Saving JPGs

Saving an image as a JPEG is quite a simple affair. Just a little care is needed when selecting the level of compression you want because, though high compression will lead to very small file size, the quality of the JPG image will definitely suffer. Here we'll look at three different programs.

Saving JPGs with Adobe PhotoShop (version 5)

1. From the File menu select the Save as option. Choose .JPG or .JPE extension from the drop down menu in the Save As window that appears.
2. If your image has more than 1 layer, you can't use Save As. Instead, use File - Save a Copy. This preserves the layers and lets you continue working without merging all layers.
3. You can specify various attributes of the image in the JPEG Options box. Move the slider towards the left to increase compression (reduce file size) or the right to decrease the level of compression.
   
4. You can also select image quality from a drop down menu. Low corresponds to 1 on the slider, Medium to 4, High to 6 and Maximum to 8.
   
5. Finally you can select the number of passes or scans you wish to have for your progressive jpeg.
   

Saving JPGs with Corel Xara 2.0

1. Click on File - Export.
2. Select .jpg extension from the drop down menu and click "OK".
3. You can now set the level of compression as well as Progressive option.
   

Saving JPGs with Paint Shop Pro

Select File - Save As and choose the .jpg option. Just as in PhotoShop, you can select the compression levels in PaintShop Pro (version 7.0). Click on the "Options" button in the "Save As" window. This pop-ups the "Save Options" window. You can set the Encoding and Compression levels.

Note, higher the compression factor, more the image will be compressed. You can also click on the "Run Optimizer" button and fine tune the saving options and see a preview of the image you are about to save.