Preparing Images for the Web
Reading: Internet Literacy, chapter 19. Note: This is a review module that can be skipped by students who have already had a basic course in Web page authoring. If you plan to work through this module, on the other hand, you will need a copy of the Internet Literacy textbook described in the textbook section of this course outline.
Topics
It has often been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. The ease with which you can paste pictures onto Web pages makes it possible to illustrate documents and use images as design elements in the layout of a Web page. Before you can paste a picture onto a Web page, however, you must get it into the proper format for display on a Web page. This class provides you with a utility that makes it easy to get images into the proper format. Then you will not only learn how to paste pictures onto Web pages, but also create special effects with techniques known as tiling and transparency.
Downloading Paint Shop Pro (for Windows)
Paint Shop Pro is the graphics utility that you will use in this class if you have Windows. Paint Shop Pro is shareware. If you keep using it past the free trial period, please observe the shareware rules and pay the modest fee. To learn how to download and install Paint Shop Pro, follow this Interlit Web site link to Paint Shop Pro.
Downloading Graphic Converter (for Macintosh)
Graphic Converter is the graphics utility that you will use in this class if you have a Macintosh. Graphic Converter is shareware. If you keep using it past the free trial period, please observe the shareware rules and pay the modest fee. To learn how to download and install Graphic Converter, follow this Interlit Web site link to Graphic Converter.
Converting Images for Web Pages
- To capture an image to put on a Web page, follow the steps illustrated in Table 19-1.
- To convert images into the proper format for pasting onto Web pages, follow the steps illustrated in Table 19-2.
- Images may be the wrong size for placement on your Web page. It is common for the images to be too large, requiring that you reduce them in size. To learn how to resize images, follow the steps in Table 19-3.
- Unless you have a special reason for wanting to keep your images encoded in 16 million colors (24-bit), you should convert the images to 256 colors (8-bit), which will make them appear three times faster on your Web page. To convert a 24-bit image into an 8-bit image, follow the steps illustrated in Table 19-4.
Pasting an Image onto a Web Page
You will be happy to discover that pasting an image onto a Web page is a lot easier than preparing the picture to fit the Web page's layout. To paste an image onto a Web page, follow the steps illustrated in Table 19-5.
Tiling an Image onto a Web Page
Tiling means to draw a bitmap repeatedly across and down the screen until the entire window has been covered. If the bitmap is designed in such a way as to hide the edges when tiled, you get a seamless appearance in the background. To learn how to tile a background onto a Web page, follow the steps in Table 19-6.
Creating a Transparent GIF Image
Transparency is a special effect in which one of the colors in a bitmap becomes translucent. Instead of seeing that color, you see through it into the background color or image on the screen. To learn how to create a transparent GIF image, follow the steps in Table 19-7.
