What is the PNG (Portable Network Graphics) format?

PNG (Portable Network Graphics) is a graphics file format designed to store bitmap (i.e., raster, as opposed to vector/metafile) graphic images. It was introduced to be a replacement for the patented GIF format (mostly to avoid the legal restrictions associated with the patent). A PNG image can contain a variable number of colors, including a transparent color. The size of the file depends on the number of colors used in the specific image. A compression method is used (to reduce the file size) that is highly effective if a large proportion of the image is built of the pixels with the same color attributes (e.g., it is highly effective for charts and schematic line art, but somewhat less effective than the JPEG format for photographs).

As with bitmap and JPEG images, customization of the graph is limited in PNG file format. PNG files are commonly used in HTML documents. STATISTICA Graphs embedded into HTML documents are saved by default as PNG files (named: reportname_pict0001.png, reportname_pict0002.png) if the report is saved as an HTML file. You can also save graphs in this format by selecting JPEG Files in the Save as type box in the Save As dialog (accessible from the graph File menu).

Note that on the Save as dialog (accessible from the File menu), an option Create printer resolution Clipboard/Report/Metafile images (best for printing) is available whenever you select the PNG file format. This option determines the line thickness for rendering the main components of the graphs used when generating these file type representations of STATISTICA Graphs.