# Saving and Exporting files

This chapter describes using the options available when you're saving e-Picture files or exporting the files.

# Saving documents

e-Picture automatically saves documents in the native e-Picture format (.ep). Saving a document in e-Picture format keeps all your layers and objects. If you want to be able to go back and edit individual layers or objects, always keep a copy of the document in the e-Picture format.

#### To save a document in e-Picture format:

Choose File > Save.

#### To save an e-Picture document with a different location or name:

1. Choose File > Save As.
2. Type a name or choose a location for the document.
3. Click Save.

Note: You can also name documents when you create them by entering a name in the New Document dialog box.

# Exporting documents

Once you're satisfied with the image or animation you've created in e-Picture, you're ready to export it for use on the web. When exporting e-Picture documents, you can choose to use both the internal handlers and the BeOS translators or you can limit the export formats to one or the other. The e-Picture export formats are listed in the table below. This variety of formats lets you create files that can be easily used on a number of platforms.

Each file format has its own dialog box. Many of the options, such as updating size, using the background color, generating an HTML file, and choosing a color reduction option are common to all the formats. Some file formats also have options unique to that specific format.

Warning: Exporting a document flattens the image. If you want to maintain your individual objects and layers, be sure and save a copy of the document in e-Picture format.

Internal handlers | BeOS Translators
--- | ---
Animated GIF GIF JPEG PNG Targa JavaScript | Targa Images PPM Images PNG Images JPEG Translator BMP Images

Export File Formats

#### To limit export to the BeOS translators:

1. Choose File> Preferences> Startup.
2. From the Export menu, choose Only Use BeOS Image Translators.

#### To export a document:

1. In the Animation panel, make sure the Export option is selected for the frames you want to export. (By default, the Export option is on for all frames.)
2. Set the frame duration in the Animation panel. The duration is sets in hundredths of seconds.
3. Choose File> Export and choose a format from the menu.
4. In the dialog box, set the file format options:

- To set the Information options, see Information options.
- To set the Generic options, see Generic options.
- To set the individual format options, see Individual file format options.
- To set the color reduction options, see Color reduction options.

1. Click Save As and enter a name and location for the document. After the export file is created, the file information is updated and the download time appears.

Note: If either the Live Update box is checked or the Update Size button is pressed, e-Picture creates a cached version of your image for export purposes. If you return to the document window and make any changes, click the Update Rasters button in the export dialog box to incorporate the changes into the file you're exporting.

# Information options

The Information section of the export dialog boxes provides the current image size and an estimated file size. The download time is displayed after the export file is created.

#### To update the file size information, do one of the following:

- Select Live Update to update the file size information as you choose options in the dialog box.
- Click Update Size to manually update the file size information to reflect the current settings.

# Generic options

The generic options determine the background color and allow you to generate an HTML file.

#### To set the generic options;

- Select Override Background Color to use a different color than the document background color (or transparency). Double click the swatch box to display the Color panel and select a new background color.
- Select Generate HTML file to create a minimum HTML file that displays the animation in a browser.

# Individual file format options

Most of the export file formats have one or two specific setting for the individual file formats.

File type | Option name | Description
--- | --- | ---
Animated GIF | Interlace | Click to display the image gradually in increasing detail as it downloads
Loop | Click to run the file continuously. Enter a number in Count to limit the repetitions
Override Document Speed | Click to make the frame rate the value specified regardless of the Duration specified for each frame in the Animation panel.
NetPositive Compatible (in Color Reduction section) | Makes the file compatible with the BeOS browser. (Select if you will be displaying the file only in the BeOS browser.)
GIF | Interlace | Click to display the image gradually in increasing detail as it downloads.
JPEG | Progressive | Click to display the image gradually in increasing detail as it downloads
Quality | Drag the slider to specify an image quality (0 to 100)
PNG | Interlace | Click to display the image gradually in increasing detail as it downloads
Targa | Save Alpha | Click to save the alpha transparency channel in 32 bit color
Javascript | Events | Exporting to JavaScript produces an HTML file that contains the JavaScript and three GIF files that display when one of the three Java events (onMouseOut, onMouseOver, and onClick) occur.
Frames | Select the event and then double-click the frame in the Frame picker that you want displayed for that event.
GIF Parameters | Set the GIF settings for the files.

Internal handlers.

File type | Option name | Description
--- | --- | ---
Targa images | None |
PPM Images | Write ASCII | Select to output the image encoded as a 7-bit ASCII file.
| Color Space | Choose the color depth and byte ordering you want to use in the exported file.
PNG Images | None |
JPEG Translator | Quality | Drag the slider to select an image quality.
BMP | None |

BeOS Translators

# Color reduction options

When exporting files you can choose a color palette, the number of colors, the reduction (compression) type, and whether or not to use dithering.

Note: Color reduction is not available for the JPEG, Targa, and Javascript file format.

#### To select the color palette:

- Click Adaptive to create a palette by sampling the colors from the spectrum that appear most frequently in the image. For example, an image that contains mostly orange and yellow will produce a palette made up of primarily shades of yellow and orange.
- Click Web-safe to use a palette that can be displayed in any browser.
- Click Windows to use the Windows system palette.
- Click MacOS to use the MacOS system palette.
- Click BeOS 8-bit to use the BeOS color palette.

#### To choose the number of colors:

Choose a preset number of colors from the menu or choose User Specified and enter your own number of colors. Using fewer colors decreases the export file size but can reduce image quality.

#### To choose the color reduction method:

- Choose Adaptive Reduction
- Choose Neural Network

Note: Because image content can vary greatly, you might want to export your image using both color reduction methods. You can then view the images and select the one with the better color.

#### To use dithering in the color reduction:

Select the Dithering option.

Dithering produces smoother transitions between two colors when the preferred colors are not available in the selected color palette. Dithering may increase export file size.