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Propel accelerates the downloading of Web page images by
first pre-compressing the graphics they contain.
By default graphic images are delivered to your Web page
in slightly compressed form (High acceleration, third option)
that balances speed of delivery with graphics quality. However,
there are four other Graphic Image Acceleration options. Here
is a summary of all of the options:
Low acceleration. This setting maintains the original
quality of the graphics on the Web pages you view. You will
still get good overall acceleration because Propel Accelerator
speeds up text, HTML, and some graphics through a technique
called lossless compression, but graphics acceleration will
be limited to about 1.2X (20% improvement with no loss of
quality).
Medium acceleration. At this setting you get better
graphics acceleration (2.0X or 100% improvement) with minimal
effect on the actual appearance of the image.
High acceleration. This setting has increased acceleration
with slightly more image quality degradation. It has usable
graphic setting of approximately 3.0X improvement.
Very High acceleration. Even more graphics compression
(~6.0X).
Maximum acceleration. This is the maximum or fastest
graphics acceleration setting. At this level, you will find
the typical Web page with lots of graphics appearing very
significantly faster than without Propel Accelerator. However,
there is a trade-off in that most graphics will be slightly
fuzzy (~9.0X). In addition, some pages have functional graphic
elements that can be affected by loss of color. (Please consider
trying several levels so you can find the one that best suits
your needs.)
As you move the slider between the various graphic acceleration
level options, you'll notice the three images changing. These
changes reflect - in fact, they actually exaggerate - the
effect graphics acceleration has on the images.
Block banner ads and other in-page advertisements.
Enabling this check box will block advertisements presented
as banners as well as ad coupons within a page. When blocked,
the advertisement is grayed out.
Note: When you first install Propel Accelerator and
have ad blocking activated, you might see advertisements in
web pages that you frequently visit. This is because those
web pages are already stored in your web browser's cache.
Ad blocking is operational, however, only new ads that you
have not seen before will appear as gray. To make all ads
appear gray, you need to clear the cache of your web browser
as well as Propel Accelerator.
If you are using a graphics acceleration option above Low
Acceleration and you want to view the page at, say, original
quality, change to the higher-quality setting in the Graphics
and Ads tab following these procedures:
Internet Explorer: Select the Refresh option while
holding down Ctrl (Ctrl-Refresh).
Netscape: Select Reload (Ctrl-R) from the View menu.
The images in the refreshed (or reloaded) URL will reflect
your new settings.
Note: Do not use refresh options on recently viewed
pages, changing the Graphic Image Acceleration setting will
not affect these pages if you look at them again. For example,
if you view Page A at Maximum acceleration, then switch to
Medium acceleration, then view Page B, page B will be at Medium
acceleration. However, if you then view Page A, only elements
of the page which have changed since you last viewed it will
appear at Medium acceleration.
Refreshing an Image or Page with Internet Explorer
If you are using Internet Explorer, there is an easier way
to retrieve the original image or Web page. Simply move your
mouse over an image on a Web page and click the right mouse
button. You'll see that two new options are available:
- Refresh Page with Full Quality. This option gets the full
quality of the original images for the current page.
- Refresh Picture with Full Quality. This option is only
available when your mouse is over a graphic. If you select
this option, Propel Accelerator will replace the compressed
graphic image with an original quality version. Depending
on the size of the image, this may only take a few moments.
When the Propel Accelerator icon arrows stop moving, the
new image is in place. In many, but not all cases, the difference
will be noticeable.
Note: When you first install Propel Accelerator, it
is necessary to close and then restart IE in order to have
the Refresh Page and Refresh Picture right-click menu options
available.
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