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Missing components in Published Image

13 REPLIES 13
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Message 1 of 14
danielw88
843 Views, 13 Replies

Missing components in Published Image

Hi,

 

I have been making images for an instruction booklet and on random inages (.png) nuts and/or bolts are missing entirely.

 

Attached are 2 images. The first is a screenshot of what is on my screen. The second image is of the published image.

 

Any clues?

13 REPLIES 13
Message 2 of 14
Jon.Balgley
in reply to: danielw88

Sure seems odd.  Can you send a sample IPB that shows the problem?  You can email it to me at jon.balgley@autodesk.com

 

 


Jon Balgley
Message 3 of 14

Hi,

The publish area determines what is published. Look for more details in help under publish--publish area.
Thanks,
-Raj (Autodesk)
Message 4 of 14

I now see the issue that 3 nuts are missing from the image. As Jon mentioned if you can send in the document that would be helpful.

Thanks,
-Raj (Autodesk)
Message 5 of 14

I found what the issue was. It appears that in a Publisher file, when an image is published, if you are zoomed out far enough on an assembly, nuts and bolts will disappear.

 

In my case, i was publishing an image with the following settings...

Publish current snapshot

Image resolution: custom

width - 1920 pixels

height - 1080 pixels

res - 300 pixels/inch

image format - PNG

transparent background enabled

anti-aliasing enabled

 

The nuts and bolts are content center objects. I did a test where i published an image close up and slowly zoomed out over the course of a few pictures. The nuts were the first to disappear and the bolts disappeared a picture later.

Message 6 of 14
Jon.Balgley
in reply to: danielw88

Are you using Publisher 2012?  With the new "Publish Area" feature (rectangle on screen showing the area to be published)?  If so, you are probably better off setting the publish size from that context, because you'll get a better WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) experience.  Use the little widge on the right side of the rectangle.

 

1920x1080 @ 300dpi is an odd combination.  1920x1080 is a standard pixel size -- in which case you should use 72 dpi.   300 dpi is a standard print setting, in which case you should set the output size in inches or cm.  The Publish Area settings help to enforce this ... and the Publish Area rectangle will show you the correct region.


Jon Balgley
Message 7 of 14
danielw88
in reply to: Jon.Balgley

Yes, i am using Publisher 2012. I had noticed that i could change the format of the rectangle to the WYSIWYG format. (the attachments above where still using the rectangle, and i later switched the format for my tests) But despite this change, the issue is still there that if you are zoomed out too far, small components (in my case nuts and bolts) will disappear.

Message 8 of 14
danielw88
in reply to: danielw88

Has there been any further investigation into this as to why smaller components like nuts and bolts disappear when said items get too small?

Message 9 of 14
danielw88
in reply to: danielw88

Could i get a response on this? The reason i ask, is because whenever i create images with Publisher, there are at least a dozen pictures that i need to redo multiple times to get the sizing right so that the missing nuts and bolts will show up on the image.

 

Inventor assembly.

Nuts, bolts and washers are placed in the assembly using the Content Center.

If not zoomed close enough, nuts/bolts/washers do not appear on png image.

 

The greater the pixels/inch, the less components (nuts/bolts/washers) appear on the published image.

Message 10 of 14
dmjessup
in reply to: danielw88

I'm wondering if these issues are related. I have noticed that if you change to "custom" when  publishing a graphic, and change the dpi setting, all texts, arrows and many other items become distorted. So there appears to be some underlying issues with how the graphic details are processed. This could also address the issues of video quality. For now, vector graphics seem to produce the best quality. Have any of you noted different characteristics for other exports?

Message 11 of 14
dmjessup
in reply to: danielw88

After closer examination, I've also noticed that between the 72 dpi, 200 dpi and 600 dpi images, there are very little changes to the actual model and edge clarity. They are almost just as pixelated in 600 dpi as they are in 72 dpi. So the results I'm getting from my own test is that this more of a magnification of the text, arrow and perhaps the other small items like screws, nuts or bolts, than an actual increase in dots per inch. I wouldn't  be surprised if those nuts and bolts are just magnified clear off the screen. Looking at various examples, I see the same quality issues across all the different formats I've tried. The edges are still chunky like they are made with legos, regardless of the dpi settings. Can any of you confirm the same results?

Message 12 of 14
danielw88
in reply to: dmjessup

ya, that seems to be consistent with what i have seen too.. despite increasing the dpi, image quality doesnt change at all. Its like you said, dmjessup, there is probably some issue in the graphics processing system.

Message 13 of 14
Jon.Balgley
in reply to: danielw88

Ah.  I see what the problem is.  Let me give you an example, and then I think you'll see it too.

 

1.  Set publish area to 640x480.

 

2. Create or select a snapshot and zoom out far enough so that a component disappears because it is too small.  Now zoom back in one notch so it reappears.

 

3. Publish this snapshot to PNG format, using defined publish area, 640x480, 72dpi.  Look at this in your favorite image viewer, and confirm that it is the same as what is shown in Publisher.  

 

4. Without changing anything else, republish to a custom size, 640x480, 300dpi.  Look at this in your image viewer again, and confirm that (at least) the component has disappeared.  

 

5. But notice that the two images are the same size in the viewer.  That's because you said in the Publish command, "640x480".  That controls the number of pixels.  The 300dpi is ... advice to Publisher that you're going to display/print it on a 300 dpi device.  A 640x480 pixel image, shown at 300 dpi, will only be about 2" by 1.5".   Now if you look at your 72 dpi image on a 72dpi screen (all screens are considered 72dpi), and imagine it reduced by a factor 4.1, because the "pixels are smaller", I think you can see that the little component *should* disappear.

 

Solution: If you're trying to get a certain pixel-sized image, just use 72 dpi.  If you're trying to get a certain physical (inch) sized image at a certain DPI because you're using a certain printer, then set the size in inches or mm's.  

 

I hope this explanation and 'solution'(?) addresses the problem.  I know it feels a little weird.  At the very least, I hope it adequately explains the behavior.  


Jon Balgley
Message 14 of 14
dmjessup
in reply to: Jon.Balgley

Thanks Jon, I appreciate you addressing this. In addition to the vanishing items (which will probably now not vanish because I will leave the settings alone), I still have the issue of needing graphics at a quality level that is acceptable for reprint on a literature level. Whatever the combination of screen size and dpi, if the edges of things are pixel squares, I cannot use them for reprint, and have to create all the graphics I need for publications in another program. This makes Publisher a good tool for little animations that can be sent to portable devices, but not good for end-quality documents that we can use to create user's manuals, literature, sales sheets and many other needs.

 

So how do we get "quality" graphics sent to our Word, PowerPoint, PDF, PNG, etc? In the right color? Matching our snapshots in size relations (like arrows and texts that stay WYSIWYG)? I get better quality at the moment using a screen capture software on the models I have in Publisher.

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