Ann - It is all a numbers game. Find a bitmap or TIFF file in your collection and then open it and resave as a jpg. You can save it in the same location and it will not overwrite the original. Now look at the file details side by side in Windows explorer ( you have to be in "details" view). You will probably find the jpg file is about 1/10th the size of the original. If you are looking at this smaller file on the internet (such as may happen in SS) the image will look about the same, until you try to blow it up a lot to see something small - then it will turn blocky (Pixelate). However, the jpg will load faster and obviously take up less space on systems with small storage areas. If someone has a slow DSL or satellite internet connection it may seem to take forever to load uncompressed images. Similarly, if someone has a metered connection (say, on their smartphone account) they will save on download time and charges with jpg files. I find that if I use a program that allows you to create "high quality" jpg images, you will get most of the space savings, with minimal quality loss. The big gotcha comes if you or someone else is going to make changes to the image. Whenever you process changes and resave a jpg image, you will lose quality - just like happened when copying an old VHS tape. The copies looked worse. Same with jpg's. If you save everything as a jpg, always be sure to convert it to a BMP or TIFF before you make the changes, do what needs to be done, and then resave as a jpg to keep the best quality. Bruce Lightfoot -----Original Message----- From: tmg-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:tmg-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Ann Carson via Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2015 11:56 PM To: TMG@rootsweb.com Subject: [TMG] TMG and Second Site - bmp versus jpg Hello all I'm scanning all the certificates and documents I obtained in the UK recently on a research trip and am wondering (again, still .) about the pros and cons of bmp versus jpg for TMG and Second Site. All my exhibits are external. Is there any downside to using bmps as TMG exhibits? (I have over 16,000 exhibits at the moment and growing fast) I understand that many TMG users create different formats in different folders but I'm trying to avoid, or at least minimise, multiple formats for the same exhibits. However my recollection is that John Cardinal has suggested using jpgs for Second Site. Is this essential and what problems might I have if I try to use bmps? Should I just scan as jpgs to start with and forget the bmps? To put this into context the Second Site output I am working towards will be for around 6,000 people (all descendants of 1 couple) and the exhibits will probably be around the same number. Any thoughts and advice would be appreciated Ann The TMG archive is found here: http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index/TMG/ Instructions on how to subscribe to TMG: http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/index/other/Software/TMG.html ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TMG-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message