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carlinwentzel
Participant
February 26, 2016
Question

Reducing image size and updating images in library issue

  • February 26, 2016
  • 6 replies
  • 1054 views

Hi!

I developed a course in Captivate 9 with a lot of png images and vectors (rich content).
I exported the vectors as 300dpi from Illustrator, and the result is a big file size. I then compressed  the png's and made their filesize smaller by up to 70% using Tiny PNG online. On my harddrive the dimensions and size of the images (which I replaced) are now clearly smaller. When I go into Captivate and "update" links in the library, it says that all is updated, but nothing has changed.
Does anyone have a suggestion as to what I can try to update the images?

I have also edited the image- and canvas size of jpgs in Photoshop, and when I update the image in Captivate's library, it brings in a new file and does not replace the existing file, even though they have the same extention/name.

All suggestions welcome.

Carlin

This topic has been closed for replies.

6 replies

TinkerTrainer
TinkerTrainer
Known Participant
February 29, 2016

Yes, Rod sees my thinking. Enough said.

Lilybiri
Lilybiri
Legend
February 27, 2016

Just another suggestion: did you try to export the vector image to SVG instead of using a png (bitmap) image? Captivate 9 accepts SVG's. It depends on the image of course, SVG will not necessarily lead to a smaller image file size, but worth trying.

Totally agree with Rod, that a resolution of 300ppi has no sense at all, because your content will be viewed in a browser.

RodWard
Community Expert
RodWardCommunity Expert
Community Expert
February 28, 2016

Lieve,  I agree with your point that deleting the now unused files in the CPTX won't affect the published output size, but I think TinkerTrainer's suggestion still has merit. 

CPTX Project files full of redundant files help nobody, take longer to load, take up space unnecessarily on your hard drive, and slow down your computer because they take up more RAM.

TinkerTrainer
TinkerTrainer
Known Participant
February 26, 2016

And don't forget to clean up the unused files in the library before you publish.

Lilybiri
Lilybiri
Legend
February 27, 2016

@TinkerTrainer Why? Cleaning up unused files has no effect on the size of the published file, only on the size of the CPTX-file. This will not help for the issues of the OP.

C
carlinwentzelAuthor
Participant
February 26, 2016

Hi Petern33480613

I have republished the project now, but I can see no reduction in the file size.
Carlin

RodWard
Community Expert
RodWardCommunity Expert
Community Expert
February 26, 2016

Change the filename of the image, import it at the smaller size to replace the previous image (via the Import option in the Properties tab when you select the image on slide).

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carlinwentzelAuthor
Participant
February 26, 2016

Hallo RodWard

Thank you for the reply. I will defenitely in future only design to the dimensions I need.

For my current situation:
My problem is: If I change the colour of the vector,edit it and save, the images updates and I can see the changes I made in Captivate if I update the file. (It is original location and source, I did not move the original image's location). The problem comes when I try to change the dimensions and size of the artboard or canvas, save the image and then try to update it. It does not want to update (al least it does not show anty changes in the file size in the library in Captivate). It then brings in a new image with the same name. Eg.: workstation.png (123.123kb) and the new(smaller) version: workstation.png(2)(70kb).

Any suggestions on what else I can try?
Carlin

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petern33480613
Inspiring
February 26, 2016

Carlin,

I'm sorry, but I have no answer to you question at the moment.

However, I presume you want the published project to be as small as possible.

Have you republished the project, and was the new published size smaller?

Peter.

RodWard
Community Expert
RodWardCommunity Expert
Community Expert
February 26, 2016

There's no advantage in having an image at a resolution in excess of whatever your monitor resolutions are going to be.  Most monitors are somewhere between 72-96 DPI, so a 300 DPI image will still look the same as one that matches the monitor DPI.

When importing images into Captivate, you will achieve the lowest filesizes by resizing the image in a graphics editor (e.g.Photoshop) BEFORE importing it.  Work out exactly what size the image needs to be on the screen in terms of pixels high and wide, then resize your master images in the editor and export them to whichever graphics file format would be most efficient in compression for that type of image.  For images that have large areas of flat colour, use PNG.  If you don't need more than 256 colours 8bit GIF or PNG is fine.  If the image has lots of gradients (e.g photographs) then JPG is always best.

When you insert an image into Captivate, the app remembers the original location of that image on your system and caches this pathway inside the CPTX file.  If you make a change to the original image, you can right click on the inserted image inside Captivate and choose UPDATE from the context menu.  That should result in the image in the CPTX being updated to match the one at source.  However, this will not work if you have moved the source image, changed folder names, or if you are on a different computer.

Remember that resizing an image in Captivate only affects the display size at runtime.  It does not necessarily mean the image will be smaller in filesize when published.  If you have a 4 meg image pulled off your camera and insert it straight into Captivate, it's still a 4 meg image inside the Captivate CPTX.

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