creating web rollovers

Hi all
I am having a bit of trouble creating web rollovers with PP12.

I just can't seem to get a hang of what format images to start with. 
When I want to edit the image to change it from one state to another 
(over/normal/under), I get a message saying that I can't because the 
image is palletted and effect has to be performed on the entire image, 
not just one object. If I combine the object with the background, I can 
edit it, but can not go back to create the other 2 rollover states. I 
prefer to work with GIF format to keep the image size down.

So... can someone point me in the right direction to figure out what 
image formats are needed to make web rollovers?

Thanks
John

Hi John,

Make your pieces in PP and do the roll overs in an web edit program such as 
Dreamweaver. You can use gif, jpg, etc.

Bob
"John" <johnnyjomp_deletethis@jomp-photographics.com> wrote in
message 
news:47e5e1bb_2@cnews...
>
> Hi all
> I am having a bit of trouble creating web rollovers with PP12.
>
> I just can't seem to get a hang of what format images to start with. When 
> I want to edit the image to change it from one state to another 
> (over/normal/under), I get a message saying that I can't because the image

> is palletted and effect has to be performed on the entire image, not just 
> one object. If I combine the object with the background, I can edit it, 
> but can not go back to create the other 2 rollover states. I prefer to 
> work with GIF format to keep the image size down.
>
> So... can someone point me in the right direction to figure out what image

> formats are needed to make web rollovers?
>
> Thanks
> John
> 

Is the original image already saved in a GIF format? GIF and JPEG are meant 
to be used as a final format for an image, because they compress well. But 
you don't want to save your works in progress in those formats.

Saving repeatedly to JPEG will degrade an image a little each time you do it 
(known as lossy compression). GIF doesn't suffer from the same problem, but 
as you found out, the limited palette of the format can prevent you from 
using certain effects in Photo-Paint.

If you save your work files as CPT (Corel Photo-Paint) files, you will avoid 
lossy compression issues and also are not limited to an 8-bit or smaller 
palette. It will also allow you to keep layers and masks within the image 
intact, which makes updating the images easier later on.

When you have a finished product, then you can save a copy of the CPT image 
to GIF or JPEG for use on a web page. First merge any layers into the 
background if you used them. If you are saving to GIF you will also need to 
convert the image's palette to 8-bit or less.

You may also want to consider not using images as navigation elements. They 
can make site updates a hassle and may also make your web pages look dated. 
Using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a more simple way to make rollover 
navigation elements. You can still use an image as a background for the 
element if you want. This site specializes in teaching CSS navigation 
effects: http://www.projectseven.com/tutorials/css/uberlinks/index.htm . 

Hi Bob:

Yeah, it occurred to me that I should be doing it in html rather than a 
photoeditting program.
Thanks for confirming!
John


Bob wrote:
> Hi John,
> 
> Make your pieces in PP and do the roll overs in an web edit program such as

> Dreamweaver. You can use gif, jpg, etc.
> 
> Bob
> "John" <johnnyjomp_deletethis@jomp-photographics.com> wrote
in message 
> news:47e5e1bb_2@cnews...
>> Hi all
>> I am having a bit of trouble creating web rollovers with PP12.
>>
>> I just can't seem to get a hang of what format images to start with.
When 
>> I want to edit the image to change it from one state to another 
>> (over/normal/under), I get a message saying that I can't because the
image 
>> is palletted and effect has to be performed on the entire image, not
just 
>> one object. If I combine the object with the background, I can edit it,

>> but can not go back to create the other 2 rollover states. I prefer to

>> work with GIF format to keep the image size down.
>>
>> So... can someone point me in the right direction to figure out what
image 
>> formats are needed to make web rollovers?
>>
>> Thanks
>> John
>>
> 
> 
> 

Hi Matt:
I was wondering why I had the palletted image problem, and as I started 
to read your message, it occurred to me! I was trying to save the gif in 
a colour that was not part of the palette! Suddenly the light went on!

Anyway, thanks for all the extra info you put in your reply. It makes 
lots of sense. I wasn't aware that CSS would handle my roll-overs; 
Thanks for the link to the CSS info... I am going to see about learning 
how to use this method.
Thanks again
John

Matt wrote:
> Is the original image already saved in a GIF format? GIF and JPEG are meant

> to be used as a final format for an image, because they compress well. But

> you don't want to save your works in progress in those formats.
> 
> Saving repeatedly to JPEG will degrade an image a little each time you do
it 
> (known as lossy compression). GIF doesn't suffer from the same problem, but

> as you found out, the limited palette of the format can prevent you from 
> using certain effects in Photo-Paint.
> 
> If you save your work files as CPT (Corel Photo-Paint) files, you will
avoid 
> lossy compression issues and also are not limited to an 8-bit or smaller 
> palette. It will also allow you to keep layers and masks within the image 
> intact, which makes updating the images easier later on.
> 
> When you have a finished product, then you can save a copy of the CPT image

> to GIF or JPEG for use on a web page. First merge any layers into the 
> background if you used them. If you are saving to GIF you will also need to

> convert the image's palette to 8-bit or less.
> 
> You may also want to consider not using images as navigation elements. They

> can make site updates a hassle and may also make your web pages look dated.

> Using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a more simple way to make rollover 
> navigation elements. You can still use an image as a background for the 
> element if you want. This site specializes in teaching CSS navigation 
> effects: http://www.projectseven.com/tutorials/css/uberlinks/index.htm . 
> 
> 
>