RE: Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from Frame to Robohelp?

[Combs, Richard]

Virginia Morgan wrote:
 
> Any other experience/advice is appreciated. My recent graphic design
> experience has also led me to conclude that .jpgs work well for much
> more than photos, but the main reason we didn't use them in old
> versions of FrameMaker (6.0 and before) even with photos was that we
> got the "ugly gray box" which was annoying since you couldn't see your
> output until you produced a PDF. I'm assuming that "feature" is no
> longer the case? Like John, I would prefer to work with .jpgs if they
> produced the result I need. (Working in Windows XP, Frame10 currently.)

I just noticed this message, which seems to have gotten to my inbox rather 
belatedly. Virginia, you're misremembering regarding the "ugly gray box." 
That's not from an imported JPEG, it's from an imported EPS (Encapsulated 
PostScript) file that doesn't include a TIFF preview. 

FM can't display EPS, so it displays the low-resolution preview image (often 
even uglier than the gray box) that's often included in an EPS file. If the EPS 
doesn't include the TIFF preview, FM just uses the gray box as a placeholder. 
The lovely PostScript image appears in all its glory when you print or PDF. 

Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
--
rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-903-6372
--





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Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from Frame to Robohelp?

[Combs, Richard]

Virginia Morgan wrote:

> Any other experience/advice is appreciated. My recent graphic design
> experience has also led me to conclude that .jpgs work well for much
> more than photos, but the main reason we didn't use them in old
> versions of FrameMaker (6.0 and before) even with photos was that we
> got the "ugly gray box" which was annoying since you couldn't see your
> output until you produced a PDF. I'm assuming that "feature" is no
> longer the case? Like John, I would prefer to work with .jpgs if they
> produced the result I need. (Working in Windows XP, Frame10 currently.)

I just noticed this message, which seems to have gotten to my inbox rather 
belatedly. Virginia, you're misremembering regarding the "ugly gray box." 
That's not from an imported JPEG, it's from an imported EPS (Encapsulated 
PostScript) file that doesn't include a TIFF preview. 

FM can't display EPS, so it displays the low-resolution preview image (often 
even uglier than the gray box) that's often included in an EPS file. If the EPS 
doesn't include the TIFF preview, FM just uses the gray box as a placeholder. 
The lovely PostScript image appears in all its glory when you print or PDF. 

Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
--
rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-903-6372
--

RE: PNG usage (was re: Recommended single-sourcing graphic file format for FM->RH)

[Combs, Richard]

Grant Hogarth wrote:

> (And yes, I agree that FM needs to improve it's handling of PNG
> colors.  FM10 seems to have eliminated most of that problem (in that
> I've not noticed it in FM 10), but I've also not pushed the limits.  (I
> also save in indexed PNG, which may have something to do with it.)

Actually, as I pointed out earlier, it's indexed (256-color palletized) PNGs 
that cause RGB color definitions to be added to FM. As John Hogan pointed out, 
most PNGs are 24-bit (millions of colors) these days, which doesn't cause the 
problem and is not that much bigger, file-size-wise. 

Since PNG is lossless, free of artifacts, and even (according to Wikipedia) 
renders gradients more accurately than JPEG, I can't imagine why anyone would 
use the latter for screenshots. 

Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
--
rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-903-6372
--




 
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PNG usage (was re: Recommended single-sourcing graphic file format for FM->RH)

[Combs, Richard]

Grant Hogarth wrote:

> (And yes, I agree that FM needs to improve it's handling of PNG
> colors.? FM10 seems to have eliminated most of that problem (in that
> I've not noticed it in FM 10), but I've also not pushed the limits.? (I
> also save in indexed PNG, which may have something to do with it.)

Actually, as I pointed out earlier, it's indexed (256-color palletized) PNGs 
that cause RGB color definitions to be added to FM. As John Hogan pointed out, 
most PNGs are 24-bit (millions of colors) these days, which doesn't cause the 
problem and is not that much bigger, file-size-wise. 

Since PNG is lossless, free of artifacts, and even (according to Wikipedia) 
renders gradients more accurately than JPEG, I can't imagine why anyone would 
use the latter for screenshots. 

Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
--
rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-903-6372
--

RE: Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from Frame to Robohelp?

[John Hogan]

It was the 8-bit (256 color) PNG files that were a problem in FrameMaker.
They would add all 256 colors to the document color palette, which could be
annoying. It seems as though most graphics programs no longer have an 8-bit
option when saving png, 24-bit only these days, which do not mess with the
FrameMaker palette.

John

 



From: framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com
[mailto:framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Mike Wickham
I don't use PNGs, but I seem to recall the issue that FrameMaker has of
creating hundreds of colors with PNGs only occurs when the PNGs are saved
with a bit depth other than 8. I'm sure someone more familiar with them will
pipe in.



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Scaling screen shots

[Thomas Scalise]

Esteemed colleagues,

Is there a way to scale graphics in Frame10 that works like the "Fitting" 
capability in Photoshop

Tom Scalise
Information Development Manager
Office (561) 622-5416
Fax (561) 622-9938
thomas.scalise at crossmatch.com<mailto:thomas.scalise at crossmatch.com>
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Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from Frame to Robohelp?

[John Hogan]

It was the 8-bit (256 color) PNG files that were a problem in FrameMaker.
They would add all 256 colors to the document color palette, which could be
annoying. It seems as though most graphics programs no longer have an 8-bit
option when saving png, 24-bit only these days, which do not mess with the
FrameMaker palette.

John





From: framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com
[mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Mike Wickham
I don't use PNGs, but I seem to recall the issue that FrameMaker has of
creating hundreds of colors with PNGs only occurs when the PNGs are saved
with a bit depth other than 8. I'm sure someone more familiar with them will
pipe in.



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Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from Frame to Robohelp?

[rebecca officer]

H. My experience is with WinXP (hey, if it works don't break it). I
did test prints of screen captures as pngs and high-quality jpegs. The
pngs were *much* sharper, esp when printed out. 

Then again, I was capturing text-heavy GUI screens, not webpages, and
it was WinXP. 

Probably be a good move to do your own tests. I'll keep this in mind
for when we eventually come into this century and get Win 7.

Cheers
Rebecca

>>> On 16/01/12 at 16:48, John Sgammato 
wrote:


With all due respect to my colleagues on this forum, IMO the line
between JPG and other formats is no longer as neat as it once was. Many
screenshots in Win 7 require gradients that JPG handles well. IMO
anything that a photo can handle might not be so far removed as you
might think from basic screen captures, We are no longer in the cartoony
Win 3.x world. 
And since AFAIK FrameMaker still imports eleventyhundred colors with
every .PNG file, I do not see why a PNG with its headaches is superior
to the no-longer-extant difficulties of the .JPG format.
Craving enlightenment?
john


From: framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com
[mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Grant
Hogarth
Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2012 7:01 PM
To: Virginia Morgan
Cc: framers at lists.frameusers.com
Subject: Re: Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from
Frame to Robohelp?


I always vote for PNG.  The files may not be the smallest, but I've
never had anything in the past decade choke on them (not display/corrupt
display (either unreadable or artifacts)/Fail (as in crash)).

JPEG is fine for Photos, and SVG for line graphics.  PS is fine if
you've got the time to render it.
GIF is for icons.  
BMP/WMF/EMF should be discontinued.

You may want to invest in a graphics converter.  The two best (IMO) are
FastStone Image Viewer (or just Image Converter) and IrfanView.

Grant

On 1/13/2012 3:23 PM, Virginia Morgan wrote: 
Hello Framers ? 

It has been several years since I have been part of this group, so I
apologize if this topic has been covered extensively somewhere (if so, 
please feel free to point me to it). I have recently resumed my
Technical Writing career at a software development company that uses
FrameMaker to create its documentation. All the legacy manuals were
delivered with the products as hyperlinked PDF files (not really meant
for printing due to length, although one could do so and they are
formatted correctly for that). 

The company recently purchased TCS3, and would like to single-source
Frame files to online help using Robohelp. I have been trying to find
out what would be the best graphic file format  to use for this
multi-purpose moving forward. Some background: All legacy images, which
are primarily screenshots with some flowcharts, were .tif files, RGB
color, 96 dpi (again, intended for on-screen viewing). Using TCS3 moving
forward, is there a better/clear recommendation for what graphic file
format would produce the best results? 

I have been searching the web for a few days and can?t seem to find any
information on this particular aspect of single-sourcing using the new
TCS3. Does it not matter, i.e., does one just set up Robohelp templates
to convert .tifs to .jpgs or similar? 

All information is very much appreciated. Thank you, and I am happy to
be back to this forum!

Virginia Morgan | Technical Writer
TAKE Solutions, Inc.
O 512.735.4316 | M 512.426.8323 
virginia.morgan at takesolutions.com


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Ann: WebWorks 2011.3 available - Input FrameMaker, DITA ... a sample

[Georg Eck]

Dear FrameUsers.

REVERB - for all mobile devices - test it, open it on any Smartphone, on
your iPad, ...:
http://www.squidds.de/downloads/bihler

+ Search anything with words out from the content, Google will find it.
+ Chapter 1: 3D for Smartphone, iPad or PC (and Tablet-PC) 
   > open it with free 3DVIA player
+ open the 3D-PDF (right at the top): that is generated with 
   FrameMaker + Finalyser 3D (www.finalyser.com)
+ Chapter 4: Video is embedded ...
+ Test any SocialMedia, e.g. DISQUS 
... and Google Translator.

All of this features are fixed in FrameMaker - FrameMaker the best
solution
for all use cases for your Technical Documentation Workflow.

Is there a context-sensitive Help available? 
Yes, of course - test it:
http://www.squidds.de/downloads/bihler/index.html#context/Zweipunkt-Exze
nterpresse/Montage

WebWorks REVERB -  the best format for all Online Documentation in all
vertical market
like software, financial, mechanical engineering, ...  - go mobile.

Note:
The WebWorks 2011.3 REVERB improvements:
+ the new design of the Table of Contents
+ Search: the following sample works with Google search, 
   but now IIS Search or Client-side search are possible, too
+ test the WebWorks Reverb output on client at first, now with local Web
Server
+ ...

More about WebWorks ePublisher (currently in german only):
www.WORKFLOWBlog.de

- GEorg

Re: Scaling screen shots

[Keith . Soltys]

The Scale Graphics Proportionately framescript from Klaus Muller may be 
what you are looking for. 

http://www.i-frame.itl.info/en/feature-description/i-frame-modules/base-pack/scale-graphics-proportionally.html

It used to be free and available from the files area of the 
framescript-users Yahoo group, but I believe he is now charging for it. 
This one script has justified my purchase of FrameScript all by itself.

Regards
Keith
--
Keith Soltys
Senior Technical Writer
Architecture
TMX Group
(416) 947-4397
http://www.tmx.com/

 wrote on 01/16/2012 01:11:47 PM:

> Esteemed colleagues,
> 
> Is there a way to scale graphics in Frame10 that works like the 
“Fitting”
> capability in Photoshop 
> 
> Tom Scalise
> Information Development Manager
> Office (561) 622-5416
> Fax (561) 622-9938
> thomas.scal...@crossmatch.com
> [image removed] 
> 


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Re: PNG usage (was re: Recommended single-sourcing graphic file format for FM->RH)

[Grant Hogarth]

If you are talking about JPEG 2000, I would agree.
I still find that adding annotations on a JPG (unless one uses no
compression), leaves artifacts, which are especially noticeable when
they get scaled.
If you are not scaling and not annotating directly on the image, then
JPG is probably not a bad choice.
(And yes, I agree that FM needs to improve it's handling of PNG colors. 
FM10 seems to have eliminated most of that problem (in that I've not
noticed it in FM 10), but I've also not pushed the limits.  (I also save
in indexed PNG, which may have something to do with it.)

See also:

  * optiping: http://optipng.sourceforge.net/
   (get the "opti-png UI" add on here:
http://www.enzofleri.com/eng/programs.html  )

and

  * pngcrush: http://pmt.sourceforge.net/pngcrush/

*Note from website:* Pngcrush is a command line application. If you
prefer a draggity-droppity GUI, several are available, including these
which embed pngcrush along with other command line image
compressors/optimizers:

  * ImageOptim  for Macs, free, GPLv2 license
  * Trimage  for Linux, Windows, Mac, free, MIT license


Related "How-To" articles:

  * http://www.websiteoptimization.com/speed/tweak/png-optimization/   

  * 
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/07/15/clever-png-optimization-techniques/
  * http://perishablepress.com/press/2009/05/17/png-image-optimization/


John Sgammato wrote:
>
> With all due respect to my colleagues on this forum, IMO the line
> between JPG and other formats is no longer as neat as it once was.
> Many screenshots in Win 7 require gradients that JPG handles well. IMO
> anything that a photo can handle might not be so far removed as you
> might think from basic screen captures, We are no longer in the
> cartoony Win 3.x world.
>
> And since AFAIK FrameMaker still imports eleventyhundred colors with
> every .PNG file, I do not see why a PNG with its headaches is superior
> to the no-longer-extant difficulties of the .JPG format.
>
> Craving enlightenment...
>
> john
>
>  
>
> *From:*framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com
> [mailto:framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com] *On Behalf Of *Grant Hogarth
> *Sent:* Saturday, January 14, 2012 7:01 PM
> *To:* Virginia Morgan
> *Cc:* framers@lists.frameusers.com
> *Subject:* Re: Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing
> from Frame to Robohelp?
>
>  
>
> I always vote for PNG.  The files may not be the smallest, but I've
> never had anything in the past decade choke on them (not
> display/corrupt display (either unreadable or artifacts)/Fail (as in
> crash)).
>
> JPEG is fine for Photos, and SVG for line graphics.  PS is fine if
> you've got the time to render it.
> GIF is for icons. 
> BMP/WMF/EMF should be discontinued.
>
> You may want to invest in a graphics converter.  The two best (IMO)
> are FastStone Image Viewer (or just Image Converter) and IrfanView.
>
> Grant
>
> On 1/13/2012 3:23 PM, Virginia Morgan wrote:
>
> Hello Framers --
>
>  
>
> It has been several years since I have been part of this group, so I
> apologize if this topic has been covered extensively somewhere (if
> so,  please feel free to point me to it). I have recently resumed my
> Technical Writing career at a software development company that uses
> FrameMaker to create its documentation. All the legacy manuals were
> delivered with the products as hyperlinked PDF files (not really meant
> for printing due to length, although one could do so and they are
> formatted correctly for that).
>
>  
>
> The company recently purchased TCS3, and would like to single-source
> Frame files to online help using Robohelp. I have been trying to find
> out what would be the best graphic file format  to use for this
> multi-purpose moving forward. Some background: All legacy images,
> which are primarily screenshots with some flowcharts, were .tif files,
> RGB color, 96 dpi (again, intended for on-screen viewing). Using TCS3
> moving forward, is there a better/clear recommendation for what
> graphic file format would produce the best results?
>
>  
>
> I have been searching the web for a few days and can't seem to find
> any information on this particular aspect of single-sourcing using the
> new TCS3. Does it not matter, i.e., does one just set up Robohelp
> templates to convert .tifs to .jpgs or similar?
>
>  
>
> All information is very much appreciated. Thank you, and I am happy to
> be back to this forum!
>
>  
>
> Virginia Morgan | Technical Writer
>
> TAKE Solutions, Inc.
>
> O 512.735.4316 | M 512.426.8323
>
> virginia.mor...@takesolutions.com
> 
>
>   
>

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h

RE: Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from Frame to Robohelp?

[Virginia Morgan]

Thanks to all of you who responded for your input. It sounds like .jpg or .png 
will be the way to go - I will have to do more research and experimentation to 
determine which. I am only at the beginning of this process, but I appreciate 
pointing me in the right direction.

Thank you for the recommendation for the image converter, which will be 
incredibly useful for converting legacy documents I am sure. FWIW, there is no 
option to not include text, as the most important information in the graphics 
is the text from the screenshots: names of fields, etc. I don't think there's 
any way around that.

Any other experience/advice is appreciated. My recent graphic design experience 
has also led me to conclude that .jpgs work well for much more than photos, but 
the main reason we didn't use them in old versions of FrameMaker (6.0 and 
before) even with photos was that we got the "ugly gray box" which was annoying 
since you couldn't see your output until you produced a PDF. I'm assuming that 
"feature" is no longer the case? Like John, I would prefer to work with .jpgs 
if they produced the result I need. (Working in Windows XP, Frame10 currently.)

Thanks again,
Virginia

From: John Sgammato [mailto:jsgamm...@imprivata.com]
Sent: Sunday, January 15, 2012 9:48 PM
To: 'gr...@hedgewizard.net'; Virginia Morgan
Cc: framers@lists.frameusers.com
Subject: RE: Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from Frame to 
Robohelp?

With all due respect to my colleagues on this forum, IMO the line between JPG 
and other formats is no longer as neat as it once was. Many screenshots in Win 
7 require gradients that JPG handles well. IMO anything that a photo can handle 
might not be so far removed as you might think from basic screen captures, We 
are no longer in the cartoony Win 3.x world.
And since AFAIK FrameMaker still imports eleventyhundred colors with every .PNG 
file, I do not see why a PNG with its headaches is superior to the 
no-longer-extant difficulties of the .JPG format.
Craving enlightenment...
john

From: framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com 
[mailto:framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Grant Hogarth
Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2012 7:01 PM
To: Virginia Morgan
Cc: framers@lists.frameusers.com
Subject: Re: Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from Frame to 
Robohelp?

I always vote for PNG.  The files may not be the smallest, but I've never had 
anything in the past decade choke on them (not display/corrupt display (either 
unreadable or artifacts)/Fail (as in crash)).

JPEG is fine for Photos, and SVG for line graphics.  PS is fine if you've got 
the time to render it.
GIF is for icons.
BMP/WMF/EMF should be discontinued.

You may want to invest in a graphics converter.  The two best (IMO) are 
FastStone Image Viewer (or just Image Converter) and IrfanView.

Grant

On 1/13/2012 3:23 PM, Virginia Morgan wrote:
Hello Framers -

It has been several years since I have been part of this group, so I apologize 
if this topic has been covered extensively somewhere (if so,  please feel free 
to point me to it). I have recently resumed my Technical Writing career at a 
software development company that uses FrameMaker to create its documentation. 
All the legacy manuals were delivered with the products as hyperlinked PDF 
files (not really meant for printing due to length, although one could do so 
and they are formatted correctly for that).

The company recently purchased TCS3, and would like to single-source Frame 
files to online help using Robohelp. I have been trying to find out what would 
be the best graphic file format  to use for this multi-purpose moving forward. 
Some background: All legacy images, which are primarily screenshots with some 
flowcharts, were .tif files, RGB color, 96 dpi (again, intended for on-screen 
viewing). Using TCS3 moving forward, is there a better/clear recommendation for 
what graphic file format would produce the best results?

I have been searching the web for a few days and can't seem to find any 
information on this particular aspect of single-sourcing using the new TCS3. 
Does it not matter, i.e., does one just set up Robohelp templates to convert 
.tifs to .jpgs or similar?

All information is very much appreciated. Thank you, and I am happy to be back 
to this forum!

Virginia Morgan | Technical Writer
TAKE Solutions, Inc.
O 512.735.4316 | M 512.426.8323
virginia.mor...@takesolutions.com

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RE: Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from Frame to Robohelp?

[rebecca officer]

H. My experience is with WinXP (hey, if it works don't break it). I
did test prints of screen captures as pngs and high-quality jpegs. The
pngs were *much* sharper, esp when printed out. 
 
Then again, I was capturing text-heavy GUI screens, not webpages, and
it was WinXP. 
 
Probably be a good move to do your own tests. I'll keep this in mind
for when we eventually come into this century and get Win 7.
 
Cheers
Rebecca

>>> On 16/01/12 at 16:48, John Sgammato 
wrote:


With all due respect to my colleagues on this forum, IMO the line
between JPG and other formats is no longer as neat as it once was. Many
screenshots in Win 7 require gradients that JPG handles well. IMO
anything that a photo can handle might not be so far removed as you
might think from basic screen captures, We are no longer in the cartoony
Win 3.x world. 
And since AFAIK FrameMaker still imports eleventyhundred colors with
every .PNG file, I do not see why a PNG with its headaches is superior
to the no-longer-extant difficulties of the .JPG format.
Craving enlightenment…
john
 

From: framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com
[mailto:framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Grant
Hogarth
Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2012 7:01 PM
To: Virginia Morgan
Cc: framers@lists.frameusers.com
Subject: Re: Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from
Frame to Robohelp?

 
I always vote for PNG.  The files may not be the smallest, but I've
never had anything in the past decade choke on them (not display/corrupt
display (either unreadable or artifacts)/Fail (as in crash)).

JPEG is fine for Photos, and SVG for line graphics.  PS is fine if
you've got the time to render it.
GIF is for icons.  
BMP/WMF/EMF should be discontinued.

You may want to invest in a graphics converter.  The two best (IMO) are
FastStone Image Viewer (or just Image Converter) and IrfanView.

Grant

On 1/13/2012 3:23 PM, Virginia Morgan wrote: 
Hello Framers – 
 
It has been several years since I have been part of this group, so I
apologize if this topic has been covered extensively somewhere (if so, 
please feel free to point me to it). I have recently resumed my
Technical Writing career at a software development company that uses
FrameMaker to create its documentation. All the legacy manuals were
delivered with the products as hyperlinked PDF files (not really meant
for printing due to length, although one could do so and they are
formatted correctly for that). 
 
The company recently purchased TCS3, and would like to single-source
Frame files to online help using Robohelp. I have been trying to find
out what would be the best graphic file format  to use for this
multi-purpose moving forward. Some background: All legacy images, which
are primarily screenshots with some flowcharts, were .tif files, RGB
color, 96 dpi (again, intended for on-screen viewing). Using TCS3 moving
forward, is there a better/clear recommendation for what graphic file
format would produce the best results? 
 
I have been searching the web for a few days and can’t seem to find any
information on this particular aspect of single-sourcing using the new
TCS3. Does it not matter, i.e., does one just set up Robohelp templates
to convert .tifs to .jpgs or similar? 
 
All information is very much appreciated. Thank you, and I am happy to
be back to this forum!
 
Virginia Morgan | Technical Writer
TAKE Solutions, Inc.
O 512.735.4316 | M 512.426.8323 
virginia.mor...@takesolutions.com
   

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If you have received this message in error please
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Scaling screen shots

[keith.sol...@tmx.com]

The Scale Graphics Proportionately framescript from Klaus Muller may be 
what you are looking for. 

http://www.i-frame.itl.info/en/feature-description/i-frame-modules/base-pack/scale-graphics-proportionally.html

It used to be free and available from the files area of the 
framescript-users Yahoo group, but I believe he is now charging for it. 
This one script has justified my purchase of FrameScript all by itself.

Regards
Keith
--
Keith Soltys
Senior Technical Writer
Architecture
TMX Group
(416) 947-4397
http://www.tmx.com/

 wrote on 01/16/2012 01:11:47 PM:

> Esteemed colleagues,
> 
> Is there a way to scale graphics in Frame10 that works like the 
???Fitting???
> capability in Photoshop 
> 
> Tom Scalise
> Information Development Manager
> Office (561) 622-5416
> Fax (561) 622-9938
> thomas.scalise at crossmatch.com
> [image removed] 
> 


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RE: Scaling screen shots

[Combs, Richard]

Thomas Scalise wrote:
 
> Is there a way to scale graphics in Frame10 that works like the
> "Fitting" capability in Photoshop

I don't know what the Fitting capability in Photoshop is. But to maintain the 
maximum quality in graphics imported into FM, IMHO the best way to scale them 
is by specifying a dpi setting on import. When you select File > Import > File 
and then select a file to import, FM displays the Imported Graphic Scaling 
dialog. It lists several common dpi options (72, 75, 150, 300) and shows you 
the resulting size of the image for each. It also lets you set a custom dpi, in 
which case you need to do a little math to figure out what dpi will give you 
the image width you want. 

To resize an existing imported graphic, right-click it and select Object 
Properties. In the dialog box, under Scaling, click Set dpi to go to the same 
Imported Graphic Scaling dialog. Yes, you can scale by percentage instead (or 
select Fit in Selected Rectangle on import). But in my experience, you end up 
with better quality by setting the dpi, and for print it helps to use a dpi 
setting that divides evenly into the target printer resolution (e.g., 100, 150, 
200, or 300 for a 600-dpi office laser printer). 

HTH!

Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
--
rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-903-6372
--






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Scaling screen shots

[Combs, Richard]

Thomas Scalise wrote:

> Is there a way to scale graphics in Frame10 that works like the
> "Fitting" capability in Photoshop

I don't know what the Fitting capability in Photoshop is. But to maintain the 
maximum quality in graphics imported into FM, IMHO the best way to scale them 
is by specifying a dpi setting on import. When you select File > Import > File 
and then select a file to import, FM displays the Imported Graphic Scaling 
dialog. It lists several common dpi options (72, 75, 150, 300) and shows you 
the resulting size of the image for each. It also lets you set a custom dpi, in 
which case you need to do a little math to figure out what dpi will give you 
the image width you want. 

To resize an existing imported graphic, right-click it and select Object 
Properties. In the dialog box, under Scaling, click Set dpi to go to the same 
Imported Graphic Scaling dialog. Yes, you can scale by percentage instead (or 
select Fit in Selected Rectangle on import). But in my experience, you end up 
with better quality by setting the dpi, and for print it helps to use a dpi 
setting that divides evenly into the target printer resolution (e.g., 100, 150, 
200, or 300 for a 600-dpi office laser printer). 

HTH!

Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
--
rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-903-6372
--

Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from

[Fred Ridder]

Lea Galanter (Lea.Galanter at fticonsulting.com) wrote:

> Adobe recommends GIF or JPEG format for graphics.

First, I assume you are spekaing strictly in a FrameMaker context, because othe 
Adobe tools use PS, EPS, and PDF as their preferred formats. 
But I have to say that I have never seen any such recommendation for FrameMaker 
graphics. What is your source for this statement? 

-Fred Ridder


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Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from Frame to Robohelp?

[Shmuel Wolfson]

Why is SVG better than WMF or EMF? I don't like embedding Visio files, 
so I save as WMF and insert the WMF. It seems to work fine and keeps the 
lines perfectly sharp (since WMF is partially a vector format.)

Is there a good reason to switch to SVG?

Regards,
Shmuel Wolfson
Technical Writer
052-763-7133


On 1/15/2012 2:00 AM, Grant Hogarth wrote:
> I always vote for PNG. The files may not be the smallest, but I've 
> never had anything in the past decade choke on them (not 
> display/corrupt display (either unreadable or artifacts)/Fail (as in 
> crash)).
>
> JPEG is fine for Photos, and SVG for line graphics. PS is fine if 
> you've got the time to render it.
> GIF is for icons.
> BMP/WMF/EMF should be discontinued.
>
> You may want to invest in a graphics converter. The two best (IMO) are 
> FastStone Image Viewer (or just Image Converter) and IrfanView.
>
> Grant
>
> On 1/13/2012 3:23 PM, Virginia Morgan wrote:
>>
>> Hello Framers ?
>>
>> It has been several years since I have been part of this group, so I 
>> apologize if this topic has been covered extensively somewhere (if 
>> so, please feel free to point me to it). I have recently resumed my 
>> Technical Writing career at a software development company that uses 
>> FrameMaker to create its documentation. All the legacy manuals were 
>> delivered with the products as hyperlinked PDF files (not really 
>> meant for printing due to length, although one could do so and they 
>> are formatted correctly for that).
>>
>> The company recently purchased TCS3, and would like to single-source 
>> Frame files to online help using Robohelp. I have been trying to find 
>> out what would be the best graphic file format to use for this 
>> multi-purpose moving forward. Some background: All legacy images, 
>> which are primarily screenshots with some flowcharts, were .tif 
>> files, RGB color, 96 dpi (again, intended for on-screen viewing). 
>> Using TCS3 moving forward, is there a better/clear recommendation for 
>> what graphic file format would produce the best results?
>>
>> I have been searching the web for a few days and can?t seem to find 
>> any information on this particular aspect of single-sourcing using 
>> the new TCS3. Does it not matter, i.e., does one just set up Robohelp 
>> templates to convert .tifs to .jpgs or similar?
>>
>> All information is very much appreciated. Thank you, and I am happy 
>> to be back to this forum!
>>
>> Virginia Morgan | Technical Writer
>>
>> TAKE Solutions, Inc.
>>
>> O 512.735.4316 | M 512.426.8323
>>
>> virginia.morgan at takesolutions.com
>>
>
>
> ___
>
>
> You are currently subscribed to framers as shmuelw1 at gmail.com.
>
> Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com.
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> framers-unsubscribe at lists.frameusers.com
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>
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> http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.

Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from Frame to Robohelp?

[Mike Wickham]

The cloudy artifacts that JPG puts around text may not be noticeable if 
you save the JPG at highest quality, but the more compression you use, 
the more annoyingly obvious it becomes. I believe the original poster in 
this thread said that the document was intended for the Web, and since 
it is typical to compress to high levels to create smaller files for Web 
download, it is probably a safe assumption that the original poster 
would use a high amount of compression and create those artifacts.

I don't use PNGs, but I seem to recall the issue that FrameMaker has of 
creating hundreds of colors with PNGs only occurs when the PNGs are 
saved with a bit depth other than 8. I'm sure someone more familiar with 
them will pipe in.

Mike Wickham.

On 1/15/2012 9:48 PM, John Sgammato wrote:
>
> With all due respect to my colleagues on this forum, IMO the line 
> between JPG and other formats is no longer as neat as it once was. 
> Many screenshots in Win 7 require gradients that JPG handles well. IMO 
> anything that a photo can handle might not be so far removed as you 
> might think from basic screen captures, We are no longer in the 
> cartoony Win 3.x world.
>
> And since AFAIK FrameMaker still imports eleventyhundred colors with 
> every .PNG file, I do not see why a PNG with its headaches is superior 
> to the no-longer-extant difficulties of the .JPG format.
>
> Craving enlightenment...
>
> john
>
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PNG usage (was re: Recommended single-sourcing graphic file format for FM->RH)

[Grant Hogarth]

If you are talking about JPEG 2000, I would agree.
I still find that adding annotations on a JPG (unless one uses no
compression), leaves artifacts, which are especially noticeable when
they get scaled.
If you are not scaling and not annotating directly on the image, then
JPG is probably not a bad choice.
(And yes, I agree that FM needs to improve it's handling of PNG colors. 
FM10 seems to have eliminated most of that problem (in that I've not
noticed it in FM 10), but I've also not pushed the limits.  (I also save
in indexed PNG, which may have something to do with it.)

See also:

  * optiping: http://optipng.sourceforge.net/
   (get the "opti-png UI" add on here:
http://www.enzofleri.com/eng/programs.html  )

and

  * pngcrush: http://pmt.sourceforge.net/pngcrush/

*Note from website:* Pngcrush is a command line application. If you
prefer a draggity-droppity GUI, several are available, including these
which embed pngcrush along with other command line image
compressors/optimizers:

  * ImageOptim <http://imageoptim.pornel.net/> for Macs, free, GPLv2 license
  * Trimage <http://trimage.org/> for Linux, Windows, Mac, free, MIT license


Related "How-To" articles:

  * http://www.websiteoptimization.com/speed/tweak/png-optimization/   
<http://www.websiteoptimization.com/speed/tweak/png-optimization/>
  * 
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/07/15/clever-png-optimization-techniques/
  * http://perishablepress.com/press/2009/05/17/png-image-optimization/


John Sgammato wrote:
>
> With all due respect to my colleagues on this forum, IMO the line
> between JPG and other formats is no longer as neat as it once was.
> Many screenshots in Win 7 require gradients that JPG handles well. IMO
> anything that a photo can handle might not be so far removed as you
> might think from basic screen captures, We are no longer in the
> cartoony Win 3.x world.
>
> And since AFAIK FrameMaker still imports eleventyhundred colors with
> every .PNG file, I do not see why a PNG with its headaches is superior
> to the no-longer-extant difficulties of the .JPG format.
>
> Craving enlightenment...
>
> john
>
>  
>
> *From:*framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com
> [mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] *On Behalf Of *Grant Hogarth
> *Sent:* Saturday, January 14, 2012 7:01 PM
> *To:* Virginia Morgan
> *Cc:* framers at lists.frameusers.com
> *Subject:* Re: Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing
> from Frame to Robohelp?
>
>  
>
> I always vote for PNG.  The files may not be the smallest, but I've
> never had anything in the past decade choke on them (not
> display/corrupt display (either unreadable or artifacts)/Fail (as in
> crash)).
>
> JPEG is fine for Photos, and SVG for line graphics.  PS is fine if
> you've got the time to render it.
> GIF is for icons. 
> BMP/WMF/EMF should be discontinued.
>
> You may want to invest in a graphics converter.  The two best (IMO)
> are FastStone Image Viewer (or just Image Converter) and IrfanView.
>
> Grant
>
> On 1/13/2012 3:23 PM, Virginia Morgan wrote:
>
> Hello Framers --
>
>  
>
> It has been several years since I have been part of this group, so I
> apologize if this topic has been covered extensively somewhere (if
> so,  please feel free to point me to it). I have recently resumed my
> Technical Writing career at a software development company that uses
> FrameMaker to create its documentation. All the legacy manuals were
> delivered with the products as hyperlinked PDF files (not really meant
> for printing due to length, although one could do so and they are
> formatted correctly for that).
>
>  
>
> The company recently purchased TCS3, and would like to single-source
> Frame files to online help using Robohelp. I have been trying to find
> out what would be the best graphic file format  to use for this
> multi-purpose moving forward. Some background: All legacy images,
> which are primarily screenshots with some flowcharts, were .tif files,
> RGB color, 96 dpi (again, intended for on-screen viewing). Using TCS3
> moving forward, is there a better/clear recommendation for what
> graphic file format would produce the best results?
>
>  
>
> I have been searching the web for a few days and can't seem to find
> any information on this particular aspect of single-sourcing using the
> new TCS3. Does it not matter, i.e., does one just set up Robohelp
> templates to convert .tifs to .jpgs or similar?
>
>  
>
> All information is very much appreciated. Thank you, and I am happy to
> be back to this forum!
>
>  
>
> Virginia Morgan | Technical Writer
>
> TAKE Solutions, Inc.
>
> O 512.735.4316 | M 512.426.8323
>
> virginia.morgan at takesolutions.com
> <mailto:virginia.morgan at takesolutions.com>
>
>   
>

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Scaling screen shots

[Thomas Scalise]

Esteemed colleagues,

Is there a way to scale graphics in Frame10 that works like the "Fitting" 
capability in Photoshop

Tom Scalise
Information Development Manager
Office (561) 622-5416
Fax (561) 622-9938
thomas.scal...@crossmatch.com
[Description: Description: Description: 
cid:image001.gif@01CBDF0D.2B428620]


This e-mail message from Cross Match Technologies, Inc. is intended only for 
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This e-mail may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt 
from disclosure under applicable law. 
If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any 
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RE: Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from

[Dov Isaacs]

Quite frankly, I don't know of anyplace where "Adobe" as a company officially 
recommends GIF for any graphics.

And JPEG certainly is not recommended by Adobe for anything other than 
"photographic" images, i.e. imagery that would not be more readily represented 
via text and/or vector graphics.

And unless one was really stuck with the need for raster image output, Adobe 
certainly recommends use of vector and/or text formats over any raster image 
format when there is a need to represent text and/or vector content.

- Dov

From: framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com 
[mailto:framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Galanter, Lea
Sent: Monday, January 16, 2012 8:22 AM
To: framers@lists.frameusers.com
Subject: Re: Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from


Adobe recommends GIF or JPEG format for graphics.



Also, the company I work for is setting up RoboHelp (not using Frame to

RoboHelp). I'm curious how you have files set up in version control or

on the network server?



Lea Galanter

Lead Technical Editor & Writer

FTI Consulting
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Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from

[Dov Isaacs]

Quite frankly, I don't know of anyplace where "Adobe" as a company officially 
recommends GIF for any graphics.

And JPEG certainly is not recommended by Adobe for anything other than 
"photographic" images, i.e. imagery that would not be more readily represented 
via text and/or vector graphics.

And unless one was really stuck with the need for raster image output, Adobe 
certainly recommends use of vector and/or text formats over any raster image 
format when there is a need to represent text and/or vector content.

- Dov

From: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com 
[mailto:framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Galanter, Lea
Sent: Monday, January 16, 2012 8:22 AM
To: framers at lists.frameusers.com
Subject: Re: Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from


Adobe recommends GIF or JPEG format for graphics.



Also, the company I work for is setting up RoboHelp (not using Frame to

RoboHelp). I'm curious how you have files set up in version control or

on the network server?



Lea Galanter

Lead Technical Editor & Writer

FTI Consulting
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Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from Frame to Robohelp?

[Virginia Morgan]

Thanks to all of you who responded for your input. It sounds like .jpg or .png 
will be the way to go - I will have to do more research and experimentation to 
determine which. I am only at the beginning of this process, but I appreciate 
pointing me in the right direction.

Thank you for the recommendation for the image converter, which will be 
incredibly useful for converting legacy documents I am sure. FWIW, there is no 
option to not include text, as the most important information in the graphics 
is the text from the screenshots: names of fields, etc. I don't think there's 
any way around that.

Any other experience/advice is appreciated. My recent graphic design experience 
has also led me to conclude that .jpgs work well for much more than photos, but 
the main reason we didn't use them in old versions of FrameMaker (6.0 and 
before) even with photos was that we got the "ugly gray box" which was annoying 
since you couldn't see your output until you produced a PDF. I'm assuming that 
"feature" is no longer the case? Like John, I would prefer to work with .jpgs 
if they produced the result I need. (Working in Windows XP, Frame10 currently.)

Thanks again,
Virginia

From: John Sgammato [mailto:jsgamm...@imprivata.com]
Sent: Sunday, January 15, 2012 9:48 PM
To: 'grant at hedgewizard.net'; Virginia Morgan
Cc: framers at lists.frameusers.com
Subject: RE: Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from Frame to 
Robohelp?

With all due respect to my colleagues on this forum, IMO the line between JPG 
and other formats is no longer as neat as it once was. Many screenshots in Win 
7 require gradients that JPG handles well. IMO anything that a photo can handle 
might not be so far removed as you might think from basic screen captures, We 
are no longer in the cartoony Win 3.x world.
And since AFAIK FrameMaker still imports eleventyhundred colors with every .PNG 
file, I do not see why a PNG with its headaches is superior to the 
no-longer-extant difficulties of the .JPG format.
Craving enlightenment...
john

From: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com 
[mailto:framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Grant Hogarth
Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2012 7:01 PM
To: Virginia Morgan
Cc: framers at lists.frameusers.com
Subject: Re: Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from Frame to 
Robohelp?

I always vote for PNG.  The files may not be the smallest, but I've never had 
anything in the past decade choke on them (not display/corrupt display (either 
unreadable or artifacts)/Fail (as in crash)).

JPEG is fine for Photos, and SVG for line graphics.  PS is fine if you've got 
the time to render it.
GIF is for icons.
BMP/WMF/EMF should be discontinued.

You may want to invest in a graphics converter.  The two best (IMO) are 
FastStone Image Viewer (or just Image Converter) and IrfanView.

Grant

On 1/13/2012 3:23 PM, Virginia Morgan wrote:
Hello Framers -

It has been several years since I have been part of this group, so I apologize 
if this topic has been covered extensively somewhere (if so,  please feel free 
to point me to it). I have recently resumed my Technical Writing career at a 
software development company that uses FrameMaker to create its documentation. 
All the legacy manuals were delivered with the products as hyperlinked PDF 
files (not really meant for printing due to length, although one could do so 
and they are formatted correctly for that).

The company recently purchased TCS3, and would like to single-source Frame 
files to online help using Robohelp. I have been trying to find out what would 
be the best graphic file format  to use for this multi-purpose moving forward. 
Some background: All legacy images, which are primarily screenshots with some 
flowcharts, were .tif files, RGB color, 96 dpi (again, intended for on-screen 
viewing). Using TCS3 moving forward, is there a better/clear recommendation for 
what graphic file format would produce the best results?

I have been searching the web for a few days and can't seem to find any 
information on this particular aspect of single-sourcing using the new TCS3. 
Does it not matter, i.e., does one just set up Robohelp templates to convert 
.tifs to .jpgs or similar?

All information is very much appreciated. Thank you, and I am happy to be back 
to this forum!

Virginia Morgan | Technical Writer
TAKE Solutions, Inc.
O 512.735.4316 | M 512.426.8323
virginia.morgan at takesolutions.com<mailto:virginia.morgan at 
takesolutions.com>

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Re: Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from Frame to Robohelp?

[Mike Wickham]

The cloudy artifacts that JPG puts around text may not be noticeable if 
you save the JPG at highest quality, but the more compression you use, 
the more annoyingly obvious it becomes. I believe the original poster in 
this thread said that the document was intended for the Web, and since 
it is typical to compress to high levels to create smaller files for Web 
download, it is probably a safe assumption that the original poster 
would use a high amount of compression and create those artifacts.


I don't use PNGs, but I seem to recall the issue that FrameMaker has of 
creating hundreds of colors with PNGs only occurs when the PNGs are 
saved with a bit depth other than 8. I'm sure someone more familiar with 
them will pipe in.


Mike Wickham.

On 1/15/2012 9:48 PM, John Sgammato wrote:


With all due respect to my colleagues on this forum, IMO the line 
between JPG and other formats is no longer as neat as it once was. 
Many screenshots in Win 7 require gradients that JPG handles well. IMO 
anything that a photo can handle might not be so far removed as you 
might think from basic screen captures, We are no longer in the 
cartoony Win 3.x world.


And since AFAIK FrameMaker still imports eleventyhundred colors with 
every .PNG file, I do not see why a PNG with its headaches is superior 
to the no-longer-extant difficulties of the .JPG format.


Craving enlightenment...

john

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RE: Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from Frame to Robohelp?

[Combs, Richard]

Shmuel Wolfson wrote: 
 
> Why is SVG better than WMF or EMF? I don't like embedding Visio files,
> so I save as WMF and insert the WMF. It seems to work fine and keeps
> the
> lines perfectly sharp (since WMF is partially a vector format.)
> 
> Is there a good reason to switch to SVG?

WMF (Windows Metafile Format) is fine for vector graphics if you work strictly 
in a Windows environment and your deliverables are print/PDF. But for web pages 
and most forms of online help (including Windows CHM help, IIRC), WMF has to be 
converted into something more browser-friendly. 


Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
--
rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-903-6372
--






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Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from Frame to Robohelp?

[Combs, Richard]

Shmuel Wolfson wrote: 

> Why is SVG better than WMF or EMF? I don't like embedding Visio files,
> so I save as WMF and insert the WMF. It seems to work fine and keeps
> the
> lines perfectly sharp (since WMF is partially a vector format.)
> 
> Is there a good reason to switch to SVG?

WMF (Windows Metafile Format) is fine for vector graphics if you work strictly 
in a Windows environment and your deliverables are print/PDF. But for web pages 
and most forms of online help (including Windows CHM help, IIRC), WMF has to be 
converted into something more browser-friendly. 


Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
--
rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-903-6372
--

RE: Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from

[Fred Ridder]

Lea Galanter (lea.galan...@fticonsulting.com) wrote:

> Adobe recommends GIF or JPEG format for graphics.

First, I assume you are spekaing strictly in a FrameMaker context, because othe 
Adobe tools use PS, EPS, and PDF as their preferred formats. 
But I have to say that I have never seen any such recommendation for FrameMaker 
graphics. What is your source for this statement? 
 
-Fred Ridder
 
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RE: Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from Frame to Robohelp?

[Combs, Richard]

John Sgammato wrote:
 
> With all due respect to my colleagues on this forum, IMO the line
> between JPG and other formats is no longer as neat as it once was. Many
> screenshots in Win 7 require gradients that JPG handles well. IMO
> anything that a photo can handle might not be so far removed as you
> might think from basic screen captures, We are no longer in the
> cartoony Win 3.x world.

Text rendering is more important in most screenshots than cool gradients 
(which, in any case, PNG handles better than JPEG; see below). I prefer that 
text not look like someone smudged the ink before it dried. 

Wikipedia has a composite image that shows the difference here: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Network_Graphics#Comparison_to_JPEG 

Here's their comparison: 

"JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format can produce a smaller file than 
PNG for photographic (and photo-like) images, since JPEG uses a lossy encoding 
method specifically designed for photographic image data, which is typically 
dominated by soft, low-contrast transitions, and an amount of noise or similar 
irregular structures. Using PNG instead of a high-quality JPEG for such images 
would result in a large increase in filesize with negligible gain in quality. 
By contrast, when storing images that contain text, line art, or graphics - 
images with sharp transitions and large areas of solid color - the PNG format 
can compress image data more than JPEG can, and without the noticeable visual 
artifacts which JPEG produces around high-contrast areas."

As for gradients: 

"Early web browsers did not support PNG images, JPEG and GIF were the main 
image formats. JPEG was commonly used when exporting images containing 
gradients for web pages, because of GIF's limited color depth. However, JPEG 
compression causes a gradient to blur slightly. A PNG file will reproduce a 
gradient as accurately as possible for a given bit depth, while keeping the 
file size small. PNG became the optimal choice for small gradient images as web 
browser support for the format improved." 

> And since AFAIK FrameMaker still imports eleventyhundred colors with
> every .PNG file, I do not see why a PNG with its headaches is superior
> to the no-longer-extant difficulties of the .JPG format.

You only get the named RGB colors (like "RGB 000,070,136") in FM if you import 
indexed-color (AKA palette-based) PNGs. Each color in the PNG's palette (up to 
256) is added to FM's color definitions (the name specifies the R,G, and B 
values that define the color). A different 256-color PNG may have different 
colors in its palette, so each can potentially add up to 256 colors to FM's 
list.

To avoid this problem, simply use Truecolor (AKA 24-bit) PNGs; they're not that 
much bigger.  


Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
--
rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-903-6372
--





 
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Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from Frame to Robohelp?

[Combs, Richard]

John Sgammato wrote:

> With all due respect to my colleagues on this forum, IMO the line
> between JPG and other formats is no longer as neat as it once was. Many
> screenshots in Win 7 require gradients that JPG handles well. IMO
> anything that a photo can handle might not be so far removed as you
> might think from basic screen captures, We are no longer in the
> cartoony Win 3.x world.

Text rendering is more important in most screenshots than cool gradients 
(which, in any case, PNG handles better than JPEG; see below). I prefer that 
text not look like someone smudged the ink before it dried. 

Wikipedia has a composite image that shows the difference here: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Network_Graphics#Comparison_to_JPEG 

Here's their comparison: 

"JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format can produce a smaller file than 
PNG for photographic (and photo-like) images, since JPEG uses a lossy encoding 
method specifically designed for photographic image data, which is typically 
dominated by soft, low-contrast transitions, and an amount of noise or similar 
irregular structures. Using PNG instead of a high-quality JPEG for such images 
would result in a large increase in filesize with negligible gain in quality. 
By contrast, when storing images that contain text, line art, or graphics - 
images with sharp transitions and large areas of solid color - the PNG format 
can compress image data more than JPEG can, and without the noticeable visual 
artifacts which JPEG produces around high-contrast areas."

As for gradients: 

"Early web browsers did not support PNG images, JPEG and GIF were the main 
image formats. JPEG was commonly used when exporting images containing 
gradients for web pages, because of GIF's limited color depth. However, JPEG 
compression causes a gradient to blur slightly. A PNG file will reproduce a 
gradient as accurately as possible for a given bit depth, while keeping the 
file size small. PNG became the optimal choice for small gradient images as web 
browser support for the format improved." 

> And since AFAIK FrameMaker still imports eleventyhundred colors with
> every .PNG file, I do not see why a PNG with its headaches is superior
> to the no-longer-extant difficulties of the .JPG format.

You only get the named RGB colors (like "RGB 000,070,136") in FM if you import 
indexed-color (AKA palette-based) PNGs. Each color in the PNG's palette (up to 
256) is added to FM's color definitions (the name specifies the R,G, and B 
values that define the color). A different 256-color PNG may have different 
colors in its palette, so each can potentially add up to 256 colors to FM's 
list.

To avoid this problem, simply use Truecolor (AKA 24-bit) PNGs; they're not that 
much bigger.  


Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
--
rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-903-6372
--

Re: Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from

[Galanter, Lea]

Adobe recommends GIF or JPEG format for graphics.

Also, the company I work for is setting up RoboHelp (not using Frame to
RoboHelp). I'm curious how you have files set up in version control or
on the network server?

Lea Galanter
Lead Technical Editor & Writer
FTI Consulting


Confidentiality Notice:
This email and any attachments may be confidential and protected by legal 
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you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by replying 
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Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from

[Galanter, Lea]

Adobe recommends GIF or JPEG format for graphics.

Also, the company I work for is setting up RoboHelp (not using Frame to
RoboHelp). I'm curious how you have files set up in version control or
on the network server?

Lea Galanter
Lead Technical Editor & Writer
FTI Consulting


Confidentiality Notice:
This email and any attachments may be confidential and protected by legal 
privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, be aware that any disclosure, 
copying, distribution or use of the e-mail or any attachment is prohibited. If 
you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately by replying 
to the sender and then delete this copy and the reply from your system. Thank 
you for your cooperation.

Ann: WebWorks 2011.3 available - Input FrameMaker, DITA ... a sample

[Georg Eck]

Dear FrameUsers.

REVERB - for all mobile devices - test it, open it on any Smartphone, on
your iPad, ...:
http://www.squidds.de/downloads/bihler

+ Search anything with words out from the content, Google will find it.
+ Chapter 1: 3D for Smartphone, iPad or PC (and Tablet-PC) 
   > open it with free 3DVIA player
+ open the 3D-PDF (right at the top): that is generated with 
   FrameMaker + Finalyser 3D (www.finalyser.com)
+ Chapter 4: Video is embedded ...
+ Test any SocialMedia, e.g. DISQUS 
... and Google Translator.

All of this features are fixed in FrameMaker - FrameMaker the best
solution
for all use cases for your Technical Documentation Workflow.

Is there a context-sensitive Help available? 
Yes, of course - test it:
http://www.squidds.de/downloads/bihler/index.html#context/Zweipunkt-Exze
nterpresse/Montage

WebWorks REVERB -  the best format for all Online Documentation in all
vertical market
like software, financial, mechanical engineering, ...  - go mobile.

Note:
The WebWorks 2011.3 REVERB improvements:
+ the new design of the Table of Contents
+ Search: the following sample works with Google search, 
   but now IIS Search or Client-side search are possible, too
+ test the WebWorks Reverb output on client at first, now with local Web
Server
+ ...

More about WebWorks ePublisher (currently in german only):
www.WORKFLOWBlog.de

- GEorg
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Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from Frame to Robohelp?

[John Sgammato]

With all due respect to my colleagues on this forum, IMO the line between JPG 
and other formats is no longer as neat as it once was. Many screenshots in Win 
7 require gradients that JPG handles well. IMO anything that a photo can handle 
might not be so far removed as you might think from basic screen captures, We 
are no longer in the cartoony Win 3.x world.
And since AFAIK FrameMaker still imports eleventyhundred colors with every .PNG 
file, I do not see why a PNG with its headaches is superior to the 
no-longer-extant difficulties of the .JPG format.
Craving enlightenment...
john

From: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com 
[mailto:framers-boun...@lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Grant Hogarth
Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2012 7:01 PM
To: Virginia Morgan
Cc: framers at lists.frameusers.com
Subject: Re: Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from Frame to 
Robohelp?

I always vote for PNG.  The files may not be the smallest, but I've never had 
anything in the past decade choke on them (not display/corrupt display (either 
unreadable or artifacts)/Fail (as in crash)).

JPEG is fine for Photos, and SVG for line graphics.  PS is fine if you've got 
the time to render it.
GIF is for icons.
BMP/WMF/EMF should be discontinued.

You may want to invest in a graphics converter.  The two best (IMO) are 
FastStone Image Viewer (or just Image Converter) and IrfanView.

Grant

On 1/13/2012 3:23 PM, Virginia Morgan wrote:
Hello Framers -

It has been several years since I have been part of this group, so I apologize 
if this topic has been covered extensively somewhere (if so,  please feel free 
to point me to it). I have recently resumed my Technical Writing career at a 
software development company that uses FrameMaker to create its documentation. 
All the legacy manuals were delivered with the products as hyperlinked PDF 
files (not really meant for printing due to length, although one could do so 
and they are formatted correctly for that).

The company recently purchased TCS3, and would like to single-source Frame 
files to online help using Robohelp. I have been trying to find out what would 
be the best graphic file format  to use for this multi-purpose moving forward. 
Some background: All legacy images, which are primarily screenshots with some 
flowcharts, were .tif files, RGB color, 96 dpi (again, intended for on-screen 
viewing). Using TCS3 moving forward, is there a better/clear recommendation for 
what graphic file format would produce the best results?

I have been searching the web for a few days and can't seem to find any 
information on this particular aspect of single-sourcing using the new TCS3. 
Does it not matter, i.e., does one just set up Robohelp templates to convert 
.tifs to .jpgs or similar?

All information is very much appreciated. Thank you, and I am happy to be back 
to this forum!

Virginia Morgan | Technical Writer
TAKE Solutions, Inc.
O 512.735.4316 | M 512.426.8323
virginia.morgan at takesolutions.com<mailto:virginia.morgan at 
takesolutions.com>

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Re: Recommended graphic file format for single-sourcing from Frame to Robohelp?

[Shmuel Wolfson]

Why is SVG better than WMF or EMF? I don't like embedding Visio files, 
so I save as WMF and insert the WMF. It seems to work fine and keeps the 
lines perfectly sharp (since WMF is partially a vector format.)


Is there a good reason to switch to SVG?

Regards,
Shmuel Wolfson
Technical Writer
052-763-7133


On 1/15/2012 2:00 AM, Grant Hogarth wrote:
I always vote for PNG. The files may not be the smallest, but I've 
never had anything in the past decade choke on them (not 
display/corrupt display (either unreadable or artifacts)/Fail (as in 
crash)).


JPEG is fine for Photos, and SVG for line graphics. PS is fine if 
you've got the time to render it.

GIF is for icons.
BMP/WMF/EMF should be discontinued.

You may want to invest in a graphics converter. The two best (IMO) are 
FastStone Image Viewer (or just Image Converter) and IrfanView.


Grant

On 1/13/2012 3:23 PM, Virginia Morgan wrote:


Hello Framers –

It has been several years since I have been part of this group, so I 
apologize if this topic has been covered extensively somewhere (if 
so, please feel free to point me to it). I have recently resumed my 
Technical Writing career at a software development company that uses 
FrameMaker to create its documentation. All the legacy manuals were 
delivered with the products as hyperlinked PDF files (not really 
meant for printing due to length, although one could do so and they 
are formatted correctly for that).


The company recently purchased TCS3, and would like to single-source 
Frame files to online help using Robohelp. I have been trying to find 
out what would be the best graphic file format to use for this 
multi-purpose moving forward. Some background: All legacy images, 
which are primarily screenshots with some flowcharts, were .tif 
files, RGB color, 96 dpi (again, intended for on-screen viewing). 
Using TCS3 moving forward, is there a better/clear recommendation for 
what graphic file format would produce the best results?


I have been searching the web for a few days and can’t seem to find 
any information on this particular aspect of single-sourcing using 
the new TCS3. Does it not matter, i.e., does one just set up Robohelp 
templates to convert .tifs to .jpgs or similar?


All information is very much appreciated. Thank you, and I am happy 
to be back to this forum!


Virginia Morgan | Technical Writer

TAKE Solutions, Inc.

O 512.735.4316 | M 512.426.8323

virginia.mor...@takesolutions.com




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