Sending Images via Email

StudioLine can create a new email message, attach your images and then pass it on to one of the popular email programs. Select any number of images, then click “Email” on the QuickStep Bar. Or, click the right mouse-button on the selected images to open the context menu, then select “Send Images via Email”.

The “Send Images via Email” panel opens (with an appropriate hint panel), where you can determine the size and file format of your image attachments.

Saved Settings

As discussed in the earlier chapter “Exporting”, you can save frequently used email settings for easy recall.

Maximum Image Size

The “Maximum Image Size” drop-down offers a choice of standard sizes. The “Use Original Size” option will email images in the size of the Image Archive originals. You can also use the width and height controls to pick any custom size.

The standard or custom size you choose may not yield those exact dimensions for the emailed images. For best results, StudioLine will never enlarge images beyond their original sizes or distort images if the selected width/height proportions don’t match the images’ proportions.

Instead StudioLine uses the “underfill” technique. The size you choose defines a bounding rectangle into which StudioLine will proportionally scale the images, as necessary.

The checkbox "Automatically Adjust for Orientation" will consider the orientation of each image and use the larger specified "size" with the longer "side" of your image, and vice versa. If you were to define a size of 640x480 pixels, then a landscape image would be 640 pixels wide, while a portrait image would be 640 pixels high.

Next to the two size controls is a drop-down list for the unit of measure, either pixels, inches or centimeter. Images intended for printing or desktop publishing can thus be emailed in their proper size based on the preferred unit of measure. The field "DPI" will let you control the print resolution.

File Format

StudioLine will propose to email images in the widely recognized and very compact JPEG format. The transmission times during sending and receiving will benefit from the resulting small message size. The estimated size of the email message appears near the bottom of the panel.

For the JPEG file format, you can further customize the image quality by entering a different number. High qualities result in larger emails. Low qualities may be suitable for a series of images that are sent solely for discussion purposes.

Other file formats will always use the quality of the original image. These file formats should only be used for specific applications – such as sending images for print purposes. If you need to send an image with transparent areas or irregular shapes, choose the TIFF or PNG file formats and deselect the option “Colorize Transparent Areas”, as described below.

Other Options

Below the "Format" control is a list of additional options. Active options are displayed with a checkmark. Click an option to activate or deactivate.

1. Apply Image Tools: If you deactivate this option, StudioLine will keep any pre-processing, but disregard other image tools, filters and effects that you may have used with this image. This allows you to email an unedited version of your image.
2. Colorize Transparent Areas: By default, transparent areas (the "alpha channel") will be preserved if the chosen file format supports transparency (e.g., TIFF or PNG). Activate this option if you want the transparent areas to be colored white instead. For graphics formats that don't support transparency (e.g., JPEG, BMP), transparent areas will be always be colored white.
3. Omit Camera Specific Exif Data: StudioLine will include Exif, IPTC and Windows tags with images if supported by the chosen graphics file format. Select this option to omit any such camera specific information from the emailed file.
4. Crop to Aspect Ratio: As explained in the topic "Maximum Image Size", StudioLine uses an "underfill" technique to fit the image inside a bounding rectangle defined by the maximum image size specified. As a result, it is possible for one side of the image to be less than the maximum allowed. Select this option to crop the emailed image to the exact aspect ratio defined by the maximum image size.
5. Overlay Text: This option launches the "Text" tool. You can enter text or use descriptor values to be superimposed on the emailed images, such as a copyright notice.
6. Increase Sharpness: Images that are scaled down in size often lose sharpness. Selecting this option launches the "Sharpness" tool where you can counter the effect.
7. Include Descriptors: This option will copy the system and user descriptors to the message body.
8. Add XML Information: This option will include an XML file for each image. The XML file contains all image information, such as descriptors, keywords and image tools used. If the email recipient is using StudioLine, they can save all images and associated XML files to a folder on their hard disk and then import from there to their StudioLine Image Archive. As long as the XML files are found in the same folder as the image, then the XML information will also be imported.

Preview

Click the "Preview" button to verify the result of your email settings before the files are sent. A preview window will show the images based on all settings in the specified size and quality (for JPEG images). It's easy to find the ideal settings because the preview will automatically refresh after any change.

For most emails, the goal is to minimize the file size. Choose the JPEG file format and progressively lower the "Image Quality" while you observe the resulting quality vs. the projected file size information in the status line. By experimenting with the "Image Quality" settings, you'll be able to find an optimal compromise of quality and size.

The toolbar allows you to browse between images and choose a preview size, or you can click the right mouse button in the preview.

Sending

Click “OK” on the “Send Images via Email” panel. If you have compatible email software installed, the program will start and open a new message with the selected images as attachments. Simply enter the recipients’ email addresses, type a message and send when ready.