Easy cropping

David Huyck, proprietor of the very fine Enchanted Ceiling, responds to a FAQ about cropping photos to specified size by suggesting using the selection tool.

I'm one of those hands-on learners who prefers to find solutions for problems at hand rather than cluttering up my peabrain with useless data, so reading manuals and taking LCD classes is sheer torture. On the occasions when I can't figure it out on my own, I have plenty of more-talented friends available -- "Could you tell me how to do this really simple thing -- the one everyone else already knows how to do but I've never bothered to learn -- so I don't have to go find the answer myself? Thanks!"

I never asked them about cropping, though; I'd already figured out the same method Huyck suggests. Sure, it's a lot of steps, but it works, and if it ain't broke...

Then one day Chad peered over my shoulder and asked what the hell I was doing.

"Jesus, woman, you're driving me insane with all that clicking and mousing! Just use the crop tool!"

Who knew.

So, because some of you may be doing it the long way like I used to because you don't have Chad around to point out not only that there's a much simpler way, but that you're crippling your wrists:

How to crop
1. Select the crop tool. That's it in the image there. The one that's darkened. Click the image for a bigger, detailed view of the following instructions.
2. If you want to resize the photo, specify height and/or width (you can do both, either -- handy for when you're doing memes that have a longest-side max, like The Mirror Project -- or neither), do that in the Options bar (use the Window menu and select Options if it's not showing up).
3. Drag your mouse to select the area you want to crop.
4. Hit return.

If you don't have Photoshop, just look around your toolbar; the crop tool is pretty standard and usually looks the same or very similar.