Re: compression & thumbnails

At 10:37 AM 2/17/99, Steve Menday wrote:
>I am new to graphics manipulation. Can anyone advise me on whether it
>would be possible (with what software), and secondly practical, to
>batch compress GIF or JPG files; or is it usually necessary to doctor
>each compression personally.
>
>The second question is the same with thumbnails; do the thumbnail
>software tools offer batch processing or must it be performed
>individually? Again, some links would be appreciated.


Hi Steve,

Many tools can batch-compress files or batch-resize files. One of the big
decisions is how you'll judge the compression for each image. For instance,
it's possible to apply a single formula for all images (all GIF with a
given palette, or all JPEG with a certain quality setting), but this may or
may not get the size/quality results that you wish.

Resizing is a little easier... many tools can batch-resize to a given set
of pixel dimensions or given percentage of the original image, and some
tools offer additional options such as "make them all 72 pixels high and
shrink the width proportionately" and so on.

As far as tools, I know that DeBabelizer, ImageReady, and Fireworks all
have ways of doing these types of tasks, and there are definitely other
tools which have these types of functionality too.

Best I could suggest might be to consider what types of automation you need
to achieve now and in the future, and then to download demos of some of the
more interesting tools... these will show you exactly how the options each
offer compare with the set of controls you need.

Batching is particulary important on websites, where the same elements may
be used in different forms on different pages. Timestamping, watermarking,
and renaming are other frequent duties. Automation is an important part of
the workflow, and I hope you find a solution that does just what you need.

jd




John Dowdell, Macromedia Tech Support, San Francisco CA US
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