The challenge of mobile images - discussion

[Acorn]

Acorn … clarification on your chunk of code ….

Here comes the sleight of hand.
For each resized and placed image in your design, open its Placeholder Body and insert:
<img id="unique image identifier" src="<source path>/<A nice image filename>.jpg" alt="describe the image" loading="lazy" width=100% height=100% />
Change the id, set the src to 'index_html_files/<master-image>.<ext>, describe the image in alt.

The image <a nice image filename> is the name of my file. No changes to the image id correct? Alt is my description of pic.

This is a fascinating solution.

Thanks
W

Bill, say you have a design file, A.xar.
When you publish, you render as .html so you publish your resources to index_html_files. Else we are looking at an index_htm_files folder.
Your image is B.png and you have used the Placeholder > Replace with graphic file option.
When you save your design, B.png is copied into an A_xar_files folder.
When you render, B.png is included in the index_html_files folder.

The <img> Tag should be made with an id value that is solely associated with A.png; the alt text can have a duplicate elsewhere.
The src is then just the render path and filename: index_html_files/A.png.
A and B can be any legal strings for a filename.
png could be jpg, webp, gif or any format a modern browser can handle even is Xara cannot.

Acorn

[bwood]

Got it. Very cool. Its a great tool. I'm messing with it. I'm making the hero image first -- THEN creating a thumbnail. The placeholder alone will stretch and deform the original image. Then draw a rectangular shape and replace with the thumb. Image quality is retained.

[bwood]

@acorn - furthering this discussion with a questions.

You can make a thumbnail with the process that you mentioned. But don't you have to have the correct dimensions of the photo before placing into the placeholder? Lets say you want an larger image on a mobile page. You find the dimensions of the placeholder you want - then fit a photo to those particular dimensions. Then 'replace with photo' in placeholder, and throw that saved photo into the placeholder. Of course you do not regenerate image.

If you make a thumbnail - then bring the thumbnail into the placeholder, the thumb that you made must be the correct dimensions of the placeholder. Anyway that's what I'm find after following your instructions. It certainly does save a lot of space - but I'm finding that master photo > thumbnail has to be the correct dimensions of the placeholder, especially if its a hero image. Make sense ?

[Acorn]

@acorn - furthering this discussion with a questions.

You can make a thumbnail with the process that you mentioned. But don't you have to have the correct dimensions of the photo before placing into the placeholder? Lets say you want an larger image on a mobile page. You find the dimensions of the placeholder you want - then fit a photo to those particular dimensions. Then 'replace with photo' in placeholder, and throw that saved photo into the placeholder. Of course you do not regenerate image.

If you make a thumbnail - then bring the thumbnail into the placeholder, the thumb that you made must be the correct dimensions of the placeholder. Anyway that's what I'm find after following your instructions. It certainly does save a lot of space - but I'm finding that master photo > thumbnail has to be the correct dimensions of the placeholder, especially if its a hero image. Make sense ?

Bill, yes all sensible.

I said:

You can use Xara to create the thumbnail.
Drop a master image onto the design. Yes, mega size alert.
Clone it and make the clone very small.
Create a Bitmap Copy of this small clone. try 64px for its longest side.
Resize and fit to fully cover the original.
Delete the original.
When you save and re-open the design file, the original image will have disappeared from the Bitmap gallery, as any unused bitmaps (nowhere on any page or layer) will be deleted from the file.

The "Delete the original" is really two-fold. From the Bitmap gallery and the design page. When you do this, the image on the design page reverts to the Xara Default. You then delete that. The other way round also works. What you are doing is removing the large image from being stored inside your design file.

Apologies for the lack of clarity.

Acorn

[bwood]

Certainly getting the hang of this now Acorn. It’s been parsing the mobile size considerably. On the pasteboard I’m using arrow indicators where placeholder images are used (for my benefit only). Certainly can be used on the larger variants as well.
My work flow - I bring the image in and size it. Note the size, and export the photo and save. Now delete the photo from the design. Draw a rectangle the size of the photo, in placeholder replace with photo, generate image unchecked.

Very handy tool. I’m still a bit foggy on the thumbnail idea, but the replace photo option is very handy.

[Acorn]

Certainly getting the hang of this now Acorn. It’s been parsing the mobile size considerably. On the pasteboard I’m using arrow indicators where placeholder images are used (for my benefit only). Certainly can be used on the larger variants as well.
My work flow - I bring the image in and size it. Note the size, and export the photo and save. Now delete the photo from the design. Draw a rectangle the size of the photo, in placeholder replace with photo, generate image unchecked.

Very handy tool. I’m still a bit foggy on the thumbnail idea, but the replace photo option is very handy.

Bill, to avoid any recording, add the <img> Tag into the Placeholder without any Regenerate set and then delete the image from the Gallery.

You should document all your steps as it is still a pain and messy.
I can then validate them for you.

For instance, is the master image in its own non-Xara path or in the Xara External Assets folder?

Acorn

[bwood]

Working on that Acorn. I have my Master images in their own folder. All very large as I do my own photos. Then after correctly sizing and processing I place them in another folder, usually a folder marked “mobile”. I think that’s the external.

I’m working on another museum. Based on the lumber industry. All the images on the phone variant page 1 are placeholders. I’m not finding an exceptional speed increase. Yet, on the full variant I am.

Www.Nipawinmuseum.org