Selecting the Format You Need

Virtual CD is ideal for use as a centralized tool and gives you a broad range of features for working with images, both in its own and in the ISO format. The previous sections provided a fair amount of detail regarding the different image formats. Now we will turn to the question of which format is best for your requirements when you create images. The answer depends on a number of factors, and may be different in different situations. First of all, it depends what you want to do with the image you create. This question does not apply to non-VCD and non-ISO images, since they cannot be created using Virtual CD.

To choose a format for creating a new image, it helps to answer the following questions:

•	Do you want to transport the image; i.e., will it be used on a different computer, and if so, does that computer have a Virtual CD installation?

•	Do you need to have the image divided into several files?

•	Do you want to use special properties (e.g., encryption)?

•	Do you need to read out additional data, not supported by an ISO image, in order to create a viable image?

You might not be able to answer these questions now, but don't worry: Virtual CD can find out a lot of the information you need when it analyzes the source CD, and will configure the settings automatically. In most cases this will deliver the best results. If you do find that you require an image in a different format, the powerful Virtual CD Image Converter can help.