Working With Images

Captivate lets you import the following graphic formats onto any slide: BMP (Windows Bitmap), GIF (Graphics Interchange Format), JPG or JPEG (Joint Photographic Expert Group), ICO (icons), WMF (MetaFiles), EMF (Enhanced MetaFiles), PNG (Portable Network Graphics) and POT (PowerPoint Templates).

BMP (Windows Bitmap): Good for lower quality images and can be up to 24-bit color. Bitmaps are created using pixels, and the file size of a simple bitmap image can be very large. Since BMPs cannot easily be resized without significant distortion to the image, MetaFiles are generally preferred when you intend to resize the image.

GIF (Graphic Interchange Format): GIF graphics are the universal standard for viewing images on the Web. Graphics saved in the GIF format can display up to 256 colors. You should consider using GIF images for black-and-white photographs, line art and other simple artwork.

JPEG/JPG (Joint Photographic Expert Group): Consider using JPEG images when you are working with complex graphics (such as detailed photos) that are using more than 256 colors. JPEG images compress much better than GIFs.

ICO: Icons are typically small images used to identify applications or tools.

WMF (Windows Metafile): Unlike bitmap images, which rely on pixels to render the drawings you see on screen, MetaFile images are vector based and are made up of geometric shapes.

EMF (Enhanced MetaFiles): The Enhanced MetaFile (EMF) format is an extension of the Windows MetaFiles format and is available to only native 32-bit applications.

PNG (Portable Network Graphics): PNG images are similar to GIFs but support more colors. PNG images have been slated to replace GIFs in the near future.

POT (PowerPoint Templates): If you have created a PowerPoint Template, you can import the designs as images.