best practice for adding images to a RH8 HTML project?

[luviola10]

I'm working on a Word to RH8 HTML conversion. The images in Word are SNAG images but the resolution is poor and some of the images may need to be recreated from scratch again. Going forward I imagine I should work on getting them right in Snagit9. Any suggestions?

[MergeThis]

Sorry for the delay in responding.

SnagIt SNAG files are not a supported image type; GIF and JPG are, and PNG usually also works well.

Just Save As your SNAG files in the proper format and you should be good to go.

Good luck,

Leon

[luviola10]

thanks, Leon. what would be b

est to save the images--

pngs or gifs? what about Roboscreencapture--is this a worthwhile tool if needed?

[MergeThis]

GIFs. Don't know; we've used SnagIt and we're happy with it. Tools are just that: tools. What tools do you currently have, what tools will your outfit let you buy, etc.? The output is what matters, and depends a lot on the type of images you're capturing, whether you have to resize them, etc. It's best to experiment with every possibility available to you, and with several types of images that you know you'll need to capture.

Good luck,

Leon

[luviola10]

Hi Leon, I thought you said SNAG images were not supported by RH8 HTML??? How

can you still use SnagIt?

[MergeThis]

You're confusing source files and output files.

In SnagIt, you can create layered graphics in the SnagIt Editor (adding callouts, boxes, arrows, with or without text, etc.), then save your results as a SNAG "source" file, which can be repeatedly edited as changes warrant.

That SNAG file can then be saved, over and over, as a GIF or JPG "output" file.

Good luck,

Leon

[luviola10]

thanks, Leon. So if one were to save a snag as a png, for instance, and later on, you needed to make changes to the png, would you need to convert back to .snag to edit the graphic?

Also, a basic question re: graphics, is it recommended to store graphics all together, name them so you can resuse them--for the same project or for different projects?

[MergeThis]

In SnagIt Editor, with the SNAG file open, you Save As a PNG file; this only converts the SNAG to another version of the graphic in PNG format (or GIF, JPG, etc.). The SNAG file remains intact and ready to be edited (and saved as output).

I like to keep them togther, but careful in naming them with functional prefixes for easy identification (keep them as short as possible).

Good luck,

Leon

[luviola10]

Leon, I hate to keep bothering you about this--you've been such a big help

to me. Is there any reference I can use for naming graphic files? I'm not

following you when you say "careful in naming them with functional prefixes

for easy identification (keep them as short as possible)."[?]

[MergeThis]

For example, installation help topics dealing with install/uninstall screenshots for an application's client and server:

client_dir_sum.gif

client_dot_net.gif

client_uninst_wlcm.gif

server_wlcm.gif

server_cfg_tomcat.gif

server_success.gif

server_uninst_wlcm.gif

...or, screenshots dealing with an Accounts window:

acct_groups.gif

acct_lookup.gif

acct_lookup_btn.gif

acct_templates.gif

In other words, use cfg for configuration, dir for directory, btn for button, etc., and use either a function or application window as your lead, allowing you to see all related graphics in sequential order. If you've ever done any manual book indexing, think of this as Index entries/subentries, only the "entry" in file naming is your leading prefix (client_, acct_, etc.), and your subentries are the rest of each file name. Such as:

Accounts

configuring groups

using lookup feature

lookup button

templates

Use the same naming conventions for your topic file names as well; using this method eliminates the need for virtual folders. Many users on this forum use the folder structure, but editing/renaming/adding/deleting folders seems to very often create all sorts of grief. I find this naming structure to be less stressful.

Good luck,

Leon