Setting the File Format for an Image

When you capture an image, you can save it using one of the following file formats: BMP, GIF, HDP, JPG, JPEG, PNG, TIF, TIFF, WDP, XPS. Each file format uses a different compression method. It is a good idea to experiment with the different file formats to determine which best meets your needs in terms of image quality and file size.

You can select the file format when you save an image. However, you can also specify ahead of time which file format to use. Then, when you save the image, this file format will automatically be entered in the "Save as type" field.

You can set the file format using the File Properties dialog or the Profiles Editor. Use the File Properties dialog if you want to set the file format for a single image only. Use the Profiles Editor if you want to set the file format for a profile, which can be used when capturing future images. See Capture Profiles.

How to Set the File Format Using the File Properties Dialog

  1. Capture or open the image.
  2. In the Capture Editor, double-click the image. The File Properties dialog opens.
  3. Select the Format tab.
  4. In the Format section of the tab, select the file type.
  5. Click OK.
  6. Click to save your work.

How to Set the File Format Using the Profiles Editor

  1. Select View > Profiles, and from the drop-down on the left side of the local toolbar, choose the profile.

  2. In the Profiles Editor, select the Format tab.

  3. From the Medium drop-down, select the medium whose file format settings want to want to edit. If necessary, select Enable Format to enable the medium. See Setting Image Properties Using Mediums.
  4. In the Format section of the tab, select the file type.
  5. Click to save your work.

More About the Format Tab

Use the Format tab to set the file format, JPEG quality, color depth, size settings, and DPI for an image. You can also apply gray scale to the image. When you have inserted a Capture image into a Flare project and produce output (Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word) from that project, Flare automatically uses the Format tab settings to display the image. What does this mean? This means you only have to worry about creating and maintaining one image for both online, printed, and custom outputs (i.e., those generated using a custom mediums) in Flare. The less attractive alternative is to create and maintain multiple separate images and then use condition tags in Flare to determine which image is to be included with which output.

Example You create a Flare project and you are using Capture to produce images for it. You want to generate two different outputs from that Flare project. Let's say the first output is an online Help system to be placed on a website, and the other output is a PDF document, which you will send to a printer.

When you edit the image properties in Capture, you select a medium from the Medium drop-down to specify the image settings (you may elect not to change any of the default settings). When you select the Web (Default) medium type, you can change the Screen Size or Scale settings to affect how the image will appear on the monitor in your web output. When you select the Print medium type, you can set the image's Print DPI. You can also manually enter print dimensions in the Print Size fields or change the image's Scale.

Note: Although some settings—like Print DPI—are irrelevant for certain medium types, you may want to fill them in regardless of the medium type you choose, just in case you need to use a medium for another type of output.

If you also have custom mediums available in your Flare project, you can choose these options from the Medium drop-down as well. The settings you define for a custom medium can be different than those you define for a Print or Web (Default) medium, so you can make changes specific to a medium's layout.

In Flare, you insert the Capture image. When you generate output for the website, Flare displays the settings you specified for the Web (Default) medium. When you generate the PDF output from the project, Flare displays the settings for the Print medium. When you generate the custom output, Flare displays the settings for the custom medium. However, if the custom medium is unavailable (or if it is disabled in Capture), Flare will use the Web (Default) or Print settings.

Note You can enable settings for different mediums (i.e., other than the Web (Default) medium) only if the image in question already exists in a MadCap Flare project.

What’s Next?

If necessary, you can continue editing the image (e.g., adding objects, effects, a border, a callout; cropping the image; resizing the image). Otherwise, you can finalize the image by saving it. See Editing Images.