Using images in Seidat

Image tools

When the image is selected, the image tool appears to the top of the screen. The tool's functions are from left to right:

• Lock element (locks the picture in place, it can't be selected afterwards unless the lock is removed from the "Properties" tab on the right side of the screen (can be toggled on and off from top right symbol)
• Copy image. Copied images can be pasted onto a different slide (will be pasted in the same spot on the page) or a completely different presentation within the team.
• Paste image. 
• Remove the image. Can also be deleted with the backspace or delete buttons on a keyboard.
• Bring the image forward.
• The layer level (the higher numbers will be on top of other objects)
• Send the image backwards
• Shape colour (disabled with pictures)
• Undo. Can also be done by pressing cmd/ctrl + Z.
• Redo. Can also be done by pressing shift + cmd/ctrl + Z

Scaling and moving a picture

Once you have added a picture (not a background picture), you can scale it to fit the rest of the elements on the page. 

• Select the picture by pressing once over the picture.
• A small square will appear on each corner and side. 
• You can drag from the small squares of the picture to the desired size.
• Note that some picture formats allow stretching the picture. You can keep the SHIFT button pressed down to keep the original ratio of the picture.
• If you keep the ALT button pressed, the picture will scale from both sides.
• You can flip objects by dragging them from the small square to the other side of the image. 
• The image can be moved freely by clicking and holding the picture.

Cropping, rotating and skewing images

• Image can be cropped by double-clicking the picture
• Once an image is active it can be rotated by dragging from the blue and white circles outside the corners of the image (see picture).
• The rotation angle can be set from the properties tab on the right (see picture). Insert the required value (0-359,9°) and press enter.
• Image skew can also be set from the properties tab. It is situated above the element stack text (see picture). Set it to the required value (-85 to +85)

Using an image as a background

Adding and removing the background image

• You can use an image as a background by pressing the background image button from the left toolbar
• You can add the image like you normally would add a picture.
• The picture will be "behind" every layer and can't be resized or reframed. If you want to resize or reframe the picture it has to be before importing it to Seidat's image bank.
• To remove the background image from the slide, open the image background image tool and click "No image" at the bottom of the pop-up screen. 

Tips

• Good and correctly used background images can help the message of a slide to sink into the viewers. 
• A background image should be in dialogue with the text and vice versa. 
• The background image shouldn't be too informative and action-packed.
• The use of different backgrounds in a presentation keeps the viewers active.
• You can add a coloured and partly opaque layer on top of the background image to make it pop out more.

Background image quality

• The background image's quality should be at least 1920 x 1080 pixels to work on most 16:9 screens (even on retina screens). 
• However, it should be kept in mind, that the bigger and better the screen, the larger and sharper the image should be.
• Seidat automatically scales down unnecessarily large images to the current screen resolution.