Computer questions you'd be embarrassed to ask any where else!

Steve

Can you post the image?

OldGoat

Not sure about the layout of Elements but there are a number of ways to convert an image to B&W or Greyscale in Photoshop.

Add a black and white layer.
Or add a layer and then push the Saturation slider to zero.

Does your Elements have the 'Enhance' menu? If so in the "Adjust Colour" options there is Remove Colour.

Johnboy1951

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

Something I do only once in a blue moon and as usual I can't remember how. Could someone explain very simply, how to change a piece of coloured clipart to black & white. The image I have is a cartoon character. I don't have a colour printer. I need to print it out in B&W and colour it by hand. I'm trying to select the relevant bits of the image one by one but am making a right old hash of it. Would Paint be easier to use? I did it before with Betty Boop but my mind is a cobweb these days. Marilyn Monroe might be next!

If I am reading this correctly you really want to convert the image to a line drawing?

http://www.photoshopbuzz.com/change-photo-to-line-drawing/

looksee

It depends on the image JB. If it is a clearly outlined cartoon with black lines around it you could use the selection tool to select the black lines then c/p onto another layer and print that. We really need to see the pic to give the best suggestions. I know what you mean about cobweb brain, there is loads of stuff that I know I know, but the load of porridge up there will not focus!

Jellybaby1

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

If I am reading this correctly you really want to convert the image to a line drawing?

http://www.photoshopbuzz.com/change-photo-to-line-drawing/

Thanks all. That's right, a line drawing of a cartoon man is what I want. I won't post the image as it's a surprise for someone. I did a short course in Photoshop years ago but never really got the hang of layers and I don't use it often enough to remember how I did it before. I just now selected the man's t-shirt but its grabbing his his neck as well, darnnit. My version, Photoshop Elements 12 seems pretty basic but will try again with all your advice.

bonzodog2

Any option in the Print dialog to choose B&W ?

looksee

bonzodog2 wrote: »

Any option in the Print dialog to choose B&W ?

That would just turn all the colours into various degrees of black, not possible to colour it in.

red sean

Is there an option to vectorise the image? That would give you a line drawing if there is.

Jellybaby1

red sean wrote: »

Is there an option to vectorise the image? That would give you a line drawing if there is.

Vectorise? Dunno. Can't see it on the image menu. I've got the 'convert to B&W" ok. Ahh, now I have managed to select just the t-shirt, though I only wanted the face+neck. Looks like I'm almost there, just my selecting process is wonky. I'm soooo embarrassed!

looksee

Even if you could vectorise it it would be unlikely to give you the result you are looking for.

5uspect

There's a filter in Photoshop called 'find edges'.
Should also be in Elements. Then convert the filtered image to black and white.

Steve

Are you talking about doing something like this?



That was 2 clicks in photoshop!

Jellybaby1

Steve wrote: »

....That was 2 clicks in photoshop!

2 clicks? 2 clicks? Hrummmph! Well, Betty there seems to have a double line going round her and I just want to have one. Anyhoo, I have managed to get my drawing finally (do I hear applause?) and though its not perfect I will manage with it. On the other hand, Steve, just out of curiosity, what were your 2 clicks?

5uspect, I'm still looking for 'find edges'. (stop laughing!)

Steve

I applied 'find edges' and 'desaturate' to get that result.

In fairness a lot depends on the image you are starting with, and there'll always be a bit of touch up after - like filling in the double lines

cnoc

My laptop will not/cannot carry out windows updates. This problem occurred about 4 days ago. I have a Dell Vostro 3550, about 5/6 years old, and is loaded with Windows 7. My son has tried a few things to rectify the problem but without success. He tried the following: Microsoft Fix and reloading a previous version - neither operation worked. If I try to "check for updates" it just keeps on checking and no updates appear. Any suggestions most welcome.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

cnoc wrote: »

My laptop will not/cannot carry out windows updates. This problem occurred about 4 days ago. I have a Dell Vostro 3550, about 5/6 years old, and is loaded with Windows 7. My son has tried a few things to rectify the problem but without success. He tried the following: Microsoft Fix and reloading a previous version - neither operation worked. If I try to "check for updates" it just keeps on checking and no updates appear. Any suggestions most welcome.

http://superuser.com/questions/951960/windows-7-sp1-windows-update-stuck-checking-for-updates

Triboro

Is there any way to block the unwanted ads that appear while scrolling Boards pages (I'm using Iphone). Always tipping off them when moving page up/ down, bit of a nuisance!

flutered

Triboro wrote: »

Is there any way to block the unwanted ads that appear while scrolling Boards pages (I'm using Iphone). Always tipping off them when moving page up/ down, bit of a nuisance!

that is how they get income, i am sending you a pm

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Triboro wrote: »

Is there any way to block the unwanted ads that appear while scrolling Boards pages (I'm using Iphone). Always tipping off them when moving page up/ down, bit of a nuisance!

There are plenty of ad blockers available to download.

spurious

Or pay to be a subscriber.

flutered

spurious wrote: »

Or pay to be a subscriber.

when googling for one add on freeware, i cannot mention names ad this site gets income from them, most are working in the background so you never realise its there

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

spurious wrote: »

Or pay to be a subscriber.

But sure we're old age pensioners. How could we pay a subscription and why do so for something that we can get free?

looksee

So you don't have to look at the ads!

Kat1170

Well, I finally got around to putting the SSD in my laptop. Wow !!! it is way faster now than when it was brand new. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions.

Just a heads up to anyone who is thinking of putting a Crucial SSD in their computer, if you are running Windows 10, do NOT use the software that comes with the SSD. It is called Acronis, it will cause your computer to constantly freeze. It seems to be limited to affecting W10.
I used a programme called Macrium Reflect and followed the steps HERE. There are plenty of guides and software out there, this just happens to be the one I used.

Finally, if you are thinking of getting an SSD, GO FOR IT, you wont regret it.

Digital Solitude

And if you're not thinking of adding an SSD, do it anyways

Digital Solitude

And if you're not thinking of adding an SSD, do it anyways

looksee

Can someone be a bit more specific about what an SSD is, what it does etc.

Digital Solitude

It's a type of storage drive for your laptop/pc, where your files are saved.

The difference between an SSD and what you likely have now is that an SSD is much, much faster. All the data is loaded many times quicker.

For me, I can turn on my PC and have Windows ready to go in about 12 seconds from pressing the on button, without an SSD that would be 50 seconds to a minute.

Instead of waiting for Windows to load fully, then waiting for Chrome to launch and then be responsive, the whole thing happens almost immediately after you click it, there are very few delays and what delays you have are shorter than they would have been.

It won't help if you've bad internet or anything, and watching movies or whatever won't be any different but the specifics of turning on the PC and loading programs will be quicker.

The main downside to them is price, where they're often up to 4-5 times as expensive as the older, slower drives.

Hopefully I've explained that okay for you, if anything's unclear or you've more questions I'd be happy to help

bonzodog2

SSD=Solid State Disk, made out of chips, not rotating platters and mechanical read/write heads. Faster access times and won't mechanically break. Still can fail though.

looksee

Ok, thanks! I installed windows 10 and the speed of opening has improved considerably. One or two other things are slightly glitchy though, but nothing too serious.