Mapedit Introduction & FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

"What is Mapedit?"

A graphical editor for World Wide Web image maps (clickable imagemaps).

"Are imagemaps hard to make?"

Until recently, they were. Server-side imagemaps required the author to install them separately on the server. But with Mapedit 2.26 and the latest web browsers, you can use client-side imagemaps, which reside in your HTML page and are very easy to create. Mapedit will also create server-side maps for backwards compatibility with old browsers.

"Do I need a real web server to deliver imagemaps?"

With Mapedit 2.26, you can use client side imagemaps, which work without any special configuration in the latest web browsers. Of course you can also make old-style server-side imagemaps in order to support older browsers.

"How much does it cost?"

You can download an evaluation copy right now. Evaluation copies are good for 30 days; you need to register before the evaluation period expires. Registration costs $25 and can be done online or by phone, fax or mail. Nonprofit organizations and educational institutions (not private individuals) can receive free registration by mail. Details are explained in the software when you click on the REGISTER button.

"Where can I get it?"

Right here.

"I have the Windows version. I get green splotches instead of a GIF image. What's wrong?"

This was a bug in version 1.2. Get version 2.26 (the latest version).

"Mapedit crashed on my system. What next?"

Get version 2.26. A great deal of debugging has taken place. If you find a bug in 2.26, please write to us! Include as much information as possible about when the program crashed, what other programs were running at the time, and how to repeat the crash.

"I made a map and I made a link to the map and it just downloads the text of the map!"

You have made a server-side imagemap. Now, you need to install it according to the particular instructions for your specific web server. Read your server documentation and/or consult your web server administrator. Alternatively, upgrade to Mapedit 2.26 (see above) and convert your imagemaps to client-side for use with the latest browsers. Client-side imagemaps require no special installation!

"Can I test my imagemaps locally in my web browser?"

YES, if you use client side imagemaps in Mapedit 2.26. Please note that only the very latest web browsers support client side imagemaps.

"Can I open JPEG and PNG-format images as well as GIF?"

In Mapedit 2.26, the answer is yes! Previous versions support only GIF.

"Can I link hotspots to named anchors (URLs such as `foo.html#cheese`)?"

Yes. However, (1) make sure you have Mapedit 2.26, and (2) if you are using server-side imagemaps, be sure to specify a complete URL beginning with http://hostname, as many imagemap programs do not handle this case properly otherwise. (Mapedit version 2.0 had a bug in this area, which is corrected in later versions.)

"Can I target a different frame from each hotspot?"

With Mapedit 2.26, yes, you can. A separate field is provided to enter the Netscape Frames TARGET attribute for each hotspot. This is only possible with client-side imagemaps, but the browsers that support frames also support client-side imagemaps!

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