File Parameters Dialog Box

This dialog box controls the way compressed image files are stored.

Compression? Yeah, compression. Image files take up a lot of storage space, and compressed formats use complex algorithms try to squeeze the image into less space. You don't have to know anything about these algorithms except that they save space.

UltraPaint currently supports two compressed formats, JPEG (or JPG) and ABM. Settings for one format do not affect the image if you aren't saving in that format. For example, the "ABM file parameters" do not do anything unless you save the file with the extension .ABM. Likewise, the JPEG quality and grayscale settings have no effect unless you save the file with a .JPG extension.

The JPEG format is a useful format widely used on the internet. It yeilds high compression with minimal loss in image quality.

When you save a file in UltraPaint, the image displayed on the screen will not lose any quality. The only way to see how much the compression affected the image quality is to load the file again from disk.

Please note that JPG files do not support animations.

The ABM file format is exclusive to UltraPaint and is being used personally by me and my game development team to make a game. It supports animated images and compression, but the compression is not as good as JPEG. Feel free to use it, but be aware that other image editing programs won't be able to load it.