Tips regarding images for your AreaGuidesMall.com store!
(Please read through all instructions before proceeding with your store)

Special Note: If necessary be sure to crop your photos before processing. This way all the 
images will end up the same size left to right creating a better look throughout your store.

The following step-by-step instructions will help you use the XAT.com Image Optimizer program to batch size photos for your on-line store. You can download the XAT program from XAT.com and you can buy an unlock key from XAT in order to enable all of the programs features including the batch processing outlined herein.

1) After you've downloaded and unlocked the XAT program you'll see the screen at right. Click on "Open". Browse to a location on your computer's hard drive where you've downloaded your photos.
I use a directory called "AA" on my c: drive so the photos are easy to find. I would suggest making two new folders for each batch of images. One folder will hold the unprocessed photos and the other will be the target where XAT will put the photos after processing. ALWAYS CROP YOUR IMAGES PRIOR TO PROCESSING! Click here for comments regarding compression settings in XAT.
2) At right is the screen image where you're selecting the images to process using the "Ctrl A" command and clicking on the "Open" button.

The two photos below show the XAT screens where you select the images to process and define the target or "output directory". After you've clicked on the "Open" icon and browsed to the folder where the images are located you do a "Ctrl A" command then click on "Open". This will bring you to the screen pictured below at left.

3) Then click on the "Next" button. This will take you to the screen below right. Click on the "Transform" tab and select the width you would like to have (300 is a good size for most product images. Category images can be 65 wide because they only appear as a thumbnail). (Note: You can try various sizes until you get the look you like in your store. Only the images in the output folder will be sized. The original photos can be sized over and over as you wish. You can also experiment with various compression settings until you get the quality and file sizes you desire.) Special Note Regarding Cropping: If your photos do require cropping be sure to crop before you process them with XAT.

4) Next enter the Output Directory file location. Do this by clicking on the Browse button and finding the output folder you created on your hard drive. Remember, you need two folders for each batch of images to be processed.

5) Then click on the "Next" button and the program should process the photos into the output folder. After processing you'll need to view a few of the images to confirm successful sizing. These instructions cover resizing. Keep in mind the XAT program has many other features that you might find useful. Feel free to attend our free Internet 101 classes to learn more.

"Open" then Browse to the images then use the
Ctrl A command to select all the images.

Click on the "Transform" tab and select the width

Back to the Building
Your Own Store page.

Enter the output directory path, then click "Next"
Special Note: On this screen you can also
change the default compression settings.
I use 80 for JPEG Quality and 15 for
the MagiCompression setting.