Your questions answered

How do I check my graphics in 256 colours?
Click on the Simulate 256 colour button on the toolbar or in the Outputs Menu.

Change the background colour of a file I've imported?
In the source view, select the bitmap you want to change the background of, and click choose transparent on the Inspector. Then using the choose transparent dialog, select the background colour of your source. Now the canvas colour of the file will show through. You can change that on the canvas properties pane. Alternatively you can select your background colour by using the Eye Dropper then change it using the Change Colour Filter dialog box.

What do the square and round handles mean around my source image?

• The round handles indicate which frame is selected or in the case of a single frame it shows that the canvas is selected. If you use the round handles to resize the image the whole image will be resized.
• The square handles indicate which object in the image has been selected. So if you click on an object in your image to select it the square handles appear. If you use the square handles to resize the object you'll see that only the object changes, not the whole image.

Why should I save the IWI file?
The IWI (Ignite Web Image) file contains information about all the Inspector settings for the file. You can also include any notes to associate with the file.

Does Ignite support batch processing?
No, not in the current version (V2.00) but if you have lots of files of the same size (in pixels) then use File menu>Open many into frames to open them all into one document, give each frame an appropriate name. Then, in output view, set Frames on the Inspector to All as files and click save this output and you'll have saved all your files.

Can I generate image mapping tags automatically?
No, not in the current version (V2.00)

Does Ignite change my original artwork?
No. Unless you accidentally overwrite it on saving the output. Ignite will warn you if the file already exists when setting the output filename. However, saving outputs will overwrite files without warning unless you set an option to stop it.

What file formats can be used as source files?
Ignite recognizes IWI (Ignite Web Image), BMP, GIF, JPEG, DIB, WMF, EMF, PNG and WBMP as Ignite source files. You can also open Adobe Photoshop, PhotoDeluxe, and Fireworks native files. As an alternative to importing files from within Ignite, Ignite can be used as a plugin that works directly from Photoshop, PaintShop Pro, and many other painting applications. You can also scan images into Ignite using the Acquire command on the File Menu and there are also TWAIN interfaces for digital cameras.
NB We are unable to offer support for TIFF because of licensing problems from Unisys.

Which format is the best to use for excellent results?
Native files from graphics applications (e.g. PSD files from Photoshop). Obviously the more input data available to Ignite, the better the output will be.

How can I ensure consistent colour across several images?
There are several ways of achieving this try any one of the following:

1. Use Frames.
   If the images are all the same size, load them into one document, one image per frame. Instead of making an animation from these frames, in the output view, choose All as files for the Frame property in the Inspector and Ignite will save each frame as a separate file.
   
2. Use Splits
   If the images are irregular sizes, or need animating, put all the images into one file (you can put more than one bitmap in an Ignite image) and then use the split function to split them into multiple files. Note that Ignite optimizes animations automatically, so if some images are animated but others aren't, only the files which need to be animations will be animations.
   
3. Create your own settings.
   Create the first image, and set it up to give the right colours etc. Then store the settings using the Outputs menu, and then apply the saved settings to the next image.
4. Create a special palette.
   Create the first image as before. Then store the palette as a user palette using the Outputs>Palette menu. Then from the GIF File pane on the Inspector, choose specified for the Palette setting and then choose the palette you just created. Now store these settings as in the method above and then apply them to the next image.

I can see a new file type WBMP under output files but what are WBMP files?
WBMP are Wireless Bitmap files. WBMP is a lightweight, black and white only, image format. It is used in Wireless Application Protocol applications, used to access web site services from small devices such as mobile phones and PDAs. WBMP files are only useful for WAP applications and cannot be displayed in web browsers.
For more information about WAP and WBMP go to http://www.wapforum.org

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