Mike Chaney's Tech Corner

Hi
My post title is my question.
Is there a way in Ultimate to turn off and keep off the auto crop feature?

I only print one image per page and want the full image printed. Invariably but randomly the auto crop scissors is on and if I am not careful to turn it off I print a cropped image.
Thanks
Bob

Sure BOB, I feel the same way.
First of all the on/off switch is located at the bottom of the SIZE TAB screen.
See screen snap  106. My pointed cursor is on it.

Does this crop lock feature come on on every  useof Qimage by itself, even you had if off when you closed last session?
If that is the case, we have to change the open: setup.
If that is so, simply unlock the yellow padlock (see screen snap 107)
Click on the yellow padlock to open. Then turn off the scissors icon for crop. Now go back to that icon where the padlock was, and click. It will ask you if you want to save the current version or previous version. Click CURRENT as you have changed it. You should be fine
Fred

Qimage remembers the state of the crop button when you shut it down so if you turn it off, it'll be off the next time you open QU.  If it comes back on, you've locked the settings with the crop on: look at the gear button at the top of the main window.  If there's a lock on it, click that button to unlock settings and then it will go back to remembering the "last state".

Fred beat me to it: and even included screen shots.  :)

Regards,
Mike

Fred and Mike
Thanks for such a fast response. I have looked through the menu options a number of times and would have never figured this out.

Just saying, however, an up to date manual would be hugely helpful. Often trying to find something in the help section is like trying to find a needle in a hay stack.

Again thanks so much
Bob

Bob,
To write a concise help manual, and still miss a lot of questions that people have as their wants and needs are so diverse, is monumental.
On the other hand, on here, your forum, there are literally hundreds of helpers waiting for you. I answer a lot, because I have been with Qimage from the start, and I am retired and anxious to help.
Mike is our Mike. the author. So when the actual author comes to the forum to help, you know it is a good, friendly and warm place.
Stay well,
Fred

I'm not complaining - just making a suggestion. It is often much more expedient to just look something up rather than wait for a reply. As well wading through the results of a search on the forum are often fruitless or take you down a path you weren't expecting.
Thanks for being there and answering questions
Bob

Sorry, Bob, but I feel that you are still not happy with the HELP efforts.
Let me clarify by saying that Qimage Ultimate is a live evolving program. It does not come out one a year with version 4.01.
It comes out on the average of 19-21 times a year with improvements, additions and UI interface replacement locations. It updates color engines and camera profiles.
Trying to make a HELP FILE from that is virtually impossible except for a full time scribe 24/7.
So instead, we offer a video page for the highlights and new stuff, and a friendly forum for guys like me who forgot how to do this or that.
Click this link and hopefully it helps.
(You may still not agree with me. It's OK. We just drop it)

http://www.ddisoftware.com/qimage-u/learn.htm

Fred

I'm using 2023.100 version and there doesn't seem to be a gear icon on the menu available as shown in the screen image.
Can anyone tell me if it was dropped or is there a way to place it on the menu bar?

I don't quite understand.... Are you asking about how to default CROP OFF, or are you missing a part of Qimage gear wheel?

Turn off the auto crop with one click at the bottom of the Print size tab. See attached. Close Qimage and reopen. It stays off.
The second screen snap is the normal right side of the Printers and settings tab;including the gear wheel.
Am I missing something?  
The gear wheel is a blue tint and sgows what changes were made in the driver.

Fred
One other thing occurred  to me..... perhaps you are loading a saved job and that job was saved with the auto crop in use?

Well, I was trying to explain that I've been caught a few times with wrong formatted prints. I was using the auto crop and closed QImage, when opening the next time auto-crop is on and if you don't see it, the print may not be correct.
It's easy to miss if you overlook the setting.  So, in the one post and picture it was mentioned about the gear with the lock which is on the menu bar. But in version 2023.100 I don't see the gear on the menu bar.
I was asking if it was removed in this update.

Well, I was trying to explain that I've been caught a few times with wrong formatted prints. I was using the auto crop and closed QImage, when opening the next time auto-crop is on and if you don't see it, the print may not be correct


If you close Qimage with auto crop off, it will stay off until you change it to ON. Vice Versa. If you close Qimage with auto crop on, it will open next time ON.
Now I know what you meant. The old gear wheel at the top. That had a different purpose altogether. That was to allow you to save current settings as a default.
Mike removed that and replaced it with a more versatile tool allowing you to create your default opening screen,  and have choices on what you want to use to open. Closing Qimage will save the settings that are there and reopen as it was closed. The new selections allow you to adjust easily. File menu and find the item as shown.
Fred

Don't misunderstand, I think Mike has a super super product in qImage. It is so flexible. This auto crop is the one area where I've been frustrated in that I seem to miss it being on when I wanted it off.
I see the manual save option that you reference will reset it to startup conditions. I will use that for now as a method to reset the option. That would be more excellent if there were a menu icon key that activated it so it would be similar to the locked gear.
Thanks for your help, I didn't see manual update until you mentioned it.

Garry, Try to get the hang of the newer feature. Set up Qimage with all the things you like, same as you did with the gear wheel. Then click the SAVE MANUAL BACKUP.. Now you can always have a preset Qimage.
If you forgot, and used the auto crop intentionally, and closed Qimage in that state. It will open the way you closed it.
Please understand that many people like that. Today, I printed a bunch of 8 x 10s for some mothers who have "FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL" prints. More to be printed tomorrow. So I closed Qimage, and tomorrow it will open with the same settings, same paper, same profile same size same borders. All set to continue.
Afterwards, all I have to do is click MANUAL BACKUP and my default settings are returned...... different paper, profile, no crop, no borders, and det fresh and new.

Trying to please many.
Fred

There are multiple ways to make this easy (so you don't mistake on for off).  Another way is to get in the habit of closing QU with "File", "Exit Without Saving Settings".  You can also hold the shift key as you close QU: does the same thing.  That will close QU without remembering the "current settings".  I use it all the time if, for example, I play with settings and I know I don't want them remembered since it is just a temporary setup.  Another way is to save printer setups and just load the one you want before you print (make sure the saved setups have crop off when saved).

Yet another way is to just glance at the live view when you open QU.  Take a look at the attached.  With crop off, the Draft page (when you open QU and there are no prints in the live view) has a template showing a diagonal crosshatch pattern (diagonal lines running perpendicular making a field of diamonds).  When crop is turned on, it's only stripes.  So get used to glancing at that draft page and if the print template only has stripes and not a diagonal crosshatch, you know crop is on and you should turn if off if you don't want cropping.

Regards,
Mike

Thanks for all the feedback. Especially to Mike for that little gem of a tip to look at the crosshatching. That makes it easy to see the status. Although I see it also shows in the popup information dialogue box if you hover over the page layout, but not when you hover over the actual image.
I fully appreciate how the autocrop functions, however, coming from a wet darkroom from many years ago, it took some time to adjust to autocrop as I always think of cropping as a reduction in size. It used to drive me crazy as depending on the print size and aspect ratio, the image would look fine, then in another print size (different aspect ratio) the image could be truncated on two sides. Since I usually don't crop to a specific aspect ratio, I print to the full cropped image size.