Re: advice re client side image maps

G'day mate

>From what I see - this is a site map.  Not a splash page?

> Q1. What controls the order in which bits of the page are loaded?.

The HTML file will always be loaded first.  The browser doesn't KNOW about
any of the other files until it has the HTML.  After that, (as far as I
know) it's fairly random. It depends on how many "threads"are used
(generally about 4 or 5).  The HTML file will take up one of those
initially.  The rest is spread over remaining threads.  Once the HTML has
loaded, that thread will also be assigned to load remaining images/sound
files etc.

> Q2. From my initial research (well, googling) it seems that client side
> image maps are supported by later browsers only ?  Is so? not so?
> Any browser specific issues that I need to look out for?

Client side image maps work in most browsers, including IE3.  Wouldn't worry
about really old browsers - people who use them will be used to some things
not working.

> Q3. I am unclear as to whether I can declare a polygon in a client
> side image map?

You can define circles, rectangles and polygons.  There is a limit to the
number of co-ordinates but it's quite high (something like 64 co-ordinates,
from memory).

> Q4. Generating the imagemap HTML and all the funny coordinates ..
> seems like I need a special prog for this .. MapEdit from
> www.boutell.com seems to be frequently mentioned. Comments?
> Alternatives? (I see also that Photoshop 5.5 with ImageReady or
> somesuch can do this, but I don't have Photoshop 5.5)

Any decent WYSIWYG editor has it built in.   FrontPage and Dreamweaver for
sure.

> Q5. Netscape seems to support a low resolution and faster loading
> version with the LOWSRC directive .. does this work OK? worth
> doing?

Works OK in NN only.  Which is used by a minority.  However, it also adds to
the number of files to be loaded.   Why bother when it's only going to work
for a small portion of your viewers?  If you have to, you could always load
a Greyscale image and, once the page has loaded, replace it under javascript
control.  Will work in NN3+ and IE4+

> Q6. It seems I can do an imagemap with a JPG also. At least

You can do an image map on any graphic the browser can display (not counting
Flash - that's a different kettle of fish).  So you have JPG, GIF (and PNG
for that matter).  If the image has few colours, and large panels of the
same colour, use GIF.  If it has lots of colours and you don't mind losing
some clarity, use JPG.   Generally speaking, GIF is for drawings, JPG for
photos.  There are exceptions.

> Q7. I can apparently make any of the links open a new window with
> target=_blank ; what I am groping towards is the concept of a
> central  "siteimagemap" window that is always present (possibly
> chromeless) and that serves as the central navigation device. I am
> none too clear on this myself, so I guess this is a non question, just
> an "I wish"

You can.   But in my professional OPINION, either use frames to keep the
menu in a static location or forget it.  Most people don't like lots of open
windows.  I tend to close new windows the minute they appear.

If you can't set up an intuitive navigation setup on all pages, you've got a
badly designed site (my professional opinion). I like my windows maximised.
I don't like having to move back and forth between two windows.  Too
cumbersome.  Use this idea for the site map perhaps, but don't rely on it
for total site navigation.

Hope this helps
--
Bert Doorn, Web Developer
CIW Associate, IWA Member
www.betterwebdesign.com.au
Fast Loading, User Friendly Websites

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