Adding a figure from a file

This section describes how to add figures created in software other than RevMan, but you can also add graphs generated by RevMan as figures, see Figures generated by RevMan for how to do this.

Before you can add the figure, you must first prepare a file in the correct format, see ‘Preparing image files'.

To add a figure from a file

  1. Click the Figures heading in the outline and then click the Add button in the outline toolbar.
    The New Figure Wizard opens.

  2. Choose Other figure and click Next.
    The Open window opens.

  3. Navigate to the folder where the file is located and select the file.
    A small preview of the selected file is shown on the right.

  4. Click Open.
    The Open window closes and the chosen image is shown in full-size in the New Figure Wizard.  The pixel size of the image is shown beneath it.     

  5. Click Next.

  6. Enter a caption for the Figure.

  7. Click Finish.

When you have added a figure, you should include a link to it in the text, see Links.

Preparing image files

Before you can add the figure to RevMan, you must first prepare the file so that it is suitable for publication.

Warning: Optimising images can be a complex task, and this text only provides an overview. If you have no previous experience with image editing, it is recommended that you obtain professional guidance or assistance.

The basic principles outlined here are:

Copyright

Remember to verify that you either own the copyright ownership or have the written consent of the copyright holder of any images you include. You will be required to attest to this on the Licence for Publication form.

Editing images

During editing you can lose detail due to resizing or compression. Therefore you should always save a separate copy of the original image (or the data used to generate it) in the highest possible quality before you do any editing. This way you retain the option of modifying it differently at a later date, or supplying it in an improved format if other options become available.

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.

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.