Changing Format

Image Files | Changing Format

Changing Format

As we noted earlier, most browsers will not presently display an in-line image in PICT format. Some graphics creation programs may allow you to export images in GIF or JPEG format (e.g., PhotoShop). For those that don't yet allow these options you should export the image as PICT (or PICT2 for some programs like Freehand) and then use one of the many available conversion programs to convert the PICT into either a GIF or JPEG, which you can then include in your Web document and which browsers like Netscape will happily display in-line.
One frequently-used conversion program for Macs is GIFConverter. It couldn't be simpler to use. You simply drop the icon for your PICT image onto the icon for GIFConverter (if your computer doesn't implement drag-and-drop capabilities, you will have to open the file manually from the program). The program will then try to open the file, and if there is no problem the image will be displayed. You can then use "Save as..." on the "File" menu to save the image in a number of different formats. Among these are GIF and JPEG. (We will soon give a more detailed example exploiting the capabilities of GifConverter.)
Two other Mac programs that are capable of converting among many different image formats are GraphicConverter, which is shareware, and DeBabelizer, which is a commercial product. These products are also capable of "batch conversions": automatic conversion of whole groups of files from one format to another.


			Image Files \| Changing Format
		Changing Format As we noted earlier, most browsers will not presently display an in-line image in PICT format. Some graphics creation programs may allow you to export images in GIF or JPEG format (e.g., `PhotoShop`). For those that don't yet allow these options you should export the image as PICT (or PICT2 for some programs like `Freehand`) and then use one of the many available conversion programs to convert the PICT into either a GIF or JPEG, which you can then include in your Web document and which browsers like `Netscape` will happily display in-line. One frequently-used conversion program for Macs is `GIFConverter`. It couldn't be simpler to use. You simply drop the icon for your PICT image onto the icon for `GIFConverter` (if your computer doesn't implement drag-and-drop capabilities, you will have to open the file manually from the program). The program will then try to open the file, and if there is no problem the image will be displayed. You can then use "Save as..." on the "File" menu to save the image in a number of different formats. Among these are GIF and JPEG. (We will soon give a more detailed example exploiting the capabilities of `GifConverter`.) Two other Mac programs that are capable of converting among many different image formats are `GraphicConverter`, which is shareware, and `DeBabelizer`, which is a commercial product. These products are also capable of "batch conversions": automatic conversion of whole groups of files from one format to another.