Shrinking Images

Why compress the Images?

The images output from the scanning machines are generally fairly large, often over 400k. For many images you do not need to see the high-resolution image that the scanning machine creates. Also, there is a feature in TMAJ where you may view all the images

ThumbsPlus

To create these smaller images a program called ThumbsPlus may be used. You may purchase ThumbsPlus from Cerious software.
You may write your own program or use another image-management program to do this, however, we have found the ThumbsPlus program is very simple to use and it is available at a reasonable price.

Running the Batch Processes

The first time you use ThumbsPlus, you must setup the batch processes. Instructions on how to do so are in the next section.

To run any of the batch processes, first open ThumbsPlus. Next, locate the directory that you are importing.
Next, go to the menu, choose Image -> Batch Process.
The batch process you choose will either be Compress_Small , Compress_Thumb, or Compress_Mid.
Click "Next" several times and finally click "Finish".
The batch process will start running. You can see the progress of the task in the "Tasks" window, generally located in the lower lefthand corner.

For each directory you want to import, you must run all 3 batch processes. (The 3 batch processes are for the different size images in TMAJ: small, mid, and thumb.

A directory representing a scan has been selected. To run a batch process on the directory, go to the menu, choose "image", then choose "Batch Process".

Under the directory, 3 subdirectories are created: mid, small and thumb. Each of these have their own, compressed images.

ThumbsPlus Batch Processes Setup

The first time you use Thumbsplus, you'll have to set up 3 batch processes:

Small [for the smaller, window-sized image in the ArrayImage window]
Thumb [for the thumbnails in the ArraySlide Window]
Mids [for the image "strip" in the Image-Data table]

You will only have to do this steps once.

Repeat these steps 3 times for each of the size descriptions in the table below.

1. Click on the IMAGE Menu Item; Then Click on BATCH PROCESS
2. Click NEW; Then Choose a set name. If the Size Description is "small", choose Compress_Small as the batch process name.
3. For FILES TO PROCESS, select CURRENT FOLDER; click the NEXT button.
4. Click the ADD button. Choose TRANSFORM. Then choose RESIZE.
5. Set the following Fields in the Resize panel. Leave the others as their default.
    a. ASPECT FIT= HEIGHT
    b. NEW SIZE= Specify whatever the height is. If the size description is small, type in 600.
    Click the OKAY Button to close the Resize panel. Then click the NEXT Button.
6. Set the following fields in the Output Details Panel:
    a. Output Format: .jpg JPEG ; Check "Use Original Quality" if the JPEG Quality is "Original". Uncheck the "Use Original Quality" and type in a quality value if the JPEG quality is specified.
    b. Name Prefix: Choose the name prefix. For the small size description, the filename prefix is small_
    c. Select the proper subdirectory output location. For the small size description, the subdirectory is named small/
    Then click the FINISH button.

Summary of Batch Processes
Size Description	Child Directory	Size	Prefix	JPEG Quailty
small	small/	600	small_	original (check "Use Original Quality" checkbox)
mid	mid/	320	mid_	50
thumb	thumb/	120	thumb_	50

The Resize dialog shown when setting up a ThumbsPlus batch process. You must set the Aspect Fit to "Height", and choose a proper value for height.

The output details shown when setting up a ThumbsPlus batch process. The prefix and child folder are set to the proper values. More details about the JPEG compression are set by clicking the options button.