Reducing image size

[enid]

Can anyone please advise me how I can reduce image size to ensure that my pics load quickly. I use Dreamweaver and Fireworks. I am trying to improve our site using the feedback from the web reviews I received but photos are frustrating me at the moment.


Thanks

[Alan Knighting]

Enid,

This has been dealt with in some detail in another thread, somewhere on the forum but I don't remember where. Briefly, in Fireworks you would use the options in the Optimize panel.

Alan

[charles]

Assuming you have Fireworks 4 there is an export wizard in the File menu.

The first panel with give you the option of selecting a target size for your images - say 50k or so. Then you can select a target destination for the images - i.e. web. The third panel provides a recommendation as to the best format to choose, usually jpeg or gif.

Then it provides you with a preview panel with two choices which you can play around with - you can change things in the drop down boxes on the right to see what effect it has on download time for someone on a really slow modem (somewhere in the preferences of Fireworks you can change the default 28.8kbps to something more modern like 56k!!).

I tend to keep things simple when choosing formats - gif when I need a transparent background, jpeg for all others as it tends to retain the quality better. (although if you like at my websites there are the occasional .png where I have been lazy..! <-- this is just in case Tony notices them!!)

All this has reminded me why I started using Photoshop instead!

hth
Charles

[paolo]

Have a look at these two threads which deal with this:

viewtopic.php?t=445

viewtopic.php?t=163

[Paul Rutter]

Hi, can I just ask if you are 'sizing' the pictures in dreamweaver? or are the images cut to fit with fireworks?

You could try the debabelizer programme to squeeze even lighter picture weights out.