PhotoPlus X2 User Guide - Serif

Manipulating Images 55
• To duplicate part of the active layer on the same layer, press the Alt key and
click, then drag with the Move Tool. (Or if you're working with a selection
tool, press Ctrl+Alt and drag to duplicate.)
Changing image and canvas size
Changing the image size (I; top example below) means scaling the whole image (or
just a selected region) up or down. Resizing is actually a kind of distortion because
the image content is being stretched or squashed. However, especially when
downsizing, the distortion is subtle because the program does a good job of
resampling the image—that is, recalculating how to distribute the image pixels.
Changing the canvas size (C; bottom example) just involves
adding or taking away pixels around the edges of the image. It's
like adding to the neutral border around a mounted photo, or
taking a pair of scissors and cropping the photo to a smaller size.
In either case, the remaining image pixels are undisturbed so
there's no distortion.
Note that once you've changed either the image size or the canvas size, the image
and canvas are exactly the same size again!
Changing image size
The Image Size dialog lets you specify a new size for the whole image, in terms of
its screen dimensions and/or printed dimensions.
To resize the whole image:
1. Choose Image Size... from the Image menu.
2. To specify just the printed dimensions, uncheck Resize layers. Check the box
to link the Pixel Size (screen) settings to the Print Size settings.
3. To retain the current image proportions, check Maintain aspect ratio.
Uncheck the box to alter the dimensions independently.
4. If adjusting screen dimensions:
• Select a preferred scale (either "Pixels" or "Percent") in the drop-down list.
• Select a resampling method. As a rule, use Nearest Pixel for hard-edge
images, Bilinear Interpolation when shrinking photos, Bicubic Interpolation
when enlarging photos, and Lanczos3 Window when best quality results are
expected.