Image Quality Issue

[art2007]

Hi,

I have a course which is to be developed in PPT and Articulate. Every slide in the course includes a screen shot on it. When we publish the course the image quality is very bad that we cannot read the text on it. It becomes worst when we use images. So we have created whole content in PowerPoint itself and published it. The text is readable now but the elements like Radio buttons and checkboxes are not visible properly.

Is there a solution for this problem? I have tried the resolution and the quality factor from the setting but could not find a way.


thanks in advance

[GerryWaz]

See this post (#2) from Phil (spectre) in an old thread. It's a good summary:

Text quality

If you don't have a program to output a screenshot to a SWF, there an image-to-SWF conversion program out there called Image2SWF that some people have tried:

Vertical Moon | Convert Images to Flash

You can also save an image in PowerPoint to a WMF. Just right-click on the image and do a "Save As Picture" and select WMF. Save it and then re-import to the slide. (Have not tried this so I cannot attest to PPT's conversion abilities.)

If you can't do that and if WMF/EMF are not an option then try the image as a PNG.

Hopefully, one of these might work for you.

Best.

- Gerry

[GerryWaz]

I just did a quick test of this and here's my results. The SWF, which I produced from a separate graphics program was marginally the best. I was using PowerPoint 2003 for converting the image to a WMF.



I also had my AP quality setting to high:



Best.

- Gerry

[TucsonTom]

I'm trying to get the IMAGE2SWF program to work. I converted a graphic to an SWF and imported it into my ppt using Articulate, following instructions I received from Articulate tech support. The image doesn't look all that good in the ppt version, but I can't even get it to show up when I publish it using Articulate. Any idea what's happening?

[GerryWaz]

Just a guess, but did you set the Frame Rate (fps) to match Articulate's default of 30 fps? I think image2swf defaults to 12fps, if I remember right.

[MoxziDotCom]

Any thoughts of it is even worth using Flash CS3 to import a screenshot and export as SWF? My Flash is very rusty (but that's for another thread), and I'd still need to Snag-It or Captivate the screen, no?

And, I noticed throughout the threads and on "image quality" and/or "image properties" and/or "screen capture quality" that NO ONE talks about making the initial capture with ALT-PrtScn.

Out of curiosity, Is using Alt-PrtScn as the initial screen capture (into clipboard) a big NO NO?

Thanks!

[Ron Price]

I like using Snag-it for screen shots. (it has some cool features) But since the PPT is 720x540, taking your screen shot at 1200x1000 and then scaling it down to 720x540 will cause some degradtion. (heard that from Tom Kuhlmann) So, you might want to try lowering your resolution on your screen before you take the screen shot, which will probably look bad until switch back to your normal screen res.

[brianosmi]

Originally Posted by Alison@B21

Out of curiosity, Is using Alt-PrtScn as the initial screen capture (into clipboard) a big NO NO?

Not in my opinion. This would be a perfectly fine way to capture your screenshots - I believe that the other tools are mentioned more because you can add some nice effects, callouts, etc., fairly easily, although many of these items can be added using powerpoint as well.

I have read your other thread as well and have just a few thoughts as far as my workflow and what I like to use... In many cases it comes down to a matter of preference for each designer / developer and what he / she likes to use.

As far as image quality, I have not found enough improvement in converting to .swf before importing into Presenter to make it an automatic part of my workflow. Much of the time I just place my screenshots straight into PowerPoint and go with it from there.

There are times, however, when a particular image just does not go through the Articulate conversion well, then I switch over to .swf. To be honest, my quickest way to accomplish this is to Alt-PrtScn, open Fireworks, paste and edit, then export as .swf (usually with a framerate of 20-30 fps). I have found that having the editing ability plus the quick export to .swf makes Fireworks very convenient for this.

There is, however, no reason you couldn't paste straight into PowerPoint from Alt-PrtScn. SnagIt really isn't very hard to use, either, despite the user manual ;-). Same as with Fireworks, you have quite a bit of editing capabilities, then easy export to .swf. For someone well-versed in Flash CS3, it may be the quickest way for them to accomplish this task.

I am not a Captivate newbie, but I'm not a Captivate pro, either. But still I cannot imagine it being a convenient tool to use just for converting simple screenshots to .swf. Captivate has it's strengths and uses, but this isn't one of it's strengths in my opinion.

[MoxziDotCom]

Thanks for the thoughts!

I suppose it doesn't help y'all that I didn't mention WHAT i am trying to take screenshots of (somewhat text-heavy webpages for new online subscription-based product).

Up until I finally saw the draft .ppt (and read Tom's May 13 post on software demos) I thought I'd be trying to figure out screencasting!

Now it's screenshots -- turning bitmaps into vector graphics (try explaining THAT to an impatient CEO), and too many options, and not enough Presenter / Powerpoint experience.

May you not be working on a Saturday evening.

[GerryWaz]

Try EMFs--since posting my original comparison earlier in these thread I've found sometimes the EMF is better than PNG. Many users are now liking that format when SWF is not available. SnagIt is great for producing EMFs for use with AP. SWFs also.