Using the Crop Tool in the FOS

Cropping images in the Full Color Ordering System is very straight-forward and easy to use. When you click on an image to begin ordering, the image will be displayed in the main image panel with a green crop box around it. This box represents the print size that is currently selected. As you select new print sizes, the crop box will adjust to reflect the maximum crop available for that print ratio.

You are able to adjust the crop for the selected print size in several ways. The first and most convienient way is to use your mouse. If you click and drag within the green crop box, you will move the image within the crop area allowing you to adjust the crop of the print in any direction. To get a tigher crop, simply use you mouse scroll wheel to zoom in or out. If your mouse does not have a scroll wheel, you may use either keyboard shortcuts or the crop button controls to adjust the image size within the crop area. When you are satisfied with the crop, click "Add to Order."

		Crop Orientation Controls H sets the crop box to a horizontal orientation, while V sets the crop box to a vertical orientation.
		Image Zoom Controls Zooms the image in or out to accomplish a tighter or more full crop.
		Reset Crop Returns crops to the default crop for the selected print size.
		Toggle Masking This button turns the visibility of the image area outside of the crop box on or off. Turning it on will allow you see what is outside your crop area. Turning it off will show you just what you will see on the print.

 

Using the Batch Crop Tool

The Full Color Ordering System offers a unique batch cropping tool, previously our primary cropping method, which will allow you to adjust crops for multiple print sizes all at once or individually. This is helpful for setting up your crops before ordering, as these crops will be used in the main image panel when a standard print size is selected. This is also the primary method for cropping for package work or when ordering prints from images in batches.

Open the crop tool by clicking on the crop button either at the bottom of the Thumbnail or Image panel. The crop tool window will open with the selected image.

NOTE: You should not edit the image in any external editor (such as Photoshop) once you crop it. The image in the Full Color Ordering System will not be updated with the new information edited externally.

Aspect Ratio Thumbnail Panel

Each thumbnail in the panel shows the print size above it or, more accurately, the aspect ratio of that print size. To see the list of all print sizes that fit the same aspect ratio for the size shown, hold the mouse cursor over the thumbnail. To select one of the ratios for cropping, click on the thumbnail.

Cropping the Image

Once you have selected the ratio you wish to crop, the image will load into the main cropping window, and the crop will be set with a centered full frame by default. To adjust the crop window size, click and drag any of the 4 boxes at the corners of the green crop box. To move the entire crop box, move the mouse inside of the crop box, and click and drag to move it.

The crop controls at the top of the window can also be used to manipulate the image and the crop box.

		Rotation Controls Rotates the image left or right at 90 degree angles.
		Crop Orientation Control H sets the crop box to a horizontal orientation, while V sets the crop box to a vertical orientation.
		Crop All Lock Enable this to crop all aspect ratios at the same time. This allows you to quickly crop images. With this enabled, you will see the changes appear on the thumbnails of all aspect ratios. Note: If you've already cropped individual aspect ratios separately, do not use the lock feature. The lock feature should be used to quickly crop all aspect ratios at once. Using it after you've set custom crop settings for different aspect ratios will affect the settings of those images based on the independent crop settings you made earlier. The lock feature will crop all aspect ratios, even if you are only viewing "Ordered" thumbnails.
		Reset Crop Returns crops to the default crop for all aspect ratios. Do not use this feature to reset crops for only a specific aspect ratio.
		Help Opens the online help to this very topic.

When you are finished cropping:

You will need to click one of the two buttons located at the bottom right of the crop tool. If you wish to cancel your crop changes, click the Cancel button and your changes will not be saved. If you are happy with your crop adjustments, click Save & Close to save the crop changes you have made and return to the main image area. The crop in the image area will refresh to reflect the changes made. Then click "Add to Order."