Overview

This article will provide recommendations regarding some of the settings used for files that are uploaded to workspaces and associated to documents, as well as some recommendations on compressing files.

Online or offline availability

Available online only (recommended)

We recommend that files are uploaded tp workspaces with the setting Available online only.

This means that the app user will have to be online to access the file for the first time. Once the file has been accessed, it will be cached on their device and it will become available offline.

This approach ensures a quick activation process and does not take up additional storage on user's devices.

Available offline (not recommended)

If app users will not have access to internet after they initially activate the workspace, we recommend that you select the Available offline setting for your documents.

With this setting, files will be downloaded to the device during workspace activation and will be available for viewing at any time.

Important: Using the Available offline setting can significantly increase the app activation time for the user. On average, only 3% of all interactions with SpotMe apps are carried out while the user is offline so using this setting is often quite unnecessary.

Compressing files

As a general rule, files uploaded to Backstage should not exceed 100 MB.

We recommend that you always compress the files that you upload, as smaller files will work more smoothly in the workspace.

There are a number of tools that can be used to reduce the size of your files to make them more manageable:

• PDF files:  smallpdf.com is a reliable tool that reduces the size of your files while keeping quality loss at a minimum (if any).
• Audio and video: HandBrake allows you to adjust the settings on the file to reduce the file size while maintaining quality.
• Images: ImageOptim compresses photos and graphics up to 60% without any quality loss.

The suggested settings of video and audio files using HandBrake are as follows:

Video Files

• Format: MP4 file
• Video Codec: H.264 (x264)
• Resolution: 640x360
• Frame rate (FPS): 25
• Variable Frame rate
• Video Quality: Average Bitrate (kbps)
• 2-pass encoding
• Target: 600kbps

Audio Files

• Codec: AAC
• Mixdown: Stereo
• Samplerate: 48
• Bitrate: 128