Adding a scalebar to an image
This protocol explains how to: add a scalebar to an image.
Protocol written by: Barbara Lom
1. To include a scale bar on any image you need to acquire the image and an image of the micrometer (tiny ruler) slide at the same magnification and image parameters.
2. Open your "ruler" image in Photoshop. If the image is a bit askew you will need to rotate the image so that the ruler marks are "square" in the frame of your picture (it is OK to crop the ruler image if necessary in this step).
3. Go to the "layers" box (usually at the lower right - if not then make layers visible under the "window" menu & select "show layers")
4. Click on the arrow in the circle in the upper right corner of the layers box and select "new layer"
5. Go to the toolbar and select the pencil tool (which is sometimes hiding under the paintbrush tool).
6. Click on brush arrow (above the image) to change the "width" of the pencil lead (hint: select one of the "square" leads if possible - avoid the "circular" leads for a crisper scale bar – if you do select a round lead make sure it is a hard/all dark option and not one of the options that fades away at the edges).
7. Draw a line that corresponds to a reasonable and appropriate distance (which will depend on magnification). Hint: hold down the shift key while you are drawing to get a perfectly flat line. Note: your line will probably be black or white – whatever has the most contrast when placed on your image. You can select a white or black line by clicking on the foreground options (top of the two overlapping squares on the toolbar)
8. Now you will copy the line layer and move it to your growth cone image by going to the "select" menu and choosing the "all" command. Then you will to the "edit" menu and select the "copy" command.
9. Switch to your growth cone image. Make a new layer and “paste” your scale bar over the growth cone. You may need to use the move tool to get the scale bar into an appropriate location (usually the lower right corner).
10. Use the text tool to add your distance – your text shouldn’t be any longer than the length of your scale bar line. (the “m” in Symbol font will give you the μ for micrometers)
Protocol written by: Barbara Lom
1. To include a scale bar on any image you need to acquire the image and an image of the micrometer (tiny ruler) slide at the same magnification and image parameters.
2. Open your "ruler" image in Photoshop. If the image is a bit askew you will need to rotate the image so that the ruler marks are "square" in the frame of your picture (it is OK to crop the ruler image if necessary in this step).
3. Go to the "layers" box (usually at the lower right - if not then make layers visible under the "window" menu & select "show layers")
4. Click on the arrow in the circle in the upper right corner of the layers box and select "new layer"
5. Go to the toolbar and select the pencil tool (which is sometimes hiding under the paintbrush tool).
6. Click on brush arrow (above the image) to change the "width" of the pencil lead (hint: select one of the "square" leads if possible - avoid the "circular" leads for a crisper scale bar – if you do select a round lead make sure it is a hard/all dark option and not one of the options that fades away at the edges).
7. Draw a line that corresponds to a reasonable and appropriate distance (which will depend on magnification). Hint: hold down the shift key while you are drawing to get a perfectly flat line. Note: your line will probably be black or white – whatever has the most contrast when placed on your image. You can select a white or black line by clicking on the foreground options (top of the two overlapping squares on the toolbar)
8. Now you will copy the line layer and move it to your growth cone image by going to the "select" menu and choosing the "all" command. Then you will to the "edit" menu and select the "copy" command.
9. Switch to your growth cone image. Make a new layer and “paste” your scale bar over the growth cone. You may need to use the move tool to get the scale bar into an appropriate location (usually the lower right corner).
10. Use the text tool to add your distance – your text shouldn’t be any longer than the length of your scale bar line. (the “m” in Symbol font will give you the μ for micrometers)
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