Olds College Library

Editing digital images using Irfanview

Step 1. Opening an image

  1. Start IrfanView by clicking on the icon
    irFanView icon
  2. Click on File from the menu
  3. Click on Open
  4. Use the dialogue box to:
    1. change Look in location
    2. change File type
    3. Click on the image file from the list
    4. Click on Open

Step 2. Resizing an image

  1. Click on Image from the menu
  2. Click on Resize/Resample
  3. From the dialogue box you can:
    screenshot
    1. Custom resize the image
    2. Select a preset image size

Note: for PowerPoint presentations if the image is going to fill the slide area without text 640 by 480 is a good size to use. If there is going to be text then a smaller size like 320 by 200 may fit better.

For printing the DPI (dots per inch) can be 150 to 300, but for PowerPoint presentations you should use a DPI of 96 or even 72.

Step 3. Rotating an image

  1. Click on Image from the menu
  2. Click on Rotate Left to turn the image counter clockwise 90 degrees
  3. Click on Rotate Right to turn the image clockwise 90 degrees

Step 4. Flipping an image

  1. Click on Image from the menu
  2. Click on Horizontal Flip to flip the image left to right
  3. Click on Vertical Flip to flip the image top to bottom)

Step 5. Cropping an image

  1. Place the cursor in the upper left hand corner of image you want to select
  2. Left click and hold
  3. Drag the mouse to the opposite corner to create a selection box
  4. Release when you have the area you want selected
  5. If the selection box is not the right size or position you can change it by:
    1. Grabbing one of the selection box's edges and moving it
    2. Right click and hold inside the selection box to move it around
  6. Click on Edit from the menu
  7. Click on Crop Selection to start a new image for editing.

Step 6. Adding text to an image

  1. Make a selection box where you would like the text to appear. See step 5, sections a to e
  2. Select from the menu select Edit
  3. Select Insert text into selection
    screenshot
  4. From the dialogue box you can:
    1. Set text alignment, usually left
    2. Choose font style and size
    3. Enter text to be displayed
  5. Click Enter when you are done. If the text is too large or in the wrong place you will have to start over. See Step 7 for how to undo your last step.

Step 7. Undo your last change

  1. Clcik on Edit from the menu
  2. Click on Undo. Note undo only goes back one step.

Step 8. Saving an image

  1. Click on File from the menu
  2. Click on Save as
  3. Type in a filename and select the location you want to save the image

It is usually a good practice to use a different filename for an altered image. This way should something go wrong you will still have the original image to start over with. Do not change any of the defaults.