LGM save for web

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Revision as of 14:19, 22 April 2007 by Kamila (talk)
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Raw notes that concern the issue more or less.

Saving files with layers into JPG

  1. Export, ignore: the terms are no good, what happens is not predictable.
  2. There should be a better dialog, safer, explaining more. (Now we will take this layer and merge it/flatten.)
  3. Better choice of the default formats (if a JPG file has layers, save it as xcf.)
  4. To be furthered discussed if it shall remember the last decision as a default or not. Because it may cause mistakes when it saves sth as JPG when user have few layers.

Saving

  1. User shouldn’t be able to use any tool while saving (for ex. a brush). Even if it doesn’t save what got changed while saving.
  2. the most important thing about saving is that one saves exactly this picture, and right now.
  3. we need a big preview img window, but without rulers, menu bar, etc.
  4. We could set by default one tool while saving- i.e. Zoom tool, to see the quality details.
  5. We don’t like the solution to place quality slider and other settings in the existing image window.

saving jpeg for web

  1. There should be a really big dialog with a big preview. The dialog should be as big as the image window at the moment.
  2. some advanced options are too technical
    1. Priority A options have to be always visible, other should be ordered by categories but in collapsed advanced sections. We need to give them subheadings.
    2. priority A: quality slider, preview, optimized checkbox, maybe progressive (progressive size order – could GIMP know which gives in a result the smallest size)
    3. priority B other saving categories – i.e. smoothing
    4. priority C restart markers, sub sampling, dct method
  3. There is at the moment no Save for Web dialog.

export

There should be some kind of sample merge, for exporting i.e. buttons with piece of web page background.

cutting mask

Idea: Cutting Mask, that would be set by dragging, it would also give the names, and give the flexibility of choosing: only from active layer or sample merge layers.

Saving and Exporting elements

  1. It should be possible to export parts in optimized web format
  2. Two Save for web possibilities:
    1. save parts by cutting out and saving
    2. “I want this saved/exported, in this quality…”
  3. When exporting user needs to have possibility to say if you wants to have transparency, transparency merged with other layer, or with BG. This would have to be set for each and every element. That’s why cutting mask would have few controls, apart of just few rectangular itself.

Cutting mask

Cutting mask- global concept, it would allow user to cut one or many elements at the same time. Their names would be generated on their own (to some extend).

Names & versions

1. Should we overwrite the files, or generate a new version folder and cut out the names of versions? 2. When saving another versions, user needs to have another folder with the same names for elements. 3. All elements would go into a different folder.

File format

User should be able to compare JPG, GIF, PNG to chose the format.

Saving

  1. It should be possible to save: photos for web, elements for web.
  2. Save as GIF, export it. There is just one option for saving parameters
  3. Save for web would have a a subset.
  4. In the image menu we need a subset of Indexed Image Modes that will keep GIMP optimized palette and web optimized palette. Maybe it should have option for dithering?

Save as PNG

  1. When saving we could explain more the difference between merging (keeps the transparency) and flattening. We observed this problem during workplace observations.
  2. Time issues. (compressing/downloading?)
  3. Is compression really so useful here? Is it still used for this format? This simply has to be the smallest thing that works for web. Some options like Save the value transparent pieces will be obvious to set.
  4. No thumbnails, compressed to the highest rate, also interlacing would be sth we need to chose.
  5. The promise that the file will be not changed is not working. After exporting you don’t work on the gimp file, but on PNG and instead of few layers there is just one.
  6. Because GIMP has the most options when you work on gimp file not on PNG, this process need to export elements.
  7. Layers should not be lost when exporting.

Save AS

Save As means working on a new file.

Export for web format

Means to put ‘this’ on a disk and work in a old format.

We need to sort out the differences between Save As, Save a Copy, and probable arrange it in a good dialog.

Save AS JPG

  1. We need to rearrange few things, however it is good that Optimize option is checked.
  2. The smallest file that is possible is the goal nr one.
  3. Bug: In Windows preview check-box makes GIMP collapse.
  4. Smoothing option is relevant and works well. No save thumbnail. Previewing the dithering options is necessary.
  5. Bug (?): In Windows File size is always unknown.

Jpg/gif/png

User should just chose Export for Web and compare the file formats. GIMP would already predict the file algorithm, and the sizes of PNG, GIF…

Preview for saving

Preview should be 100%. User should be able to see quite big area, but there would be 100% default, that he could change by zooming. If the preview would be in a main window, it should not have rulers, menu. Size of the window should be an example of how big the preview window should be.


GIMP could even be more clever and suggest PNG, if that’s the best option, unless it recognize a photo.