divided by 4 if the number of colors is less than 16 then the number of colors used in the third variation is set to four colors while the gif format is considered to be lossless the manipulation of the number of colors results in a lossy type gif compression as described above in one implementation the invention presents four copies of the graphics object and adjusts key compression settings starting from a users current settings each of the new versions is a smaller lower quality variation of graphics object produced using the current user settings along with the image data an estimated download time is displayed beneath each variation the simultaneous display of plural variations of the graphics object and respective download times allows the user to quickly compare the quality versus time consideration and select an appropriate format for inclusion in the web site the user can then select the best version for the purposes required the selected variation can be saved as part of the web site or fine tune adjustments to the settings may be made the current user settings can be manipulated by selecting the current graphics object view thereafter the views can be automatically with new variations based on modifications to the new current user settings alternatively individual variations can be selected.