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RevMan 5 User Guide
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Image editing software typically has a large number of features, many of which might be used to improve
images. Here, we concentrate on the basics of preparing an image, but if you have experience with other
features such as contrast adjustment, or blur and sharpen filters, you can use these.
Please refer to the documentation for your image editing software for details on how to perform the tasks
described here.
Cropping
The first step in editing an image is to present only the necessary information. This is especially important
when working with screen dumps acquired by using the Print Screen key.,You should always remove any
surplus content or blank space at the edges. For graphs and tables, leave a margin of a few pixels. Use the
‘Crop’ feature of your software for this. You can also use RevMan’s Trim image function after the file has
been included.
If there is caption or heading text in the image, it should be removed from the image and entered in the
appropriate field in RevMan (see below). Any legends used should remain in the image.
Resizing
Although the originals you begin with should generally be in a high resolution, the images published with
your review should be of a manageable size for the reader. This means that they should be kept
reasonably small, but never so small that text becomes illegible. If your image exceeds 800 pixels in width
even after cropping and careful resizing, you should consider if the information could be presented
differently. Avoid changing the aspect ratio of images, unless you have a good reason to.
Note: You should be particularly careful when resizing graphs, as they typically have lines that are only
one pixel wide. These lines can disappear completely if resized incorrectly. In such cases you will need to
leave the image at its original size.
Saving in a format accepted by RevMan
RevMan can accept two file formats: PNG and JPG. Choosing the best format involves matching the
contents of the image with the characteristics of the various formats.
• For line drawings or screenshots, such as graphs, PNG is the best format.
• For photographs, JPEG with a high quality (or low compression) setting is the best format.
The software you use for preparing the images for RevMan may have a feature where you can preview
the output file before saving it, allowing you to experiment further with optimising.
Verifying quality
When you have saved the image in one of the formats supported by RevMan, open the file and check
carefully that there are no problems with quality. In JPEG files, look out for angular noise patterns near
edges caused by too strong compression. In PNG files, check that all lines and writing is clear, and that the
colours of the original are retained.
See also About figures.
Ordering and renumbering figures
Figures should be numbered in the order that they are linked to in the text. You cannot edit a figure's
number directly, but you can change the order of your figures with the Move Up and Move down
functions.