How to Change the Size of Pictures Saved on My Computer

By Dakota Wright

Turn a photo into a poster with image editing software.
i picture image by Yuriy Rozanov from Fotolia.com

To change the size of pictures saved on your computer you need a photo-editing software. Photo-editing software allows you to make pictures larger or smaller, crop images or change the contrast of images, among other functions. Resizing a picture with graphics software will allow you to print photos as posters or change them into avatars. With certaint types of software you can change the size of the whole picture or parts of a frame. Many computers have pre-installed software that will resize photos and perform basic editing functions.

Using Microsoft Paint to Resize Photos

Go to "Start" and then "All Programs" and scroll to "Accessories" at the top. Click on "Paint" Microsoft's built-in photo-editing software.

Click on "File" and "Open" to search for a picture in your file directory. Open the picture you want to resize.

Click on "Image" at the top of the screen. Select the "Resize/Skew" option. Increase the size of the picture by adding to the numbers in the "Horizontal and Vertical" boxes. Decrease the size of the picture by subtracting from those numbers. Change the values by equal increments for a professional finish.

Use Corel Paint Shop Pro to Resize Photos

Download and install Corel Paint Shop Pro from the "Resources" section below. Follow the on-screen commands for a problem-free installation. Double-click the program icon on your desktop to load Paint Shop Pro.

Click on the folder icon at the top of the program screen to browse your picture files. Select a file to resize and open it. You can drag-and-drop image files into the program screen from any destination.

Click on "Image" at the top of the screen and scroll down to "Resize." Click on the "Up" arrows to increase the size of the photo. Clicking on the "Down" arrows will decrease the size.

Use Gimp Image Editor to Resize Photos

Download and install the current version of Gimp Image Editor in the "Resources" section below. This is the default image editor for Linux. A version of Gimp for Windows operating system users is available.

Open the Gimp Image Editor by double-clicking the icon. Go to "File" and browse your system for a photo to resize. Open the image.

Select "Image" at the top of the screen and scroll down to the "Scale Image" option. Press the "Up or Down" arrows to increase or decrease picture size. Save the new picture.

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