Recommended Method of Working

The tool allows you to read in and save map files, so it's a good idea to save after every 2-3 annotations. If the system fouls up, you can then restart. It's also a good idea not to overwrite your original file!

Note that when saving a mapfile there is currently no way of checking for any obscured objects. At the moment this is left to the user, and probably the easiest method of checking this is to switch on the Auto_Raise checkbutton. Having done this, just go through selecting any objects that appear to be obscured by others. This will raise them to a position above the obscuring object, so it will not be hidden from the imagemap mechanism.

You should load in an image before you load in a map.
If you have saved a map file using this system, if you choose to load a mapfile it may automatically offer to reload your image.

You should annotate every object as it is completed. This is the default (which can be switched off).

After creating the first object in a new map, you will be asked to set the Absolute URL path. This should be in the form :-
http://server.net.address/directory_name/
The directory_name includes all directories in the path leading up to and including the directory containing the files you wish to point to. This should also include the last "/".
After this, and after creating any new objects, you will be asked to annotate it. The URL entrybox will already contain the absolute path previously given, so any specific files - *.html - need only be appended on. Also a comment will be asked for. This is simply a guide for you.
Having given a URL to the object, it is now possible to test it using the Test_URL button.

For NCSA Mosaic, It is possible to test url's one at a time using the same browser window. This is done by selecting a new object and invoking the test button. For other browsers, each test must be executed one at a time, killing the browser with the "OK" button in the message window.

Ideally you should use rppm's for image files. If you can't make these, you'll have to produce a b/w xbm for markup. This may require cunning editing with something like xv.

Gudge