Shrinking images in Preview

Hi LeslieWilbourne,

This is a very interesting anomaly! I have had similar things happen before and these were some recurring things I noticed that might contribute to the issue:

1. My image aspect ratio was different and the dimensions were smaller than the box I was trying to fill.
2. My image was located within a Placeholder.
   
   

Like you've shown here, when I would preview the image it was not properly displayed.

I noticed your original image has an aspect ratio of approximately 3:1 (panoramic), while your slide dimensions have an aspect ratio of 16:9 (standard widescreen). It also appears to be a highly compressed file, since the dimensions are quite small in comparison to the slide size. These two factors might be contributing to the preview issue you're experiencing similar to the way I experienced.

In January 2024, Storyline was updated and the functionality of Image Placeholders should be as follows:

• "Images now scale and crop to fill placeholders. Previously, placeholders would shrink to fit imported images."
  
  

I am not entirely sure of the "why", but here are some things I would suggest that may help:

• Consider altering the original image file to fit the dimensions of the slide you are working with. In Snagit Editor or similar image editing software, stretch and fill the original image file so that you are not needing to modify it within Storyline.
  
  
  • Why this might work: By matching the Slide Size of your project prior to importing to Storyline, you aren't asking the software to make changes to the image file during the preview.
    
    
• Consider using an alternative image that uses a similar illustrative style featuring a block of homes on a street. I have created an attribution-free AI picture that might be a suitable alternative for you if this helps. It is 1920x1080 and 16:9 aspect ratio, so it should fit perfectly on your slide without any stretching!
  
  

I hope some or all of this information is helpful to you.

- Frankie