Keensurfer
Joined: Nov 05, 1999
# Posts: 885
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Posted: 10/11/2001 02:45 pm
I'm not a graphic wiz at all. I do most of my work in Microsoft PhotoDraw and PaintShop Pro 6. The problem that I have is that the graphics I have been creating don't seem to be able to reduce gif file sizes enough. I seem to be off by a factor of about 2 to 1. For instance if I need a graphic to be 5K, it only looks good at 10-12K. I'm thinking there must be a better program out there for this. I'd appreciate your help. I've tried some of the compression utilities but they don't seem to do any better job than PhotoDraw.
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Keensurfer
Joined: Nov 05, 1999
# Posts: 885
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Posted: 10/12/2001 05:25 am
Anyone?
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sdarken
Joined: Sep 22, 2000
# Posts: 426
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Posted: 10/12/2001 06:25 am
Adobe Photoshop has all the graphic compression and optimization features that you could ever want but it's not a cheap product.
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newbieatseo
Joined: Jul 25, 2001
# Posts: 81
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Posted: 10/12/2001 08:43 am
Macromedia Fireworks seems to do a pretty good job of compressing graphics. Bit cheaper than photoshop I believe too.
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valvs
Joined: Aug 12, 2001
# Posts: 270
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Posted: 10/12/2001 09:50 am
Yes, Fireworks is great, especially for Web-related jobs. Besides, it is available as shareware, with a free trial period.
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Keensurfer
Joined: Nov 05, 1999
# Posts: 885
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Posted: 10/12/2001 04:39 pm
Thanks...I think I'm going to give Fireworks a try. I appreciate your help!
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Keensurfer
Joined: Nov 05, 1999
# Posts: 885
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Posted: 10/14/2001 03:09 pm
I downloaded Fireworks and began my 30 day trial this weekend. Wow! It really works great for compressing my gifs. Thanks for your advice. Now, would anyone happen to know where I can buy it at the best price?
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Sinoed
Joined: Dec 11, 2000
# Posts: 5266
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Posted: 10/14/2001 08:36 pm
All you're doing is compressing the graphics? Are you going to use fireworks for anything else? If you aren't why don't you look for a good compression utility that would do the trick for you and save yourself some money?
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Astro
Joined: Oct 16, 2001
# Posts: 13
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Posted: 10/16/2001 09:49 am
Keensurfer, Fireworks can be relativley expensive (not nearly as much as photoshop, but still not cheap) but as a tool it is invaluable. I've been using it on my site for two years and I keep creating newer and better things. For the long run, it's a great program to have, but for now, if all you need is something for file size compression, there me be a cheaper method...If you don't have the money or the means to acquire Fireworks, look for freeware. Program developers often create small programs to do one or a few tasks just for the purpose of practice or inevitably putting them into another program for retail. A lot of these programs end up as freeware, available to anyone who wnats them. My FTP program, for example, is an Alpha version of SmartFTP. I got it of a freeware site because it's just an experimental thing but it has worked fantastically for me for the past six months. Search on any search engine for freeware and your bound to find something that can help compress your files. Also, remember freeware is not warez; freeware is given away whereas warez is pirated. So freeware is totally legitimate and a good way to supplement some functions you're unable to do with your present software and are not quite ready to purchase a big expensive retail program. Good luck! [EDITED - No Sigs please info should be in your profile] [Note: This message has been edited by xelA]
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Keensurfer
Joined: Nov 05, 1999
# Posts: 885
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Posted: 10/16/2001 06:15 pm
Thanks for your advice.
Money isn't a big concern as my business will pay for it and I'm certain the software will pay for itself many times over. I will be using the program to create graphics for ads, banners, and website art. You all seemed to steer me in the right direction. The file compression is really just icing on the cake but Fireworks seems to be doing a far better compression job than the dozen or so shareware, freeware utilities that I've downloaded and tried. Now the big dilemma for me is that Fireworks seems to be a much better value if one buys it bundled with DreamWeaver. Perhaps it's time for me to graduate from FrontPage as well!
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Sinoed
Joined: Dec 11, 2000
# Posts: 5266
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Posted: 10/16/2001 07:31 pm
IMO you can't beat the fireworks/dreamweaver combo. Don't like they way a graphic looks in dreamweaver? Just give it a click or two to edit right in fireworks and then check out your site again. It works really well. The other nice thing is all of the extensions that you can download for Dreamweaver which really helps when building. Works great. 
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Astro
Joined: Oct 16, 2001
# Posts: 13
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Posted: 10/16/2001 09:57 pm
I couldn't agree more. If Frontpage were the earth, Dreamweaver would be the whole galaxy. It's a much better interface with excellent compatibility with Fireworks from within the program (as Sinoed mentioned). I've tried a few web design tools for HTML and Dreamweaver is by far the best.[EDITED - No Sigs please info should be in your profile] [Note: This message has been edited by xelA]
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Keensurfer
Joined: Nov 05, 1999
# Posts: 885
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Posted: 10/18/2001 01:16 am
Thanks again for your advice. I think the reason that I liked PhotoDraw for so long is because it interfaced easily with FrontPage. Sounds like I'll be moving from my KIA to a Cadillac though! Thanks again Sinoed and Astro!
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hooperman
Joined: Sep 05, 2001
# Posts: 30
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Posted: 11/11/2001 11:28 am
I use software called Image Optimiser from xat.com - I'm not sure if it's free (the version 3.01 I have was a freebie on an internet mag cover CD)You can control the amount of compression manually , so those with a keen eye can see how far to compress images. It works for GIFs and JPegs. A great program.
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NetRodent
Joined: Aug 03, 1999
# Posts: 527
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Posted: 11/13/2001 06:53 pm
You might want to check out [http://www.tinyapps.org/graphics.html]Tiny Apps[/url]. I don't know how good any of the programs all but they're all free and they're all smaller than 1.44M.
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