ImageExport Updates and Revision History
ImageExport Updates
ImageExport is a work in progress. We're constantly improving it and adding new features. This Revision History lists the changes we've made lately.
You can always update your current copy of ImageExport to the most recent version at no charge.
To update, visit the Downloads page, follow the instructions there to download and install the latest version. That will update ImageExport automatically. You do not need to uninstall ImageExport first or re-enter any registration information. Just run the installer and you're updated, whether you have a demo or fully registered version.
Revisions are listed by date, most recent changes first.
Revisions that affect all PPTools add-ins
Fall 2007Discussions with WebEx should result in a fix for the problem their software was causing PPTools add-ins. If you encounter problems with PPTools add-ins when WebEx software is in use, contact WebEx tech support for several effective workarounds or updated software.
Summer 2007New image export routines in PPT2HTML, Protect and ImageExport give much higher quality images than was previously possible when using PowerPoint 2002 and up.
28 November, 2006Added a workaround for a problem caused by some WebEx software (on starting PPT you see repeated error messages). With the workaround, you'll see the error messages ONLY the first time you start PPT after installing the WebEx software; they'll stop after that. We're working with WebEx to correct the problem that causes this.
ImageExport Revision Log
03 Jan, 2009
Fixed bug that caused slide numbers to move slightly in exported images
28 Jan, 2008
Added EMF as an output format option
JPG Compression/Quality:
You can now control the compression/quality of ImageExport JPG exports.
The higher the compression, the smaller the JPG file but the lower the quality.
The lower the compression, the larger the JPG, but the higher the image quality.
The choice is now yours.
In PPTools.INI, the [ImageExport] section, add the following lines:
; 0 = worst image quality but very small files
; 100 = best image quality but larger files
; ImageExport's default is 95 - this gives very nearly the same quality as 100
; but yields considerably smaller JPG files
; Try values from 75 to 95 for very good image quality but moderate file sizes
JPGQuality=100
Added several other INI values experimentally:
; In PPT 2002 and up, ImageExport first exports a high resolution image, then
; resamples it down to the final requested size; this gives much higher quality
; images than PPT does on its own
; ImageExport defaults to a 3000 pixel image to downsample from.
; If you want to speed it up or don't need quite so much quality, you can set a lower
; value here, for example:
ResampleFrom=1024
You can also specify a resampling method if you'd like to experiment:
Available methods are:
BOX = 0 ' Box, pulse, Fourier window, 1st order (constant) b-spline
BICUBIC = 1 ' Mitchell & Netravali's two-param cubic
BILINEAR = 2 ' Bilinear
BSPLINE = 3 ' 4th order (cubic) b-spline
CATMULLROM = 4 ' Catmull-Rom spline, Overhauser spline
LANCZOS3 = 5 ' Lanczos3
The default value is 5, Lanczos3
ResampleMethod=5
16 Dec, 2007 - early Jan, 2008
Added special case code to handle bugs in image exports from PPT 2007 SP1; added limits to export size with PPT2007/SP1 (a bug in SP1 causes the image to be cropped if it's exported at higher resolutions; until Microsoft fixes the bug, there's not much else we can do.
Improved handling of portrait-oriented slide presentations.
2 April 2007
Image quality, especially text, greatly improved in PPT 2002/2003/2007. Versions of PPT after 2000 tend to make images with terribly jagged text. This new version of Image Exporter makes much better looking text than previous versions or PPT by itself. Exports will take a little longer but we think you'll find it worth the wait.
You can now control the formatting of the file names directly from the preferences dialog box. For example:
- Type "00" instead of the default "0000" into the Number Format box to have ImageExport create files with only two numeric places in the name instead of four.
- Type any text in quotes to have ImageExport include that text in the file name. For example, if the Base Name is Test and you type "-English-Version-2-"00 into the Number Format box, you'll get image files with names like Test-English-Version-2-42.JPG
See Using Format Strings in PPTools for a detailed explanation of formatting text.
For you VB programmers, we simply use the string entered here as the Format string for the file number.
And note that as you change the Base Name, Number Format and other items that affect file naming, the "Output looks like" text at the bottom of the dialog box gives you a preview of the file names you'll get.
ImageExport now remembers your settings on a per-presentation basis. As you make settings in the dialog box, it records the settings in each presentation itself. These become the new dialog default settings whenever you export slides from that presentation. If you've never exported slides from the presentation, the last-used settings from the previous presentation are the defaults.
If you type in the name of an output directory that doesn't exist, it'll offer to create it for you.
Tab order in the dialog is much improved.
ImageExport now offers to launch the most recently exported file when it finishes an export run. If you click YES, it'll launch the file in whatever program would ordinarily open files of the same type when you double-click them.
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