MACROMEDIA FREEHAND MX 11, Use Manual

Page: 355 / 412

Saving and Exporting Files 355
Exporting to BMP format
BMP is the Windows standard format for bitmap graphics.
To choose options for the BMP format:
1
With the file that you want to export displayed in the Document window, select File > Export.
2
In the Export dialog box, select BMP from the Save As Type (Windows) or Format
(Macintosh) pop-up menu.
3
Click Setup to view secondary options.
4
In Windows, click More.
5
Select a color depth option:
8-bit Uncompressed
exports BMP images in 256 colors without any compression.
8-bit Compressed
exports BMP images in 256 colors and compresses the BMP on export.
16-bit
exports BMP images in thousands of colors.
24-bit
exports BMP images in more than 16 million colors.
32-bit with Alpha
exports BMP images in more than 16 million colors and includes an
alpha channel.
6
Click OK.
Note: For information about the bitmap export options not discussed here, see “Exporting bitmap images” on page
352.
Exporting to GIF format
Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) is a bitmap format developed by CompuServe to easily
transfer graphic files online. GIF is an 8-bit (256-color) format that uses lossless LZW
compression to reduce image file size by as much as half the original size.
The GIF export format is the best choice for images with large areas of solid color, such as
cartoon-like graphics, logos, graphics with transparent areas, or animation. Its small size, high
quality, and ability to include transparency makes GIF an ideal format for web pages.
You can dither colors in a GIF to simulate colors that aren’t in the 256-color web palette.
Dithering simulates colors through the placement of adjacent pixels of different colors. For
example, a red color and a yellow color may dither to create an orange color. Dithering creates the
appearance of a greater range of colors, but also increases file size.
A GIF image can have one color defined as transparent so that placing the GIF over another
image in a web browser reveals the bottom image through the transparency. The GIF format
supports full transparency; you cannot have partial transparency.
To create smaller GIF files when exporting, choose a reduced color palette (such as 16 colors,
32 colors, or 64 colors) and select the Optimized Palette option. For higher quality images and
files from which you want to remove unnecessary colors, use the WebSnap Adaptive 256 or
128 palettes.