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Choosing an Image File Format
| Product: | SnagIt |
| Platform: | Win 98 and above |
| Version: | 7 and above |
With SnagIt, you have a variety of image file format options to choose from. But, how do you know which format to use? This tutorial will offer you a summary of the most commonly used file formats, as well as some tips about what they are best suited for. It will also illustrate how to select and change file formats in SnagIt.
Depending upon what you're capturing, consult the following table for help in choosing the appropriate file type.
Note: A "lossy" format reduces the quality of the image during compression. A "lossless" format maintains the quality of the original image.
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Image File Format
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Compression / Compression Quality
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Color Support
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When to Use
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PNG
Portable Network Graphic
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Uncompressed/ Lossless
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All color depths
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Note: PNG is SnagIt's default file format when saving image captures.
PNG supports lossless compression of images at all color depths. PNG has compression well suited for master copy data, and PNG is said to be 10% to 30% smaller than 8-bit GIF files. This relatively new bit-mapped graphics format is similar to GIF, but not yet fully supported by all Web browsers.
A superior replacement for GIF; Supports indexed color, grayscale, and true color images, and transparency. Not completely supported by Web browsers yet.
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BMP
Bitmap
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Uncompressed/ Lossless
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All color depths
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This is the standard image file format used by Windows, and is widely supported by Windows applications. The .bmp size of a screen capture will depend on the screen resolution and color depth chosen. A bitmap file is uncompressed and, therefore, an exact copy of what is captured from the screen.
Use when file size is not constrained and high quality is desired. Do not use for files destined for the Internet.
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BMP (RLE)
Windows Run-Length Encoded
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Uncompressed/ Lossless
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256 colors or less
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This is a compressed BMP file format for images with less than 256 colors, but it is not often used. RLE is effective with graphics, but less effective in continuous tones, like those found in photos.
With graphics, but not with photographs.
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GIF
Graphics Interchange Format
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Uncompressed/ Lossless
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256 colors or less
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It is one of the most popular image formats used to distribute images over the Internet. GIF compresses the image without incurring a loss in image quality. This file format supports transparent color.
Best for Internet graphics with a few distinct colors, such as illustrations, cartoons, icons, buttons, and text; GIF supports transparent color.
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ICO
Windows Icon Image File
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Uncompressed/ Lossless
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All color depths
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This image file format is exclusively for icon files. Icon files can contain the same icon in varying color depths: 16 colors, 256 colors, and the Windows XP palette (millions of colors and alpha blending), for example. An image in an icon file can have transparent pixels if its color depth is below 32 bits per pixel.
Only used for creating icon files.
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JPEG/JPG
Joint Photographic Experts Group
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Uncompressed/ Lossy, but you can select compression quality
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All color depths
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These files are compressed by discarding "extra" data. However, you can select the quality of the compressed image. The lower the quality, the smaller the image but the more different it will look than the original image. JPEG image files are typically much smaller than other file formats and are widely used for communicating images over the Internet. The JPEG image file format works best for images with many colors and a large variation of colors (e.g., a scanned photo or multimedia CD display).
Use with full-color or grayscale images that have continuous variations in color, such as photographs. Use for scanned images.
An excellent choice for images that will be used on the Internet; where file size must be kept small at the cost of image quality. Do not use for images with few colors, or for line drawings or images with text.
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TIF
Tagged Image File Format
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Uncompressed/ Lossless
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All color depths
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This was created to become the industry standard image file format. This file format is widely supported by graphics applications on many different types of computers besides the Windows PC. TIF files are supported by about every desktop publishing program, and the files are known for their portability and rich set of possible options. TIF files are specifically used for print publishing purposes. SnagIt supports these TIF compression options.
Widely supported in desktop publishing; High quality images for use in page layout programs; Compatible with all types of images and graphics.
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Changing SnagIt's Image File Format
Within SnagIt's Capture Settings Pane, choose the Output Properties button >Image File tab and specify the graphic file format type for your image capture. This tab allows you to set preferences regarding file format, file naming, and location for file storage.
The following table summarizes the description and use of each option in the Image File tab.
| Option |
Description & Use |
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File Format
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This option allows you to specify the file format for image captures. There are 23 different file formats to choose from. Select a format by clicking on it in the scrolling list.
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Options
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Choose this option to access the File Format Options dialog box. This dialog box contains color depth and compression options that vary according to the file format chosen.
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Show advanced types
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This option allows you to choose to view the entire list of file format options, or just an abbreviated list of the most common types. To see the entire list, enable the Show advanced types option. Disable the option to see an abbreviated list.
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| Ask for File Name
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This is the default file name option for SnagIt. Select it to be prompted for a file name after capture.
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Fixed File Name
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This option allows you to specify a fixed file name for all of your captures. This is useful if you want to continuously and automatically update a capture file. Simply type the desired file name in the Name box provided.
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Automatic File Name
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This option sets SnagIt to automatically name a series of captures for you. This is helpful if you want to automate the capture process to run unattended, because you will not be prompted to enter a file name for each capture.
Simply type a file name prefix in the Prefix box, and then specify the number of digits (1-5) for SnagIt to use in the index by selecting it from the Number of digits in index list box.
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Output Folder
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Choose an Output Folder for your captures by typing the desired location into the box provided, by selecting a recently used location from the list box, or by choosing the Browse button and searching for the location.
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OK
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Choose OK to save changes and exit this dialog box.
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Cancel
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Choose Cancel to exit this dialog box without saving changes.
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Apply
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Choose Apply to save changes without exiting the dialog box.
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Help
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Choose Help to access the online help system.
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Choosing the File Format Options
The File Format Options dialog is available when you choose Output Properties... > Image File > Options with a file format option that permits format conversion.
The following table summarizes the description and use of each option in the File Format Options dialog box.
Note: The availability of these options will differ from file format to file format.
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Option
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Description & Use
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Colors
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Use the list box associated with this option to select the number of colors (color depth) to be saved in the image. The number of colors available depends on the file format selected in the drop-down list on the dialog that allowed you to select a format.
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Subfile Type
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Depending on the current Colors (color depth) selection, various Subfile Types are available, including: BMP, GIF, JPG, Progressive JPG, and TIFF.
Progressive JPG files are the same as regular JPG files, but the image displays at full size as quickly as possible, and then clarifies as it is loaded.
TIFF is a tag-based file format designed to promote universal interchanges of digital image data. There are many versions of TIFF. SnagIt supports the standard TIFF formats.
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Progressive Save Options (For JPG files only)
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When one of the Progressive Subfile Types is selected for a JPG file, the Progressive Save Options list box allows you to select a number from 1 through 12. This is the number of scans the program makes through the image while saving a progressive file type.
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Quality
(For JPG files only)
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JPG compression always loses some image quality. Quality specifies the quality of the compressed image, where 100 is the highest and 1 is the lowest. The higher the image quality adjustment, the longer it takes to convert and save the file.
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Transparency On
(For GIF and ICO files only)
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One color can be set to look transparent in a browser that supports transparency. For example, use this in conjunction with Cascaded Menu captures to set the background color to be captured as the background, then make that color transparent in the GIF file when saved and imported into a web page. Choose this option to set a color in an image to become transparent. Most Web browsers support transparent GIF.
Use the Set Color button to access the Transparent Colors dialog box, which allows you to select the desired color.
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Append if file exists
(For ICO files only)
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When saving an icon to a Windows icon file that already exists, choose this option to add the new icon image to the existing file.
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Multipage
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Make sure this option is enabled in order to print multiple pages to a TIF image file. This option is enabled by default.
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OK
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Choose OK to save changes and exit this dialog box.
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Cancel
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Choose Cancel to exit this dialog box without saving changes.
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Default
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Choose Default to load the best or usual settings based on your desktop color settings.
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Help
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Choose Help to access the online help system.
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Setting Up Fixed File Naming
In the Capture Settings pane, set Output > File.
Choose the Output Properties... button and click the Image File tab. The Output Properties dialog box displays. In the Output Folder field, type in or browse for the folder that you want to save your capture to.
Enable the Fixed File Name radio button and type in the file name. SnagIt will save all future captures under this name, overwriting old captures without notification. Confirm your setting changes with Apply. Take your capture(s). SnagIt will automatically save your capture to the folder and with the file name you set above.
To check that everything saves the way you want it to, try taking one capture, then use SnagIt's Catalog Browser to verify that your capture has been saved in the folder you selected, with the file name you chose. Then take a second capture, and verify that your capture file has been updated, its contents replaced by your most recent capture.
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