Why don't my imagemaps match up with my buttons?

You've probably specified the size for your :Slide.Image: in percentages rather than in pixels in your template file.

PPT2HTML properly places the imagemap coordinates to match up with the buttons on your slide no matter what output image size you choose. These coordinates are specified in pixels relative to the upper left corner of the image. So long as you display the image at its "natural" size in the browser (ie, you don't specify a particular size for it) or you specify the image size explicitly, the browser can adjust the imagemap coordinates to the displayed image.

When you specify the image size in percentages, the browser makes no attempt to "fix up" the imagemap coordinates, so the clickable link may not appear where it's supposed to be.

For example, suppose you have PPT2HTML output images at 500 pixels wide and you have a "Next" button at the lower right corner of each slide. Let's say the button is 1/5 of the width of the image, so when PPT2HTML creates the imagemap, it positions the link for this button starting 400 pixels from the left of the slide image and extending to the right for 100 pixels.

Now suppose your template calls for the image to be displayed at WIDTH="50%"

When the browser displays it, it'll be sized to 50% of the current browser window rather than to any specific number of pixels wide, but the imagemap coordinates are all in absolute pixels from the edge of the image. If the size of the browser window forces the image, displayed at 50%, to be 400 pixels wide, your clickable imagemap link (which starts at 400 pixels, remember, will be just past the right edge of the image. The browser chops off links at the edge of the image, so your link simply doesn't work, and even if it did, it would no longer be over the button that created it.

Moral: If you use action buttons in your PowerPoint slides, design your template with the :slide: image specified in pixels, not percents. Also, see :Slide.Image.Width: etc for a nifty way to ensure that the image size specified in your templates always matches up with the size you choose in PPT2HTML's preferences dialog.

Last updated 11/20/2000 1:32:08 PM

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