On 10 Sep 98, Kieran Mathieson wrote:
> 1. A Java applet like the Ulead button applet.
>
> 2. A program that spits out a bunch o' GIF buttons, given a file of button
> labels and a graphic template.
>
> Any suggestions for something that does this? Any experience w/ the Ulead
> applet?
Well, the Ulead thing *works* OK as far as ease of use and the quality of
the images it produces, but on the other hand it's still a Java applet, and
we all know a few compelling reasons for not using applets in HTML. Or to
put it more colloquially, one should run screaming in the opposite direction
while making the sign of the cross, rather than use an applet for such
purposes.
For one thing, users are confronted with the Gray Hole O' Death while
waiting for the applet to load, which simply looks icky IMO; for another,
many users (including me) have Java turned off in their browsers, because
of recurrent crashes and other aberrations. In which case your users can
not navigate your site period, unless you have corresponding text links.
Even if Java is turned on and doesn't crash the browser, the links don't
work the same as regular <a href> ones (i.e., no URL in the status bar,
etc.) This tends to annoy users. In short, I would not use the button
applet myself. (Am I being too subtle here? <g>)
As for "batch button makers" -- no, don't know of any, but such a thing
sure would be handy.
I use a sort of "semi-automated" process in Paint Shop when making lots
of buttons: I type in some sample text in the font I plan to use, and note
the line spacing; create a button template that fits the text; make a
bunch of copies of the template spaced correspondingly to the text line
spacing; then type in all my actual button labels and plop them over top
of the properly-spaced templates. I then crop and save each one as
needed. Not exactly rocket science, but it works.
But what would be mucho kEwL would be the addition of a basic macro
language to products like Paint Shop and Photoshop. Imagine if you could
tell your application, with a single keystroke: "OK, open a new image sized
100px X 25px; give it a gradient tint, 90 degrees, #006265 to #FFFFFF;
Select All, then apply cut-out filter with 12px blur and 4px offset; wait for
keyboard input of text, which is to be positioned at an offset of 3px X 8
px; then save the file as a GIF89 with a name of my choice."
This would be easy to implement from a programming perspective, and I'm
surprised no one has. I wrote off to Jasc with this general suggestion
earlier this week, and will let you know what I hear back.
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Brent Eades, Almonte, Ontario
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Town of Almonte site: http://www.almonte.com/
Business site: http://www.federalweb.com
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