1. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge1 FlashFlash Publishing with images, diagrams and graphs CourseCourse

2. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge2 Overview Informative  Effectively communicate a message. Attractive  Enhance the way your publication looks. Captivating  Grab the reader/viewers attention. User-Friendly  Do not negatively affect the user- friendliness of the publication.

3. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge3 Informative Objects What is the message?  Think first, convey a message.  If it doesn’t communicate any information then don’t include it.

4. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge4 Informative Objects Who is the audience (context)?  Reconsider adding complicated graphs, or tables.  Do you think the intended audience will understand the insertion? If not adapt it.

5. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge5 Informative Objects Making objects more informative:  Provide captions to photographs  Provide clear accurate keys to all graphs and diagrams.  Cross reference text to appropriate objects.  Insert objects in appropriate locations.  Appropriately name all objects for indexing.  Acknowledge the source of all objects.

6. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge6 Informative Objects Tips on Captions:  Be specific, be concise, guide the viewer.  Note the difference between two potential captions:  ‘A hillside near village of al-Jabal” and…  “This hillside near village of al-Jabal in North West Syria is terraced and covered with olive trees. These trees are the life-blood of the village as their oil provides the average inhabitant with 60 % of their yearly income”.

7. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge7 Informative Objects Tips on Graph Creation:  Make graphs clear, precise, and accurate.  Communicate the required information effectively.  Discard information which is confusing (presentations).  Try and create all your graphs with the same program or group of programs (e.g. Office 2003) that you will publish the final paper.  Make a key, and if needed, color code the graph clearly.

8. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge8 Informative Objects Tips on naming objects:  All objects inserted into publications should be named.  Develop a consistent system of object naming throughout the NAPC.  Ask InfoComm to develop a system: stick to it.  This will make references to objects much simpler, for viewers and creators.  E.g. (Photos) Photo_1, (Graphs) Graph_1, Tables (Fig_1).

9. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge9 Attractive Objects Making an object attractive:  Images are added not only for effectiveness but also for attractiveness.  But before you add, consider this:

10. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge10 Attractive Objects Placement:  The placement of an object directly affects how the whole publication looks.  Maintain symmetry – it makes the text easier to read. Colors:  Are colors necessary? If so what colors?  Often a black and white objects can be very effective.

11. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge11 Attractive Objects Overcrowding:  Don’t crowd your page, it confuses the reader or the viewer.  Objects are there to help simplify an idea not to confuse. Image Quality:  Badly taken photographs look unprofessional - negatively impacting publications.  Learn how to take and choose good photos.

12. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge12 Captivating Objects Grabbing your audience’s attention:  Grab the viewer’s attention.  Cause people to take a second look.

13. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge13 Captivating Objects: Use effective photographs:  Dramatic images are more effective than more general images.

14. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge14 User-friendly Objects Ensuring your object is user- friendly:  Most important step - often overlooked.  Publications designed to be read, so they must be:  Easy to download  Easy to use  Easy to navigate

15. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge15 User-friendly Objects Easy to download:  Inserting external objects increases file-size and download time.  Limit the file size as much as possible.  As a general rule limit insertions to 100 KB.  Objects should account for less than 20% of the total file size.

16. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge16 User-friendly Objects How to reduce the file size:  Resize images used in a publication.  Change the format of the file.  Ensure compatibility of object.  Don’t add pictures unless strictly necessary.  Use black and white if color is not essential.

17. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge17 User-friendly Objects Resizing an image:  Images in their original form are huge files.  A normal digital camera creates images of around 1MB.  But don’t resize inside the publication program. This kind of resizing has very little effect on the file size.  You must resize images in image editing software first.

18. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge18 User-friendly Objects Resizing and Image:  Open the file in PhotoShop.  View the image at 100 % (it says what percentage it as at the top of the file in blue).  If not click on the 'View' tab on the top toolbar and click "Zoom in" or "Zoom out" depending on whether it is bigger or smaller than 100%.  Click the "Image" tab on the top toolbar. Scroll down until you get to 'Image size…" click.  Choose to change pixel dimensions or the document size. At the top of the window you can see the current file size.  Change the size by typing in some new parameters.  Then either save the file as a copy, or continue by also changing the format. (see below)

19. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge19 User-friendly Objects Changing format of an image:  In the case of images, for larger images the best format for space-saving is.JPG  Smaller images, thumbnail size, are best saved as GIF.  Saving it as a JPG in PhotoShop also makes it possible to reduce the resolution of the image.  This is best done in parallel with changing the size of the image.

20. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge20 User-friendly Objects Saving an image as JPG in PhotoShop:  Open image in PhotoShop v.7.0  Click on the file tab, and click 'save as...'.  Checking 'save as a copy' so that you don’t lose the original file, scroll down the formats column and get to JPG. (For GIF images you just need to select GIF here)  Click ‘save’.  Then choose image quality. See file size in the bottom left and corner of the window - download time also listed.  Click ‘Ok’ when you have chosen the size you would like.  Then insert this 'copy' of the original file into your presentation.

21. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge21 User-friendly Objects Changing the format of the whole file:  PDF files are particularly good because they restrict editing and reduce the file size.  Consider even converting PPT (PowerPoint) files into PDF format.  It can make viewing and downloading simpler.

22. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge22 User-friendly Objects Ensuring compatibility:  Add graph or table in same format.  If inserting a graph to your PowerPoint presentation – make it in Excel.  Avoid graphs as images.  If it must be an image, reduce image size (above).

23. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge23 User-friendly Objects Black and White is an option:  Remember that changing images and other objects to Black and White (this must be done by photo-editing software) reduces the file size considerably.  Consider whether color is strictly necessary, especially if the file is going to available online.

24. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge24 User-friendly Objects Think of your audience:  As with any publication you must always think of your audience.  If you want to include large picture files in a presentation for example this is fine but consider taking them out when you send it to be published online.  Make a publishable copy of your file  This will assist the InfoCom team to work more efficiently and will ensure more people will read your work.  After all who is going to read a presentation which over a dial-up connection may take 5 hours to download.  I’m not sure I would, so think about it.  As an internationally known centre it will be necessary to develop articles that are user-friendly and easily accessible.

25. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge25 User-friendly Objects Easy to use:  Making easy to access, simply laid-out publications is the first step to getting them read.  Consider any method that might make it easier for someone to view your publication.

26. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge26 User-friendly Objects Easy to Navigate:  Don’t frustrate and tire the reader. Make your publication navigable.  If you impress them with your clarity of style, you are sure to impress them with the clarity of content!

27. 18-12-2006OJC Bridge27 Questions? If you have any queries ask me now. Or if in the future you have something to ask – you know where I am (opposite Nasouh!)