11-22-2008, 01:43 PM

Hi, I am having a ridiculous time searching for a solution to this.... I have a single line of text - one word - that I would just like to convert into a gif
format. I am all-Mac here. Have yet to find a utility that can do that after a
day and a half looking. Is the only option to scan a printout of it and save it
as a gif/jpg or whatever format.... ?

This seems like it would be a commonly desired function... of course I am not a designer - this is to basically put a handwriting-font signature in a format that i can upload to an online holiday-card site, to place in a layout template.

Any quick answers on how to get a clean crisp image created from a text word
or alternately how to export it from say, MS Word for Mac into JPG or Gif...
much appreciated!!!!! Thank you

Mike in Mich.

11-22-2008, 02:10 PM

If you have the words in Word then do this, if =you want the image crisper make the font larger in word first

Select Print from Word, when the Print dialogue comes up, select Preview, this will create a PDF that opens in the Preview App

In Preview select the rectangle from the Tool Mode buttons at the top of the app, select around your words and then from the Tools Menu select the crop command to get rid of all the extra white space

Select Save As in Preview and you can save the file as a GIF PNG or JPEG

11-22-2008, 04:04 PM

Thanks for that. Will give it a shot!

Mike

11-22-2008, 04:06 PM

You could always have the document open, take a screenshot using cmd+shift+3. That will save it to jpeg (I believe), and then use Preview to save to GIF.

Using word and saving as a pdf then going to gif would probably yield better results though.

11-22-2008, 11:42 PM

Thanks-

It did save per the procedure initially suggested.

When I uploaded the gif to the online holiday card site as a .gif,
the background was not transpararent...i.e., there was a background
coloration, enough so that when printed, it would appear as a slightly
off-white background "box" behind the signature - or text -
on the card layout.

Your suggestion worked but now I have to figure out how to totally
eliminate the background so it precisely matches the color of the
card background on which it would be printed (?) In this case, looks
like I need to call this card company and ask them what i need to do
to lay a signature onto this stock background so it doesn't look like a
pasted on box.

11-23-2008, 12:08 AM

Download a program such as GIMP and create the image there.

11-23-2008, 09:05 AM

Originally Posted by DarkArt

You could always have the document open, take a screenshot using cmd+shift+3. That will save it to jpeg (I believe), and then use Preview to save to GIF.

Using word and saving as a pdf then going to gif would probably yield better results though.

Thats what I always do. Much, much easier.

11-23-2008, 10:02 AM

Originally Posted by Eric559

Download a program such as GIMP and create the image there.

or open the image you want to have the text on in gimp and use the text tool to write directly on the image.

11-23-2008, 02:33 PM

Try using shift-command-4 which is the OS X key command that allows you to grab a section of the screen. The file will end up on your desktop.

ctrl-shift-command-4 is places the grabbed content into the clipboard.

See here how Preview may be helpful for extracting the image.

11-23-2008, 03:11 PM

Appreciate all the ideas - The preview - crop method works in saving the text as a gif- Now need to explore the methods for removing the white background effectively to match the background in which it's being placed - Unfortunately thus far - since this is a deal where i have to upload it to an online layout, it is sort of trial and error - it's getting a little more involved than i first expected but again i'm not a graphic artist so i don't have a newer version of PS - and need to install X11 to use gimp in my Tiger OS... The goal is just to have a
handwriting-font signature appear on a white background - minus the white background of the .gif so it doesn't have a slightly off-white box around it when placed into the card layout... Thanks again for all the help ! OP

11-23-2008, 03:43 PM

If you have Photoshop, you can use that to get rid of the background, alternatively, the GIMP will do this as well. There's also this neat program I've used called SeaShore.. It's like MS Paint, but has more options and the ability to use layers and whatnot. EDIT: Just tried SeaShore. It jsut has a basic eraser tool and is unable to remove the background as effective as Photoshop can. I'm going to install X11 and try it out in GIMP, then post back.

I can make a quick tutorial for you if you'd like using GIMP or seashore if you'd like.

When it comes to type, I usually just bring it into Illustrator and use the Pen tool to create a vector image, that way you can scale it without the image distorting like a raster image would.

Also, I know with Onyx, you can change the default file format for the screen capture. I use PNG, because it's a preferred format I use. I cannot remember if you can select GIF or not, but I can check here quickly and let you know.

EDIT: X11 is available for download HERE

11-23-2008, 04:24 PM

Dark, thanks for the added info- I'm an amateur in this situation so i'm not sure which file format is best for this and will go with whatever is right to retain the integrity of the upload so as not to appear bitmapped/distorted etc.

The only working Adobe app I have on hand is Photoshop Elements --

I could actually retype the line in there using the font I need to have - and manipulate it - but i am lost - within P-Shop as to the method of extracting a transparent file suitable for the upload. I'm trying to just output a black five letter handwritten signature (signature font text line) which would have no white space around it - So far, toying with it, I got the text typed out, but could not unlock that Layer to work with it.... hmmm

11-23-2008, 04:33 PM

if you can't unlock a layer, dup it and delete the locked layer.

for PS elements, you can just start with a new .gif file, specify that the background is transparent and then use the type tool to make your text, crop, then save the file.

11-23-2008, 04:36 PM

Originally Posted by mikeshep

Dark, thanks for the added info- I'm an amateur in this situation so i'm not sure which file format is best for this and will go with whatever is right to retain the integrity of the upload so as not to appear bitmapped/distorted etc.

The only working Adobe app I have on hand is Photoshop Elements --

I could actually retype the line in there using the font I need to have - and manipulate it - but i am lost - within P-Shop as to the method of extracting a transparent file suitable for the upload. I'm trying to just output a black five letter handwritten signature (signature font text line) which would have no white space around it - So far, toying with it, I got the text typed out, but could not unlock that Layer to work with it.... hmmm

No problem.

So I get the idea you want just a signature. If you want to send me the image, I can get rid of the background for you. I know that you'd probably want to do it on your own so you can gain the skill. But I've got nothing better to do at the moment.

What image-editing app are you using? And what is your ultimate goal in this situation?

11-23-2008, 04:36 PM

if this clarifies anything, i've uploaded the text created in photoshop elements... it's psd format. - the font is rage italic bold btw.

thanks!