Chapter 5: Working with Images

Links

• Using the Alt Tag
  A guide to how and why.
• GIF Animation on the World Wide Web
  The original tutorial. Easy step-by-step instructions for making your own animated GIFs using shareware or freeware programs.
• CNET: All About GIF89a
  How GIF animation works, and how to do it.
• Transparent Background Images
  How to create transparent GIFs that work.
• The GIF Licensing Controversy
  What happened when CompuServe and Unisys decided to exert ownership of the GIF format.
• The JPEG FAQ
  How JPEG compression works, and when to use it.
• JPEG.ORG
  The JPEG standards committee.
• The PNG Page
  The history of the PNG image format, a list of features, and links to software products that support it.
• Macromedia Fireworks Support
  Help with animation, rollovers, and so on.
• Massimo's Corner: Fireworks Tricks
  Make fancy animations using Fireworks. There's a Dreamweaver section, too.

Good Examples

Shareware

• Fefe's Transparency Apparatus
  A point-and-click, Web-based tool for making a transparent GIF.
• GIFWorks
  A free online tool for editing your images.That means you upload your file and then play with it online. Fun and useful!
  
• GIF Construction Set
  Shareware for Windows.
• Smart Dubbing
  Macintosh tool for converting QuickTime movies into streaming animated GIFs.
• Animation Online
  Create free animated buttons and banners instantly through a Web interface. Caveat: Don't make them as ugly as this page.
• MediaBuilder 3D Text Maker
  Type in your text, edit it, and animate it. There's a lot of other good stuff on this site, too.
• GIF Wizard
  Shrink the file size of your GIF images with either the free, Web-based tool or the commercial software.
• US Naval Observatory GIF Clock
  Have the right time on your page, all the time.
  
• Portable Network Graphics (PNG)
  Lots and lots of test images and software links for making perfect PNG.
• Southwest Research Institute PNG FTP Site
  Software, documentation, and test images.