If you have primarily worked with print graphics and clip art until now, you've likely used file formats that don't translate well to the World Wide Web.

When creating graphics for a Web site, you can use the PhotoDraw Save for Use In Wizard to choose the best file format for your picture. You can also specify custom quality settings for the wizard by using the Options command.

The Save for Use In Wizard

The Save for Use In Wizard (File menu) is the easiest way to optimize your pictures for print or online use. Depending on how you answer the wizard's prompts, it determines the best image settings and file format for the picture you want to save. When saving graphics for Web pages, the Save for Use In Wizard shows the estimated download times over various Internet connection speeds.

You can customize the default quality settings the wizard will use when exporting your pictures. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Picture Quality tab. Here, you can set your preferred picture quality and compression level that the Save for Use In Wizard should use. Picture quality settings you can choose include:

• Web   Optimizes pictures and graphics for fast Internet downloads on Web pages or via e-mail. The resolution of Web pictures is 96 dpi (dots per inch) - the standard for Web graphics on computers based on the Microsoft Windows operating system.
• Typical   Suitable for printing most pictures on ink-jet color printers. The picture is saved at a medium resolution of 150 dpi.
• Professional   Best suited for high-resolution photographs and scans that will be printed on laser printers. The resolution for this setting is 300 dpi, which can dramatically increase the file size of the picture you're saving.

In addition to picture quality settings, you can also specify the amount of compression PhotoDraw should apply to your pictures when exporting them. On the Picture Quality tab of the Options dialog box (Tools menu), choose a compression level that the Save for Use In Wizard should use.

• None   Yields the highest possible picture quality at any resolution, but can create extremely large file sizes that are unsuitable for downloading or sharing with others over e-mail.
• Low   Applies a small amount of compression to pictures. This results in virtually no loss of picture quality and can help reduce file sizes of medium or small pictures.
• Medium A good compromise between picture quality and file size.
• High A large amount of compression that can create flaws and artifacts in saved pictures. When saving pictures with high compression, be sure to first save the original picture as a PhotoDraw .mix file.

Saving pictures with custom settings

If you don't want to use the Save for Use in Wizard, you can manually save your pictures and graphics with custom settings. The type of options available depends on the file format you choose when manually exporting a picture.

Save a picture with custom settings

1. On the File menu, click Save As.
2. In the Save As dialog box, type a name for the picture in the File name field.
3. In the Save as type list, choose the file format you want to save the file in (Graphics Interchange Format or JPEG File Interchange Format).
4. Click Options.
5. In the Export Options dialog box, customize or accept the settings for the selected file type, and then click OK.
6. Click Save to save the picture in the selected format.

Most picture file formats are suitable for printing, but if you're manually saving Web graphics, you will want to read the following sections to understand the difference between the World Wide Web's two main graphics formats: GIF and JPEG.

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format)

Because the GIF format can display a maximum of 256 colors, it is best used for black-and-white line drawings, color clip art, and pictures that use large blocks of solid colors. Unlike pictures saved in JPEG format, pictures saved in GIF format will not degrade in quality, even though the file is compressed.

The GIF format offers three optional characteristics:

• Interlacing   An interlaced GIF is displayed gradually in a Web browser until the entire picture is downloaded. This gives site visitors a quick preview of what they are about to see.
• Transparency   When a picture is saved as a .gif file, you can choose to convert a single color to a neutral area. In the example below, solid white is changed to transparency.
  

  GIF without transparency

  GIF with transparency

  
  When a picture with transparency is displayed in a Web browser, the Web page's background shows through the transparent color, allowing for the display of graphic objects that are not necessarily rectangular.
• Animation   When a series of pictures is saved as a single .gif file, the pictures are displayed in rapid sequence in a Web browser, giving the appearance of a moving picture. An animated GIF draws immediate attention to a logo or clickable object on your Web pages. To keep download time low, an animated GIF shouldn't contain more than a few frames.

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)

Unlike GIF, the JPEG format isn't limited to 256 colors, so you can use it to display high-quality photographs, scanned pictures, snapshots from a digital camera, or smooth color gradations containing thousands or millions of colors.

Because it was designed as an image storage format, JPEG format can efficiently compress large, high-quality photos into highly compact file sizes. The more you reduce your picture's file size, however, the more image information is discarded, decreasing the quality of the picture. If you repeatedly modify and re-save JPEG pictures, their quality can sharply deteriorate. You should therefore keep backup copies of all your pictures, so you can revert to the originals if necessary.

JPEG supports neither transparency nor animation. When you save a picture as a .jpg file, any transparent areas in your picture are converted to the nearest solid color.