By Gail Bjork
www.digicamhelp.com

If you haven't introduced yourself to the FrontPage Pictures Toolbar you should do so next time you use the program. If you are already familiar with this handy tool, you may want to get to know it even better. In this article we shall take a look at the toolbar which includes several easy-to-use features to tweak, enhance and position graphic images after they are inserted into a FrontPage web page.

With the Pictures Toolbar you can add text to a graphic, automatically create thumbnails which hyperlink to larger images, position a graphic absolutely, bring it forward and backward as well as rotate and flip it. You can adjust the contrast and brightness of an image, crop it, change it to black and white, wash it out, bevel and resample it. But that's not all. You can style a line, create hotspots and, one of my favorite features, select a color in an image and make it transparent. All these features are available via standard FrontPage menus but the beauty of the Pictures Toolbar is that they all are located in one convenient place.

First things first
It is often better to prepare images in a graphics program such as Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro or Image Composer before inserting them into a web page but don't underestimate the power of the built-in FrontPage Toolbar. As you use it, keep a few things tucked in back of your mind.

When you insert or import a graphic into FrontPage, the image is a copy of the original file. If you decide instead to drag and drop JPEGs and GIFs into the webs image directory (folder) instead, use a duplicate. If you become unhappy with changes you've made which can not be undone, you still have the original image to copy and begin the process anew.

You must be in FrontPage Page View to edit and adjust images with the Pictures Toolbar. To make specific changes, select the image and apply changes one by one by clicking on the Toolbar icons. For a description of each tool, hold your mouse cursor over an icon.

While you can undo and redo adjustments made to a graphic, it is important to understand that the next time you save a page, FrontPage overwrites the previous saved version of the image. Once overwritten, any changes to an image are permanent and can not be undone. I highly recommend you Preview changes prior to saving. All saved images are placed by default to the image folder though you can save them to other locations if you choose to do so. Generally, I do not save an image until I am satisfied with the changes made to it.

Turning on and using the Pictures Toolbar

The illustration above shows the icons on the FrontPage 2002 Pictures Toolbar. They may vary slightly or be unavailable in earlier versions of FrontPage so check your programs help menu if you need additional information.

Enable the Pictures Toolbar by selecting it in the toolbar menu (View > Tools Bar > Pictures). It can be positioned to float anywhere in the window. Or the toolbar can be docked at the top, bottom right- or left-side edges of the screen. To position the toolbar, click and drag the Move Handle [image 02] with your mouse cursor. The toolbar automatically appears whenever you select a graphic such as a JPEG or GIF.

Now let's take a closer look at each tool and its function.

Tool Functions

Insert, Text on GIF, Auto Thumbnail

Insert
One of the ways to insert an image directly into a page is to click on Insert an Image from File and navigate to the image on your hard drive. You can also insert images from the FrontPage Clip Organizer or obtain free clipart online at Microsoft's Design Gallery Live. http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx When you download images from the Design Gallery they are saved directly into the Clip Organizer.

Text on GIF
Text can be placed directly on a GIF image. This is useful if you want to create a button, add a caption to an image, etc. Select an image, click "A" in the toolbar and type the desired word or phrase. You may format the text by choosing the font, point size and color. You can position it with the mouse or keyboard arrows. When you save the page, the text will merge onto the image. The text can be repositioned even after it is saved when working in FrontPage Normal view.

If you want to place text on a JPEG, you will have to convert it to a GIF. You can do so in FrontPage by right-clicking an image and selecting Picture Properties. When the dialog box opens, click the general tab and then select GIF. The image will be converted when it is saved. It is important to note that the visual quality of a JPEG image will be changed, sometimes considerably, after it is converted to a GIF, so check the change in Preview mode.

Auto Thumbnail
This feature allows you to quickly and automatically create a thumbnail of a larger image. To create a thumbnail, insert an image into a page, select it and click on the Thumbnail Icon. The image will disappear and a thumbnail version appears in its place. When the page is saved, you will be prompted to save the embedded file. The thumbnail automatically becomes a hyperlink to its corresponding full-sized image. When a site visitor clicks on the thumbnail, the image is displayed in a browser.

To change the default thumbnail size and other associated settings:

Tools Menu > Page Options > AutoThumbnail

The FrontPage Pictures Toolbar Part II >>