Re: Document size?

Subject: Re: Document size?
From: Fred Randall <frandall -at- SOMAT -dot- COM>
Date: Mon, 30 Sep 1996 09:26:32 -0500

>Ok...ok....this is getting completely ridiculous now. I have a 66 page
>document, containing about 50 bitmap graphics (screen shots, etc all
>fairly small.), all 256 colors or less. A table of contents and a
>small (1.5 pages) index. No tables. Only two fonts (Arial and
>Palatino). The file is nearly 6 megs! Do the Word gurus on this list
>have any words of wisdom? I'll listen to about anything, but here's
>what I tried already:

>* Saving it with a different name.
>* Ensuring that all revision tracking is turned off.
>* Ensuring that Fast Save option is turned off.

>Would converting the bitmaps to wmf files be worth the effort? To
>black and white (I'd have to talk hard and fast to our marketing
>department to get this one passed)?

---< snip > ---

>Jane Bergen

Congratulations on having such a small file!
Keep in mind that a bitmap screen shot, depending on the screen
resolution, can be from 20KB to 240KB in size. I have some Word 6.0c
files that are less than 15 pages, but because of the high-resolution
(Super VGA) screen shots in them the files are over 2 MB in size.
The one way to keep the bitmap image size down is to use the minimum
colors needed. I put all mine to 16 color which in some cases decreases
the .BMP file size by over 70%.
In coverting bitmaps to .WMF, the 256-color palette information might
be lost during conversion (Ref: "Windows 95 Help Authoring Kit," Microsft
Press).
Doing a "Save As" can decrease the file size also. As changes are made
to a file, the changes are amended to the end of the file. Then, as the file
is opened ans used, the charges are incorporated as needed. When you do
a "Save As," an entire new file is created, and when you use the same file
name the old file is overwritten.
If you want smaller files, divide the one file into several: cover and TOC
in one, one or several chapters in each of the others. That's what I do in
my work. It also provides safety: if everything is one file and that file is
corrupted or lost...Aaaaaah, #$%^ -at- !; but if the same happens to just one
of several files, the "Aaaaaah, #$%^ -at- !" factor isn't as severe. (You do do
backups, don't you?)

TTFN


Fred Randall
Documentation Specialist
SoMat Corporation, Urbana IL (in the Heart of the "Silicon Prairie")


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