S Dawkins
|
I did a search but I might have missed it.
I want to use some of my own images for backgrounds, etc but am unsure the sizes that the script uses.
Can someone give a small tutorial on what works best with Artisteer -- ie should they be monochrome (backgrounds), png, gif etc???
Thanks....
BTW, how do I make my username 'clickable'
|
| |
Background Image Size
|
 Same question as above. I want to use my own image for the background but do know what the optimum size should be. Thanks.
|
| |
Lance
|
So far it looks to me like Artisteer is not too picky about image size. Just remember that that bigger the image the longer it takes to load, too many of them will bog your site down and drive visitors away. In general small images that repeat are better than big ones and as far as formats goes an optimized jpg is your best bet. Color vs monochrome does not make a huge difference either. There is no perfect size really, you just need to find the balance between appearance and load speed. If your your wanting to use numerous images or even one or two big image files it will be brutal loading up. On a semi-related subject I mentioned one way to do this here: http://www.artisteer.com/?post_id=102841&p=forum_post&forum_id=13
Which also helps keep load time down.
|
| |
S Dawkins
|
Thanks Lance,
I have been testing out formats, it appears its best if the image is transparent, although I have used some backgrounds that were jpg.
Another issue I have is the header, it never resizes to 'fit' so I'm working on that.
|
| |
Lance
|
For foreground images transparent ones are what your after. For background images I don't see why you would use a transparent png file unless you are trying to use it as a glare or texture effect.
Odd, resizing seems to work fine for me with normal background images. Perhaps you could clarify that some more please. I know you can't make a repeating background image to cut site load speed and have to fix that afterward.
|
| |
SueH
|
1) Resizing? I was able to figure out how to resize a header image, but not a background image. How do I do that please?
(2) I can't figure out what I have to click to make the options box become available. I can see it, but it remains 'greyed' out. Have I disabled something by mistake?
Thanks -- this is great software. I made my purchase last night.
|
| |
MarcSmith
|
Sue,
Depending on what kind of template and what the design looks like, some options may or may not be available. Hard to say what 'options' you are talking about, if you can give us more details as to what you are trying to do, we might be able to help.
Resizing foreground and background images both resize the same way. Click HEADER and in the Background area, click on POSITION. You will see the + and - on the right hand side which allows you to resize the header background image (that is if the image is the right size to allow resizing)
|
| |
SueH
|
I have changed the background to one of my own, but as soon as I make any change from Artisteer's default texture, both my new background image and the page of sample text page scroll at the same time. I want mine to be like the default, in which the page scrolls over a fixed background. In the PDF Manual, it tells me to use use Options Menu to do this.
I appreciate your patience, Marc. I think I'm just missing something simple, but I'm the perfect test subject for this program -- a late middle aged Canadian woman who wants to set up a blog for a university course and really has no idea of how to adjust code. Sometimes the there are little steps that elude me which will be staring others full in the face!!
|
| |
Lance
|
Sue,
First, let me apologize. In my previous responses I had assumed that for the most part the others were talking about the backgrounds in the header area.
So with that being said, as S Dawkins stated, using transparent images in those cases makes perfect sense and allows you to create some interesting effects.
1) If you are using a custom background image and need to resize it you will need to use an external image editing program such as photoshop. A free program like Gimp can fill in that gap as well. These programs allow you not only to edit the image but to also optimize it, thereby reducing the file size, for the web when saving it. Artisteer has no built in functionality to do this for either external nor it's built in image library.
2) Assuming you are talking about the pop up window here. The only time the options box is not available to me is when I have no background image loaded. Once you load either one of the built in images of one of your own from file the options will be available again in the pop up window. If you were referring to the menu bar where it says "Options..." that may be a program problem. In that case, maybe try and create a brand new template and see if it reappears.
|
| |
SueH
|
Hi Lance --
Re: resizing -- got it -- just wondered what length and width in pixels would be best for filling the page, but can play with that. Will compress images before I use them. Good suggestion. [Note this program does not seem to recognize
Re: "Options . . ." -- Yes I am trying to get the Options pop up window to appear when I change background or texture. "Options . . ." is not available to me under any circumstances -- not in the Background Ribbon and also not at the bottom of any of the pop up windows ("Image or Texture", "Glare" or "Gradient"). I have just retried again using Artisteer's 2 texture suggestions in the the Background ribbon. As soon as I switch to the second texture , the background begins to scroll with the page. "Options . . ." greyed out as usual! Cannot access Options as described in the manual.
I am using Home Edition (approx $50). Does that make a difference? I did try this feature once in the free trial before I purchased and it worked fine. It seems to have become unavailable since I purchased the program. Should I uninstall and reinstall?
|
| |
SueH
|
Sorry about the dangling sentence in above. Thought I had editted more carefully!!
|
| |
Ellin
|
SueH,
Quote :Re: "Options . . ." -- Yes I am trying to get the Options pop up window to appear when I change background or texture. "Options . . ." is not available to me under any circumstances -- not in the Background Ribbon and also not at the bottom of any of the pop up windows ("Image or Texture", "Glare" or "Gradient"). I have just retried again using Artisteer's 2 texture suggestions in the the Background ribbon. As soon as I switch to the second texture , the background begins to scroll with the page. "Options . . ." greyed out as usual! Cannot access Options as described in the manual.
This is the restriction of Home Edition. The "Options" option is available in Standard Edition.
|
| |
S Dawkins
|
Quote Lance:
For foreground images transparent ones are what your after. For background images I don't see why you would use a transparent png file unless you are trying to use it as a glare or texture effect.
Odd, resizing seems to work fine for me with normal background images. Perhaps you could clarify that some more please. I know you can't make a repeating background image to cut site load speed and have to fix that afterward.
The resizing is for the header image, it typically cuts off whatever I am using.
There must be some ratio.
|
| |
Lance
|
SueH.....
Oh wow, I never realized that those options were not available in the "Home" version. Artisteers feature compariison is not real clear on that other than saying "Custom dialog options" are not available. That kinda sucks. Maybe they can give you a reduced price on an upgrade. After I tested it I went right for the "Standard" edition. I think the home edition should include those functions as well, and do not think that by including them it would hurt the sales of the standard edition.
S Dawkins...
First thing I would do is write down the settings for your header size. Height and width. So if you made a page 800px wide with a header height of 175px you know what dimensions you are working with. Using an external image editor I would make or edit my graphic based on that size (800 x 175). That way once it is loaded up there should be little to no cropping occurring.
|
| |
S Dawkins
|
Lance I have tried this, however it does not work!!!
|
| |
Lance
|
S Dawkins,
That sounds very odd. I was working on a Joomla template last night with a custom header image and it worked perfectly for me. Of course I didn't bother with any resizing options since it just dropped in perfectly and was designed to fit within the header area available and there is no reason to resize it at that point.
First try it without using the resize option. Since the templates generated do not have fluid widths this should work fine in all browsers at all resolutions.
It could just be that the settings in the resize options are causing it to go goofy.
If disabling the resizing option does not work let me know. But please provide a few more details then? Like what type of template you are creating, and such.
|
| |
Brett Bumeter
|
I have done several dozen wordpress themes with artisteer and it does not seem to matter what size image you make, when you load it into the header it never plays terribly nice with the program. Definitely requires some trial and error.
Also, when the header is rendered ultimately, the image you upload will sometimes be cut up by the program with the inner rectangle of the header image for the background and the outer section of the header image as some type of border attachment?
The program is great but this section could be tightened up some day in the future. (might be a little early to start talking version 3)  Maybe wait until after St Pattie's Day. 
|
| |
Marc Smith
|
I have found that using PNG files works the best.
|
| |
Lance
|
I tried a couple more WP themes last night and can not seem to duplicate the problem you are having, they look perfect.
1) I use a jpg format for the higher compression.
2) Typically images are a slight bit bigger than the available area.
3) I do not use a foreground image. If I remember correctly, if you do so, Artisteer will combine the background image and foreground image into a single header image. Could be something weird going on their as well.
* Should anything odd happen to occur with sizing, I would generate the template then replace the generated header BG image with the original I created which should fix the problem. (File names will have to match of course.)
|
| |
SueH
|
@Ellin &@Lance -- Thanks so much for clearing this up. I never would have purchased Artisteer had I not been able to work with other backgrounds. I will email the company and see what they can do for me.
|
| |
Lance
|
Best of luck Sue, I hope that they are helpful in resolving this for you. Please let us know how it works out.
|
| |
S Dawkins
|
Ok, I've tried everything, resizing this image to be the right width, or right height, and no matter what I do it cuts if off .
Can someone try this image www.traac.net/newimage/test.jpg
It is in original size, I have a header of 250 height and 800 width sheet.....
|
| |
Marc Smith
|
That file is 1200x633, not 800x250
I will give it a shot.
|
| |
Marc Smith
|
Is this what you are looking for?
If so, I used the FOREGROUND image section to put it in. I've found using the background image section to be tricky at best... and I usually don't use a background image in any event.
|
| |
S Dawkins
|
Yes, I uploaded the original cuz I have like 10 I resized.....
But the header in my skin is 800x250. That is where I am trying to get this image. No matter what size I cropped it to in Photoshop it didn't work.
|
| |
S Dawkins
|
No, wanted it to fill the full header.
This is what it does for me...
|
| |
Marc Smith
|
Well, the issue will be that the image itself does not "scale" to that size, so it won't be able to fill the header completely.
This is taking the image, putting it on a header background of 800.250, then pasting your image into it so that it either fits width wise (which would cut off the top and bottom or height wise, which leaves space left and right.
|
| |
S Dawkins
|
Marc what do you mean?
You resized the image to 800x250
|
| |
Marc Smith
|
If you scale the image in GiMP or Photoshop so that the aspect ration can change, and make it 800x250 then load this image into Artisteer, this is what you get.
|
| |
S Dawkins
|
Believe it or not, I tried everything, even opening a blank png file at 800x250 then pasting the image in and resize the layer it to fit right and still ended up with the output you saw above.
|
| |