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Image Template
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You can make up a template using any WYSIWYG word processing program or page layout program. When I first started using my digital camera, I used Microsoft Word to create the template. However, the version that I had at the time (Office 98 for the Mac) did not allow you to flip images vertically, so the flip the occlusal shots I had to use an image editing program. The template that I currently use is an Adobe Pagemaker document. Pagemaker allows me to set up the template to automatically flip the images. The image template automatically scales the size of the images so that I don't have to resize them. In HQ mode (image dimensions 1712 x 1368 pixels) the occlusal photos are scaled to 16.6% and all of the rest of the photos are scaled to 10.8%. Note that the images above appear "blocky" and the text appears to be of poor quality since I had to shrink and compress the template to fit on this page and to have a reasonable file size. To see the actual template, click on one of the links below. (These images are pre-treatment, in case anyone was wondering).
Template in Microsoft Word 95 format (Word 6 format for the Mac). The file is zipped for PC users, but Mac users can still decompress the file with Stuffit Expander.
Template in Adobe Pagemaker 6.5 format (compressed with Stuffit 6.0 for the Mac). PC users can still open this with Stuffit Expander for Windows.
Here are instructions on how to make a template in Microsoft Word (assuming most of you wouldn't have Pagemaker or a similar page layout program). The concepts are transferable to any comparable word processor or page layout program.
The instructions below are for PC users. I did not include instructions for the Mac since the concepts are the same (file naming, folder creation).
For the template to work, you must do the following:
When downloading images from the camera into the computer, you must consistently name each image the same way. For example, I always give my image names the same prefix: Untitled (the default for the TWAIN driver on the Mac), or image00 (the default for the olympus downloading program on the PC) so that the 8 images that I take are named: image001.jpg, image002.jpg…image008.jpg. (The image # and .jpg are automatically appended as you download the images). In order for the template to work, the image name must always be associated with the same picture, so you must always download the images in the same order. I download the full face, smile, profile, right lateral, anterior, left lateral, upper occlusal and lower occlusal images in this order. You do not need to download the images in this order, you just need to do it the same way every time. (You also need to use an image manipulation program to flip the occlusal shots, assuming you take these shots using a mirror, and assuming your word processor is not capable of flipping the image vertically. Note: rotating the image 90 degrees twice clockwise or counter-clockwise is not the same as flipping it vertically - right and left will be reversed).
You need to create a new folder that will store temporary copies of your patient’s images:
On the C: drive, create a new folder and name it "copy here" (you can name it anything you want and put the folder anywhere you want, just substitute your name and location for mine).
Locate the images that you want to put in the template. Select all of them and right-click on any one of them. Choose "copy" from the pop-up menu. Right-click on the icon of the "copy here" folder and choose "paste" from the pop-up menu.
Open the template in Microsoft Word. From the ‘View" menu choose "header and footer" and change my personal information to yours. All this template is, is a table. For each of the 8 images, you just need to do the following: Place the cursor in the cell with the image name (the cursor should be blinking above and to the left of the name). From the "Insert" menu choose Picture from file. Locate the "copy here" folder and find the image name that you want to insert. Single click on the name and make sure the box that says Link to file is checked, and the box that says Save with file is unchecked. After you insert all 8 images, save the template. (You may need to adjust the height of the occlusal shots using the Format...Picture menu selection).
From now on, when you want to have other patients’ images displayed in the template, you just need to paste copies of their images into the "Copy here" folder and open the template.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me at
