I have noticed in the blog that XOJO is going to replace BMP with PNG images for programs compiled on Mac for Windows.
That is too bad because XOJO’s solution, while noting the difference in image size, does not address the issue of image quality. Microsoft has put considerable effort into improving the BMP codecs over the years, making BMP a better choice than PNG, or many other image formats for that matter.
I don’t think anything that downgrades XOJO’s capabilities is an acceptable solution.
Hate to disagree with you… but then Microsoft themselves seem to disagree with you as well
PNG is lossless… not lossy (or lousy 
)…
Microsoft Graphics Information Page
[h]BMP: Windows bitmap[/h]
Windows bitmaps store a single raster image in any color depth, from black-and-white to 24-bit color. The Windows bitmap file format is compatible with other Microsoft Windows programs. It does not support file compression and is not suitable for Web pages.
Overall, the disadvantages of the Windows bitmap file format outweigh the advantages. For images of photographic quality, use a PNG file, a JPEG file, or a TIFF file. BMP files are suitable for wallpaper in Windows.
Advantages:
BMP supports 1-bit through 24-bit color depth.
The BMP format is widely compatible with existing Windows programs, especially older programs.
Disadvantages:
BMP does not support compression, which results in very large files.
BMP files are not supported by Web browsers.
[h]PNG: Portable network graphics[/h]
PNG pictures store a single raster image at any color depth. PNG is a platform-independent format.
Advantages:
PNG supports high-level lossless compression.
PNG supports alpha channel transparency.
PNG supports gamma correction.
PNG supports interlacing.
PNG is supported by more recent Web browsers.
Disadvantages:
Older browsers and programs may not support PNG files.
As an Internet file format, PNG provides less compression than the lossy compression of JPEG.
As an Internet file format, PNG offers no support for multi-image files or animated files. The GIF format supports multi-image files and animated files.
[quote=50617:@Dave S]Hate to disagree with you… but then Microsoft themselves seem to disagree with you as well
PNG is lossless… not lossy (or lousy 
)…
On other advantage of PNG is it supports 32bit color, while BMP is only 24bit … not to mention ALPHA channel etc.
Microsoft Graphics Information Page
[h]BMP: Windows bitmap[/h]
Windows bitmaps store a single raster image in any color depth, from black-and-white to 24-bit color. The Windows bitmap file format is compatible with other Microsoft Windows programs. It does not support file compression and is not suitable for Web pages.
Overall, the disadvantages of the Windows bitmap file format outweigh the advantages. For images of photographic quality, use a PNG file, a JPEG file, or a TIFF file. BMP files are suitable for wallpaper in Windows.
Advantages:
BMP supports 1-bit through 24-bit color depth.
The BMP format is widely compatible with existing Windows programs, especially older programs.
Disadvantages:
BMP does not support compression, which results in very large files.
BMP files are not supported by Web browsers.
[h]PNG: Portable network graphics[/h]
PNG pictures store a single raster image at any color depth. PNG is a platform-independent format.
Advantages:
PNG supports high-level lossless compression.
PNG supports alpha channel transparency.
PNG supports gamma correction.
PNG supports interlacing.
PNG is supported by more recent Web browsers.
Disadvantages:
Older browsers and programs may not support PNG files.
As an Internet file format, PNG provides less compression than the lossy compression of JPEG.
As an Internet file format, PNG offers no support for multi-image files or animated files. The GIF format supports multi-image files and animated files.[/quote]
And PNG’s are generally much smaller
You can use an app called PNG Mini https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/png-mini/id530839610?mt=12 to compress the PNGs down to 1/4 of their original size! It works well (I can tell there are slight differences) and keeps your App size or web page size.
I compressed 10mb of PNGs down to 2mb!
It’s a real shame that you can’t use PDF as images on Windows, for simple vector based icons this really helps to keep the file size down, while looking good on Retina & non-retina displays.
[quote=50713:@Sam Rowlands]You can use an app called PNG Mini https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/png-mini/id530839610?mt=12 to compress the PNGs down to 1/4 of their original size! It works well (I can tell there are slight differences) and keeps your App size or web page size.
I compressed 10mb of PNGs down to 2mb![/quote]
Thanks for the tip. I use PNG images and it will help reduce the bulk
That’s good to know… hopefully some bright spark will be able to figure out how to do this from within Xojo too. Windows native image support hasn’t seemed to evolved since '95, last time I checked.