image upload feature pack - poor image quality

[calyxte]

Hi all,
I have purchased and installed the image upload feature pack/serial number.

I have the latest Alpha v10.5 build.
I am previewing everything using the grid.

This issue happens with both imbeded or referenced images.

The issue:
I can upload an image fine and at its 100% it looks great.
However anytime I scale the image, say to .5 (50%) or say i want it to be 2 inches wide, it then starts to look cartoonish and not like the image at all. It does not matter how I scale it, the end result is the image looks terrible. The original image size can be 1meg or 500k or 300k or 100k its the same issue when scaling.

I need to have this program take any image size and just scale it and keep the same quality of photo. I thought when I purchased this feature pack, that is what the scaling did.

I do realize that it's best to have a smaller size image before uploading.

All the images I am using will be jpg or jpegs..

Is this a bug in the program or ???

If anyone can help or suggest another image upload program that can integrate with alpha I surely would appreciate it.

Thanks for your help.
Calyxte

[Bill Griffin]

Re: image upload feature pack - poor image quality

Best to leave image manipulation to a graphice program. You can use something like ImageMagik to scale your images after they are uploaded to the server via the image upload feature pak.

[calyxte]

Re: image upload feature pack - poor image quality

Hi Bill,
I can find the ImageMagik website, could you be so kind as to tell me more about how I could go about doing that?
Thanks
Calyxte

[Bill Griffin]

Re: image upload feature pack - poor image quality

You could use the 'on save' server side event in the image upload feature to run imagemagik or some other command line graphics progarm to scale the image once it has been saved.

[calyxte]

Re: image upload feature pack - poor image quality

Hi Bill,
I got the idea and am now looking into a small free program that is suppose to do that automatically. Its called Dropsize..
http://www.dropresize.com/
If it works it should be helpful to some people.. thanks for your help.
Calyxte

[Steve Wood]

Re: image upload feature pack - poor image quality

This is the utility I use for uploads with features: http://www.aurigma.com/Products/ImageUploader/

Takes more work to integrate but is very feature and can upload multiple images or whole folders at the same time.

[calyxte]

Re: image upload feature pack - poor image quality

Hi Steve,
I did check this out.. It's way over my programming head.
Also pretty pricey..
Any thoughts on another perhaps simpler solution?
Calyxte
PS
I got to say that if Alpha would actually have their image upload pack working correctly all of this could be avoided...
Hope they will fix this soon...

[peteconway]

Re: image upload feature pack - poor image quality

The issue is the scaling of the images in the image upload feature needs to be fixed, it does not deliver a high enough quality image for commercial use in my view, the rest of it is great value and works well. So until then you need to send the image the size you want it without scaling.

[markmoss]

Re: image upload feature pack - poor image quality

You might give this a shot

http://www.irfanview.com/index.htm

Great product Great Support and it's Free

Has Batch Processing as a feature, so its very easy to use.

If you do use it, you might consider supporting them with a 10euro donation.

Mark Moss
:)

Command Line Options


Top Previous Next




Command line options allow you to set some functions of IrfanView before the viewer is launched.



These command line options are supported in IrfanView:



/one - force 'Only one instance'

/fs - force Full Screen display

/bf - force 'Fit images to desktop' display option

/title=text - set window title to 'text'

/pos=(x,y) - move the window to x,y

/convert=filename - convert input file to 'filename' and CLOSE IrfanView

(see Pattern page for additional filename options)

/slideshow=txtfile - play slideshow with the files from 'txtfile'

/slideshow=folder - play slideshow with the files from 'folder'

/reloadonloop - reload input source used in /slideshow when list finished

/filelist=txtfile - use filenames from "txtfile" as input, see examples below

/thumbs - force thumbnails

/killmesoftly - close all IrfanView instances

/closeslideshow - close slideshow and close IrfanView after the last image

/page=X - open page number X from a multipage input image

/crop=(x,y,w,h) - crop input image: x-start, y-start, width, height

/print - print input image to default printer and close IrfanView

/print="Name" - print input image to specific printer and close IrfanView

/resize=(w,h) - resize input image to w (width) and h (height)

/resize_long=X - resize input image: set long side to X

/resize_short=X - resize input image: set short side to X

/resample - for resize: use Resample option (better quality)

/capture=X - capture the screen or window (see examples below)

/ini - use the Windows folder for INI/LST files (read/save)

/ini="Folder" - use the folder "Folder" for INI/LST files (read/save)

/clippaste - paste image from the clipboard

/clipcopy - copy image to the clipboard

/silent - don't show error messages for command line read/save errors

/invert - invert the input image (negative)

/dpi=(x,y) - change DPI values, set DPIs for scanning

/scan - acquire the image from the TWAIN device - show TWAIN dialog

/scanhidden - acquire the image from the TWAIN device - hide TWAIN dialog

/batchscan=(options) - simulate menu: File->Batch Scanning, see examples below

/bpp=BitsPerPixel - change color depth of the input image to BitsPerPixel

/swap_bw - swap black and white color

/gray - convert input image to grayscale

/rotate_r - rotate input image to right

/rotate_l - rotate input image to left

/hflip - horizontal flip

/vflip - vertical flip

/filepattern="x" - browse only specific files

/sharpen=X - open image and apply the sharpen filter value X

/effect=(X,p1,p2) - apply effect filter X, see below for examples

/contrast=X - open image and apply the contrast value X

/bright=X - open image and apply the brighntess value X

/gamma=X - open image and apply the gamma correction value X

/advancedbatch - apply Advanced Batch Dialog options to image (from INI file)

/hide=X - hide toolbar, status bar, menu and/or caption of the main window (see examples below)

/transpcolor=(r,g,b) - set transparent color if saving as GIF/PNG/ICO

/aspectratio - used for /resize and /resample, keep image proportions

/info=txtfile - write image infos to "txtfile"

/fullinfo - used for /info, write EXIF, IPTC and Comment data

/append=tiffile - append image as (TIF) page to "tiffile"

/multitif=(tif,files) - create multipage TIF from input files

/panorama=(X,files) - create panorama image from input files; X = direction (1 or 2)

/jpgq=X - set JPG save quality

/tifc=X - set TIF save compression

/wall=X - set image as wallpaper; see below for /random and examples

/extract=(folder,ext) - extract all pages from a multipage file

/import_pal=palfile - import and apply a special palette to the image (PAL format)

/jpg_rotate=(options) - JPG lossless rotation, see examples below

/monitor=X - start EXE-Slideshow on monitor X

/window=(x,y,w,h) - set EXE-Slideshow window position and size





Notes:



- Only lower case options are supported (don't type any UPPERCASE letters) !

- Input file name (if required) is always the first parameter!

- Use "" for file names with spaces, example: "c:\images\dummy test file.jpg".

- Write always the FULL paths for file names (incl. drive letter).

- You can combine several options in one command.

- Wildcards (*) supported only for /convert, /print, /info and /jpg_rotate.

- Maximal command line length is limited by Windows, so use shorter names/paths.

- Most settings are loaded from the INI file. Using prepared INIs and /ini=folder option, you can extend the possibilities.

- IrfanView exit code is 0. If /convert or /print is used, there is 1 or 2 also possible, for load/save errors.





Example for conversion:



i_view32.exe c:\test.bmp /convert=c:\test.jpg

Convert file: 'c:\test.bmp' to 'c:\test.jpg' without GUI.



i_view32.exe c:\*.jpg /convert=d:\temp\*.gif

i_view32.exe c:\*.jpg /resize=(500,300) /convert=d:\temp\*.png

i_view32.exe c:\*.jpg /resize=(500,300) /aspectratio /resample /convert=d:\temp\*.png

i_view32.exe /filelist=c:\mypics.txt /resize=(500,300) /aspectratio /resample /convert=d:\temp\*.png

i_view32.exe c:\test.bmp /convert=c:\test_$Wx$H.jpg

i_view32.exe c:\test.bmp /resize=(100,100) /resample /aspectratio /convert=d:\$N_thumb.jpg

i_view32.exe c:\*.jpg /advancedbatch /convert=c:\temp\*.jpg

i_view32.exe c:\test.bmp /transpcolor=(255,255,255) /convert=c:\giftest.gif

(Note: Supported are all IrfanView read/save formats except audio/video.)



Example for slideshow:



i_view32.exe /slideshow=c:\mypics.txt

(Note: The file 'c:\mypics.txt' contains, in each line, a name of an image, including the full path OR path relative to "i_view32.exe".)



i_view32.exe /slideshow=c:\mypics.txt /reloadonloop

i_view32.exe /slideshow=c:\images\

i_view32.exe /slideshow=c:\images\ /reloadonloop

i_view32.exe /slideshow=c:\images\*.jpg

i_view32.exe /slideshow=c:\images\test*.jpg

You have to close IrfanView after the last image from the TXT file, if not /closeslideshow is used.



Example for /closeslideshow:



i_view32.exe /slideshow=c:\mypics.txt /closeslideshow

IrfanView will be closed after the last image from 'c:\mypics.txt'.



Example for thumbnails:



i_view32.exe c:\test\image1.jpg /thumbs

Open 'image1.jpg' and display thumbnails from directory 'c:\test'.



i_view32.exe c:\test\ /thumbs

Display thumbnails from directory 'c:\test'.



i_view32.exe /filelist=c:\mypics.txt /thumbs

Load filenames from TXT file and display as thumbnails.



Example for filelist:



i_view32.exe /filelist=c:\mypics.txt

i_view32.exe /filelist=c:\mypics.txt /convert=d:\test\*.jpg

i_view32.exe /filelist=c:\mypics.txt /thumbs



Example for close:



i_view32.exe /killmesoftly

Close IrfanView and terminate all instances.



Example for /page:



i_view32.exe c:\test.tif /page=3

Open page number 3 from the multipage image 'c:\test.tif'.



Example for /crop:



i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /crop=(10,10,300,300)

i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /crop=(10,10,300,300) /convert=c:\giftest.gif

Open 'c:\test.jpg' and crop: x-start=10, y-start=10, width=300, height=300 (in pixels).



Example for /print:



i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /print

Open 'c:\test.jpg', print the image to default printer and close IrfanView.



i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /print="Printer Name"

Open 'c:\test.jpg', print the image to specific printer and close IrfanView.



i_view32.exe c:\*.jpg /print

Print all JPGs from "C:\" and close IrfanView.



Note: The actual settings from the INI file are used.



Example for /resize:



i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /resize=(300,300) /resample

Open 'c:\test.jpg' and resample: width=300, height=300.

(Note: Resample uses the active resample filter from the INI file.)



i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /resize=(300,300) /aspectratio

Open 'c:\test.jpg' and resize: width= max. 300, height= max. 300, proportional.



i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /resize_long=300 /aspectratio /resample

Open 'c:\test.jpg' and resample: long side=300, short side=proportional.



i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /resize=(300,0)

Open 'c:\test.jpg' and resize: width=300, height=original.



i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /resize=(300,0) /aspectratio

Open 'c:\test.jpg' and resize: width=300, height=proportional.



i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /resize=(150p,150p)

Open 'c:\test.jpg' and resize: width=150%, height=150%.



Example for /capture:



i_view32.exe /capture=0

Capture the whole screen.

i_view32.exe /capture=6

Start in Capture mode, use last used capture dialog settings.



capture values:

0 = whole screen

1 = current monitor, where mouse is located

2 = foreground window

3 = foreground window - client area

4 = rectangle selection

5 = object selected with the mouse

6 = start in capture mode (can't be combined with other commandline options)



Advanced examples:

i_view32.exe /capture=2 /convert=c:\test.jpg

Capture foreground window and save result as file.

i_view32.exe /capture=2 /convert=c:\capture_$U(%d%m%Y_%H%M%S).jpg

Capture foreground window and save result as file; the file name contains time stamp.



Example for /ini:



i_view32.exe /ini

i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /ini

i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /ini="c:\temp\"



Example for /clippaste:



i_view32.exe /clippaste

i_view32.exe /clippaste /convert=c:\test.gif



Example for /clipcopy:



i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /clipcopy

i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /clipcopy /killmesoftly



Example for /invert:



i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /invert



Example for /dpi:



i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /dpi=(72,72)



Example for /scan:



With the scan command, you can only combine: /print, /dpi, /gray and /convert.

i_view32.exe /scan

i_view32.exe /scanhidden

i_view32.exe /scanhidden /dpi=(150,150)

i_view32.exe /scan /convert=c:\test.gif

i_view32.exe /scanhidden /gray /convert=c:\test.gif

i_view32.exe /print /scan



Example for /batchscan=(options):



options = all 8 options from the batch scanning dialog:

filename, index, increment, digits, skip, dest-folder, save-extension, multi-tif

i_view32.exe /batchscan=(scanfile,1,1,2,1,c:\temp,bmp,0)

i_view32.exe /batchscan=(scanfile,1,1,2,1,c:\temp,bmp,0) /dpi=(150,150)

i_view32.exe /batchscan=(scanfile,1,1,2,0,c:\temp,tif,1)

i_view32.exe /batchscan=("crazy, filename",1,1,2,0,"c:\temp\crazy, (folder)",tif,1)

i_view32.exe /batchscan=(scanfile,1,1,2,1,c:\temp,bmp,0) /scanhidden



Example for /bpp:



i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /bpp=8

Open 'c:\test.jpg' and reduce to 256 colors. Supported BPP-values: 1, 4, 8 and 24 (decrease/increase color depth).



Example for /filepattern:



i_view32.exe c:\images\ /filepattern="*.jpg"

Go to folder "'c:\images" and load JPGs only in the browse/file list.



i_view32.exe c:\images\ /thumbs /filepattern="*.jpg"

Go to folder "'c:\images" and show JPG thumbnails only.



i_view32.exe c:\images\ /thumbs /filepattern="123*.jpg"

Go to folder "'c:\images" and show JPG with names "123*" as thumbnails.



Example for /effect=(effect-nr,param1,param2)::



i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /effect=(6,3,0)

Apply Median filter, parameter = 3.



i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /effect=(2,3,50)

Apply Blur-2 filter, parameter1 = 3, parameter2 = 50.



effect-nr values: (from Effect-Browser dialog):

1 = Blur

2 = Blur-2

...

37 = Metallic Ice



Example for /sharpen:



i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /sharpen=33



Example for /hide:



Values (can be combined (add values)):

Toolbar 1

Status bar 2

Menu bar 4

Caption 8

i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /hide=1

Open 'c:\test.jpg', hide toolbar only.

i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /hide=3

Open 'c:\test.jpg', hide toolbar and status bar.

i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /hide=12

Open 'c:\test.jpg', hide caption and menu bar.

i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /hide=15

Open 'c:\test.jpg', hide all.



Example for /info:



i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /info=c:\test.txt

i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /info=c:\jpgs.txt /fullinfo

i_view32.exe c:\*.jpg /info=c:\jpgs.txt



Example for /append:



i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /append=c:\test.tif

Open 'c:\test.jpg ' and append it as page to 'c:\test.tif'.



Example for /multitif:



Syntax: /multitif=(tifname,file1,...,fileN)

First file is the name of the result TIF file.

i_view32.exe /multitif=(c:\test.tif,c:\test1.bmp,c:\dummy.jpg)

Create multipage TIF ('c:\test.tif') from 2 other images.



Example for /panorama:



Syntax: /panorama=(X,file1,...,fileN)

First parameter (X) is the direction: 1 = horizontal, 2 = vertical.

i_view32.exe /panorama=(1,c:\test1.bmp,c:\dummy.jpg)

Create horizontal panorama image from 2 other files.



Example for /jpgq:



i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /jpgq=75 /convert=c:\new.jpg

Open 'c:\test.jpg' and save it as 'c:\new.jpg', quality = 75. Quality range: 1 - 100.



Example for /tifc:



i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /tifc=4 /convert=c:\new.tif

Open 'c:\test.jpg' and save it as 'c:\new.tif', compression = Fax4.

Compressions: 0 = None, 1 = LZW, 2 = Packbits, 3 = Fax3, 4 = Fax4, 5 = Huffman, 6 = JPG, 7 = ZIP.



Example for /wall:



i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /wall=0

Open 'c:\test.jpg' and set is as wallpaper (centered).

wall values: 0 (centered), 1 (tiled), 2 (stretched), 3 (stretched-proportional)

i_view32.exe c:\images\*.jpg /random /wall=0 /killmesoftly

i_view32.exe /filelist=c:\mypics.txt /random /wall=0 /killmesoftly

Get random file from the folder/list and set as wallpaper.



Example for /extract:



i_view32.exe c:\multipage.tif /extract=(c:\temp,jpg)

Open 'c:\multipage.tif' and save all pages to folder 'c:\temp' as single JPGs.



Example for EXE slideshow:



MySlideshow.exe /monitor=2

=> start standalone slideshow on monitor 2.

MySlideshow.exe /window=(0,0,800,600)

=> start standalone slideshow in top left corner, window size 800x600.



Example for /advancedbatch:



i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /advancedbatch /convert=c:\image.jpg

(some Misc. Advanced Batch options are not supported: overwrite, delete, subfolders, all pages)

Open c:\test.jpg', apply Advanced Batch options from the INI file and save as new file.



Example for /jpg_rotate=(options):



options = all 8 options from the JPG lossless dialog:

transformation, optimize, EXIF date, current date, set DPI, DPI value, marker option, custom markers

Note: this option will overwrite the original file(s)!

Values:

Transformation : None (0), Vertical (1) ... Auto rotate (6)

Optimize : 0 or 1

Set EXIF date : 0 or 1

Keep current date : 0 or 1

Set DPI : 0 or 1

DPI value : number

Marker option : Keep all (0), Clean all (1), Custom (2)

Custom markers values (can be combined (add values)):

Keep Comment 1

Keep EXIF 2

Keep IPTC 4

Keep others 8

i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /jpg_rotate=(6,1,1,0,1,300,0,0)

=> Auto rotate, optimize, set EXIF date as file date, set DPI to 300, keep all markers

i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /jpg_rotate=(6,1,1,0,0,0,2,6)

=> Auto rotate, optimize, set EXIF date as file date, keep EXIF and IPTC markers

i_view32.exe c:\test.jpg /jpg_rotate=(3,1,0,1,0,0,1,0)

=> Rotate 90, optimize, use current file date, clean all markers

i_view32.exe c:\images\*.jpg /jpg_rotate=(6,1,1,0,0,0,0,0)

=> For all JPGs: Auto rotate, optimize, set EXIF date as file date, keep all markers

[calyxte]

Re: image upload feature pack - poor image quality

Pete Conway,
I guess I am the last to know that this has been an ongoing issue with the image upload feature pack. What use is the image feature pack if one cannot set the quality and that the quality built in is unusable??

Peter I have seen your work and have emailed you personally asking to learn how to do what you have done with your grids. I can afford some compensation for your time or documentation teaching how to do that. Would there be some way you could accommodate me?

I do have 2 more questions for anyone who would like to answer:

1)
Lets say I use a program that will automatically resize an image once it lands in a folder after being uploaded. http://www.dropresize.com/

Lets say it also happens pretty instantly, how can I have the grid refreshed in real time after the initial upload. so instead of it showing the super sized photo it shows the resized photo. I know I can refresh the web page manually but I thought perhaps there might be a way to do that automatically. I might add I am a newbie with all of this and even though I have read much of the Xbasic code and am understanding more and more all the time I am certainly a new user still struggling to write code and get it working.

2) I understand that I can only add photos to an existing record so how do i add the record first automatically so that i dont need to have the user save the record before adding the photo. You see i will have a grid that is only photos linked to a member ID. So when the member wants to add a new photo I will automatically drop the member_ID into the field ( I know how to do this) but how can I have it automatically save the record and then go on to add the photo. Also what if the photo is never added after all I would like to delete that record automatically as well. All in MYSQL.. boy do i ask a lot???

markmoss,
I am familiar with that program somewhat.. What I need is the ability to have it be automatically done on goingly when a photo lands into a specific folder. I have already found a simple program to do that with great results.. check out www.dropresize.com

What I really need are the Alpha folks to fix this image upload feature pack and have it work correctly like they have advertised! I watched those videos and I did see them use the scaling feature without the loss of quality, or so it seemed..

Thanks again for all of your help everyone!

Calyxte

[peteconway]

Re: image upload feature pack - poor image quality

I've just posted a link to some interesting items. I hope they help you. I will come back to your email - I overlooked it.

[calyxte]

Re: image upload feature pack - poor image quality

Pete,
What post are you referring to?

You said in your last post...
I've just posted a link to some interesting items. I hope they help you. I will come back to your email - I overlooked it.

Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you.

Calyxte

[alfatrading]

Re: image upload feature pack - poor image quality

Since this thread is so old maybe my contribute would be useless..

Anyway I happened into same problem... only to discover that the feature I needed was not in the image upload feature of my A5 v11 dev ed. It was somewhere else.

Instead I had to use "inline style" for that image in the grid field properties, because I wanted only choose the dimentions onscreen.

In the upload I left at least 4 or 5 inches height pictures (or more, should you need to print them hi quality). Only height OR width, if you don't want the aspect of your pictures change!