The next thing you will learn is how to use the transform function to change the look of a graphic. Transform is useful in many ways. You can remove parts of a graphic, which is great for taking off part of a too-wide background or resizing an image by taking off some of the outside edges. You can turn an image upside-down or make a mirror image. You can make the image tilt sideways or rotate it around. Here's how: 1.) CHOP: This feature is used to chop the edges off of an image. If you have a graphic that has a very wide tranaparent background and a lot of it is not needed, or if you want to just get rid of some of the outer edges of the image, use this. Let's say you have an image that is 100x100, but the actual picture is in the center of the background and is a lot smaller than 100x100. First, enter the size of the graphic as shown in your status bar. To chop off 25 pixels of the background from the left side and the top of the graphic, you would type this: 100x100+25+25. The + sign removes from the left and top, the first 25 from the left and the second 25 from the top. To remove 25 pixels from the right and bottom, type 100x100-25-25. The - sign removes from the right and bottom, the first 25 from the right and the second from the bottom. If you want to chop all four sides you would first chop the left and top (100x100+25+25) and then the right and bottom (75x75-25-25). Notice that I used the NEW "chopped" measurements for the second transformation. You would now have an image that is 50 pixels wide and 50 pixels high. 2.) TRIM: By clicking this button you automatically remove any unnecessary background space. This is especially handy when a graphic has a transparent background that is much wider than the image...it will trim the transparent background right up to the image. 3.) FLIP: Use this to turn an image upside-down. No measurements or parameters are needed. 4.) FLOP: Use this to mirror an image. No measurements or parameters are needed. 5.) ROTATE RIGHT rotates the image 180 degrees to the right. 6.) ROTATE LEFT rotates the image 180 degrees to the left. 7.) ROTATE: This is used to rotate an image more or less than 180 degrees. You will need to type in the number of degrees you wish to rotate the image, and it will always rotate to the right. 8.) SHEAR tilts the image and also requires you to type in the number of degrees you want to tilt it. Try out the different transformations on your graphic. Don't get frustrated if at first you don't get the results you wanted. Using ImageMagick requires a lot of experimentation but once you get the hang of it, it is a lot of fun! When you are comfortable using transform, go on to the next tutorial.    This background set provided courtesy of This page hosted by Free HomePages