Changing file format?

[brian11 webforumsuser@macromedia.com]

How do I change a png file to jpg or gif?

[Jay]

Open in Fireworks.
Choose file->export preview.
Choose the required format.
Click OK

Jay


"brian11" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:blpt55$1q$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> How do I change a png file to jpg or gif?
>
>

[Sam Poikail]

-)File > Export Preview
-) Select JPG or GIF, depending on the contents/color depth of your file.
-) Click OK.
-) Retain the PNG file, as the JPG and GIF files are flattened and your
ability to edit at a latter time (fonts, layers, etc) will be greatly
diminished.

Cheers,
Sam

"brian11" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:blpt55$1q$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> How do I change a png file to jpg or gif?
>
>

[Ilya Razmanov]

"Sam Poikail" <indigo_wolf@SPAMBITEShotmail.com> wrote in message
news:blq64t$ae6$2@forums.macromedia.com...

> -)File > Export Preview
> -) Select JPG or GIF, depending on the contents/color depth of your file.
> -) Click OK.
> -) Retain the PNG file, as the JPG and GIF files are flattened and your
> ability to edit at a latter time (fonts, layers, etc) will be greatly
> diminished.

One single thing I may add to absolutely correct answer given by Sam is
related to the latter item - instead of "be greatly diminished" you should
rather read "completely disappear" ;-)

Ilyich.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ilya Razmanov (a.k.a. Ilyich the Toad)
[url]http://photoshop.msk.ru/[/url] - Photoshop plug-in filters
- Ah, an illegitimate Corley operation!
- I prefer to think of it as a RENEGADE Corley operation. - Full Throttle
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Sam Poikail]

"Ilya Razmanov" <ilyich@cacr.ioc.ac.ru> wrote in message
news:blrihp$b85$3@forums.macromedia.com...

> One single thing I may add to absolutely correct answer given by Sam is
> related to the latter item - instead of "be greatly diminished" you should
> rather read "completely disappear" ;-)

Well, you could print it out and color over parts of the image ;o)

Meant to add that in MX2004, I believe you can save directly to a different
format without saving a PNG file or exporting.

Cheers,
Sam

[Ilya Razmanov]

"Sam Poikail" <indigo_wolf@SPAMBITEShotmail.com> wrote in message
news:bls016$88r$1@forums.macromedia.com...

>
> "Ilya Razmanov" <ilyich@cacr.ioc.ac.ru> wrote in message
> news:blrihp$b85$3@forums.macromedia.com...

> > One single thing I may add to absolutely correct answer given by Sam is
> > related to the latter item - instead of "be greatly diminished" you

should

> > rather read "completely disappear" ;-)

>
> Well, you could print it out and color over parts of the image ;o)
>
> Meant to add that in MX2004, I believe you can save directly to a

different

> format without saving a PNG file or exporting.

Yep, I've heared of that. Sorry, I'm still on the earlier version ;-)
Anyway, this feature will cause just as many problems as it solves - before,
we had to explain why people cannot directly save to JPEG. From now on,
we'll have to explain why people cannot edit text or live effects in the
JPEG files they saved. Oh well, and we'll have to explain why saving images
in JPEG after editing degrades the image quality, and why saving in GIF is
not such a brilliant idea, and so on...

I'm afraid there is no perfect solution for this. Whatever you do, people
facing some limitations of file formats and stuff will blame you for that
"something is going wrong" BEFORE trying to read the manual. This is
unavoidable.

What as to me, personally, I have a strong habit of saving my work project
in "native", "editable" and "loseless" format, in a special folder, then
exporting it to "interchangeable" format, in another folder, when the work
is finished. And I wish other people to get the same habit... before they
manage to ruin their project :-)))

Ilyich.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ilya Razmanov (a.k.a. Ilyich the Toad)
[url]http://photoshop.msk.ru/[/url] - Photoshop plug-in filters
- Ah, an illegitimate Corley operation!
- I prefer to think of it as a RENEGADE Corley operation. - Full Throttle
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Sam Poikail]

"Ilya Razmanov" <ilyich@ioc.ac.ru> wrote in message
news:bls2ol$e1c$2@forums.macromedia.com...

> What as to me, personally, I have a strong habit of saving my work project
> in "native", "editable" and "loseless" format, in a special folder, then
> exporting it to "interchangeable" format, in another folder, when the work
> is finished.

For the same reason, I find myself reluctant to save images on a digital
camera (regardless of resolution) at any of the JPG compressed formats.
Rather do my compression on the PC. I can always crop if it comes down to
it.

>And I wish other people to get the same habit... before they
> manage to ruin their project :-)))

Add to that the mantra "Rewriteable CDs are your friends...." ;o)

Cheers,
Sam

[Ilya Razmanov]

"Sam Poikail" <indigo_wolf@SPAMBITEShotmail.com> wrote in message
news:bls5qs$jup$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> "Ilya Razmanov" <ilyich@ioc.ac.ru> wrote in message
> news:bls2ol$e1c$2@forums.macromedia.com...

> > What as to me, personally, I have a strong habit of saving my work

project

> > in "native", "editable" and "loseless" format, in a special folder, then
> > exporting it to "interchangeable" format, in another folder, when the

work

> > is finished.

>
> For the same reason, I find myself reluctant to save images on a digital
> camera (regardless of resolution) at any of the JPG compressed formats.
> Rather do my compression on the PC. I can always crop if it comes down to
> it.

Absolutely right. I never understood people who get 4 megapixel camera, then
shoot images at bad conditions, with detector noise showing up, then
compress images to JPEGs, and then feel happy just because they have "cool 4
megapixel camera". In turn, I perfectly understand people who keep camera in
a cold box (to reduce the random detector noise), then make a shot with
lenses closed (to write down "stable" default noise over "zero" black
signal), then shoot the subject and write the image down using loseless
compression. The latter is absolutely logical and, more important, is quite
useful :-)

> >And I wish other people to get the same habit... before they
> > manage to ruin their project :-)))

> Add to that the mantra "Rewriteable CDs are your friends...." ;o)

:-))) Actually, even non-rewriteable CDs are my friends. Here at Moscow I
can buy pretty good one for less that one dollar (700Mb, slim package). So,
it's very suitable - you move all your photos to the notebook, then you move
them to a bunch of "one-time" CDs, and then you stop bothering about those
photos until you really need them. You know that they are somewhere at you
drawer, with proper caption, they don't take much "drawer space" per
megabyte and they cannot be killed by a virus or power fault.

Ilyich.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ilya Razmanov (a.k.a. Ilyich the Toad)
[url]http://photoshop.msk.ru/[/url] - Photoshop plug-in filters
"They told me they fixed it. I trusted them to fix it. It's not
my fault!" - Lando, Star Wars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Chester Harold]

"Sam Poikail" <indigo_wolf@SPAMBITEShotmail.com> wrote in message
news:bls5qs$jup$1@forums.macromedia.com...

>
> For the same reason, I find myself reluctant to save images on a digital
> camera (regardless of resolution) at any of the JPG compressed formats.
> Rather do my compression on the PC. I can always crop if it comes down to
> it.
>

This would be the idea for me, but I don't have an easy way to work with RAW
format on my PC, and I don't want to use the camera's software to
hand-finish each single shot when I take dozens or more per session.

Chet

[Chester Harold]

"Ilya Razmanov" <ilyich@ioc.ac.ru> wrote in message
news:blsbp5$22g$1@forums.macromedia.com...

>
> In turn, I perfectly understand people who keep camera in
> a cold box (to reduce the random detector noise), then make a shot with
> lenses closed (to write down "stable" default noise over "zero" black
> signal), then shoot the subject and write the image down using loseless
> compression. The latter is absolutely logical and, more important, is

quite

> useful :-)

What is a cold box?

Chet

[John T]

Refrigerator?

JT


"Chester Harold" <chet@no-spam.com> wrote in message
news:bluodl$5vs$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> "Ilya Razmanov" <ilyich@ioc.ac.ru> wrote in message
> news:blsbp5$22g$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> >
> > In turn, I perfectly understand people who keep camera in
> > a cold box (to reduce the random detector noise), then make a shot with
> > lenses closed (to write down "stable" default noise over "zero" black
> > signal), then shoot the subject and write the image down using loseless
> > compression. The latter is absolutely logical and, more important, is

> quite

> > useful :-)

>
> What is a cold box?
>
> Chet
>
>

[Ilya Razmanov]

"Chester Harold" <chet@no-spam.com> wrote in message
news:bluodl$5vs$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> "Ilya Razmanov" <ilyich@ioc.ac.ru> wrote in message
> news:blsbp5$22g$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> >
> > In turn, I perfectly understand people who keep camera in
> > a cold box (to reduce the random detector noise), then make a shot with
> > lenses closed (to write down "stable" default noise over "zero" black
> > signal), then shoot the subject and write the image down using loseless
> > compression. The latter is absolutely logical and, more important, is

> quite

> > useful :-)

>
> What is a cold box?
>
> Chet

Refrigerator. I mean the "portable" one that may be installed in someone's
car, or even the bag equipped with "melting" bags. The main idea is, if you
camera detector is cooled down to 15-20C, it prodices much less noise as
compared to 30-40C.

Of course, there is one more important thing - general air humidity. That
is, if you pull "cooled" camera out in humid area, the optics will be
immediately covered by condenced water drops. That is, you should't do that
in Moscow... or Atlanta, according to my sources. But you better do that in
Texas I think.

In short, reducing detector temperature reduces "dark current". You know,
the current in the detector cells is supposed to be "ignited" by light, but
it actually arise with the rise of detector temperature. I mean, light
brings energy to detector to make it work, but temperature also brings some
energy. This way heat brings some additional troubles.

Ilyich.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ilya Razmanov (a.k.a. Ilyich the Toad)
[url]http://photoshop.msk.ru/[/url] - Photoshop plug-in filters
"How did I get into this mess? I really don't know how. We
seem to be made to suffer. It's our lot in life." - C3PO, Star Wars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Sam Poikail]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Chester Harold" <chet@no-spam.com>
Newsgroups: macromedia.fireworks
Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2003 12:05 PM
Subject: Re: Changing file format?

> This would be the idea for me, but I don't have an easy way to work with

RAW

> format on my PC, and I don't want to use the camera's software to
> hand-finish each single shot when I take dozens or more per session.
>
> Chet

Have you consider using XNView to do some minor adjustments/cropping, and
then converting to a format that Fireworks can read?
[url]http://www.xnview.com/[/url]

Cheers,
Sam

[Ilya Razmanov]

"Sam Poikail" <indigo_wolf@SPAMBITEShotmail.com> wrote in message
news:bm06j3$h5m$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Chester Harold" <chet@no-spam.com>
> Newsgroups: macromedia.fireworks
> Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2003 12:05 PM
> Subject: Re: Changing file format?

> > This would be the idea for me, but I don't have an easy way to work with

> RAW

> > format on my PC, and I don't want to use the camera's software to
> > hand-finish each single shot when I take dozens or more per session.
> >
> > Chet

>
> Have you consider using XNView to do some minor adjustments/cropping, and
> then converting to a format that Fireworks can read?
> [url]http://www.xnview.com/[/url]
>
> Cheers,
> Sam

Sam, main source of trouble with RAW is that RAW is not a format :-) I mean,
about every camera developer invents his own format, then gives it RAW
extension. And of course it has no relation to that was called RAW back at
90-s. So in quite many cases no software except one bundled with camera may
read it.

However, in general, the main idea of your suggestion is valid: I'd
recommend, first, leaving a copy of unmodified RAW files for future use,
second, batch-converting them to something more compatible, for editing.

Ilyich.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ilya Razmanov (a.k.a. Ilyich the Toad)
[url]http://photoshop.msk.ru/[/url] - Photoshop plug-in filters
"How did I get into this mess? I really don't know how. We
seem to be made to suffer. It's our lot in life." - C3PO, Star Wars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Sam Poikail]

"Ilya Razmanov" <ilyich@ioc.ac.ru> wrote in message
news:bm0fsa$12v$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> Sam, main source of trouble with RAW is that RAW is not a format :-) I

mean,

> about every camera developer invents his own format, then gives it RAW
> extension. And of course it has no relation to that was called RAW back at
> 90-s. So in quite many cases no software except one bundled with camera

may

> read it.

Sorry... should have been clearer. Took it for granted that anyone working
with RAW files already understood their proprietary nature. Pretty much
nothing is compatible cross-brand in cameras, with a few exceptions like
memory cards, film, and batteries. Even tripod heads come in 1/4" and 3/8"
variants (unless you want to buy a small pack of thread adaptors). How many
variations of a hotshoe pattern and trigger voltage do we really need?

However, since XNView was a free download, I thought it would be worth
giving a shot. Believe that's still only for non-commercial use though. For
purchase, otherwise.

> However, in general, the main idea of your suggestion is valid: I'd
> recommend, first, leaving a copy of unmodified RAW files for future use,
> second, batch-converting them to something more compatible, for editing.

Always, always keep you source files. Always. Pretty much like keeping
your PNG files even when you think you have done your final export.

Cheers,
Sam

[Ilya Razmanov]

"Sam Poikail" <indigo_wolf@SPAMBITEShotmail.com> wrote in message
news:bm16i1$dce$1@forums.macromedia.com...

>
> "Ilya Razmanov" <ilyich@ioc.ac.ru> wrote in message
> news:bm0fsa$12v$1@forums.macromedia.com...

> > Sam, main source of trouble with RAW is that RAW is not a format :-) I

> mean,

> > about every camera developer invents his own format, then gives it RAW
> > extension. And of course it has no relation to that was called RAW back

at

> > 90-s. So in quite many cases no software except one bundled with camera

> may

> > read it.

>
> Sorry... should have been clearer. Took it for granted that anyone

working

> with RAW files already understood their proprietary nature. Pretty much
> nothing is compatible cross-brand in cameras, with a few exceptions like
> memory cards, film, and batteries. Even tripod heads come in 1/4" and 3/8"
> variants (unless you want to buy a small pack of thread adaptors). How

many

> variations of a hotshoe pattern and trigger voltage do we really need?
>
> However, since XNView was a free download, I thought it would be worth
> giving a shot.

Definitely. I just wanted to say that XnView (my favorite image converter,
BTW) may not handle all the flavours of RAW files. If it works - that's
fine. If it doesn't - don't be surprised.

> > However, in general, the main idea of your suggestion is valid: I'd
> > recommend, first, leaving a copy of unmodified RAW files for future use,
> > second, batch-converting them to something more compatible, for editing.

> Always, always keep you source files. Always. Pretty much like keeping
> your PNG files even when you think you have done your final export.

Can't agree more. I think that every serious photographer, or graphics
designer, MUST have some sort of CD-writer on his computer, be it desktop
one or notebook. Always copy your photos and stuff on CD as soon as you can,
and always store all the intermediate variants of your project. Most likely,
you'll never need most of them, but with low price on blank CD's... it
wouldn't cost too much. On the other hand, your old photo or project may
become a goldmine someday, so you better have it at hand instead of asking
"how did I do this?" or something. Remember, your old client who asked for a
web site one day may return and say: "Well, the web site was quite
successfull and brough me some money, so I want you to add a couple of menu
items, and convert my logo to printable format, and..." You better have
full sources for web site design, and all the logo projects, at that time
:-)

Being somewhat off-topic, I'd like to say that, for storing HTMLs and other
text-based stuff, I use incremental archiver from [url]http://www.keep-it.com[/url] -
it's not good in terms of compression for incremental archiving compressed
graphics (that's quite a priblem anyway), but it is very useful for making
snapshots of your site before you try to edit something. Unfortunately, the
project is discontinued... and it could be made to work better... but it
works well enough with WinXP. I, personally, keep using it. Well, on the
other hand, I'm "programmer"... sometimes... so my program source codes are
stored on my machine in native form, plus in the form of incremental
updates, plus it gets stored on two different private servers across the
Moscow, plus it gets stored on some CD's. Until the nuclear bombs will be
dropped all over Russia, I'm perfectly safe - I have so many *different*
backups at different locations so that they are unlikely to be hit by
something except WWIII.

So, in a word, if you make your living using some files, please spend some
money and some time to make those files secure :-)))

Ilyich.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ilya Razmanov (a.k.a. Ilyich the Toad)
[url]http://photoshop.msk.ru/[/url] - Photoshop plug-in filters
"How did I get into this mess? I really don't know how. We
seem to be made to suffer. It's our lot in life." - C3PO, Star Wars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------