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NAHPU Documentation

Export Images

Use the media export when you need the photographs themselves rather than the records that describe them. It is the quickest way to pull a set of field images out of a project for a grant report, a permit report, a presentation, or a colleague who does not use NAHPU.

There are two ways to export. Export one file when you want full control over its size and quality, or export a selection as a single archive when you need many files at once. Audio and video are included in a selection, but the image options below only apply to images.

Export a single file

Section titled “Export a single file”

Open the media item, then choose Export.

  1. Check the file name. NAHPU proposes the current name of the file, and you can turn on Append date to add today's date.

  2. Choose the format. Original always works. JPEG, PNG, and WebP are offered when NAHPU can read the image, which covers .jpg, .jpeg, .png, and .webp sources.

  3. Turn on Resize image if the file is larger than you need. The aspect ratio is locked, so typing a width updates the height, and neither value can go above the original dimensions shown above the switch.

  4. Adjust JPEG quality when exporting to JPEG. The default of 85 percent is a good balance of size and detail. Lower it for email or upload over a slow connection.

  5. Select a destination folder, then Export. When the file is written, the button becomes Share.

Export a selection as an archive

Section titled “Export a selection as an archive”

Open the media gallery from any record media panel, or use the media panel of the record itself. Turn on selection, choose the files you want, then select Export. This opens the Export selected media screen.

The summary lists how many files were selected, how many were found on disk, how many are images, audio, video, or other, and the total source size. Files that cannot be found are reported as warnings rather than silently dropped.

The settings panel has:

  • Archive format. TAR.GZ produces a smaller file and is the better choice for upload. macOS, Linux, and Windows 11 open it with no extra software. Choose ZIP when the archive is going to an older Windows machine, because Windows 10 and earlier need a separate tool to open .tar.gz.
  • Image format. Original copies the files unchanged. JPEG, PNG, or WebP converts every readable image in the selection.
  • Limit image dimensions. Available once you convert. Enter a maximum width or height in pixels, and NAHPU constrains whichever side is longer. Images already smaller than the limit are not upscaled.
  • JPEG quality. Applies when the image format is JPEG.
  • File name, Append date, and the destination folder.

Inside the archive, files are grouped into specimen, site, event, narrative, and other folders so you can tell where each file came from. Audio and video are copied unchanged regardless of the image format.

Choosing settings

Section titled “Choosing settings”
  • For a report or a slide deck, convert to JPEG and limit the longer side to around 2000 px. This usually reduces an archive by an order of magnitude with no visible loss.
  • For an upload over a field internet connection, use TAR.GZ, JPEG, and a lower quality value.
  • For archiving or for a collaborator who will process the images, keep Original so nothing is recompressed.
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