Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Go to Image→Crop. The area outside your selection disappears, and Elements keeps
only the area you selected in step 2.
If you want to crop a photo to a particular
aspect ratio
(proportion), you can do that easily.
Once the Rectangular Marquee tool is active but
before
you drag to make a selection, go to
the Tool Options area. From the Aspect menu, choose Fixed Ratio, and then enter the propor-
tions you want in the W (width) and H (height) boxes. Finally, drag and crop as described in
the previous list, and the photo will end up with the exact proportions you entered.
You can also crop to an exact
size
with the Rectangular Marquee tool:
1.
If you plan to print the cropped image, start by checking the resolution of your
photo. (If you don't plan to print the image, only its size matters, not its resolu-
tion, so skip to step 2.)
To find the current resolution, go to Image→Resize→Image Size (or press
Alt+Ctrl+I/Option-
⌘
-I) and make sure the Resolution number (ppi) is somewhere
between 150 and 300 (300 is best, for reasons explained on
Resizing for Printing
)
. If
the number looks good, click OK and go to step 2.
If the resolution is too low, change the number in the Resolution box to what you
want. Make sure that the Resample Image checkbox is turned off, and then click OK.
2.
Activate the Rectangular Marquee tool
.
Click the Rectangular Marquee tool's icon (the dotted rectangle) in the Tools panel or
press M. Check the Tool Options area to make sure you've got the Rectangular Mar-
quee tool, not the Elliptical Marquee tool (see
Figure 3-11
).
3.
Enter your Tool Options settings
.
First, set the Aspect menu to Fixed Size. Next, enter the dimensions you want in the
W and H boxes. (You can also change the unit of measurement from pixels to inches,
percentages, or centimeters; just replace “px” to “in,” “%,” or “cm.”)
4.
Drag or click anywhere in your image
.
Elements creates a selection the exact size you entered in the Tool Options. You can
reposition it by dragging or using the arrow keys.
5.
Crop the image
.
Go to Image→Crop.
