Download formats and crops

When you download an image, you do not always need the original file, which may be large or in a print format. openlane offers two separate tools: download formats and crops.

Download formats

A download format combines a file format (the same as the original, PNG or JPG) with a size. Your administrator configures them once for all users, and they appear in download menus alongside the original, for example "Web 1200 px" or "Square thumbnail".

The file in your chosen format is generated from the original when you download it. This means only one file is stored in the library, and any changes to a format apply immediately to all subsequent downloads.

Download formats apply only to images: PDFs, videos and other files are always downloaded in their original form.

There are two ways to apply the dimensions:

• fit: the image is scaled down to fit within the dimensions, without being enlarged or changing its aspect ratio;
• fill: the image has exactly the specified dimensions, with any remaining space filled with white.

Crops

A crop is a named area of an image: a fabric detail, a product without its background, or a face for a thumbnail. It is not a new image, but a rectangle defined on the original photo, which openlane applies whenever you download the crop or open its link.

You can download a crop in its original format or in one of the download formats. Each crop also has its own link.

To help you draw consistent crops, your administrator can configure aspect ratios, such as 16:9 or 1:1: the rectangle keeps the selected shape as you draw it. Aspect ratios are only drawing aids and cannot be downloaded.

Crops and versions

Replacing a media file or restoring a previous version deletes its crops, because they were drawn on a different file.

Editing or deleting a crop does not deactivate links you have already copied: they continue to show the area of the image they originally pointed to. Anyone with that link could already view the full image anyway.