Introduction

Banner*Show lets you create slideshow-like presentation of images and text on the World-wide web page. Each item can have a unique URL so that the banner becomes a hyperlink to that URL.

The uses of such a presentation are:

•	Present a series of advertisement banners, linking to different URLs, with a single loading of the page. Increases the exposure rate of your clients’ banners several fold. Since the same spot is used to display several images, sequentially, the page is not cluttered with too many images and thereby concentrates the attention of the user to a single advertisement at a time.

•	Display text-only announcements, with or without linking to a URL.

•	Show pictorial links to your other pages and sections. Instead of specifying the URLs to other sites you can provide the links to other parts in your own documents. This is an excellent way to make the user aware of what are available on other pages, without having too many text/pictures on the page.

•	Show plain slideshows without any links. Excellent way to show the pictures of your holidays to distant relatives and friends.

New in version 2:

This version of Banner*Show incorporates the Java and JavaScript options to display the banners. With the Java option the banners work equally well in Internet Explorer as in NetScape. It also allows various special effects.

How does Banner*Show differ from normal rotation of banners?

When you see a different banner each time the page is loaded, it is usually achieved by a CGI that assigns a random image and URL to the spot. The image will not change until the page is re-loaded. Under Banner*Show the image will be changed at specified time intervals, even when the page is idle. The transition can be either sequential or random (the JavaScript option). Any number of images can be in the cycle, and the user is not penalised by having too many images, as only the first image is loaded before displaying the page in its entirety. While the user is reading the page the rest of the images will be downloaded in the background as and when required. Once all images are downloaded to the user’s machine, the cycle will continue seamlessly for ever. Of course, if the user moves away from the page, the display and the downloading will all cease. If the user returns to the page the cycle will re-start. (Note: under the JavaScript option the cycle restarts from the first image, whereas Java option continues without such resetting.)

Banner*Show operation

- Build the Banner*Show de novo

- Insert the Banner*Show in your existing Web page

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Software Products From WebGenie


Description of Banner*Show operation

Banner*Show is a CGI-less solution and can be setup by anyone with a web page. All that is required is a HTML directory on your webserver and a Java and/or JavaScript enabled browser (e.g. NetScape 3.0 or higher; Internet Explorer 3.0 or higher). You can either create a new web page, inserting the banners and URLs, and modify it to include all your other text and pictures, or insert the banners into your existing HTML file. In the latter case it is recommended that you make a backup copy of the HTML before doing so. The code inserted by Banner*Show can make the page look a bit confusing, and you may want to refer back to your original page.

Contents


How to setup Banners in your HTML file

 - The JavaScript Option

Java Option

Notes:

•	The JavaScript option requires that every banner has an associated GIF or JPEG image file. Preferably the images must be of the same dimensions.

•	 Text-only banners are not supported undet the JavaScript option.

•	Due to the lack of dynamic image changing support under the implementation of JavaScript in Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE) the banners will be stationary if viewed by this browser. NetScape 3.x or higher will display the banners properly. MSIE users please use the Java option to create the banner show.

Using Banner*Show to create a web page containing a slide show-like presentation of pictures is as simple as clicking a few buttons. You can either create a new HTML or add to your existing HTML file by opening an appropriate dialog window by clicking one of the two buttons on the left toolbar. Here is a set of simple-to-use step-wise instructions:

•	Click on the button, marked ‘New Page’

A dialog box will now be opened, with a template HTML file already in the edit window.

•	Or click on the button, ‘Existing Page’, to open your existing HTML file.

•	Click ‘Link Images’ to open another window which will have two edit boxes for the image filenames and URLs. If the file, bnnrshow.txt, is in the working directory it will be read and the contents transferred to these edit boxes. The installation package comes with a copy of bnnrshow.txt containing a set of images and URLs as examples, and you can edit this file to replace/add the images and URLs with your own. Please ensure that the image files and URLs do not contain any spaces, and separate the two with spaces or tabs.

•	Click on ‘Save’ to link the images and their respective URLs. If the number of lines in the edit boxes do not match you will get an error message. The window will be closed upon clicking ‘Save’ and the data is entered into memory. In the same session of Banner*Show you do not need to link them again, but can be inserted into any number of HTML files.

•	Position the cursor where the banners should appear in your HTML page.

•	Choose the options.

•	Range	-	The starting and ending number of banners in the cycle. This option lets you insert several banners and use a subset of it (consecutively) to be displayed.

•	Sequential transition	-	The banners will be displayed sequentially, always starting with the low range and ending with the high range number.

•	Sequential, starting at random 	- Each time a random image will be selected from within range, and the transition proceeds sequentially.

•	Purely random transition	-	An image at random, within the range, is chosen for each transition.

Note: The banner with the lowest range number will always be the first one displayed when the page is loaded. This applies to all three options above. Also, if you return to the page from another page, this image will be shown as the first.

•	Display duration	-	Specify the number of seconds for each banner to be in view. The first cycle begins only after this period is elapsed. For this reason, under sequential transition, you will notice that the first image in the list will be displayed for twice as long as the duration set here.

•	Include WebGenie’s banner	-	This optional button, if clicked, will include a banner that links to the home page of WebGenie. You need NOT have the image for this banner on your server.

•	Clcik on ‘Insert Banner’	-	A message box will appear to confirm that you have placed the cursor where the banner should be displayed. Press OK to insert the HTML and JavaScript code needed to make the page fully functional.

•	Click on ‘Save’ to save the contents of the edit window into a HTML file.

Note: You can insert the banner only at one place within the file. If re-editing the HTML file, then you must manually delete the previous HTML code inserted by Banner*Show. (Only the HTML code needs to be edited away; the JavaScript code will be overwritten by the program itself)

That’s all there is to it!! Your HTML page is now functional.

Other buttons:

Help	-	This help.

Open HTML	-	Change the HTML file to be edited.

Close	-	Closes the window.

Banner*Show operation

Contents


Build the JavaScript-based banner

This dialog lets you enter the banner images and URLs.

There are two ways to enter them:

•	Type into the edit boxes marked, URLs and ‘Image files’

- Please make sure that there is a one-to-one correspondence between the URL and image file. It is not essential to have a URL for every image, but the reverse is mandatory.

•	Read in an input file containing the text and image filenames:

A sample file:

http://www.webgenie.com/ banner1.gif

http://www.webgenie.com/Misc/comp.html banner2.gif

http://www.webgenie.com/about.html#reviews banner3.jpg

e.g. http://www.webgenie.com/ banner1.gif

You can specify the image filenames and URLs in any of the following ways:

•	Absolute path.

e.g. http://www.company.com/wwwpage.html http://www.company.com/image.jpg

•	Relative path

e.g. ../home/index.html ../Images/image.jpg

•	No path

e.g.wwwpage.html image.jpg

It is NOT an error if you do not provide a URL for each image. However, clicking on the image may display the directory contents of your webserver, or display the index file in that directory.


How to setup Banners in your HTML file

 - The Java Option

Using Banner*Show to create a web page containing a slideshow-like presentation of pictures or text is as simple as clicking a few buttons. You can either create a new HTML or add to your existing HTML file by opening an appropriate dialog window by clicking one of the two buttons on the left toolbar. Here is a set of simple-to-use step-wise instructions:

•	Click on the button, marked ‘New Page’

A dialog box will now be opened, with a template HTML file already in the edit window.

•	Or click on the button, ‘Existing Page’, to open your existing HTML file.

•	Click on ‘Link Images’ to open another window which will have two edit boxes, marked “URL” and “Text string or image file”. If the file, bnnrshow.txt, is in the working directory it will be read and the contents transferred to these edit boxes. The installation package comes with a copy of bnnrshow.txt containing a set of images and URLs as examples, and you can edit this file to replace/add the images and URLs with your own. Please ensure that the image files and URLs do not contain any spaces. The text string can contain spaces and tabs. All tabs, however, will be replaced with single space char when reading into the program.

•	Double Click on a line to change properties.

•	Click on ‘Save’ to link the images and their respective URLs. If the number of lines in the edit boxes do not match you will get an error message. The window will be closed upon clicking ‘Save’ and the data is entered into memory. In the same session of Baner*Show you do not need to link them again, but can be inserted into any number of HTML files.

•	Position the cursor where the banners should appear in your HTML page.

•	Choose the banner properties.

•	Width, Height and Border	- The dimensions of the box to display the images and text. Use the same dimensions as those of the image files or, use appropriate dimensions to fully display the text.

•	Background color	-	The background color of the box.

•	Speed	- The number of frames per second to display. Default is 20. Choosing an extra large number may cause problems in running the Java applet.

•	Include WebGenie’s banner	-	This optional button, if clicked, will include a banner that links to the home page of WebGenie. You need NOT have the image for this banner on your server.

•	Display the target URLs in this frame	-	If the page(s) are to be displayed in a specified frame. The name of frame given here must exist; otherwise a new browser window will be opened to show the page. If you select the frame option, together with ‘New page’, a sample ‘frameset’ HTML file will be created along with your banner show page.

•	Clcik on ‘Insert Banner’	-	A message box will appear to confirm that you have placed the cursor where the banner should be displayed. Press OK to insert the HTML and JavaScript code needed to make the page fully functional.

•	Click on ‘Save’ to save the contents of the edit window into a HTML file.

Notes:

1.   The Java option requires that the dimensions of the banner show box are the same as those of the image files. You must find the latter using any graphics program, or experiment with different dimensions.

2.   Text-only banners are supported.

3.   You can insert the banner at more than one place within the file. If re-editing the HTML file, then you must manually delete the previous HTML code inserted by Banner*Show.

That’s all there is to it!! Your HTML page is now functional.

Other buttons:

Help	-	This help.

Open HTML	-	Change the HTML file to be edited.

Close	-	Closes the window.

Banner*Show operation

Contents


Build the banners

This dialog lets you enter the banner elements. There are two ways to enter a new element:

1. Type them into the edit boxes marked, URL and ‘Text string…’

- After typing in the text, you must click ‘Enter’ to transfer the item into memory and also display it in the list boxes below.

2. Read in an input file containing the text and image filenames:

A sample file:

http://www.webgenie.com/ WebGenie Software Home Page

http://www.webgenie.com/about.html WebGenie Company Profile

http://www.webgenie.com/about.html#reviews WebGenie - Reviews

/Software/Cspro/	WebGenie - CGI*StarPro

/about.html#reviews WebGenie - Reviews

catalog.html Products list (in the same directory as the banner HTML)

#products Products list (in the same document as the banner)

http://www.webgenie.com/Software/Banner/	bnnrshow.jpg

http://www.webgenie.com/Software/Linklaun/ linklaunch.gif

New product, Banner*Show 2.1 has been released.

mailto://support@webgenie.com Click here for details about Banner*Show

mailto://support@webgenie.com bshow.jpg

A tip!

If you want only a scrolling text, with no URL to link to, type it into the edit box on the right under ‘Link Text’ dialog.

Explanations:

•	Absolute path.

http://www.webgenie.com/ WebGenie Software Home Page

•	Absolute path and anchor.

http://www.webgenie.com/about.html#reviews WebGenie - Reviews

•	Relative path

/Software/Cspro/	WebGenie - CGI*StarPro

•	Relative path and anchor

/about.html#reviews WebGenie - Reviews

•	No path (when the file is in the same directory)

catalog.html Products list (in the same directory as the banner HTML)

•	No path but only the anchor in the same document

#products Products list (in the same document as the banner)

•	JPEG image file as banner

http://www.webgenie.com/Software/Banner/	bnnrshow.jpg

•	GIF image file as banner

http://www.webgenie.com/Software/Linklaun/ linklaunch.gif

•	No URL (only an announcement or image file)

New product, Banner*Show 2.1 has been released.

•	A mailto link using text

mailto://support@webgenie.com Click here for details about Banner*Show

•	A mailto link using image

mailto://support@webgenie.com bshow.jpg

Notes:

1.	The input file only contains the filenames and text. Properties of each item in the banner show can be set individually by double clicking on its line in the display box.

2.	It is NOT an error if you do not provide a URL for each item.

Other controls:

‘Enter’	- To enter into memory the text typed into the edit boxes.

‘Del’	- To delete an item in the list box. You must highlight the item in the list box under ‘Text string or image file’ before pressing ‘Del’.

Contents


Change the properties of banner elements

This dialog lets you assign new properties to the banner elements. Currently the properties of image items cannot be configured, but options will be introduced for them in a future release.

The following properties for text-only items can be configured:

URL - The selected item’s URL, if any. It may be changed here.

Text string/image file - The selected item’s text line or the image filename. Change if necessary.

Color	- Text color to begin with. Currently selected color is displayed below the button.

Font	- Font name and size for the text. Currently selected font is displayed below the button.

Fixed color - The selected color remains constant.

Color cycle - The text cycles through a series of colors. This option overrides the original color selected for the text.

Pause - The text will pause for the specified number of seconds before resuming one of the selected transitions (see below).

Transition - Choose one of different entry and exit modes for the text. Any combination can be chosen.

A tip!!

The default properties of the items are automatically assigned at the time of entering the item, either via the input box or via reading in a text file. You can then change the properties of individual items by double clicking on its line and altering controls explained above. Any new item entered after such alteration will inherit the new properties. If you wish to change the default properties before entering items, here is what to do:

a. Enter a dummy line of text.

b. Double click its line and set the required properties.

c. Delete the line by selecting it and clicking ‘Del’

d. Enter new items via either method (i.e. typing in or via input file).

Contents


Register the program

 - Click on this button, on the top toolbar, to start the dialog, which lets you enter the registration key string to override the expiry date of the program.

How to enter the registration string:

•	Type in the registration string (exactly, including the hyphens; no spaces) and press the button marked, 'Record Code'.

•	Exit the program and restart. (The registration will take effect only after exitting the program).

Contents


Frequently Asked Questions

These are some of the common problems users have been experiencing:

These are some of the common problems users have been experiencing, when using the JavaScript option. So far, no problem has been reported for the Java option. Please do email us at support@webgenie.com if you discover any problem/bug with the Java option.

•	Banners do not change	-	This usually indicates that the Java and/or JavaScript is not enabled on your browser. If using NetScape 3.x you can turn them on under Options|Network Preferences|Languages. If using any other browser please refer to the browser’s online help.

•	Banners changed for a while and then stopped	- If any image file is missing or corrupted the cycling will be aborted.

•	Will the webserver be accessed everytime a banner is to be displayed? 	- The server will be contacted only if the image file is not in your cache. Once an image has been accessed and saved in the cache then it will be instantly displayed without contacting the server. Also, not all images are downloaded prior to starting the cycle. Each image is fetched as and when required. If the user moves away from the page the remaining images will be skipped.

•	The images are distorted	- A single dimension is used for ALL images, and this is determined by the dimensions of the first in the list. Subsequent images, if of different dimensions, will be scaled to fit that size. This may sometimes result in distorted pictures. It is, therefore, advisable to use images of the same dimensions.

•	The timing is distorted	-	The transition time delay will be distorted if any of the images in the  list is an animated one. We are working on a solution to this problem, which is probably caused by the looping set by NetScape, and a future version of Banner*Show will let you include animated images.

URL not found - Check your URLs associated with each image.

Contents


Other Software Products From WebGenie
Other Products From WebGenie Software

WebGenie Software makes tools to enhance the interactivity of your web site. These Windows95/NT programs are powerful yet intuitive to use and require very little knowledge about CGIs and programming languages. Whether you are a professional web page designer or a do-it-yourself perfectionist, these tools will make the creation and maintenance of your pages an easy and enjoyable task.

Our Products

WebGenie Shopping*Cart - Create your own online store. Automatically generates catalogs and associated CGIs to create a fully interactive online shopping system on the web. Use your own server or WebGenie's secure server to host the CGIs.

CGI*StarPro - Create instant, interactive web forms at the touch of a button. Use your own server or WebGenie's server to host the CGIs.

Banner*Show - An easy way to create your own rotating banners. Uses Java to display banners and text with links.

Guestbook*Star - The ultimate instant guestbook creator. Use your own server or WebGenie's server to host the CGI and guestbook.

Site*Sleuth - Analyse your servers logfiles to provide invaluable website statistics. Find out where your visitors are coming from, which search engines and keywords they use, and many more.

Link*Launch (Freeware) - Create drop-down menu lists for your website. Adds a better look and organization to your web page layout.

Mail*Wiz - Sends personalised mail to a list of E_mail addresses. This program creates the necessary CGIs to take individual addresses and common mail message, formats them to look like it is sent as a personal message and sends to one address.at a time. You can even address the recipient by name and include any specific message to be included in the message to that particular person.

SiteSponsor - Tool to increase your web site traffic without investing too much in advertisement cost. This program creates HTMLs that invites other web site owners to display your banner on their sites in return for a commission (set by you) on sales generated by their referral. The CGIs created by the program lets you operate this sponsorship with ease.

For more information about the above programs, and to download the free evaluation copies, please click the icons displayed in the “Other Programs” dialog window.

Hints

•	You must have a live connection to the Internet.

•	There must be at least one Web browser installed on your PC.

•	The default paths for NetScape and MS Internet Explorer are included in the program. If your PC has a different directory structure and/or these browsers are installed in a non-standard directory, then a dialog window will ask you to locate them manually. This step is needed only during the first use, and the correct paths will be remembered for subsequent runs.

•	You can also use any other browser of your choice by first locating it manually.

•	Click the ‘Home’ icon for descriptions about the programs, download, order and support links.

•	Click any of the programs’ icons to go directly to the download page.

Contents