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NOTE: this page contains information about Resize Magic version 1.1. This is an old version still available for users of older versions of Photoshop or other programs.

Resize Magic V1.1 can be used with very old versions of Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and other programs that can use Photoshop plugins. It is only available for Windows. The results are very similar to those of newer versions.

Owners of Photoshop CS3 and later should use the newer version and should ignore this page.

In order to download the trial version of Resize Magic V1.1 please click here. The zip file size is about 100 Kb.
Please note that this is a Windows only plugin. Resize Magic V1.1 only works with 8 bit RGB images.

The trial version writes small gray rectangles on the output image. You can purchase an activation key to remove this limitation.

Instructions for installing Resize Magic

The zip file that you have downloaded contains two files: "ResizeMagic.8bf" and "ResizeMagic.atn". The first file is the plugin, the second file contains some sample Photoshop actions. Click here for instructions about the actions.

You must copy the ResizeMagic.8bf file into the right folder, usually under the folder in which your program is installed. The folder is usually called “Plugin” or “Plugins”
Here’s the default location for some imaging programs:

Adobe Photoshop 6:
    C:\Program files\Adobe\Photoshop 6.0\Plug-Ins\Filters
Adobe Photoshop Elements 2:
    C:\Program files\Adobe\Photoshop Elements 2\Plug-Ins\Filters
Corel Photo Paint 11:
    C:\Program files\Corel\Corel Graphics 11\Plugins
Jasc Paint Shop Pro 7
    C:\Program files\Jasc Software Inc\Paint Shop Pro 7\Plugins
Ulead PhotoImpact 8
    C:\Program files\Ulead Systems\Ulead PhotoImpact 8\plugin

Once you have copied the plugin into the right folder you must restart your imaging program in order to find it.

Instruction for using Resize Magic

With version 1.1 the plugin contains four menu commands: "Resize Magic", "Resize Magic NI", "Resize Magic NI sharper" and "Resize Magic NI softer". The following instructions refer to the first menu entry: you will need to use it if you will purchase Resize Magic in order to register the product. These instructions will explain how the plugin works, so you should read them carefully. The other menu entries are much simpler to use and are explained at the end of this page.

Note: the menu commands that you must use in order to start the plugin change from program to program. Here’s a list:

Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements:
    Filter/FSoft/Resize Magic
Corel Photo Paint 11:
    Effects/FSoft/Resize Magic
Jasc Paint Shop Pro 7
    Effects/Plug-in Filters/FSoft/Resize Magic
Ulead PhotoImpact 8
    Effect/FSoft/Resize Magic

Resize Magic has been implemented as a filter plugin, in order to make it run on a wide number of programs.
A filter plugin cannot directly resize an image, so the resizing process must be divided into three steps.

Step 1. Open the image that you want to resize and make sure that it’s in RGB mode, that it has only one layer and that it does not have any selection. Start the plugin for the first time: the plugin will copy the image to its private clipboard and it will display a confirmation window. This clipboard works like the standard Windows clipboard, but only Resize Magic can access it. Click OK to terminate the plugin execution.
Note: if you keep the Control key pressed while starting the plugin, Resize Magic will not show the confirmation window but it will only play a sound, thus speeding up your work. This applies to Photoshop's CTRL-F command too.

Step 2. Now resize the image as usual, using your program’s commands. The plugin cannot directly resize the image, so you must do it by yourself.

Step 3. Finally start the plugin again. The plugin will find the image in the clipboard and it will show you a dialog window: you will be able to paste the image or copy the current image to the clipboard again. The default action is the first, but you can choose the second if you want to copy the image (as in step 1) and resize it later. 
You will be able to choose between three levels of sharpness. You will find more information on it below.
Click OK and the plugin will paste the image into the screen. While pasting, Resize Magic will resize the image to the size of the screen image, using a high quality interpolation algorithm. The processing is slower than the built-in resize of your program: look at the progress bar displayed by every program on the lower part of the screen. At the end you will see the resized image on the screen.

The Sharpness parameter

Please note that the plugin will NOT apply any sharpening filter to the image. Simply the resizing algorithm has a parameter that can be used to change the appearance of the image. 
A setting of Higher will create a sharper looking image, but it can cause ringing: ringing may happen near sharp edges between very dark and very light parts of the image and looks like an “echo” of the edge.
A setting of Lower will create not so sharp an image, but it’s less likely to cause ringing.
A setting of Normal is usually the best choice.
Please note that the difference between these settings is subtle and in some images it isn't easy to see.

Why does Resize Magic work in this way?

You don't need to read and fully understand these information in order to use the plugin. We provide them for those users who have some technical background and are curious about our design choices.

Since we wanted to create a plugin compatible with a large number of imaging programs there was no way to create a one-step solution. We could only write an export plugin or a filter plugin.

  • An export plugin saves the current image in an external file: while saving, it can resize the image too. This solution is easier to create at software level and it is easier to understand by the user, but it has a big disadvantage: it breaks your workflow. In order to resize an image and see what's happened you have to save the image to an external file and open the file in another window. You can get messages about color space mismatches and, after you have saved the new window as a JPEG file (for example) you have to delete the temporary file. All in all, it's not much different from using an external standalone program.
  • For these reasons we decided to create Resize Magic as a filter plugin. We had to work more in order to create the software and we are using a filter plugin in a very unusual way, but we give you a valuable advantage: our solution does not break your workflow. You resize the image directly in the same window, just as if you were using a native command. You will be able to use the undo and redo commands to step back and forth, you will not have any temporary file. For these reasons we believe that it is worthwhile to learn our three-step sequence, even if it can seem confusing at first.

If you are using Photoshop you can record a simple action to automate the resizing process: just open an image, start the recorder, resize the image following the three steps and save the action. You will now be able to use Resize Magic with a single command.

The new Resize Magic NI filters

Version 1.10 of Resize Magic adds three new commands: "Resize Magic NI", "Resize Magic NI sharper" and "Resize Magic NI softer". These commands create exactly the same images as the "Resize Magic" command, but they do not show any window ("NI" stands for "No Interface"). They are designed to be used exclusively in Photoshop actions to automate resizing tasks. You can use actions to resize an image in just one step, like with the native "Image Size..." command, and you can use them to batch-resize many images consecutively.

The three commands use different values for the Sharpness parameter (see above).

  • "Resize Magic NI" uses a value of Normal.
  • "Resize Magic NI sharper" uses a value of Higher.
  • "Resize Magic NI softer" uses a value of Lower.

You can click here for more information about the use of actions.