Saving projects with images and sounds

Thanks for the replies. It was just something I was wondering about. Since I tend to use "save" alot.

When you insert either an audio file or an image file into Captivate, the first thing that happens is that Captivate converts it to its own use.

In the case of images, they are converted to bitmap, and that's why many people swear that inserting BMP formatted images is the way to go. The inserted format is already what Captivate "likes", and loss of quality during conversion is less.

In the case of audio, Captivate not only likes WAV format, but it likes a specific codec for WAV files (PCM). And again, inserting WAV files that are already what Captivate is looking for (or creating them within Captivate) is likely to lessen the chances of quality-loss during conversion.

Bottom line Dave: Yes, when some formats are imported to Captivate, losses might be greater than with other formats. So you can affect quality by importing one format over another. But once the conversion is complete, there should be no further degradation just because you were working on the file.

I'm not sure how this all relates to the oil in smelly jars in boxes, Rick, but I thought I'd take my own shot at confusing Dave.

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Hi Dave

While I have seen numerous issues related to Audio in these forums, I'm very doubtful that you would have concerns along the lines of what you listed. Sure, if you were constantly editing these file types I might see a possible issue. But normally you simply are adding them to an existing project. So once they are added, you aren't editing the formats so that "lossy" issue becomes a factor. I suppose I may consider the following parallel.

Lets say your project is a box. Inside this box, you are inserting assorted jars. Each jar contains scented oil that evaporates quickly if opened. As long as you are inserting the jars into the box without opening them, you are fine. Captivate is like this box. You simply insert the image or record or insert the audio file. Once inserted into the box (the Captivate project) there is little to no need to actually open the jars (image files or audio) to make changes. So the evaporation (degradation) doesn't occur.

Cheers... Rick