The GIMP:
Open the image you want to optimize and:
1. Click on the 'select rectangular regions' tool.
[R] Click and drag to create a selection of the area you want to crop.
2. Apply the crop by selecting ‘Image’ and ‘Crop Image’ from the menu. Alternately, double-clicking inside of the selection will also apply the crop.
[ALT+i > c]
3. The next step is to resize the image to make is small enough to post on the forum. Go to the 'Image' menu select 'Scale Image'.
[ALT+i > s]
4. A small window will open which will show the options for scaling the image. Make sure that the chains next to the width and height are linked and not two separate chain links, this will lock the aspect ratio. Also check that the Units are set to ‘Pixels’. Interpolation should be set to ‘Cubic’. Look at your width and height, and change the LARGER value to your desired maximum image size. Press ‘Scale' to apply the resize.
