Hi.

Before I write about my problem here is the info about the system I am using.

Windows 7 Home Premium
Dell Studio XPS
HTML Editor 2010se,9.5 build 369, free

I have just bought a windows 7 computer and found out that the HTML editor I had been using would not work on the new computer. So after some web searching, it seemed that CoffeeCup might be a good replacement. I decide to start with the free version. After downloading and installing, I was glancing at the pdf Help file and something caught my attention. It said the Free CoffeeCup HTML Editor could automatically create thumbnails. This was wonderful because I have created many manually and will continue to need to do this. The Help file also states “Enter the width and height of the thumbnail here. The Free HTML Editor maintains the aspect ratio for thumbnails, which means your thumbnail won’t end up distorted.” So I tried it out.
The thumbnail size I use is 125w x 94h.
In the Thumbnail tab I clicked the boxes that said I wanted a thumbnail created and wanted it linked to the original photo.
The default size for the thumbnail is 50w x 50h. These dimensions are in boxes where you can set the width and/or height of the thumbnail you want.Beneath those boxes is “(Aspect ratio is maintained)”
I entered 125 for the width and clicked OK.
Result (when I looked at the code and Preview): width was changed to 67 and the height remained at 50.
I did a little searching and found an article at

http://www.coffeecup.com/help/articles/

about thumbnails. It says, in its entirety,
“When you create a thumbnail using the Insert Image window, you have the option of specifying the height and width of the thumbnail image. However, the exact values you enter may not appear in the code. This is because the HTML Editor automatically maintains the image's aspect ratio. Here's how it works: Whichever value (the width or height) is larger is applied to the thumbnail, and the other value is adjusted to preserve the appearance of the image. This keeps the image from getting smooshed or stretched out”
(my underline)

I returned to the editor and again tried to create a thumbnail, this time leaving the width at 50 and changing the height to 94. Result: width 50, height 38.

One final try: enter thumbnail dimensions 125 x 94. Result: 125 x 94! So the thumbnail creator works but not as described in the Help file nor on the web page. It works if you give the software both dimensions.

As I said earlier, I have only recently installed the free editor and have not done much with it yet. The “free” part is a nice way of letting me play with the software before deciding to purchase the regular editor. My concern is that one of the first features that caught my attention, and tried, does not work as described. Will other similar things happen?

A few days ago, when I first encountered the problem, I contacted CoffeeCup about the problem. A company representative replied to my message very promptly. She apparently talked with some technical people and wrote back to me, telling me that they looked at the thumbnail issue but did not find any problem. They suggested that I download or install might have been defective and that I should uninstall, download again and install. She further told me that CoffeeCup would be starting a new forum for people like me: who have registered on their site but have not actually purchased (yet) any CoffeeCup software.
I finished downloading and reinstalling shortly before starting to write this. The reason I am writing this is that nothing has changed with the thumbnail issue.

So has anyone tried the thumbnail feature? How does it work. I hope to get a resolution soon because I still need an editor for my new Windows 7 system and can’t wait too much longer.

Thanks.

Hello

You did not mention the original width and height of your picture, but I think I know your problem.

Let's say, I have a picture with messures width: 265px, height: 180px.
I like to have a thumbnail, width 100px.

To maintain the aspect ratio, the height would be: 180 / 2.65 = 67.92px.
The standard height of my thumb is only = 50px (that is to low)
So the ratio will be recalculated: 67.92 / 50 = 1.3584
To maintain the aspect ratio with a height of 50px, the width has also to be smaller: 100 / 1.3584 = 73.62px.
The result in your html-file would be: width="74" height="50" and that is correct!

The helptext in the pdf is also correct, it says: "Enter the width AND height"

The helptext "help/articles" is imho NOT correct. It should say something like:

"Whichever value (the width or height) is larger is applied to the thumbnail, and the other value is adjusted with a maximum of the standard value to preserve the appearance of the image. If the calculated value is bigger then the standardvalue, the other value (width or height) wil also be recalculated, downward from the max setting.

(Sorry, my English is not so good but I hope you will understand)

A workaround I am using is:
Enter the width you like: ekz. 100
Change the standard height to be big enough: ekz. 500

Then you will get: width="100" height="68" and that is correct too.

So, if you enter the width/height, you don't have to calculate the height/width. Just make sure, the number is big enough (ekz 500). The automatic calculation happens only downward!

I don't know if it is possible to set bigger standardvalues for width and height?

Hi.
Thanks for your reply. Yes, the Help file does say “and” not “or”. After I read it, I tried out a few things. First of all, typically (but not always) the original photo is 533x400 and I use a thumbnail of 125x94. However, if the original is not 533x400 I still want the thumbnail height to be 94. I use a photo editing program to create the thumbnail from the original. The editor allows me to resize the original photo and preserves the aspect ratio. I just set the new height to 94 and the new width is automatically calculated (in most cases to be 125)

The 533x400 photo has an aspect ratio (w/h) = 1.33. That’s the same aspect ratio for the 125x94 thumbnail.
So I played a little with the CoffeeCup thumbnail creator using 533x400 as my original.
Enter 125x85 for thumbnail size, the result (in code) came out 113x85 (a 1.33 ratio)
Enter 60x94, got 60x45 (1.33)
Enter 125x40, got 53x40 (1.33)
Enter 125x100 got 125x94
Enter 100x94 got 100x75(1.33)
The aspect ratio is certainly preserved but not – with the one exception – giving me the actual thumbnail size I want.

Next I tried the technique described in the previous post.
Enter 125x500 got 125x94
Enter 200x94 got 125x94

So, from my point of view, the thumbnail creator does not work – at least not as described. Back to the word “and” in the Help file. I guess what I expected was something like what I can do with my photo editor: create a thumbnail from the original by entering either width or height, and the CoffeeCup software will calculate the other dimension.

Perhaps this idea might be added into one of the other forum topics that is asking for new ideas for CoffeeCup.