MadCap Software Forums

I would like to be able to determine what images in my Images folder are unused. There is no report that I can find that will list or indicate which images are unused.

Also, I would like to be able to determine where an image is used, if it is.

So for example, I click on an image, if it's unused, will it say "Linked From - no incoming links" and "Linked To - no outgoing links." ?? Is this a good indicator that I can just delete that image? Because if the image is included in some topic somehwere, that Linked From and Linked To would give me a topic, right?

Thank you in advance.

You can add a report based on Flare's "Unused Items Report" report template, which is set up by default to report on more than unused images. In the report file, you can clear all the "unused" check boxes (e.g., Unused Multimedia) *except* Unused Images and thereby get the info you seek.

To add the report file, right-click the Reports folder (on the Project Organizer), select Add Report File, and then select Unused Items Report.

To determine where an image is used, you can right-click it in the Content Explorer and select View Links to see where it's used. From the Link Viewer window, you can then double-click the topic to open the topic to see the image in context.

I cannot say for sure if you should or should not delete all images that appear to be unused, although that generally is a good idea, in terms of keeping a tidy project. In a couple of my Flare projects, I have created some "composite" screenshots that show one screenshot superimposed over another. To achieve that, I capture two different screenshots, and then I use Capture to import one of the images into the other image, and I can position the imported image as needed. So even though I don't use that first image directly in any topic, I do want to keep it around, in case I need it again. I hope this use case makes sense. I'm explaining just to make the point that an author might desire to retain an "unused image". Only you can judge.

Thank you for your quick reply!

I found the Reports folder, and right clicked, and selected New Report. However, none of the options include anything related to images. I've got Bookmarks, Concepts, and Condition Tags, but no Images. Could that be because I've got an 11.2 version?

Thank you also for the tip on how to determine whether an image has been used by right clicking and selecting View Links! That'll be helpful if I need to do one off checks. : D

Then just select any of the report templates offered. When the report editor opens, you can clear all the check boxes for the things you're not interested in and then locate and select the "Unused Images" check box. I realize it'll be a little like a needle in a haystack, given how many check boxes there are.

That worked, great! Thank you! (Needle in a haystack, yes!)

Nita Beck wrote: In the report file, you can clear all the "unused" check boxes (e.g., Unused Multimedia) *except* Unused Images and thereby get the info you seek.

Hi Nita, I'm using Flare 2017, was using Flare 12 earlier this morning, and in neither version do I see any checkbox for Unused Images, or Unused Anything Else for that matter, except Unused Content Files. I thought maybe you were looking at a newer version so I upgraded (didn't realize I was behind, in fact), but I still don't see what you're describing. This is in the Unused Items report template. What am I missing?

Thanks,
-mattf

Here's what I'm seeing. Nothing about unused images. There is the inverse (Files with Images), but that isn't really the exact opposite and even if it was it wouldn't be of much use.

@mattf, if you scroll down further, you should see an Images section.

I hate it when I miss the scrollbar :/
Thanks smajors. There's a whole world down there!

No problem. It's easy to miss!