Creating Single-Source Images

If you are creating a project containing images and need to generate output for both online and printed output, chances are good that you require different image settings (e.g., file format, color depth, resolution) for those outputs. In the past, the easiest way to accomplish this task was to create one set of images for the online output and another set for the printed output. However, there is another alternative. If you have both MadCap Flare and MadCap Capture installed, you can single-source your images, producing only one set of images for all outputs. You can specify that the online images should have one group of settings, while the printed images have another group of settings.

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.

How to Create a Single-Source Image

This requires a combination of tasks in MadCap Capture, followed by tasks in Flare.

MadCap Capture Tasks

  1. Capture the image. (You also have the option of initiating this step from Flare. See Inserting Screen Capture Images.)
  2. In the Capture Editor, double-click on the image. The Image Properties dialog opens.

  3. Do one of the following, depending on your version of Capture:

    Capture 7 or Newer

    1. Select the Format tab.
    2. From the Medium drop-down, select the appropriate medium found in the Flare project.
    3. In the other fields on the tab, enter the appropriate settings for the image when it will be viewed in output that is associated with the selected medium. For more details about these settings, see Capture's online Help.
    4. Repeat the previous two steps for each relevant medium.

    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.

    Note Only browsers that support advanced CSS3 will render the responsive media query properties that are set in Capture within the Format tab. If your browser does not support advanced CSS3, the image will display without the properties applied.

    Capture 6 or Older

    1. Select the Format tab.
    2. Enter the appropriate settings for the image when it will be used in online outputs.
    3. Select the Flare Print Format tab.
    4. Enter the appropriate settings for the image when it will be used in print-based outputs.

    For more details about these settings, see Capture's online Help.

  4. Click OK.
  5. Save the changes to the image.

MadCap Flare Tasks

  1. After completing the MadCap Capture tasks above, insert the image into the appropriate topic(s).
  2. Make sure you develop targets for your different outputs.
  3. When you are finished with your project, build the targets.
  4. View the output for the targets. Notice that the image uses the appropriate settings.

Note When you click on an image file in the user interface (e.g., Content Explorer or File List window pane), its resolution and dimensions are displayed at the bottom. If you have set the online or print DPI for an image using MadCap Capture, these values are also shown.