Tutorial on Creating a Profile Pic

1) Own a graphics package with the "crop", "resize" and "save as jpeg" functions. If you don't, I recommend Paint Shop Pro. Alternatively, try PhotoPlus 5.5 for free. Note: Screenshots in this tutorial are from Paint Shop Pro. Your software may look very similar to these, or it may look quite different. Still, they should give you the idea.

2) Find a picture you want to use in your profile.

3) Save the picture (if it's not already on your computer), and open it in your image editor. (To save from your browser in Internet Explorer, right-click on the image and choose "Save Picture As", choose the folder you want to save it to, and click Save. In Netscape, do the same except choose "Save Image" when you right-click on it.)

4) Make an artistic decision as to what parts you really need (this is easy when it's already close to 85x100 -- you usually just lose some empty background -- but it can be tricky for a square/landscape format).

5) Drag the selection tool rectangle over the desired part of the picture in roughly 85x100 proportions. After you've done this quite a bit, you'll find you get it right to within three or four pixels just by looking.

6) Crop the picture. That's usually in the Edit menu.

7) Resize the picture. Again, usually found in the Edit menu. The easiest way to do it is to make sure the "Keep aspect ratio/proportions" flag is ticked, then type "85" into the horizontal size (width) box. The other number (height) will change accordingly, and if you've judged the cropping rectangle well, it should be close to 100.

7a) If it's just a tad more than 100, just let it resize to say 85x102 and crop the two spare pixels off. If it's a fair amount over 100, undo the changes you've made and try again, this time cropping it a little shorter (wider). Repeat.

7b) If it's just a tad less than 100, then just let it resize to say 85x98 and crop a couple of pixels off the sides of the now-resized picture, which makes it taller, or undo your changes and try again, this time cropping it a little taller (narrower). Repeat.

8) If you know how, or can figure it out, you may wish to sharpen the picture a bit. (For example, in Paint Shop Pro, go to "Effects" --> "Sharpen" --> "Sharpen." Most pics that have been sized down a fair amount will benefit from this. If not, just Undo it.

9) Save the picture as a .jpg if it's a photo and a .gif if it's a cartoon (jpegs are crap at line drawings, gifs are crap at photos). Some image editors put the .jpg extension in caps -- if yours does, rename it to .jpg in lowercase.

9a) Go to "File" and select "Save As."

9b) An options window comes up. Choose the folder you want to save the picture to. Type a name for the image in the "File Name" field. (With Paint Shop, it doesn't matter whether or not you add ".jpg" to the end - if you do, that's fine; if you don't, it gets added automatically.) See screenshot.

9c) There should be a "Save As Type" dropdown box. You should be able to click on the little arrow and get a list of options. Look for JPEG and click on it. See screenshot.

9a) When saving it, make sure you're using a good enough compression (if it's a jpeg) so that the file size is between 5 and 10 Kilobytes. When you click Save As, your editor probably has an Options button where you can fiddle with the compression. Check the properties after it's saved to see the file size. (On a pic that size, it'll look just as good even when it's about 5K, so you might as well make it smaller so that it'll load faster. At most, keep it under 15K.) For detailed instructions on adjusting the compression in Paint Shop Pro, see below.

10a) If you don't have a site to host the picture on, you need to upload it as an attachment with a post in the Profile Request Forum. Go to the forum and click "Post New" as usual. Type your post as usual, mention that you're attaching a picture, make sure you tick the box that says "I want to preview my post and/or attach a file", and click "Continue." You'll see a preview of your post — just below that (and just above the "Submit Post" button) you'll see the field for attaching your picture. Click the "Browse" button. A dialog box will open wherein you can browse your computer's contents until you find the desired picture. Click on the desired picture's file name, and click the "Open" button. The location of your picture will now appear in that field. Click "Submit Post." (If you need to make changes to your post, do that as normal before choosing your picture — scroll down, make the changes, make sure the Preview box is checked, and click "Continue" again. Do this until you're satisfied, and then attach the picture as instructed, and click "Submit Post.")

10b) If you do have a site of your own to put the picture on, and it's not one that prevents outside linking, upload your pic there and put the URL in your profile.

1. Open the file in Paint Shop Pro.

2. Go to "File" and select "Save As." See screenshot.

3. An options window comes up. Choose the folder you want to save the picture to. Type a name for the image in the "File Name" field. (With Paint Shop, it doesn't matter whether or not you add ".jpg" to the end - if you do, that's fine; if you don't, it gets added automatically.) See screenshot.

4. There should be a "Save As Type" dropdown box. You should be able to click on the little arrow and get a list of options. Look for JPEG and click on it. See screenshot.

5. There should be an "Options" button. Click on it. This should allow you to change the compression. With Paint Shop, I find that 6-10 or so is usually good for profile pics, giving acceptable quality and file sizes around 5K or less. You'll have to play with this to see what works best for you/your software. (Note that what Paint Shop calls "10," other software might call "90" — that is, some of them do it backwards from the others. It'll likely have a slider that lets you maneuver between low compression and high compression.) See screenshot.

6. Click "OK" to accept the options, and click "Save" to save the image.

7. Check the file size. If you open your FTP program to the location with the picture, it should show the file size. Or, go to it on your computer, right-click on it, and choose Properties. Note the "Size" information. The aim should be about 5K (aka 5000 bytes) or less; 7 or 8 isn't too bad; 10K (10000 bytes) should be the max. If it's too big, go back to Save As --> Options and adjust the compression level (to compress more).

If you're totally lost, make a plea for help in the Profile Request Forum.