Creating Image Maps in ImageReady

An image map is an area of an image that links the site visitor to another Web page or URL. You can set up multiple areas in the image called hotspots . Whereas slices let you define only rectangular areas as links, image maps let you define circular, polygonal, or rectangular regions .

Note  

You can float the Image Map tools, or any of the drop-down subpalettes in ImageReady s Tool palette. Click and hold any of these tools, and select the small triangle at the bottom of the list at the bottom to create a new floating palette containing those tools.

To define an image map as a region of the entire image, use the Image Map tools:

1. Choose one of the Image Map tools from the Tool palette. The choices are rectangle, circle, or polygon.

   

2. Drag over the area you want to make into an image map.

3. Click the Web Content tab to display the Web Content palette. If it s not visible, choose Window ’ Web Content.

4. Double-click on the new thumbnail in the new image map layer to open the Image Map palette.

5. Name the image map and assign a URL to it. Now when visitors click that area of the image (as with the beetle in Figure 26.1), their browser will transport them to that URL.

Figure 26.1: An image map defined by the Polygon Image Map tool and the Web Content palette

You can also make a layer-based image map:

1. In the Layers palette, target the layer you want to make into an image map.

2. Click the Layer menu and choose New Layer-Based Image Map Area.

3. Click the Web Content tab to display the Web Content palette.

4. Double-click the new image map layer to open the Image Map palette.

5. Name the image map and enter a URL.