# Glossary |
##### Term | ##### Explanation
Foto XL software | The Foto XL software is the software you use to choose, design, and order photo products.
16:9 | A TV format introduced in the 90s also known as widescreen. Modern digital cameras which can display images directly on a TV support this aspect for photography
2:3 | The traditional print aspect ratio. This 2:3 aspect ratio produces the typical 6x4” print size.
35 mm | The most frequently used film in analogue photography. A 35 mm negative has a size of 24 x 36 mm and therefore a ratio of 2:3.
AIC | Automatic image correction. AIC is a software in the digital photo lab that attempts to automatically correct exposure, white balance and focus errors in digital photos.
APS | Advanced Photo System. A special camera technology and a special film that give photographers the ability to use three different aspects. APS-H (High) = 16:9 APS-C (Classic) = 2:3 APS-P (Panorama) = 1:3
Arrow keys | Keys on the computer keyboard with arrow icons for up, down, left and right.
Aspect ratio | The relationship between the height and width of a photo. Typically given as "2:3" (two to three) or "16:9" (sixteen to nine). The classic analogue 35 mm format has an aspect ratio of 2.3. Digital cameras normally produce images with an aspect ratio of 3:4, some also feature the 16:9 format as well as APS films (Advanced Photo System) which can also produce panorama formats with an aspect ratio of around 1:3. When editing photos with image processing programs it is possible to produce more exotic image formats by cropping the individual images.
Common photo formats
35 mm and APS-C | digital camera | some digital cameras and APS-H | APS-P (panorama)
--- | --- | --- | ---
2:3 | 3:4 | 16:9 | ca. 1:3
9.0 x 13.5 | 9.0 x 12.0 | - | -
10.0 x 15.0 | 10.0 x 13.3 | 17.8 x 10.2 | 10.2 x 25.4
11.0 x 16.5 | 11.0 x 14.6 | - | -
13.0 x 19.5 | 13.0 x 17.3 | 22.1 x 12.7 | 12.7 x 30.5
The photos in the order are exposed on 2:3 format photographic papers; in the case of original formats other than 2:3 the images have a white border at the top and bottom, or on the right and left.
Automatic image correction | See AIC.
Background | The lowest level of a photo product which is filled with a colour, a pattern, or an image. All the other elements in the photo product are arranged (in the foreground) on this background.
Barcode | A barcode is a piece of printed information comprising lines and gaps which is machine-read using cameras or special barcode scanners and then translated to plain text by cash registers or computers. The barcode typically resolves to a sequence of numbers linked to a specific article.
Brightness | Brightness refers to the subjective perception of light intensity, especially in a photograph. If a photo appears to be too dark, the brightness setting is too low. If the photo is too bright, the brightness setting is too high. Both can be corrected by means of digital image editing. As the number of brightness levels is limited and the brightness scale has upper and lower limits, image details is often lost at both ends of the brightness scale. If an image is brightened, a pixel that is almost white (light grey) will become white, and a deep black becomes dark grey. White pixels cannot be brightened because there is no such thing as brighter than white. This means that the extremely bright pixels, and the corresponding white image detail are lost. The same thing applies to dark image detail when darkening an image. a very dark pixel becomes black, and bright white becomes light grey.
Browser | Refers to a user interface for Web applications. Examples: Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera.
Burning devices | Refers to a CD or DVD writer on a computer. These are drives which use laser light to write optical media (CD, DVD, Blu-Ray).
Burning speed | This refers to the burning speed supported by your CD burning device or your CD-R/CD-RW media.
Button | In computing this refers to an area that can be clicked using the mouse.
Cache | A cache is a fast memory area which temporarily stores a copy of some data for ongoing, or repeated, use to avoid the need to load the data again from the original source. A cache is typically an area of computer memory reserved for a certain program; some hardware components (e.g. hard disks) have their own internal cache memory. A Web browser stores copies of websites, images and other media in its hard disk cache to accelerate the display when reused. (A hard disk is definitely faster than any Internet connection.)
Canvas | A canvas is a piece of white coated cloth mounted on a wooden frame which is typically used in painting. Today, photos are printed on canvas and mounted on wooden frames. Thanks to the structure of the weave and the thickness of the wooden frame, a canvas print looks valuable and decorative.
Capacity bar | The capacity bars shows how many images out of a selection are to be used within your chosen product. Green indicates the percentage of images used, and red the percentage of images that will not be used.
CD-R | Compact Disc Recordable. Refers to a write-once CD.
CD-RW | Compact Disc Rewritable. Refers to a rewritable CD.
CD image | A reproducible copy of a CD on another medium, such as a hard disk.
Clipart | A clipart is an image file in vector format, i.e. it is not composed of individual pixels like a photo, but of mathematical descriptions of curves, lines, and geometric shapes. Clipart has developed to a separate art form. Clipart collections are available on CD or DVD for use in designing greetings cards and invitations.
Clipboard | A memory space used by the computer operating system or a computer program to cache data for later use. Data is copied to the clipboard and pasted at another position. This is sometimes used to exchange data between various programs.
Collage | This was originally an art form in which cuttings from images and newspaper articles, or other objects, were glued on a background to form a work of art. Example of a collages:
Colour intensity | The colour intensity can be modified by means of digital image editing. To do so, the brightness of a preselected hue is changed. This can affect the image quality; the same rules that apply to brightness in general, however, restricted to a specific hue. (There is no such thing as redder than red.)
Community | A community is a group with common interests, experience and knowledge, typically on the Internet today (online community).
Content | In the Foto XL software, content refers to a pre-designed photo product (or part of it) to which users add their own data (photos, text).
Contrast | The contrast is the difference between light and dark pixels. A high contrast image is typically considered more "brilliant" (vivid). The contrast can be modified using digital image editing techniques. This can lead to loss of image detail. To add more contrast to an image, the brightness is extended in both directions. Black and white are at the ends of the brightness scale. Black pixels cannot become darker, and dark pixels are darkened to black; white pixels cannot become lighter and light pixels are lightened to white. If you reduce the contrast in an image, dark black becomes dark grey and brilliant white becomes light grey.
Copy (IT) | A command for the operating systems clipboard. Copy means that a file or object is stored in the clipboard without deleting it from the original position.
Corner handle | In IT/computer graphics, this refers to the handle at the corner of an object frame. You can hold down the mouse button to drag the handles and thus scale the object proportionally. (See arrows)
Cover | The cover of a photobook is formed by its outer pages (front and back)with the spine in the centre. The spine is the narrow section of the photobook which is visible when placed on a book shelf.
Crop | A border is cut away around the photo. The border can be part of the photo itself. In image editing a photo is cropped for example to move a motif to the center of the photo, or to remove unwanted motifs at the edge of the image. Example:
Original | Cropped version (slightly enlarged)
Crop | Cutting off part of an image to achieve a specific aspect, to emphasize an element at the center of the image, or to remove undesired parts of the image at the edge of the image. See also "Cut".
Ctrl key | "Control" key on the computer keyboard.
Cursor | The cursor marks the current editing position on screen. For text input, depending on the program or operating system you use, this is a flashing vertical I-bar, a flashing underscore, or a flashing square. The text cursor indicates the position the next letter you type will appear. A mouse cursor can be an arrow, a hand, an arrow with a question mark, etc. The computer mouse movements on the table are converted to mouse cursor movements on the screen.
Cut (IT) | A command for the operating systems clipboard. Cut means that a file or object is removed from its current position and stored in the clipboard.
Poster collage | In contrast to a "normal" poster, which is simply a large printed photo, the poster collage gives you additional design options. You can, for example, combine multiple images (collage), or add text.
Del key | "Del" key on the computer keyboard for deleting selected items, or text to the right of the text cursor.
Design | A design is an artistic draft. In the Foto XL- software, a design is a pre-defined layout template to which you can add your own content (photos, texts).
Directory | A directory is a structure for organising files on a hard disk. Also known as a folder. Should be named intuitively to match the files it contains and thus help you find them. Examples: "Photos_Vacation_June2008", "Letters to Julia", or "My account statements" etc..
Directory browser | A program for navigating the directory tree. Referred to as the Explorer in Windows.
Directory tree | A directory tree is a organisational structure on the hard disk in which the directories and subdirectories spread like the branches of a tree. Each branch can be expanded by clicking on the small plus sign to the left of the directory name in the file browser, and closed by clicking on the minus sign.
Double click | Two clicks of the left computer mouse button in quick succession. (In the case of left handed computer mice, the right button.)
dpi | Dots per inch. States the number of pixels per inch (=2.54 cm) in the output. A resolution of 72 to 96 dpi is sufficient for on screen display; the resolution for high quality prints can be up to 360 dpi. dpi is referred to as the relative resolution as it changes proportionally with the display size in contrast to the absolute resolution which specifies the total number of pixels in an image (e.g. 1024 x 768 px).
Drag (the mouse) | Moving objects on screen by moving the computer mouse while holding down the mouse button. Select the object with the left mouse button (or with the right button if you are using a left-handed mouse), hold the mouse down and move the mouse. On the screen the object then follows the movement of the mouse on the table. Alternatively you can move it in small steps with the arrow keys on your keyboard.
Context menu | A menu window that opens down to display the commands available for the selected object. The menu appears when you right click the object.
Duplicate | An image or file that is available twice with the same (or almost the same) content.
Editor | In IT this generally refers to a program for entering/composing and editing data or objects. In the Foto XL software you can use editors to customise a product, that is, a photo product article order (photo book, photo gift, or individual images).
Esc key | "Escape" key on the computer keyboard for quitting the computer command that is currently running.
EXIF data | "Exchangeable Image File Format", a standard used to store additional information (metadata) in an image file. The Exif data often includes the camera settings (make, type, focus, exposure time, shutter speed, etc.), and keywords for finding and sorting the image files along with additional information such as the geodata, or the copyright. In the Explorer, or the image file's drop-down menu, check the "Properties" and take a look at the entries in the "Details" tab. Much of the listed information is taken from the EXIF data of the photo.
Explorer | A software provided by the user interface for file and directory management. Also known as a file manager. Supports easy navigation of directory trees using a computer mouse. Web browsers are often referred to as "Explorers". ("Internet Explorer")
Exposure | In photography, exposure relates to the amount of light that strikes a film or camera sensor. It depends on the exposure time and on the camera shutter setting, but also on the sensitivity of the film or sensor. If a photo is underexposed, it will be too dark; if it is overexposed, it will be too light. To a certain extent, the exposure of a digital photo can be adjusted using (image editing) software to mitigate the affect of the exposure error.
Firewall | This is a hardware or software that controls (filters) the exchange of data between computers and networks, and attacks by viruses, Trojans and hackers.
Font | A font is the graphical representation of a typeface. Many different fonts are installed on your computer by default, and you can add more fonts. The font is an important design element. Examples of fonts:
Font size | The font size refers to the distance between the lower edge of a font (e.g. in "p") and the top edge of the font (e.g. capital letters), and is typically quoted in point (pt). The unit "point" (pt) is 0.376 mm (Didot point).
Font style | The font style is the font mark-up: normal, bold, italics, bold italics. Underlining is often regarded as a font style.
Format | This means: "To give something a shape". this relates to all objects where you can modify the "Format", e.g. the position or size of an object, or a font in the case of text. It also refers to preparing a storage medium for recording data.
Gamma value | In the case of the gamma value, the mean colour brightness curve is manipulated. The advantage is that it does not change the darkest and lightest pixels. However, the brightness values between them are shifted, making the lighter or darker. This is not a linear process, but a curve that flattens at both ends of the brightness curve, that is, the brightness values in the middle of the brightness curve are shifted more than the values at the end of the brightness scale. This means that you can brighten or darken an image without any substantial loss of quality. This should not be overdone.
Geodata | Geodata refers to the positional data on the earth such as the longitude and latitude. Some digital cameras and photo mobiles have a GPS receiver that ascertains the geographic position at the point where the photograph was taken based on satellite data, and storing this information in the EXIF data of a photo file. Alternatively, you can use some image editing programs to manually add the geodata to a photo file by marking the position at which the photo was taken on a map using the computer mouse.
Greyscales | This is the equivalent of a black and white image in photography. A digital photo contains brightness and colour information. The colour information is removed when a colour image is converted to greyscale.
Grid | A pattern of lines displayed to help the user position objects in the photo editor. Objects snap to the grid intersections. The grid is not printed or exposed.
Grouping | Organising of files in groups by date of creation, or similarity of image content (colour values, colour distribution).
Hue | In the photo viewer image editing software, this is an adjustable value that defines the colour to apply to a photo. A second slider lets you set the intensity of the applied hue.
Icon (IT) | In computing, an icon is a symbol or a simplified graphical representation as a button that triggers an action or command. Icons are grouped in button bars. Example: Cut, copy, insert, delete.
Image format | 1. The size and/or resolution of an image. (See resolution) 2. The file format in which the image was stored, e.g. JPG.
Mask | In the Foto XL software, a mask is a greyscale image, also known as a image masks, which defines the transparency of an image. The greyscales are stored in the image as a fourth colour value in addition to red, green and blue (RGB). This colour value is also known as the alpha or a channel. The colour white makes the image completely transparent; the colour black makes it completely opaque. Grey hues define semi-transparency; the lighter the grey, the more transparent the image. Transparency lets the user shape the image, or allow it to fade out against the background.
ISO image | A reproducible copy of a CD in ISO-9660 format on another medium, such as a hard disk. ISO 9660 is standard CD format which many burning programs support.
JPG | Is a file format which is particularly suited to photos and capable of displaying over 16 million colours. It compresses the image data to save disk space. Due to the small file size without impact display quality, this format has asserted itself as the standard for digital cameras and on the Internet in particular.
Keywords | Keywords (under "Info" in the photo viewer) add generic terms as keywords to a document (e.g. an image file): later on you can search for and sort by these terms (in your operating system's Explorer). In the Windows photo gallery, keywords are referred to as "Selections". Example: You have taken photos on holiday in Florida, and assign them the keyword "Florida". You can then use your operating system's search function to display all the images with the "Florida" keyword (selection). If you have photos from Disneyworld, you can add a "Disneyworld" keyword. If you have also visited Disneyworld in France, these photos would be indexed using "France" and "Disneyworld". Your operating system's search function would show you all the images from Disneyworld in Florida for "Florida Disneyworld" and Disneyworld in France for "Disneyworld France" (the order is not significant); if you simply type "Disneyworld", you would be shown all your Disneyworld images from Florida and France.
Layout | When designing printed products (newspapers, brochures, posters, etc.) the traditional technique was to cut out texts and images on a background (e.g. a blank newspaper page), in order to decide how to arrange these elements in printing. Today, digital techniques with layout frames and text boxes are used.
Layout frame | A placeholder in the layout into which a photo is inserted. The position, size, and rotation of the layout frame can be modified, and the frame can be made to stand out against the background by defining a printable frame (border).
Layout template | A pre-defined arrangement of layout frames and text windows which can be re-used multiple times.
Message window | A message window appears when the software wants to draw your attention to something. You typically need to press a button to acknowledge the message or click it away.
Move | This refers to moving and object using the computer mouse. To do this, first select the object by clicking with the left mouse button (or the right button for left-handers), hold down the mouse button and drag the mouse. The object on screen will follow the mouse movements on the desk. As an alternative, you can use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move the object in small steps.
Multicolour background | Special backgrounds available in 36 colours/scales in the Foto XL software which can be inserted into a layout.
Object | In philosophy, an object is an entity that is acted upon. In the context of the Foto XL software, any (virtual) entity that you use for design purposes is an object. It can be a photo, a text; anything that you use or can edit in a photo product is an object. In turn, an object can comprise multiple other objects; e.g. a layout is an object that comprises layout frames and text boxes, a text comprises words, which in turn comprise individual letters. Products and the shopping basket are objects that comprise other objects. Wherever you perceive something that you can edit or insert, as an entity, this something is an object.
Operating system | An operating system is the software that makes a computer accessible to users. It controls the hardware (hard disks, display, keyboard and mouse) and manages other software and data. Examples: Microsoft Windows, Unix, Linux, MacOS.
Options | Options are settings that define how the software should perform a certain action. Options are set via drop-down lists, radio buttons and checkboxes. Examples:
Selection field or drop-down list | Radio buttons | Checkboxes
Order | This refers to the order in which objects are superimposed in a layout. The objects can cover each other or overlap. If an object partially covers an object, you can use the order commands to push it back behind the other object, or to move one of the objects in front of the other. If an object in the foreground completely covers another object, so that you cannot see or select the background object, simply select the foreground object and keep moving it back until the hidden object becomes visible.
Original format | This refers to the aspect of your original photo. Ideally, it will have an aspect of 2:3, however, the digital camera often uses a different aspect (4:3, 16:9) to store images, or the image size may have been modified by cropping in an image editing program.
Paragraph (Text) | A paragraph is an area of text between two manual line breaks (made by pressing the Enter key).
Paragraph format | A paragraph format is a text format that relates to a whole paragraph. This particularly includes the text alignment (left, right, centered).
Paste (IT) | A command for the operating system's clipboard. Refers to inserting data or objects previously copied to the operating system's or a program's clipboard using the "Cut" or "Copy" commands.
Photo community | A community of people on the Internet who share a hobby such as "Photography" or "Image editing". The members upload images to a website to show and discuss and exchange tips.
Photo gift | Specific photo products that are useful as presets: drinkware (mugs, tankards, glass mugs), saving boxes, greetings cards, wall and desk calendars, diaries, textiles (T-shirts, baby bibs, aprons, cushions), bags, mouse pads, puzzles, playing cards, cuddly toys, key rings and decoration articles. All of these with personal printed photos.
Pick up from local branch | This means that you can hand in your photo order to a dealer (or to your dealer's local branch). It is collected there along with other photo orders and goes to production. Customers typically pick up the finished product at the same branch.
Pixel | A pixel is a single dot in an image; the smallest unit in a digital photo. In digital photography, pixels are typically defined by mixing the colours red, green, and blue. 0 (zero) parts of red, 0 parts of green, and 0 parts of blue give you black. 255 parts of red, 255 parts of green, and 255 parts of blue give you white. This system makes it possible to display more than 16 million different colours.
Premium photo | This is a print on high quality photo paper. Premium photos are also supplied with the file name and date of creation on the rear side, and a photo index, an overview of the photos with thumbnails.
Preview image | A thumbnail of an image or another file (e.g. the pages in a photo book).
Print (photo) | This is a term from analogue photo development and refers to the results of contact copying, enlargement or exposure of a negative on photo paper.
Product | In the Foto XL software, a product is a ready-to-order, compiled photo article.
Proxy | A proxy links various networks, e.g. a company network and the Internet. It runs on dedicated hardware or as a program on a server. A router (for the Internet) can also act as a proxy.
Quality indicator display | The quality indicator indicates whether the resolution of a photo at the required size is sufficient to ensure good image quality when exposed or printed. It is indicated by a coloured smiley in the product editors object toolbar, or by a coloured bar at the bottom of the thumbnail for individual images. Green means: The image resolution is high enough to achieve good quality. No quality loss with an image of this size. Yellow means: The image resolution is not ideal for achieving good quality. This means that you will have to accept minor quality loss if you keep the image size, or you might prefer to scale down the image. Red means: The image resolution is too low to achieve good quality. (An additional "Caution" symbol is displayed in the image itself.) You should avoid using the image at this size as this would lead to clearly visible loss of quality. You can either scale down the image, or use another image with a higher resolution.
Red-eye | The "red-eye effect" occurs in flash photography. The flash is reflected on the subject's (an animal's or human's) retina and makes the inside of the eye show red.
Redo | In the editor, this restores the state that existed prior to the previous undo action.
Resolution (digital photo) | A digital photo comprises individual pixels. The number of pixels is referred to as the absolute resolution. We speak of e.g. 4000 x 3000 pixels, or 12 Megapixels (million pixels), both refer to the same resolution. The higher the resolution, the more granular the details are at a larger scale, and the size of the image file on disk. The quality display indicates whether the resolution of a photo at the size used in the Foto XL software is sufficient for printing. This refers to the relative resolution, that is, to the pixel density during output. See "dpi".
Rotate | In the Foto XL software rotating an object (layout frame, image, text field) in the product editor, either in 90° steps via corresponding buttons or drop-down menu commands, or free rotation by holding down the mouse button and dragging the frame around its rotation point.
Rotation handle | In IT/computer graphics, this is a handle that lets the user rotate an object around its midpoint. (See arrow)
Saturation | Refers to the intensity of the colour in a photo. The saturation can be changed using digital image editing. High level of saturation: the photo appears very colourful. Low saturation: the photo appears pale. Lowest saturation: the photo comprises greyscales only.
Scale | Change the size of an object.
Scroll bar | Scroll bars appear at the side or bottom edge of the program window, if the content does not fit into the program window due to, say, the high zoom factor. Dragging the scroll bar moves the view within the program window left, right, up, or down.
Select | Selecting means marking an object to which the subsequent commands are applied. Objects are selected by hovering the mouse above them and then clicking with the mouse. You can select multiple objects to edit them simultaneously. To select multiple adjacent objects at the same time, use the mouse to draw a frame around the objects you want to select, or select the first image you want to remove, hold down the shift key on your keyboard, and click the last object you want to select. Multiple non-adjacent objects are selected (or deselected) by holding down the "Ctrl" key on the computer keyboard and clicking with the mouse.
Selection field | Also known as a drop-down list. An example is shown here:
Clicking on the triangle icon to the right of the drop-down menu displays a list (see the figure on the right) in which you can select the required entry. |
Selection frame | A frame drawn by dragging the mouse to select objects. The frame here was drawn from bottom right to top left (see the mouse pointer). All objects that are at least partly in the selection frame are selected.
Sepia | Sepia is originally a natural reddish, brown dye made from squid ink; it was used in ancient times for ink drawings, or as ink for writing. When old black and white photographs age due to UV light and oxidation, there appearance is similar to that of sepia ink drawings on parchment. White photographic paper turns yellow and darker image elements become brownish. This typical appearance of old black and white photos is imitated by the sepia effect in digital image editing.
Shift keys | Keys on the computer keyboard. Typically used to type upper case letters, or to access a second set of key assignments.
Shopping basket | The shopping basket in a shop system collects and lists the products which you can order online or on a CD. The name is explained by the fact that you can deposit the products you want to order here just like in a real shopping basket. The shopping basket is typically represented by a shopping basket icon. After filling your shopping basket, you can proceed to order.
Side handles | These are the tags at the midpoint of the borders of a layout frame which you can click and drag with the mouse. Doing so changes the height or width of a frame. The mouse cursor changes into a double arrow when hovered above them. (See arrows)
Slider | You can use the mouse to change the slider setting and set a value. For example, the brightness, contrast, and colour intensity on the right, and the zoom factor below.
Smiley | The "smiley" is a very popular, iconic, graphical representation of a smiling face. Has enjoyed cult status since the 70s. Also known as an emoticon.
Sort by colour | Sort by colour in the Foto XL software reads the colour values of the images in a directory, compares the ascertained values with each other and groups the images with similar colours.
Source code | For websites, the HTML text display including instructions for rendering in the Web browser (commands and attributes).
Standard photo | This is a print on normal photo paper. In contrast to the Premium photo, the paper is slightly thinner and a photo index is not provided.
Storyboard | A storyboard is a graphical sequence of individual views of a media product, like the settings for a movie script, for example. In this case it refers to the preview pages of a multiple page photo product such as a photo book or calendar.
Sub-directory | This is a directory within another directory (within another directory ...). Also known as a sub-folder.
Tab | This term refers to the sub-headings in a program window which can be organised horizontally at the top or vertically at one side of the program window (see below).
Text box | This is a frame in which you can enter, align and format text.
Text cursor | A text cursor marks the insertion point in a text (editor). This is where new text that is written appears. To help differentiate this cursor from the normal mouse cursor (arrow symbol), it is typically shown as a flashing I-bar, a flashing underscore, or a flashing box.
Thumbnail | Thumbnails are miniature views of normal sized photos, layouts, documents, etc. Also referred to as a preview or miniature image.
Toolbar | The area of a software's user interface in which buttons with commands for creating or editing objects are grouped. Also known as a toolbox.
Tooltip | A small text window that pops up when you hover the mouse over an icon. Gives a short plain text explanation of the function of the icon. Example:
Traditional image format | The traditional aspect of an analogue photo is 2:3 (two to three).
Undo | In the editor, this restores the state prior to the previous action. It undoes the previous action.
Update | Install a new version of a software or specific data (e.g. price lists). Settings that existed previously are typically kept. The new version is often downloaded from the Internet. Can be performed automatically or by clicking a button in the program.
User account | Users require accounts to access IT systems. The user is required to log in using an ID (often their email address) and a password, and is then given specific rights on an IT system. The user account typically stores additional information on the user, e.g. their name and address, to avoid the need to re-enter this information for each order.
Vector graphic | A vector graphic is a computer graphic that does not comprise individual pixels but is made up of simple geometric shapes such as circles, squares, polygons, arcs and curves. For example, a line has a start and end point, a thickness and a colour. A circle has e.g. a centre point, a radius, a line thickness, a line colour, and a fill colour. This is far less information than you would need to describe a line or circle in pixels, especially considering the fact that the background, the square around the shape, would also need to be stored. In comparison to a photo, a vector graphic saves memory space and the image quality stays the same when scaling up or down. However, it is only suitable for comic-style images which can be broken down into coloured areas.
Voucher | Vouchers are distributed in the course of advertising or as special low price offers.
White balance | White balance in photography refers to the act of adjusting the colours to match the colour of the light at the location where the photo was taken to achieve as natural a look as possible. Light comes in many different colours which the human eye can only detect in direct comparisons, and which are otherwise compensated by our individual colour perception. For us, a white piece of paper (in normal lighting) is only white because we know it is white. For the sensor in a digital camera the white piece of paper is only more or less white in bright sunshine; if the sky is blue and the paper is in shadow, it is slightly blue, in the light from a light bulb, it would be slightly yellow and in neon light it can even look slightly purple. This affects all the colours in a photo. A digital camera often gives you several options for achieving white balance, that is, adjusting the photo to achieve as natural colours as possible when taking pictures. You can set the lighting semi-automatically at the camera. The options are typically, "daylight", "artificial light", "neon light" and son on. This will not work in mixed lighting, e.g. sunlight and artificial lighting. The cameras fully automatic white balance attempts to modify the hues by measuring the colour of light via a sensor. The lightest pixel is then white for the camera. Manual white balance is achieved by pointing the camera at a pure white area and measuring the reflected light colour. Cards with standardized colours are available for holding in front of the camera lens for this purpose. Otherwise you can use a piece of paper. Some cameras have semi-transparent, white lens caps which the camera uses to measure the colour of the reflected light automatically when switched on. In many cases, the photo lab will use an automatic image correction software to make sure that the colours in the photos are as natural and neutral as possible. In photos of sunsets (where the lightest pixel is reddish orange), or in candlelight (where the lightest pixel is yellowish), you should disable this function, as the fact that the colours are not natural is what makes these snaps interesting.
White gap | A term used in printing. When a small strip of white paper, or a printed background, occurs between the cut edge of a printed sheet of paper and a printed image, printers refer to this as a white gap. This is unattractive, and this is why images and backgrounds that reach to the edge of the paper are allowed to jut out slightly to allow them to be cut cleanly.
Wizard / Assistant (IT) | A wizard or assistant is a program that guides the user through specific steps.
Zoom (IT) | Enlarge or reduce the size of the screen content. Zoom in (enlarge) to be able to see more detail; zoom out (reduce) for a better overview. This is originally from movie and still photography and refers to changing the focus of a zoom lens.

Convert | To convert means to change the condition of an object. For example, an image file in TIFF format (file extension .tif) can be converted to JPEG format (file extension .jpg) or a text can be converted from the font "Arial" to a different font, or a small photo book can be converted to a large photo book and vice versa..

Image mask | An image mask or photo mount was originally a piece of paper or cardboard framing the picture inside the actual picture frame. It is used if the picture is smaller than the frame or to give the picture a special shape, e.g. round or oval (in a square frame). In the Foto XL software an image mask is a digital template which makes part of the image transparent, e.g. the overlayer part of an oval shape.

PictureLive-DVD | A video DVD with a slide show of static photos. The slide show starts with an introduction, displays the photos with transition effects and background music. The PictureLive-DVD can be played in the same way as a normal video film with a DVD player on your TV or computer and has the same control functions (play, pause, fast forward and rewind etc. ...).

Tab | This term is taken from the field of office organisation, which uses index cards and hanging folders with marked plastic or metal clips. The index cards are simulated on computer user interfaces and the protruding buttons, the tabs, are provided for fast navigation in a program window (see below).

Automatic image correction | Refer to AIC.