the page, and all will still be
visible.
 
Windows Clipboard
An area used by Windows to store various file information
for cut/copy/paste operations. For programs that support
the clipboard (most do,) you can cut or copy from one
application, and paste into another. An example: an image
edited pixel-by-pixel in Windows Paint can be copied to
the clipboard, then pasted into IrfanView, from which it
can be saved in a variety of formats. (Paint only saves
as bmp.) Each time you cut or copy to the clipboard, it
replaces whatever was there before.

 
 
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