Images in Dialogs

[fullcity]

A client has supplied me with a Photoshop file to brand their installer. When I save the image as a 72dpi jpeg at 370 x 44 (the size of the default banner image in the FolderDlg dialog) and use it in the dialog it becomes terribly pixelated. What am I doing wrong?

Original:

FW_Index.jpg (12.24 KiB) Viewed 9089 times

After placement in Dialog:

whatthe.jpg (4.22 KiB) Viewed 9091 times

Help...?

Adam Aronson
FullCity Consulting Inc.
http://www.fullcityconsulting.com

[Cosmin]

Hi Adam,

Please note that the banner image size used by Advanced Installer is 500 x 63 pixels. Therefore, you can try saving your custom image at this resolution to make sure that it is displayed correctly during the install process.

I save the image as a 72dpi jpeg at 370 x 44 (the size of the default banner image in the FolderDlg dialog)

Please note that sizes of the controls inside the MSI file are specified in installer units, not pixels. Therefore, the width of a banner image will be 370 installer units and its height 44 installer units.

Let me know if the problem persists even when using a higher resolution.

Regards,
Cosmin

[fullcity]

Cosmin,

Thank you for the response.

What is the best method for translating installer units into pixels?

Adam

[Cosmin]

Hi Adam,

I'm afraid that there is no actual method for converting installer units in pixels. This is because the relative size of dialogs, controls and fonts can change depending upon the font size used in the UI of the package. However, you can use the size recommended by Microsoft:
Banner Bitmap -- 500 pixels wide by 70 pixels high

Regards,
Cosmin

[fullcity]

Hi Adam,

I'm afraid that there is no actual method for converting installer units in pixels. This is because the relative size of dialogs, controls and fonts can change depending upon the font size used in the UI of the package. However, you can use the size recommended by Microsoft:
Banner Bitmap -- 500 pixels wide by 70 pixels high

Regards,
Cosmin

Cosmin,

Thank you for the prompt replies!

So... what do I tell my client who wants to provide art files to me for the Banner Bitmap and the "PrepareDlgBitmap_1"? What sizes should those elements be? Or, am I missing something other piece of this puzzle entirely?

Also, where does the name "Banner Bitmap" appear in the AI UI? I dont see that name anywhere and I'd liek to try and sound like I know what I am talking about when describing these things to you. 8)

Thanks!

Adam

[Cosmin]

Hi,

So... what do I tell my client who wants to provide art files to me for the Banner Bitmap and the "PrepareDlgBitmap_1"? What sizes should those elements be?

Like I mentioned in my previous post, the size recommended by Microsoft is 500 pixels wide by 70 pixels high. Therefore, the banner bitmaps should have the resolution 500x70 pixels.

where does the name "Banner Bitmap" appear in the AI UI?

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Can you please give me more details about this?

Regards,
Cosmin

[fullcity]

Hi,

So... what do I tell my client who wants to provide art files to me for the Banner Bitmap and the "PrepareDlgBitmap_1"? What sizes should those elements be?

Like I mentioned in my previous post, the size recommended by Microsoft is 500 pixels wide by 70 pixels high. Therefore, the banner bitmaps should have the resolution 500x70 pixels.

That's great - for the "Banner Bitmap" - the band of white with the blue icon across the top of the dialog I'll use 500x70. 72 dpi ok?

What about the background? What size is that?

where does the name "Banner Bitmap" appear in the AI UI?

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Can you please give me more details about this?

You refer to the "Banner Bitmap" -- Where would I have found the name "Banner Bitmap" that you use to reference this image? I don't see any reference to "Banner Bitmap" anywhere in AI.

Thx!
Adam

[Cosmin]

Hi Adam,

What about the background? What size is that?

If you are referring to the dialog image you can use the resolution 503 x 314 pixels.

You refer to the "Banner Bitmap" -- Where would I have found the name "Banner Bitmap" that you use to reference this image? I don't see any reference to "Banner Bitmap" anywhere in AI.

I'm afraid I still don't understand what you mean. In one of my previous posts I used a link to the "BannerBitmap" property which is basically used to display the banner image. This property is used inside the MSI and I used the link to show you the sizes recommended by Microsoft.

If you are referring to using a banner image in your project, this can be done through the Theme tab of the "Global Properties" page.

Regards,
Cosmin

[fullcity]

Hi Adam,

What about the background? What size is that?

If you are referring to the dialog image you can use the resolution 503 x 314 pixels.

If you are referring to using a banner image in your project, this can be done through the Theme tab of the "Global Properties" page.

Hi Cosmin,

I'm sorry... this is simply not working. The display of the bmp is being distorted when i view it in the dialog builder. I've specified a 503 x 314 pixel bmp file in the Global Properties. It looks fine there... no pixelation. However, when I preview it in the PrepareDlg window it is pixelated. Also, it's size when selected is shown as 370 x 234.

What am I doing wrong...?

[Warrigal]

The advice given by the Advanced Installer people (and Microsoft too, for that matter) is wrong.

If you are using the Windows default dialog sizes of 370x270 installer units, the dialog image should be 493x312 pixels and the banner image should be 493x58 pixels at 96 dpi. It is no longer safe to assume that all your clients will be using a 96 dpi screen, so you might want to increase the image size to 616x390 pixels for the dialog image and 616x73 pixels for the banner image at 120 dpi. In either case, make sure that you use 'stretch' for your images, not 'fixed-size', so that they will shrink or stretch to fit screens that use a different dot pitch.