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HowToReduceMediascapeFileSizes
How to: Reduce the Size of Your Mediascape
If you've created a few mediascapes using mscape maker, and played around with adding lots of different kinds of media. you may find that the your output file (created using the Save to Web function) is quite large. All of those pieces of content can quickly add up to make a fairly hefty download time for anyone who may want to download your mediascape from www.mscapers.com. Large mediascapes will also take up more space on the mobile device, reducing the number of mediascapes your user can carry with them at once.
This tutorial will discuss various ways of making your mediascape smaller.
Removing Unused Content Files
It's very common to find that you have quite a few unused pieces of media left over in your finished mediascape, for example scratch files (non-final content created quickly to test parts of your 'scape) and content that didn't make the final cut. When your mediascape is compressed for uploading to the website, all content files listed in mscape maker - including those that are not actually used - are added to the bundle. Note that files left over in the content directory that are not listed in the mediascape will NOT be added to the bundle (except for those in the WebPages folder - see below).
This means it's worth deleting any content files from within mscape maker that are not used - simply right-click them in the list on the left and select delete. Make sure you have backups of all the files as deleting content files cannot be undone.
If you are not sure if a content file has been used, you should make use of mscape makers 'Find uses of..' function. Right-click on a media item, and select 'Find uses of..'. This will search all of the event script code, and list every time you have used the content file. If no results are returned, then you may be able to delete the content file.
| Warning: In version 2.0 of mscape maker 'Find uses of' will not list uses of content files in Slideshows or Speakers. Double-check that your content files are not used in these before deleting them! |
Mediascapes that use WebPages have a special folder in the content directory called 'WebPages'. All files inside this folder will be copied to your output file - so it's worth looking inside here and removing any files or folders that are not used. To view this folder, go to the Tools menu, select 'Open Content Folder', and open the '!WebPages' folder.
Reducing the Size of Your Content Files
Once you have removed unused content files the next job is to reduce the size of the content you are using.
Image Files
The simplest way of reducing the size of your image files is to ensure that they fit the screen size and orientation of the mobile device. The image system in mscape is able to shrink large images to fit the screen, but it is better to make sure they are the right size in the first place. This'll make for a smaller download, and a faster and more responsive mediascape.
A useful tool for resizing images is Microsoft's Free Image Resizer Powertoy. You can download this from:
here
Once you've installed this you can resize your images by right-clicking on the image(s) in Windows Explorer and selecting 'Resize Images'. In mscape maker, go to Tools / Open Content Folder to open the content folder.
Click the 'Advanced >>' button and set the options as shown below. It's important to set the check the 'don't create copies' checkbox so that the resized images have the same name - this means the mediascape will immediately use the new version. Ensure that you've got backups of your images before you reduce them in size this way!
Choose the appropriate size for your mobile device screen. Standard QVGA screens (such as that on the HP rx5935 Travel Companion) are
240x320 in portrait mode, and 320x240 in landscape mode.
Audio Files
In many mediascapes Audio files often form the bulk of the overall file size. This means its particularly important that these files are shrunk down as much as possible.
You can use a free audio editing program such as Audacity (
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) to edit and trim your audio files. It's worth removing silences from the beginning and end of your audio files, and shortening very long sounds if the full length is never needed.
If you are using an uncompressed format such as WAV for your audio, you should convert them to a compressed format - either mp3 or ogg.
If you have converted an audio into a new format the file extension may have changed (e.g. audio3.wav would become audio3.mp3). In order for the medascape to find the newly named version you will need to replace the audio files in mscape maker with the new versions. To do this, right click on the content file in mscape maker and choose 'Replace..'. This will pop up a Open File dialog allowing you to select the newly converted file.
Video Files
The same rules for reducing file size for audio also apply to video. Ensure that your video matches the screen size and orientation of your mobile device, and trim the beginning and end of the movie. You can do this using your favorite video editor.
See the document
CreatingVideoFiles? for information on the recommended video format and compression settings.
