Photoshop Elements 2018 Crop Tool - Add a Custom Size

[Louis Sander]

I have 100+ photos that I need to crop to 3.8 in X 2.8 in at 300 dpi. They are of different sizes and resolutions. Is there a way to avoid having to enter those specs for every photo I have to crop?

[hatstead · Accepted solution]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Louis+Sander  wrote

I have 100+ photos that I need to crop to 3.8 in X 2.8 in at 300 dpi. They are of different sizes and resolutions. Is there a way to avoid having to enter those specs for every photo I have to crop?

Go to File menu>Process multiple files. In the dialog that opens up, look for "Image Size". Check Resize Images and Constrain Proportions. Enter H&W and resolution.

Suggest that you target a destination folder other that the source folder so as not to overwrite the originals.

Also, sort the files into portrait and landscape orientation prior to the batch process.

[joe21846739hqkb]

I have exactly the same question, but I do not want to do a mass photo crop.  I want the same crop size and resolution for each photo with the ability to adjust the crop placement for each individual photo.  In earlier versions of PSE, I could enter a crop size and resolution in the crop tool, and it woud remain the same for each new photo until I changed it. I have PSE 19, and it wastes a huge amount of time entering the H,W, and resolution for hundreds of photos that I took during a vacation.   

[Greg_S.]

@joe21846739hqkb, Elements should retain the same custom crop size until you change it. If it is not doing that, you can try resetting the Crop tool from the dropdown menu at the right side of the Tool Options bin.

[joe21846739hqkb]

Thanks for the reply.  I've tried that tool numerous times - in fact, I'm using the reset tool to clear the "Use Photo Rato" settings that continually pop in every time I load a new photo to crop. The whole tool function is really a mystery.  Sometimes (rarely) the previous settings will carry over to the next crop, sometimes I get a "Custom" setting (whatever that is), but almost always I get a "Use Photo Ratio" setting. BTW, I cannot find anything anywhere about what the Custom setting is or how to use it.  It does not appear in the drop down menu, and just it seems to pop in occassionally.   That being said, when I use one of the demensions in the drop down menu, such as a 4 x 6, it does seem to carry over to the next photo crop, however, many times I don't want to crop to that size .  

[MichelBParis]

Hi @joe21846739hqkb 

Say you are using several favorite 'crop' definitions: dimensions, ratio and resolution in ppi.

I suggest that you create as many 'canvases' with those properties. Name those files in a descriptive way, save them together (subfolder, keyword, category...) to retrieve them instantly (use them just like 'presets').

The idea is to forget the scissors metaphor and the 'crop' and to think 'projection' or 'enlargement' as if you were enlarging silver negatives on the paper holder under the enlarger.

When you drag a picture from your photo bin to the canvas, you just think about where to place the picture, you can enlarge, tilt the 'projection' and all your crop definidtions are applied. When you are happy, you must 'flatten' the image and use 'save as' to save the resulting cropped file where you want and in the preferred format.

The process is the same as creating pages with multiple photos on defined canvases (book pages, scrapbooking...)

The conceptual issue in 'cropping' is that we mean not only to define the 'borders / frame', but also the resolution of the picture, which would better be understood and performed with two steps.

I suggest to also try using the rectangular selection tool to define the crop ratio (L x w) followed by the menu Image > Crop.

You can also batch crop (non destructively) in the ACR plugin.

[Greg_S.]

The Crop tool has various template ratios that are found in the dropdown list.  These include No Restriction, Photo Ratio and several other common photo sizes. 

The Custom ratio will appear when you add your own set ratio to the Width and Height boxes.  The Custom setting should remain sticky until you choose another ratio, either from the template dropdowns or by changing the W and H boxes.

[joe21846739hqkb]

This sounds good, and it what I need, and after entering the desired W, H, and resolution, the drop down menu does change to "Custom." However, after clicking on the crop arrow button, the drop down selection turns to "Use Photo Ratio," and that setting remains when I load the next photo to be cropped.  There must be some setting that is causing this, but I don't know what it could be.  I have used the "reset tool," but all that seems to do is to clear the current settings.

[Greg_S.]

@joe21846739hqkb said:

However, after clicking on the crop arrow button, the drop down selection turns to "Use Photo Ratio," and that setting remains when I load the next photo to be cropped. 

I'm not sure I know what you are talking about here.  I have just tried to reproduce what you are saying, opening and closing the program, resetting the Crop tool, changing the crop ratios, opening and closing photos with different dimensions, and I cannot reproduce your experience.   Here are some of my conclusions about how the Crop tool should work.

• Whatever ratio you select will remain sticky and will continue until you change the ratio to something different.  This is true when you open and close the program, open and close a photo in the same session, and switch between photos of different dimensions;
• If you reset the tool in the Tool Options bin, the ratio will be reset to No restriction.
• If you enter a template dimension from the dropdown menu, the dimensions will appear in the W and H boxes and the chosen size will appear above the boxes.
• If you edit a template size in the W and H boxes, the Dropdown menu will change to Custom (unless you change the numbers manually to a different size that is also in the dropdown template list, in which case that size will appear in the dropdown).
• After changing the Crop Size ratio and clicking on the photo to start the crop, nothing will change in the ratio boxes.

If you are experiencing something different, the only other suggestion I can make is to try resetting the preferences file. Go to Edit>Preferences>General tab and click the Reset Preferences on next launch button. 

And I am assuming that you are using Elements 2021 (which is version 19) on a Windows machine.  Also let us know if you are using a standard USB mouse or a wifi mouse or some other pointing device such as a drawing tablet and stylus.

[joe21846739hqkb]

Everything you write makes sense, but after enteing a custom crop size and resolution, the settings do not remain stickey.  You indicate "After changing the Crop Size ratio and clicking on the photo to start the crop, nothing will change in the ratio boxes."  That is true, the ratios do not change, but the drop down changes to "use photo ratio," and when I open the next photo to crop, the "use photo ratio" remains as the drop down selection and the new photo's size dementions appear on the demention boxes.  I'm using a Microsoft wireless mouse 2000.  As you suggested, I reset  the preferences, and after restarting, everyting was reset, but it didn't solve the problem.  Some setting on my computer seems to be causing this.  BTW, the cropping tool on my old version on PSE 11 works correctly. If I can't figure out how to fix this, I suppose I could crop all the photos on the old version of PSE, and then switch to the new version to edit the photos. 

I'm not sure it this is related, but another irritationg thing with this cropping tool is that if I do a crop and then decide to crop it further, it will never do the crop on the first click.  The first click does nothing, and I neet to cover the area again and then click to complete the crop.  

[Greg_S.]

What are the dimensions of your photos and what size are you trying to crop them to?

[joe21846739hqkb]

The photo and crop sizes vary, because I'm taking them from three cell phones and a camera, and I'm cropping them all for a slide show.  Some of the cell phone photos are 56 inces x 42 at a resolution of 72, and I'm cropping them to 5.4 inches by 4 with a resolution of 300.  The camera photos are 30.4 x 20.267 with a resolution of 180, and I'm cropping some of them to 7.2 inches x 4 with a reso;ution of 300.  However, I'm cropping others at different dimensions to eliminate unwanted parts of some photos.    

[MichelBParis]

The photo and crop sizes vary, because I'm taking them from three cell phones and a camera, and I'm cropping them all for a slide show.  Some of the cell phone photos are 56 inces x 42 at a resolution of 72, and I'm cropping them to 5.4 inches by 4 with a resolution of 300.  The camera photos are 30.4 x 20.267 with a resolution of 180, and I'm cropping some of them to 7.2 inches x 4 with a reso;ution of 300.  However, I'm cropping others at different dimensions to eliminate unwanted parts of some photos.    

By @joe21846739hqkb

Since you want to crop for a slideshow, you can simplify your calculations by ignoring the size in inches and the resolution and just take into account the size in pixels. The resolution is practically relevant only for prints. A single input is necessary: the  output ratio width x height. For instance, if the final ratio you are expecting is 1920 * 1080 pixels, you can batch crop from the 'Process multiple files' command, or the organizer export as new file, or the ACR plugin in which you can define a default 'custom' crop ratio.

For single crops, focussing only on the ratio will be good enough and that should stay 'sticky'. Especially if you ignore the crop tool but use the rectangle selection tool followed by  the command Image > crop. As indicated in my previous post, working with your own library of  'canvases' (as presets) will help if the crop is not automatic but applied to only a part of the source picture.

In summary, ignore size in inches and resolution and focus only on dimensions ratios.

... and choose the cropping solution above which fits your purpose.

[Greg_S.]

@MichelBParis said:

Since you want to crop for a slideshow, you can simplify your calculations by ignoring the size in inches and the resolution and just take into account the size in pixels.

I'm going to disagree a little with Michel on this one, because the crop tool has a template size of 16x9 inches available.  Have you tried using it?

Michel's suggestion of using the rectangular marquee and the Crop command and his ingenious solution of using file templates are both worthy of consideration, but IMO take far more steps than the Crop tool.  And it is my understanding that using the Process Multiple Files tool does not suit your purposes.

So, getting back to your real purpose in cropping the photos, I have to ask what software you are using to create the slideshows.  If you are using the Organizer's Slideshow feature, then cropping to a 16:9 ratio is certainly the way to go.  But other software programs have different ways of treating non-HD ratios.  BTW, I don't think any of your custom crop sizes fill the 16:9 ratio, but I could be wrong about that.  So if you are using then for an HD slideshow, something is going to be cropped or blacked out in the final video.

And since this discussion with @joe21846739hqkb has turned way off the original topic, I am going to try to branch this discussion off to a new topic discussion and hopefully, I don't mess that up.

Added:  I'm going to seek some help to move the discussion since the options available to me may not work.

[joe21846739hqkb]

Yes, I am not interested in processing muliple files at one time, because I examine each photo to determine the area to crop, and sometimes I even change the dimensions to get the best image.  One thing I did try was to insert the dimension in pixels instead of inches and leaving the resolution blank. I found that this made the dimension "sticky."  This was my main problem - when I inserted dimensions in inches and specified the resolution, the settings would not remain sticky, and it would always return to "use photo ratio."  Using pixel dimensions is a little harder when I need to change dimnsions, but it is better than having to reenter the dimension in inches and resolution for every photo.  There must be some setting to fix this, but no one seems to be able to figure it out.   Thanks for all your comments.