Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum and new to the VSD software, and have done some searching through other threads but apologies if I'm asking something that has already been answered elsewhere!

I'm in the process of creating a new website for my band, which at the moment hasn't been uploaded to replace the old one so is just living locally on my PC. I've noticed that there are a very large number of IMG files within the files directory, many of which I have created within the VSD software (which I expected) but also some that are images that I'm guessing the software has created, which are seemingly random parts of my pages e.g. half of one image and half of another. I'm curious as to what causes these images to be created, and if there's an easy way to "tidy up" the unnecessary ones as I'd like to avoid going through hundreds of images every now and then!

I have also noticed that despite the fact that I duplicated a half-finished version of one page so that I wouldn't have to set up the same layout etc. on the other pages, there are multiple copies of the same image for each page. Is there a way of avoiding this, or getting all the pages to point to one image file to reduce the number?

I hope the above makes sense! Obviously as I haven't uploaded the website yet (as it isn't finished!) I can't provide any links, but I can attach one of the images if it helps. The file sizes of the images are small, so I'm hoping that even if I completely ignore this I won't have any issues once I upload the website - however, I like to understand these things!

Many thanks,
Shaun

Hi Shaun!
This is normal for VSD. I get ambitious from time to time and delete all the image files that I didn't create (the ones that just have a number instead of a name: img_14.jpg). If you copy/paste objects and photos with effects on them, you'll end up with a lot of these. When you have something you want to repeat on several pages -a horizontal divider with a drop shadow for example - you can copy/paste it without any effects, then go to each page and add the shadow. A bit more work, but it will keep the junk files from piling up.
Maybe the new version of VSD (coming SOON!) will handle this better.
Welcome to the forum, and don't hesitate to ask for help along the way with your site!

Hi paintbrush,

Thanks for such a quick and helpful response! I'll try not to worry about them too much for now.

I have noticed that the only files in the folder that are not named using the IMG convention are a few .jpgs that I inserted using the picture tool. Any shapes that I created using the shapes tool in VSD, or anything that I copied/pasted in, and even any of the mouseover effects have all had IMG files created automatically. I take it that this is normal as well?

I have also noticed that the .jpg files mentioned above have not been duplicated even though they are used on multiple pages. To minimise unnecessary files, where possible should I avoid pasting files into VSD and if I create a shape should I save it as a .jpg and then insert it using the picture tool? Or should I just stop being overly concerned about it? Haha

Just one more question from me (for now!) - why does VSD generate some of these more "random" IMG files?

It's a great piece of software, it's just taking a bit of getting used to as I'm no web designer and all I've really done before is basic HTML stuff. The end result using VSD so far is looking much nicer and still coming together more quickly. Unfortunately, I like to understand these things as much as possible!

Thanks again!
Shaun

I hadn't really paid attention to these files until I made a different color footer area on a site (with a drop shadow). On the pages I copied it to there was an extra "edge" of color beyond the shadow. So it didn't look like the original page which had the shadow fading to transparency over the background color. So I deleted and tried again - same thing. I realized VSD was saving everything I created on the home page as jpg files (so no transparency) and using those when I copied/pasted. Since then, I make all my dividers, boxes... in Photoshop and either save as a png if it has transparent areas or jpg if it's a solid shape.
As I lay out my home page, I use the insert image tool to add these elements then I make the other pages and choose the duplicate page option in the add page dialogue. Once all the pages have been created, I add drop shadows (if wanted) to individual items, page by page. I've also found it's not good to re-size png files within VSD. For example, I made my logo in sm. med. and lrg. and insert it from the original file (I set up folders for both images and graphic items) as needed (stays crisp and doesn't get converted to a jpg).
So... control what you can and let VSD do it's thing when it needs to
It's a very small price to pay for this much flexibility and ease of use.

Looking forward to seeing your first VSD site!

That's great, thank you very much for your help! I'm very tempted to start over and recreate the same design using many of the methods you explained above.

I'll be sure to post a link on the forum once it's finished and uploaded!

Your very welcome!
Sometimes it's easier to start over, it gives you a chance to get better organized than the first time around, which makes things easier in the long run. The first site I made, I had everything in one big messy folder - just saved everything together ...different versions of the same photos, graphics in various sizes/colors. When I decided to re-do the site the first thing I did was start with a new filing system which included a folder for the old site so it would be easy to find things I might want to use again and move them into the correct folder.
Now it's much easier to work on my site, make changes - and keep up with those junk image files

You can "show off" your new web site in this thread:
http://www.coffeecup.com/forums/designe … site-here/