URGENT_Images and DPI

[Combs, Richard]

Susan Curtzwiler wrote:
 
> I need some really quick help with how to best use the DPI settings to
> import screen captures by reference.
> 
> I have some wide screen captures that will not fit into the anchored
> frame and retain clarity.
> 
> If I use the 96 DPI, I can get the area being emphasized, but not
> enough surrounding area to have landmarks for the user.
> 
> The larger screen captures, about 4x6, are even more difficult.  If I
> use the 150 DPI, it goes in the anchored frame, but again the text
> quality is not very good.

What format are they saved in? If it's JPEG, that's part of your
problem. JPEG is optimal for photos, but a poor choice for screen shots,
and often results in blurry text. Switch to PNG. 

If these screen captures are from a Windows machine, 96 dpi should be
approximately "life-size" and 150 dpi should be easily readable. I
routinely used 180 dpi for screen shots of an application window about
900 x 500 pixels, making them about 5" wide in the doc. When you say
4x6, are you talking inches? You should be able to insert those into an
8.5 x 11 page life-size or nearly so, and if they're decent quality,
they should be as sharp and clear as the original window from which
they're captured. 

You refer to _the_ anchored frame as if it was a given. Can't you use a
larger frame? If necessary, you can rotate the screen shot so its width
can be nearly the height of your text frame (although you shouldn't need
to unless I'm misunderstanding the sizes you're working with or these
screens use really tiny type).

BTW, to maintain the quality of a bitmap graphic, resist the urge to
make it larger or smaller with the mouse. Resize it only by changing the
dpi (best) or setting a round-number scaling percentage (both in the
Object Properties dialog). 

HTH!
Richard

Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
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rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-777-0436
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