All images added to StudioLine are stored in the central Image Archive. The archive contains a high-resolution master copy of an image as well as descriptive information. The original image is no longer required and can be moved to an offline medium, such as a backup tape or other removable storage device. This helps conserving disk space. If an image is later needed in another application, it can simply be exported.
Images added in Page Editor mode are stored in a special $AutoArchive$ folder of the image archive. Generally, it is preferred to switch to Image Archive mode when adding images. This way images can immediately be organized into folders and categorized for easy retrieval later. See the chapter Image Archive for further information.
The origin of an image (e.g., a specific Photo CD) is remembered in the Image Archive, in case there is ever a need to refresh or update the master copy.
The first time images are added from a new CD-ROM, StudioLine will prompt to name the CD-ROM. (In case of Photo CDs, the default name is the disk label.) Should StudioLine ever need to reload the original image file, it will ask you to re-insert that same CD-ROM by the name you had chosen.
Open the StudioLine Explorer from the File menu.
Locate your image in the Image Archive, or in My Computer or Network Neighborhood.
Drag the image to the desired location on your page.
You may also open a second instance of StudioLine and drag the image from another page. Click the right mouse button over an image to view it’s context menu.
The Prototype Image is found in the layout of a page and defines the standard image settings for this page. Whenever an image is placed on a page, it is automatically processed by any image tools associated with the prototype. This makes it easy to give all images on a page consistent size and appearance, such as soft borders or shadow effects. See the chapter on Layouts for additional information.
The list of active tools can be viewed and edited from the image’s context menu.
Any changes to the Layout’s prototype image will propagate to the images on the page. By making a single change in the prototype, all images on the page can be updated.
You may decide that some images, such as buttons or logos, are to be separate from the prototype. For those images, choose “Independent of Prototype” from the context menu.
The 8 handles on the selector band appear when a single object has been selected. It can be used to resize the object.
Drag a corner handle to scale the height and width proportionally.
Drag a midpoint handles to stretch or shrink the object in that direction.
Normally images cannot be made larger than the size of the original in the Image Archive. Press the Ctrl key to enlarge an image even further. (This may result in a reduction in picture quality.)
Additional scaling, cropping and orientation functions are available in the Image Toolbox.
Most browsers are capable to display a small pop-up window with descriptive information about the image over which the cursor is resting. The information may also appear while an image is loading. It is usually taken from the so-called “Alternate Text”. For some images this function may be a requirement, for others it could be distracting.
StudioLine generates the descriptive information from the image’s descriptors. To change or remove the “Alternate Text”:
Select the image.
Choose Descriptors from the Edit menu. This opens the Descriptors panel.
Choose Alternate Text from the drop-down list box.
If the image had been inserted from the Image Archive, it may already contain descriptive information. Any changes you make in Page Editor will be local to that page. The original in the Image Archive will not be effected.
Normally, StudioLine stores images in a compressed format. For animated GIF files, it is important that the original image format is not altered. To avoid loss of the animation effect, certain restrictions apply:
No image tools can be applied against the animated GIF.
No text or other objects with transparent areas may overlay the animated GIF.