Key Features of HotSpot Studio

Welcome to HotSpot Studio, eHelp Corporation’s hotspot graphic editor for Windows 95, 98, and Windows NT 4.0 or later. Whether you create Web sites for the Internet or keep your company’s Intranet up to date, HotSpot Studio gives you the ability to create the best Web documents in the least time.

With HotSpot Studio, you will display graphics you plan to include in your site, create hotspots on the areas that you wish to make into hyperlinks and assign them addresses to other locations in your Intranet or Web project or to other sites.

HotSpot Studio Features:

•	A quick, easy way to visually create graphical hyperlinks and image map files for your Intranet or Web page.

•	Allows easy editing of hotspots and their hyperlink targets.

•	Converts graphic files to and from most popular graphic formats.

•	Test Mode to instantly verify hotspot target assignments.

•	Lets you easily create transparent and interlaced GIF or JPG images.

•	Provides quick viewing and editing of map file source.

•	Provides easy location and assignment of hyperlink targets.

•	Supports 256 color graphics and true color (16 million colors).


Using the HotSpot Studio Help System

We’ve provided a comprehensive Help system to help you get the most out of HotSpot Studio.

Step-by-Step Instructions

To display step-by-step Help:

•	From the Help menu, select Help Topics,

•	Press F1 in the Main window, or

•	Click the Help button on the toolbar.

Any of the above steps displays the Help Contents Tab. Use the mouse to navigate through the Contents and select topics.

Context Sensitive Help

HotSpot Studio also includes context sensitive Help. To display Help about a specific control in a dialog box:

•	Click the question mark button in the title bar of most dialog boxes, then click on the control for which you want help,

•	Select the control for which you want help, then press F1, or

•	Click on the control with the right mouse button, then click the What’s This button that appears.


Overview of Graphic File Formats

Intranet/Internet authors need to be aware that though there are many graphic file formats in use, browsers require images to be in either GIF or JPG format. Fortunately, HotSpot Studio’s capabilities include graphic format conversion which allows you to use graphic files of diverse formats in your Intranet and Web projects. For example, if you have a large library of useful images in BMP or PCX format, HotSpot Studio allows you to quickly and easily convert them into either GIF or JPG, thus making them usable in your Intranet or Web projects.

Changing the Format of a Graphic File


Overview of Hypergraphics
Overview of Hotspot Graphics

A hotspot graphic is an image in a World Wide Web document containing one or more graphical hyperlinks or "hotspots," i.e., jumps to other locations within the document, or to other documents. When a user clicks on a hotspot, his or her browser responds by displaying the hotspot’s "target" page. There is a bit more to it than meets the eye though; while a hotspot graphic appears to be a single thing, it is in fact (in almost all cases) a pair of files that work together:

•	An image file, (for example, IMAGE.GIF)

•	A map file, (for example, IMAGE.HTM)

The image file is the component you actually see on a Web page, while the map file contains the data that defines the hotspots, the information that links them to their targets, and associates this data with the image file.

Though not strictly correct in a technical sense, it may help to think of the map file as transparently overlaid on the image. You draw your hotspots on this transparent overlay without actually affecting the image underneath. However, the association between the map file and the graphic creates the desired effects as you work in the HotSpot Studio interface, and after your project is published on an Intranet or Web server.

Creating a Hotspot Graphic

Hotspot Studio is primarily a tool for working with map files rather than graphic files (though Hotspot Studio can convert graphic file formats). When Hotspot Studio displays the graphic file on which you wish to base a hotspot graphic, you are not actually performing an operation on the graphic file itself. Rather, you are using it as the foundation for the map file that a Web server will use to identify the hyperlinks associated with the image. If this seems a little confusing now, be assured that it will become clear once you actually use HotSpot Studio to create a hotspot graphic.

Steps to Create a Hotspot Graphic

The creation of hotspot graphics involves four basic steps:

•	Envision how hotspot graphics fit into the scheme of your Web site.

•	Select an image to use as the basis for a hotspot graphic.

•	Use HotSpot Studio’s drawing tools to create a hotspot on the selected image and specify a target for it.

•	HotSpot Studio creates the map file required to make hotspot graphics work on your Intranet or the World Wide Web.


Using HotSpot Studio's Drawing Tools

HotSpot Studio provides three separate drawing tools. Each allows you to create a different shape hotspot:

•	The Rectangle tool

•	The Circle tool

•	The Polygon tool

In addition to the drawing tools, HotSpot Studio has a Pointer tool for selecting and moving hotspots.

All of the tools are used with your mouse. Each tool may be selected either by clicking on its icon in the toolbar or by selecting it in the Tools menu. The currently selected tool’s icon appears "depressed" in the toolbar and also displays a check mark next to its name in the Tools menu.


Rectangle Drawing Tool

The Rectangle tool draws square or rectangular hotspots. To create a rectangular hotspot:

•	Click the Rectangle drawing tool icon in the toolbar or, from the Tools menu, select Rectangle.

•	Position the mouse pointer on the active image where you want one of the corners of the hotspot to be.

•	Click the left mouse button and drag the pointer in the appropriate direction until the hotspot outline covers the area you want it to.

•	Release the mouse button. The Set Hotspot Target dialog box appears.


Circle Drawing Tool

The Circle tool draws circular hotspots. To create a circular hotspot:

1.	Click the Circle drawing tool icon in the toolbar or, from the Tools menu, select  Circle.

2.	Position the mouse pointer on the active image where you want part of the edge of the circular hotspot to be.

3.	Click the left mouse button and drag the pointer in the appropriate direction until the hotspot outline covers the area you want it to

4.	Release the mouse button. The Set Hotspot Target dialog box appears.


Polygon Drawing Tool

The Polygon tool draws many-sided hotspots. To create a polygonal hotspot:

1.	Click the Circle drawing tool icon in the toolbar or, from the Tools menu, select  Polygon.

2.	Place the mouse pointer on the active image where you want one of the vertices of your polygonal hotspot to be.

3.	Click the left mouse button and release.

4.	Drag the pointer to where you want the next vertex to be.

5.	Click the left mouse button to complete the line segment between the first two vertices.

6.	Click the left mouse button again to begin drawing the next line segment.

7.	When you have completed your polygonal hotspot, press the right mouse button. (Don’t worry if the first and last points of the line don’t precisely intersect. HotSpot Studio "snaps" your hotspot closed when you finish the operation.) The Set Hotspot Target dialog box appears.


Set Hotspot Target Dialog Box

When you finish drawing a hotspot the Set Hotspot Target dialog box automatically appears, prompting you for the page to which the newly created hotspot will link. After you specify the target and click OK, the dialog box disappears and the hotspot’s outline remains visible on top of the image. The outline has "handles" to allow you to change its size and shape should you need to do so.

Note that if you click Cancel in the Set Hotspot Target dialog, the hotspot will appear in reverse video, indicating that it has no target. To assign a target to an existing hotspot,

1.	Open the Edit menu.

2.	Select Hotspot Target.

The Hotspot Target dialog box appears. Follow the directions in Setting a Hotspot’s Target.


Setting a Hotspot's Target

The purpose of a hotspot is to provide a hyperlink to another location in your document, to a document on your Intranet or the World Wide Web. The Set Hotspot Target dialog box is where you specify this target location for each hotspot you create.

You can specify one of two types of targets for each hotspot:

•	Files

•	URLs

In the context of hyperlink targets, a file is local target, i.e., one that resides at the same Intranet or Web address as the file from which the link originates. (During development of HTML pages, a "file" or local target is likely to be on the same local hard drive as the hyperlink’s point of origin.) A URL is an Intranet or Web site other than the one where the link originates.

For example, let’s say the Big Kahuna’s Web site is located at HTTP://WWW.OCEAN.NET/KAHUNA.HTM. Let’s say also that a hyperlink exists between the Kahuna’s home page and the Hot Deals! page, the source of which is the HTML file HTTP://WWW.OCEAN.NET/HOTDEALS.HTM, and which is a component of the Kahuna’s site. HOTDEALS.HTM is the target file of the hyperlink.

On the other hand, if Kahuna’s Web site contains a link to eHelp’s Web site at HTTP://WWW.EHELP.COM, the link’s target is a URL. URL targets can be sites anywhere on the World Wide Web.

Open the Set Hotspot Target dialog box to assign a target to the selected hotspot.


Reference

Welcome to the Reference area of HotSpot Studio’s Online Help. This area includes a listing of HotSpot Studio’s menu commands, a troubleshooting section, and discussions of map file formats and image file formats.

Menu Commands

Troubleshooting

Map File Formats

Image File Formats


Map File Formats

This section contains definitions of hotspot graphic map file formats:

CSIM


Image File Formats

This section contains definitions of image map file formats.

BMP

PCX

GIF

JPG (or JPEG)


This is the Default topic for this help file.  This is a Context Sensitive Help file that is called from within a Program.


In File Name: field enter the name you wish the current image file to be saved as. Click OK to save.


Select an existing name as which to save the current image file. You will be asked to verify that you wish to overwrite the file with the selected name.


Select the destination directory for the image file you wish to save.


Select the image file format of the files you wish to display in the file list window.


Click the down arrow to display the list of available drives. Click on the drive to which you wish to save the current image file, then use the Directories window to further specify the location.


The JPG image file format is used primarily for photographic images. JPG is a ‘lossy’ format, i.e., one that trades off completeness for compactness. This tradeoff is expressed in terms of ‘quality.’ HotSpot Studio allows you to designate JPG ‘quality’ on a scale from 25 to 100 (100 being the highest). Click on the slider and drag it to adjust quality or click on the arrows at the ends of the scale to move the slider.


Drag the slider to select the desired quality of the currently selected JPG image file.


You can specify transparency options and choose interlaced/non-interlaced for the current image file with the options in this box.


When Save as Interlaced is enabled, the current GIF image will load in visitors’ browsers as a full sized image in layers of gradually increasing resolution instead of successive full resolution strips. Though neither mode is faster, many people feel that interlaced Web graphics are perceived to load faster.


When Save as Transparent is enabled, the background color of transparent GIF images is rendered transparently, allowing the image to blend with its surroundings.


Click this button to display advanced transparency options.


When this option is enabled, white areas of the selected image are rendered transparent.


When this option is enabled, black areas of the selected image are rendered transparent.


To select a color to be rendered transparent, click this button, then click the mouse pointer on an area of the desired color in the window. (The pointer turns into an eye dropper during selection.) The swatch panel at top center of the dialog box reflects your choice. Click OK to save image with the selected color rendered transparent.


The color to be rendered transparent appears here. Click OK to accept, or Cancel to exit without saving the selection. The transparent portion of the file allows browsers’ default background to show through, allowing the image to blend better with the page.


Browsers display interlaced GIF files in layered resolution. The advantage of this is that it affords users a preview of the image as it downloads before it displays in full detail.


When this box is checked, the background color of transparent GIF images is rendered transparently to allow browsers' background color to appear, allowing the image to blend with its surroundings.


Designate JPG quality on a scale from 25 to 100. Click on the slider and drag it to adjust quality or click multiple times on the arrows at the ends of the scale to move the slider. Quality describes a balance between file size and image clarity. Higher quality values yield a saved file of greater fidelity to the original file, but little reduction of file size. Lower values can reduce the size of files considerably but yield images of lower clarity.


Designate JPG ‘quality’ on a scale from 25 to 100. Click on the slider and drag it to adjust quality or click multiple times on the arrows at the ends of the scale to move the slider. Quality describes a balance between file size and image clarity. Higher quality values yield a saved file of greater fidelity to the original file, but little reduction of file size. Lower values can reduce the size of files considerably but yield images of lower clarity.


Specify a local file as the target for the currently selected hotspot. You can either type in the file name, or press Browse and navigate to the target address.


Specify a URL as the target of the currently selected hotspot. You can either type it in or click the list box arrow to display your default browser’s favorites (or bookmarks) list, then double click the desired target URL in the list to enter it in the file or URL field. Note: Image map files do not support URLs containing spaces.


Navigate graphically to a local file and designate it as the target of the current hotspot.


Most users will not need to check this option. When this option is checked, the full path (drive, directories, file name) of the target file is included in the map file. Be careful if you choose this option, because when you load the program on the server, the server will use the full path which is unlikely to match the path describing the file’s location on your local disk. When this option is disabled, only the target’s file name is included  in the map file. When disabled, only the file name is included. If this option is disabled, the local directory structure of your Intranet/Web project must be duplicated on the server when the project is published or browsers will not be able to find the target file. This option could be checked if you design your site on your server.


Click the down arrow to display the list of URLs currently in your browser's history list. In the displayed list, double click the URL you wish to make the target of the currently selected hotspot.


Allows you to attach the author's name to the current image map file.


Allows you to attach a comment to the current image map file. You can type up to [nnn characters] in the Comment box


Width in pixels of the current image file.


Height in pixels of the current image file.


Number of bits per pixel of the current image file. This value indicates the number of colors available in the image. 1 bit /pixel yields a maximum of two colors. 4 bits / pixel yields up to 16 colors, etc.


Number of colors in the current image file.


Closes this dialog box and saves any changes you have made.


Closes this dialog box without saving any changes you have made.


Glossary

BMP

CSIM

GIF

Hotspot graphic or Hypergraphic

JPEG

PCX


JPEG
JPG

Joint Photographic Experts Group. The organization that defined the JPG graphic format. JPG is a format expressly designed to render photographic images electronically. It typically yields attractively small and visually accurate files. However, being a ‘lossy’ format, it sometimes suffers detectable variations from the original. Widely used on the Web. HotSpot Studio allows you to specify the ‘quality’ of the JPG files you use in your Intranet and Web pages.

See also: GIF, BMP, PCX.


GIF

Graphics Interchange Format. An image format developed by CompuServe. A highly popular image format. The most-used graphics format on Intranets and the World Wide Web. HotSpot Studio allows you to manipulate GIFs in a number of ways, including rendering their backgrounds transparent and saving them as interlaced.

See also: JPG, BMP, PCX


BMP

BMP denotes the Windows Bitmap image format. BMPs, though common in many applications, are not Intranet/Web compatible. If you have a BMP image you wish to use in your Intranet/Web project, you must first convert it to either GIF or JPG. HotSpot Studio can easily convert BMPs to GIFs or JPGs.

See also: PCX, GIF, JPG


PCX

PCX denotes the Windows Paintbrush image format. PCXs, though common in many applications, are not Intranet/Web compatible. If you have a PCX image you wish to use in your Intranet/Web project, you must first convert it to either GIF or JPG. HotSpot Studio can easily convert PCXs to GIFs or JPGs.

See also: BMP, GIF, JPG.


Hypergraphic
Hotspot Graphic

A hypergraphic is an image in an HTML document containing one or more graphical hyperlinks or hotspots, i.e., jumps to other locations within the document, or to other documents. When a user clicks on a hotspot, his or her browser responds by displaying the hotspot’s target page.


CSIM

The Client Side Image Map is the most recent development in HTML graphical hyperlinks, and promises to be the dominant model in the future. The Client Side Image Map format differs significantly from the other formats (NCSA and CERN); it is in fact an extension to HTML. This difference arises from the increasing capability of browsers. Formerly, the power to process and serve client image requests was limited to servers. The latest generation of browsers, like Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, can handle these tasks from the ‘client side’ (hence the name, Client Side Image Map). The result is decentralization of the work required by image processing, thus less load on Web servers, hence more efficient image service for clients.

Whereas the other formats (NCSA and CERN) denote files separate from the graphic and HTML files with which they are associated, the CSIM format entails information embedded in the HTML document containing the graphic which the CSIM information describes. A consequence of this arrangement is that CSIM maps require no default URL statement. Below is an example of a CSIM image map (created with HotSpot Studio):

<!-- #$GIF:C:\WbOffice\HotSpot\Tutorial\Hunalogo.gif -->
<MAP NAME="Hunalogo">
<AREA SHAPE=RECT COORDS="247,243,342,263" HREF="Hotdeals.htm" ALT="">
<AREA SHAPE=CIRCLE COORDS="434,254,16" HREF="Weather.htm" ALT="">
<AREA SHAPE=POLY COORDS="216,144,254,197,161,223,217,144,216,144"
     REF="Bkshops.htm" ALT="">
</MAP>

The use of CSIM map files involves adding the USEMAP attribute to the IMG SRC tag in your HTML source code. For example, to use the CSIM image map shown above, you would include the following code in your HTML document:

<IMG SRC="/WbOffice/HotSpot/Tutorial/Hunalogo.gif"
    USEMAP="#hunalogo">


Image Files and Hardware

The resolution and color depth of image files vary with hardware. The same GIF file may look very different on two different systems. The devices listed below can all affect the character and quality of your video:

•	Video card

•	Video drivers

•	Monitor

If you experience difficulties with images consult the documentation that accompanied the hardware devices listed above, or, contact directly the manufacturers of your hardware.


Working with Hotspots

This section of provides step-by-step procedures for the many tasks you can perform with HotSpot Studio.

Using HotSpot Studio's Drawing Tools

Setting a Hotspot's Target

Creating a Map File for a BMP or PCX File

Creating a Map File for a GIF or JPG File

Editing a Map File

Changing the Format of a Map File

Changing the Format of a Graphic File

Changing the Graphic File Attached to an Existing Map File

Importing an Image Map

Saving an Image Map

Moving a Hotspot

Deleting a Hotspot

Testing a Hotspot

Viewing or Printing Map File Source


Create a Map File for a BMP or PCX File
Creating a Map File for a BMP or PCX File

1.	From the File menu, select New. The Open Image File dialog box appears.

2.	Click the Files of Type list box open and select BMP or PCX. The files of the selected type in the current directory appear in the file window. If the desired file doesn’t appear, navigate the directory structure to locate it.

3.	Double click the name of the graphic file for which you wish to create a map file.

4.	The selected image appears in a window titled Map 1. (The number increments as you open more files.)

5.	Use the drawing tools to create your hotspot outline on the image. The Set Hotspot Target dialog box appears.

6.	Choose the target address you wish to attach to the hotspot and click OK. The hotspot outline remains visible. If the status bar is enabled, the hotspot’s target will appear in a window there.

7.	Repeat the two previous steps as needed to create additional hotspots and assign targets to them.

8.	From the File menu, select Save Image Map As. You will be asked if you want to save the file in a supported format.

9.	Click Yes.

10.	Save the file.

See also: Creating a Map File for a GIF or JPG File


Create a Map File for a GIF or JPG File
Creating a Map File for a GIF or JPG File

1.	From the File menu, select New. The Open Image dialog box appears.

2.	Click the Files of Type list box and select GIF or JPG. The files of the selected type in the current directory appear in the file window. (If the desired file doesn’t appear you will have to navigate the directory structure to locate it. See your Windows documentation if necessary.)

3.	Double click the image file for which you wish to create a map file. The selected image appears in a window titled Map 1. (The number increments as you open more files.)

4.	Use the drawing tools to create your hotspot outline on the image. The Set Hotspot Target dialog box appears.

5.	Choose the target address you wish to attach to the hotspot and click OK. The hotspot outline now appears in reverse video.

6.	Repeat the two previous steps as needed to create additional hotspots and assign target addresses to them.

7.	From the File menu, select Save. The Save Image Map As dialog box appears. Hotspot Studio will suggest using the name of the image file, but if you prefer, you can type a name for the map file in the File name box.

8.	In the Save as type: list box, select the CSIM map file format.

9.	Click Save.

See also: Creating a Map File for a BMP or PCX File


Editing a Map File

1.	From the File menu, select Open. The Open File dialog box appears displaying the map files in the current directory.

2.	Double click the map file you wish to edit.  A window appears displaying the image associated with the selected map file. (The name of the map file appears in the window’s title bar, followed by the name of the image file in parentheses.)

3.	Use the drawing tools to create your hotspot outline on the image. The Set Hotspot Target dialog box appears.

4.	Choose the target address you wish to attach to the hotspot and click OK. The target appears in the status bar.

5.	Repeat the two previous steps as needed to create additional hotspots and assign them targets.

6.	From the File menu, select Save.

You can move or delete existing hotspots.


Changing the Format of a Map File

1.	From the File menu, select Open. The Open File dialog box appears displaying the map files in the current directory.

2.	Double click the map file you wish to edit. (The name of the map file appears in the window’s title bar, followed by the name of the associated image file in parentheses.)

3.	From the File menu, click Save Image Map As. The Save Image Map As dialog box appears.

4.	In the Save as type: list box, select the CSIM map file format.

5.	Click Save.


Change the Format of a Graphic File
Changing the Format of a Graphic File

1.	From the File menu, select New. The Open Image File dialog box appears.

2.	Click open the Files of Type list box and select the format of the file whose format you wish to change.(BMP, PCX, GIF or JPG). Files of the selected format in the current directory appear in the file window. (If the desired file doesn’t appear you will have to navigate the directory structure to locate it. See your Windows documentation if necessary.)

3.	Double click the file you wish to convert.

4.	Once the image is displayed, click the File menu and select Convert Graphic.

5.	Click open the Files of Type list box and select the format to which you wish to change the current file.

6.	Click Save.


Change the Graphic File Attached to an Existing Map File
Changing the Graphic File Attached to an Existing Map File

Perhaps the most consistent characteristic of Intranet and Web sites is that they are in a constant state of change. Textual or graphical content, links to other pages and sites all tend to change rapidly. Let’s say your project has a graphic with many hyperlinks. The links are correct for the time being, but the graphic needs to be updated. Rather than rebuild this entire section of your project, you use HotSpot Studio to keep your map file (and thus your hyperlinks), but replace the outdated graphic that is the origin of the links. The procedure is outlined below.

1.	From the File menu, select Open. The Open File dialog box appears displaying the map files in the current directory.

2.	Double click the map file for which you wish to change the graphic file. A window appears displaying the image associated with the selected map file. (The name of the map file appears in the window’s title bar, followed by the current graphic’s name in parentheses.)

3.	From the File menu, select Replace Graphic. The Replace Image File dialog box appears.

4.	Look at the Files of type: list at the lower left to verify that it displays the format of the graphic file you wish to select. If it does not, click the list box arrow and choose the appropriate format from the list.

5.	In the dialog box’s window, find the name of the graphic file you wish to associate with the current map file. NOTE: If the new image’s dimensions are substantially different than those of the original file, HotSpot Studio will inform you of this fact and ask you to confirm the operation.

6.	Double click on the desired graphic file. The new graphic file replaces the original one in the window.

7.	You should now edit the map file to ensure that your hyperlinks conform to the new graphic.


Importing an Image Map

This option allows you to open an existing image map and attach it to a graphic file. Such a situation could arise if the desired map file was created for a different Intranet/Web project, in a different installation of HotSpot Studio or with a different map editor. To import a map file:

1.	Open the image file you to which you wish to attach the map file.

2.	From the File menu, select Import Image Map. The Import Image Map dialog box appears.

3.	Verify that the appropriate image map format appears in the Files of type box. Select the correct format if necessary.

4.	Select the name of the desired image map.

5.	Click Open.

Note: You may see this message:

"Hotspots which fall outside of the current image were discarded."

This means that the graphic file was smaller than the area of the image map containing hotspots. In this situation, hotspots in the image map falling outside of the graphic file’s borders are automatically discarded from the image map.


Saving an Image Map

1.	From the File menu, select Save. The Save Image Map As dialog box appears.

2.	Hotspot Studio suggests the name of the current graphic file, but if you prefer, you can type a different name for the map file in the File name: box.

3.	In the Save as type list box, select the CSIM map file format.

4.	Click Save.


Moving a Hotspot

1.	Click on the Selection tool icon in the toolbar (the arrow to the right of the polygon tool).

2.	Place the mouse pointer on the hotspot you wish to move.

3.	Click and hold the left mouse button.

4.	Drag the hotspot to the desired location.

5.	Release the mouse button.


Delete a Hotspot
Deleting a Hotspot

1.	Click on the Selection tool icon in the toolbar

2.	Place the mouse pointer on the hotspot you wish to delete.

3.	Click the left mouse button.

4.	Press the Delete key or choose Delete from the Edit menu.


Test a Hotspot
Testing a Hotspot

After you have created hotspots and assigned them targets, you can enable HotSpot Studio’s Test Mode to verify the hyperlinks you have created. Test Mode simulates the behavior of a browser displaying a hotspot graphic in two ways:

•	The mouse pointer turns into a hand when moved over a hotspot.

•	When the pointer is over a hotspot, the hotspot’s target address appears in the Status Bar at the bottom of HotSpot Studio’s application window.

This is particularly useful if you have a created multiple hotspots for a single graphic image. To test a hotspot:

1.	From the Tools menu, select Test.

2.	Open the View menu and ensure that Status Bar has a check mark next to it. (The presence of a check mark indicates that Test Mode is enabled. Be sure that Test Mode is disabled during hotspot creation and target assignment.)

3.	Note that the outlines of hotspots on the current image disappear when test mode is enabled, then move the mouse pointer around the graphic.

4.	Verify that when the pointer moves over a hotspot, the pointer turns into a hand and the hotspot’s target address appears in the Status Bar.

To exit Test Mode:

1.	From the Tools menu, select Test.

2.	Verify that no check mark is displayed next to Test under the Tools menu and that the outlines of any existing hotspots appear on the graphic.


Viewing and Printing Map File Source

HotSpot Studio does everything you need you need in the normal course of Intranet/Web page creation right from within its user interface. However, should you decide you want to view a map file you can easily do so.

To display the text of the current map file:

•	From the View menu, select Source.

The familiar Windows Notepad text editor program launches and displays the map file currently open in HotSpot Studio.

To exit:

•	Close the text viewer.

If for any reason Notepad is not available, HotSpot Studio displays a ‘Set Viewer’ dialog box allowing you to:

•	Locate and launch Notepad, or

•	Designate a text editor of your own choice in which to display the current map file.

If you use this dialog box, HotSpot Studio will in the future regard your choice as the default map file viewer.

To print a map file, select Print from Notepad’s File menu, or follow the standard printing procedures of the selected text editor.


Troubleshooting

If you experience difficulties, click on the appropriate topic below for possible solutions.

Cannot open filename.xxx

More than one image map

Invalid Polygon

Video Problems


Cannot open filename.xxx

If when you attempt to open a map file you see the message, "Cannot open file filename.xxx," it is likely that one of three things has happened: the graphic file associated with the selected map file has been:

•	Moved

•	Renamed

•	Deleted

In each case, HotSpot Studio presents you with a Windows browse box to allow you to navigate to or search for the needed graphic file.

File Moved

File Renamed

File Deleted


File Moved

In this case, you may be able to use the browse box to navigate to the file you need. At that point, you may:

•	Copy the formerly lost file to the directory containing the map file you wish to open—the map file will then open as you would expect it to, or,

•	Use HotSpot Studio’s Replace Graphic command to reassociate the graphic with the map file. (See "Change the Graphic File Attached to an Existing Map File" in the preceding section.)


File Renamed

If the missing graphic file has been renamed, you may be able to remedy the situation depending on the circumstances under which it was renamed. The message identifies the file that HotSpot Studio is looking for, so use the browse box to search for that name. If you have renamed the file, designate it under its new name in the dialog from where the message arose, or rename the file again, to its original name.


File Deleted

If your map file is looking for a graphic that has been deleted, you likely will have to recreate this particular hypergraphic. Before you do though, here are two suggestions:

•	If you do regular backups, search your backup media for the missing file.

•	If your data is regularly backed up in the course of network maintenance, ask your network administrator to help you find your file.


More Than One Image Map

This message means that the image file you are attempting to open has more than one image map associated with it. These maps will necessarily be of different formats, so the solution is to determine which map format is appropriate to the task you are performing, and begin by opening the map file rather than the image file. You can do this:

1.	From the File menu, select Open.

2.	Click the Files of type list box.

3.	Select the appropriate map file format.

4.	Select the appropriate map file.

5.	Click Open.


Invalid Polygon

A polygon hotspot:

•	Can have no more than 100 vertices, and,

•	Cannot be a straight line.

If you get this error, click OK, and draw the figure again, ensuring that you observe these constraints.


HotSpot Studio's Menus

Click on the menu names below to display descriptions of each of HotSpot Studio’s menu items.

File

Edit

View

Tools

Window

Help


File Menu

New  Creates a new image map. Displays the Select Graphic dialog to allow you to select a graphic file on which the new image map will be based.

Open  Opens an existing image map or optionally creates a new one. The Open dialog is displayed to prompt you to select an image map or graphic file.

Close  Closes the active window.  If the image map has changed you are prompted to save before closing.

Save  Saves the image map in the active window to its current name and format.  If the graphic associated with the image map was originally loaded from a format other than GIF or JPEG, you are first prompted to save the graphic to a Web-compatible graphic format. If the image map has not yet been saved (and therefore not been given a file name), the "Save Image Map As…" dialog appears prompting you for a file  name and location.

Save Image Map As  Saves the image map in the active window to a specified file, directory, and format. If the graphic associated with the image map was originally loaded from a format other than GIF or JPEG, you are first prompted to save the graphic to a file. The Save Image Map As dialog is displayed prompting you to select an image map file to overwrite (you will be prompted to confirm) or specify a name, directory, and format under which to save the image map.

Import Image Map  Adds the hotspot information (shape, size, position, target) from the specified image map file to the image map in the active window. The Open dialog is displayed to prompt you to select an image map file.

Replace Graphic  Allows you to replace the graphic in the active window. Displays the Replace Graphic dialog to prompt you to select a graphic file to load in place of the current one. If the new graphic has different dimensions from the current graphic, you are asked whether to proceed and possibly lose hotspots which fall outside of the new graphic. This changes the graphic file reference in the active window.

Perhaps the most consistent characteristic of Intranet and Web sites is that they change constantly. Textual or graphical content, links to other pages and sites all tend to change rapidly. Let’s say your project has a graphic with many hyperlinks. The links are correct for the time being, but the graphic needs to be updated. Rather than rebuild this entire section of your project, you use HotSpot Studio to keep your map file (and thus your hyperlinks), but replace the outdated graphic that is the origin of the links. The procedure is outlined below.

Convert Graphic  Saves the graphic in the active window to a specified file, directory, and format.  Displays the Convert Graphic dialog to prompt you to select a graphic file to overwrite (you will be prompted to confirm) or specify a name, directory, and format under which to save the graphic.  Note that this does not change the graphic file referenced by the image map in the active window.

Graphic Info  Displays information about the graphic in the active child window in the Graphic Info dialog.  Information displayed includes the width and height of the graphic, the number of colors used in the graphic, and the number of bits per pixel.

Exit  Closes the Hotspot Studio application. You are prompted to save any open image maps which have not been saved.


Edit Menu

Undo  Allows you to undo the most recent change to the image map in the active window. Changes which can be undone include:

•	Moving a hotspot

•	Sizing a hotspot

•	Adding or pasting a hotspot

•	Deleting or cutting a hotspot

Cut  Delete the currently selected hotspot from the image map in the active window and copy it to the Windows clipboard.

Copy  Copy the currently selected hotspot to the Windows clipboard.

Paste  Add the hotspot on the Windows clipboard to the image map in the active window.  The hotspot is placed in the upper left corner of the client area.

Delete  Deletes the currently selected hotspot from the image map in the active window.

Default Target  Opens the Set Target dialog to allow you to specify the default target.  This is the destination to which the web browser jumps if the web user clicks in the current graphic, but not in any defined hotspot.

Hotspot Target  Opens the Set Target dialog and prompts you to specify the target for the currently selected hotspot.


View Menu

Toolbar Toggles (displays / hides) HotSpot Studio’s toolbar.

Status Bar Toggles (displays / hides) HotSpot Studio’s status bar (at bottom of application interface).

Source  Opens Windows Notepad and displays the current map file. You can print the file in this mode.


Tools Menu

Rectangle  Select the rectangle drawing tool. The cursor changes to a rectangular drawing cursor.

Circle  Select the circle drawing tool. The cursor changes to a circular drawing cursor.

Polygon  Select the polygon drawing tool. The cursor changes to a polygonal drawing cursor.

Selection  Select the selection tool. This tool is a simple pointer to select hotspots for editing in the active window. The cursor changes to the Windows standard arrow.

Test  Enables Hotspot Studio’s in test mode. Test mode simulates the behavior of current image when viewed from a Web browser. Hotspots are invisible, but when the cursor is moved over one its target link is displayed on the status bar and the cursor changes shape.  Press the Esc key or reselect Test from the Tools menu to disable test mode.


Window Menu

New  Opens a new window with a new image map based on the image map in the active window.

Cascade  Arranges all non-minimized windows in an overlapped configuration.

Tile  Arranges all non-minimized windows so that all are visible and not overlapping.

Arrange Icons  Arranges icons representing minimized windows at the lower left of the client area of the frame window.

(List of running windows)  A list of open windows. Select an item from this list to make it the active window.


Help Menu

Help Topics  In Windows 95 this opens the Help system with the contents tab displayed. In Windows 3.1x and Windows NT 3.5x this opens the Help system with the contents page selected.

About HotSpot Studio  Displays HotSpot Studio’s About dialog box. The version number of your HotSpot Studio installation appears here.