Preview: What is it?

Many of us have encountered such a thing as a "preview". What is it, imagine almost all people, even a little familiar with the English language or computer technology. Let us consider a more detailed interpretation of this word. In addition, give some tips on creating your own elements of this type.

Preview: what is it in the broadest sense

The term itself comes from the English word preview, which means in a literal translation "preview."

But if earlier it was applied mainly to the schedule, today the area of its use is much wider. But first, let's look at the initial interpretation of the word "preview". What it is? Yes, just a smaller image of the original. Previews (as we call thumbnail images) were previously indispensable when publishing pictures or photos on the Internet, the actual size of which was geometrically too large to accommodate multiple images on one page.

For convenience, the original image was reduced, and when clicked on the preview opened a full-fledged image. Reduced copies on one web page could fit much more than the same photos or pictures with the original size.

Application of the term in various fields

Over time, the term migrated to a variety of spheres. So, for example, it began to be used in the field of software.

As an example, take the operating system "Windows 10" preview version. In the title, this term means that this software product is only an evaluation version. In other words, the user on the basis of this modification can draw a conclusion about the full version of the OS, having previously acquainted with its technical characteristics and parameters. Sometimes such a term also denotes software products with truncated capabilities.

Similarly, the term is very widely used for informational purposes in music or cinema. For example, many musical groups make cuts from the tracks entering it before the release of official full-fledged albums, so that listeners can form a preliminary opinion about the quality of all future material.

In the movie, such things are also used. As a rule, these are the brightest and most impressive shots, revealing the essence of the new film, its content, used special effects, etc. Only such videos are called not previews, but by teasers or trailers, which, in general, are one and the same. In this foreshortening preview is even a certain advertising announcement.

In many office programs, previews are used to preview the document, so you can treat this term as a "layout" as well.

How to make a preview yourself?

But back to the original understanding of the term. Creating a thumbnail is not so difficult. First you need to decide where this item will be published. For the YouTube service, you can create a static image from a frame (usually the minimum recommended size is 640x360 pixels, but you can do more). The main condition is that the aspect ratio should correspond to the proportion of 16: 9. For other sites, if you do not specify a minimum image size, you can use a ratio of 200x200 pixels.

Normally, you should select a picture or frame from the video so that the user who looked at it immediately clicked on it to view the full-size image or video. The main picture can be reduced elementary in any graphic editor. Yes, even in the same Paint, included in the standard set of Windows-systems. But if you want to add additional effects, it's better to turn to professional programs like Adobe Photoshop.

When creating an audio or video clip, the appropriate editors are used. True, many experts recommend making an accompanying picture consisting of several layers (GIF format images). This attracts a potentially interested audience much more. In this case, several images are required for which in special applications it is possible to set the sequence of the frames from the pictures and the delay time between the transitions.

Conclusion

Here is briefly and everything that concerns the term "preview". What is it, I think, is already clear. Although in the classical sense this is a reduced image, the current interpretation in different areas of use looks much broader. What tools to use to create thumbnails, it is difficult to advise, because everything depends on what kind of meaningful burden will be assigned to them, how much they should be effective and attractive, etc.