Tech-Talk.com is an online resource available to patrons of the East Greenbush Community Library. This resource comes in several formats.
A website full of articles and videos to help you learn what you need to know to be successful with everyday technology
An app to help you get the above resources on-the-go
A weekly newsletter containing a quick technology tip
Access to live webinars that end up as videos on the website
The opportunity to request an article or webinar on a topic of your choosing
The Website
There is so much information on the website that finding what you need can be a bit overwhelming if you’re not sure what you’re looking for. Luckily, Tech-Talk has grouped the information in several different ways to help make it easier to browse.
The page we’re highlighting today is Basics for Non-Techies. If you are a novice user looking for basic information about working with email, documents, and the internet, this is the page for you. Even if you aren’t a novice user, you may find something on this page that would be useful to you.
Join us next time, when we highlight other pages that help you browse and find quick solutions.
Do You Use Tech-Talk?
If you have tried Tech-Talk, let us know what you think! Did they have the answers you were looking for?
If you post images on the internet with some regularity, you may have noticed that every platform has different recommended sizes for images. It can be a pain to make a graphic over several times to post in multiple places. In a previous post, I wrote about Biteable, a tool that will automatically convert any image to all of the recommended sizes for social media platforms. This is great for my social media needs, but not for another resizing issue that comes up regularly for me.
Our website has a row of featured events/services/announcements that need to be sized at 300px x 300px in order to line up or stack neatly on any size screen. I have been given graphics and logos in all dimensions that I have needed to make fit into these blocks. Canva has a magic resize tool, but that hasn’t generated results that work for me.
Enter Pixlr
Pixlr comes in two “flavors.” Pixlr X and Pixlr E. Both are free, browser-based tools that don’t require an account. They are similar to Canva, but not as full-featured. Pixlr X is meant for creating basic designs, while Pixlr E is for editing photos. The free version of Pixlr X is what we are using today, but both products have robust premium versions if you are interested in AI assistance, a larger decorative element library, more support, or no ads.
How I Use It
I am fortunate enough to have several design editing tools at my disposal, and I use different tools for different tasks. Pixlr X fills a very specific need for me, and it never fails.
As I mentioned, the library website needs images that are 300px x 300px. Product logos/graphics, ready-made templates in image editors, and graphics for initiatives from outside our organization (Summer Reading, Tech-Talk, etc.) rarely come in that size, or even in a square shape. For instance, here is the logo for Consumer Reports, a digital resource we provide to our patrons:
The original is 1600px x 900px, so it needed some editing. I opened Pixlr X, then clicked “open image” in the center of the page.
This opened a window that allowed me to select the original Consumer Reports image that is 1600px x 900px. The first thing I wanted to do is scale this down to a 300px width, so I clicked on the layout button in the left menu.
I selected “resize page (scale)” and reset the width to 300. By leaving the “constrain proportions” toggle activated, the height automatically adjusted to prevent the logo from being distoryed.
The next step is to add a 300px x 300px background and center the image. Staying in the layout menu, I selected “set page size.” Here I changed the height to 300, made sure the “relative change” toggle was deactivated and anchored the logo in the center of the image.
This is how it turned out. The checkerboard part indicates transparent space. The next step is to add a background. I could just add white, but then the image would be really boring.
Instead, I want to copy the green from the logo and make that the background. I did this using a separate eyedropper tool to get the hex code number for the color (covered in this article) and then going back to my layout menu in Pixlr to activate the background toggle. This suggests a few colors, but you can click any color to reveal a box to enter a custom color.
I entered the hex code for your desired color in the box and hit “enter” to apply.
This is the finished product. It’s a simple fix that preserves the company’s logo guidelines while making the image suitable for our website.
Pixlr offers different formats and quality options for downloading your new image.
Summary
Pixlr is a free tool that makes design and image editing easy. While many of its features are duplicated in other free or low-cost image editing tools, the ability to change the size of the image canvas without messing up the aspect ratio of the original image in addition to changing the image itself has permanently secured its place in my image editing toolbox. What are your favorite design editing tools? Let us know in the comments.
Have you ever wanted to access articles from the Times Union but weren’t sure how? The library offers access to a database called America’s News that provides access to back issues of image editions (2018 – Present) and text editions (1986 – Present) of the Times Union.
If you’d like a quick tutorial on how to access this database, check out our YouTube video:
To access this database, visit the Find it Online section of the library’s website. Please note that remote access to this database is only available to resident cardholders. If you have any questions about how to use the database, please call the library or leave a comment.
Do you use Zoom or other virtual conferencing software for professional meetings? Now there is a free app that allows you to easily add a virtual business card that appears during your meeting.
Warmly allows you to create a custom virtual business card and background for use during virtual meetings. With just a few clicks, you can add your contact information and a virtual background that will be displayed during your virtual meetings.
In addition, if you often meet with other members of your work team, you can create a uniform design that allows others to easily see that you work together as well as the role each person plays within your team. Using Warmly, you can add your company’s logo and create matching virtual backgrounds that help your team appear as a cohesive unit.
Have you ever needed to scan and email a document but didn’t have access to a scanner? You’re in luck! You can scan (and electronically sign!) documents using the built in Notes app on your iPhone or iPad.
Scanning Documents
To begin, open up the Notes app on your iOS device. From there, choose an existing note or create a new one by tapping the new icon.
Next, tap the camera icon on the top navigation bar.
Choose Scan Documents from the menu.
The camera will open and you will see the option for Auto or Manual. Auto attempts to find blocks of text to scan, and manual will let you choose the area manually. Once you have your document in the frame, you can tap the white button or the volume down button on the side of your device to take a picture.
After the document image has been captured, you can select the area you would like in your PDF by tapping and dragging the white circles on the corners of the scan. When you have selected the area you would like in your document, you can tap Keep Scan. If you are unhappy with the capture, tap on Retake.
If you only have a one-page document, tap save. If you have a multipage document, continue to capture images, and when you are finished, tap on Save. You will see the images you have already scanned in the bottom center of the screen.
Once you tap save, you will see your saved document in the note. To share the document to email, text, files, or other platforms, open the document by tapping on the picture of it. The default name will be Scanned Documents, unless the scan detects clearly written text in the header of the document. The document will be in PDF format, which is easily accessible to different operating systems.
Once you have tapped on the document to open it, tap on the share icon and choose how you would like to share it. If you would like to rename the document prior to sharing it, tap on its name in yellow in the top center and enter the new name.
Signing Documents
Once a document has been scanned, you can also add an electronic signature, either typed with text or signed with your finger or stylus on the screen. As mentioned in the previous step, tap on the picture of the document to open it, and then tap the share icon. From the share menu, tap on Markup. A toolbar will pop up near the bottom of the screen. To add a signature, tap on the plus icon, and then tap on Signature.
Once you tap on signature, a box will pop up where you can sign your name with your finger or a stylus. You also have the option to add a text field, which may come in handy if the document has a field that requires a printed name.
Once you’ve signed your name, tap on done. If you make a mistake and need to start over, tap on clear. After you’ve tapped done, you can resize the signature by tapping on the blue circles in the corners of the signature box and dragging them to your desired size. You can move the box to your desired location in the document. If you want to delete the signature field, simply tap on your signature and then choose delete. Once you have created a signature, your device will save it for easy access in the future. If you would like to delete saved signatures, tap the plus sign, then signature, and then add or remove the signature. You’ll see a list of saved signatures and you can tap the red symbol next to the saved signature to delete it. You can also add another signature by tapping the plus symbol on the top left.
Once you have added your changes, you can share the document using the method discussed earlier. If you would like to remove signatures after exiting the app, open the scanned document in your note and choose markup. You can remove any previous additions by tapping on them and choosing delete. In addition to text fields and signatures, you can also add a description. Image descriptions can be read by screen readers and are useful for anyone who has difficulty seeing images online. You can also use the magnifier to enlarge portions of the document. Another markup option is adding shapes that include a square, a circle, a dialog symbol, and an arrow. You also have the standard markup tools available as well: the marker, highlighter, colored pencil, eraser, lasso tool, and ruler.
Conclusion
Scanning and signing an electronic document can be done will your iPhone or iPad. You can create multipage PDF files, add electronic signatures, and easily share your documents via email, text, or other methods by using a built-in feature of the Notes app. Have you tried scanning documents with your iPhone or iPad? Let us know in the comments.
