Rails attachment_fu/Kropper Scaling Fix: attachment_fu_skip_resize

I recently integrated Kropper into a custom RoR application for OpenRain affiliate img surf. A fundamental flaw in the upload-save-crop-save process used by Kropper is that attachment_fu automatically scales down the image on first save to :resize_to dimensions. After the subsequent crop–which may result in a significant drop in resolution–the image is scaled back up to :resize_to dimensions: an ugly lossy operation.

The attachment_fu_skip_resize plugin gives attachment_fu the ability to temporarily bypass resizing of the full-size original image, thus allowing your final cropped photos to be of the highest quality as possible.

1. Install the plugin.
2. In your attachment_fu image class, add..

   attr_accessor :skip_resize

3. Any time you want to save an image without invoking resizing on the original image..

   image.skip_resize = true
   image.save

   Thumbnails will be generated at their defined resolutions regardless of the skip_resize flag.