Image maps

Imagemaps (client-side, server-side) have been one of the major innovations in web interactivity. They are a very popular navigation aid. These clickable graphics can be used to help create a site identity and give visual impact. Unfortunately they also can add considerably to download time. I first saw them in the dawn of web time, when there was no commercialism on the Internet, and most web pages still had more text than graphics. Now of course, most sites are commercial, and they want to grab their audiences' attention quickly.. tons of text doesn't do that.

Often imagemaps are used so that sites and their designers can show off some 'cool' graphics - and I don't give a damn. Frankly I find many of them stupid and irritating, especially if they haven't bothered to supply any alternatives. Navigating such sites is a pain - having waited a considerable time for the image to download, the first hurdle to overcome is often figuring out what they mean. Do you have to pass an I.Q. test to enter this site? And then, when you think you know where to click ('here'?) you have to wait yet again for the next imagemap. I know, I really should buy a T1 and a faster computer.

Imagemap Help Page
This page is an educational resource intended to provide assistance with the implementation of imagemaps. This page is not under construction; however, more information is needed to make it complete. You may not find the answer to all of your questions here, but it should give you something to chew on.

Mapedit
A WYSIWYG editor for imagemaps, available for Microsoft Windows and the X Window System. Use Mapedit to generate, or convert to, NCSA, CERN, or client-side map files.

NCSA Imagemap Tutorial
This document is a step-by-step tutorial for designing and serving graphical maps of information resources with either the external imagemap CGI script or with the built in imagemap support in NCSA HTTPd 1.5.