Package: openmultimedia.imagewatchdog
Table of ContentsLife, the Universe, and EverythingPatent issuesDon’t PanicConfigureMigrate imagesScript to migrate imagesScreenshotsComparison to other file formatsGIFJPEGMostly HarmlessInstallationShare and EnjoyChangelog1.0b1 (2012-12-19)Life, the Universe, and EverythingA package to convert every image stored and uploaded to a Plone site to PNG
format.If you are concerned about images format patent issues this package is for
you.Patent issuesPortable Network Graphics(PNG) is a bitmapped image format that employs
lossless data compression. PNG was created to improve upon and replace GIF
(Graphics Interchange Format) as an image-file format not requiring a patent
license.Even as theJPEGcompression used in various image file formats has been
subject to a number of patent issues by well-known patent trolls of the
industry for many years, there is currently no patent-free alternative for
these formats (WebPhas been available for some time, but is currently only
supported by Google Chrome and Opera web browsers).Don’t PanicConfigureGo to ‘Site Setup’.Select ‘Image WatchDog’.Select the files formats that should be converted to PNG.You can choose to optimize the PNG file checking the ‘Optimize PNG’
checkbox.‘Migration delay (milliseconds)’ and ‘Transaction threshold’ are only used
for migration.Activate the on-fly convertion checking the ‘Enabled’ checkbox.Migrate imagesFirstConfigure.Now in the‘Image WatchDog’ control panelyou can set:‘Migration delay (milliseconds)’, this parameter indicates a delay
between every processed image. 0 means no delay, more fast, but CPU
intensive, bigger values are nicer with the CPU but will slow down the
process.‘Transaction threshold’, this parameter is the number of images
processed in a single transaction. 0 means one single transaction, more
fast, but RAM intensive, small values are nicer with the RAM but will
slow down the process.Click on ‘Save & Migrate’ button to start the migration process.Get your prefered caffeinated beverage because this could take some time,
you could check your logs to see the progress of migration process.Script to migrate imagesThe package includes a handy method to migrate images, sometimes prefered for
running long processes.From your command line run: instance run <path_to_openmultimedia.imagewatchdog_package>/openmultimedia/imagewatchdog/script/install_and_migrate.py <plone_site_name>This will install de product in the Plone site and migrate the images to PNG.Get your prefered caffeinated beverage because this could take some time,
you will see the progress of migration process in your console.Screenshots‘Image WatchDog’ control panelComparison to other file formatsHere is a small resume including just the downsides of PNG against GIF and
JPEG; you can find the complete comparison in theWikipedia:GIFOn small images, GIF can achieve greater compression than PNG.GIF intrinsically supports animated images. PNG supports animation only via
unofficial extensions.JPEGJPEG formats can produce smaller files than PNG for photographic (and
photo-like) images, since JPEG uses a lossy encoding method specifically
designed for photographic image data.Mostly HarmlessHave an idea? Found a bug? Let us know byopening a support ticket.InstallationTo enable this product in a buildout-based installation:Edit your buildout.cfg and addopenmultimedia.pngwatchdogto the list
of eggs to install:[buildout]
...
eggs =
    openmultimedia.pngwatchdogAfter updating the configuration you need to run ‘’bin/buildout’’, which will
take care of updating your system.Go to the ‘Site Setup’ page in a Plone site and click on the ‘Add-ons’ link.Check the box next toopenmultimedia.pngwatchdogand click the ‘Activate’
button.Note: You may have to empty your browser cache and save your resource
registries in order to see the effects of the product installation.Share and Enjoyopenmultimedia.pngwatchdogwould not have been possible without the
contribution of the following people:Juan Pablo Giménez, original authorHéctor Velarde, factory of good ideasDevelopment sponsored by Open Multimedia.ChangelogBecause you have to know where your towel is.1.0b1 (2012-12-19)Initial release.