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This is the README file for the WebMapper Application written by Wassim M. Jabi ± February 1996. (c) 1996 Wassim Jabi. The WebMapper Application What is WebMapper ? WebMapper is an application that allows one to create clickable imagemaps for a World-Wide Web server (NCSA and CERN so far) or for Client-Side browsers such as Netscape Navigator and Lighthouse Design OmniWeb. WebMapper is able to graphically define the regions without the need for a lot of typing and figuring out of coordinates. WebMapper reads and writes the conventional ASCII format of map files as defined by CERN, NCSA, and SPYGLASS. However, without violating their format, WebMapper encodes additional information in those files to help better maintain them. Such information includes the path name of the background image, graphic attributes and optional comments for each region. The WebMapper application is still in its early stages. Some bugs may exist and some features are still missing. In addition, I have not had the chance to thoroughly test it. Please use it with caution on non-critical files and at your own risk. Report any bugs, suggestions, questions to Wassim Jabi (wjabi@umich.edu). If you like WebMapper and continue to use it, I ask that you donate $15 to: Wassim M. Jabi 2200 Fuller Rd. Apt. 509-B Ann Arbor, MI 48105-2308 All proceeds exceeding $500 will be donated to charity. Please feel free to distribute WebMapper as you wish as long as this README file accompanies it and its contents are not modified in any way. Where is it? The latest version of WebMapper should be available from: http://libra.caup.umich.edu/www/Software/ or ftp://libra.caup.umich.edu/pub/next/binaries/ It should eventually migrate to: ftp://next-ftp.peak.org/pub/next/binaries/wide-area-info/ What is the latest version? v 1.4 (June 23, 1996) What is new? v 1.4 Fixed region layering bug v 1.3 Empty lines no longer crash the application v 1.3 Fixed Bug in NCSA circles (center/edgepoint instead of corners) (However, NCSA/Circles in v1.2 need to be fixed manually). v 1.3 Fixed Bug in Setting Comments for Regions v 1.3 Added Bring To Front and Push to Back menus. v 1.3 Layering of Regions corresponds to Web parsers. see the example in the On-line Help (Regions). v 1.2 Fixed Bug in Copying/Cutting/Pasting Regions. v 1.1 Fixed Bug in Client-Side HTML output (added <HTML> </HTML>). v 1.1 Added a Services Menu to enable opening URLs. v 1.0 Polygon support. v 1.0 Client-Side Clickable Imagemaps. v 1.0 Removed Comments from CERN output (For compatibility) v 1.0 Smaller stripped binaries. v 0.6 Now should run on NEXSTEP version 3.2 and higher. v 0.6 On-line help. v 0.6 Does not crash if file contains a single # on a line by itself. v 0.6 Background image displayed when pathname typed in Inspector. v 0.6 Some Code cleanup. List of general features: 1. Create, open, revert and save ".map" Documents. WebMapper requires the ".map" extension on all documents it creates, opens and saves. A Document handles the default URL, background image, Hot Regions, and Server Type (NCSA or CERN) for file format output. WebMapper is able to read and write the standard format for .map files. However, WebMapper adds optional commented lines that save more information regarding Comments, Color, and Line Width. These are outputted with a preceding "#" so that they do not interfere with the Web application's parser. When reading WebMapper-created files, these commented lines are parsed to retrieve the saved information. ".map" text Documents are given a new map-like icon. 2. Hot Regions. WebMapper allows the definition of "Hot" regions that can be linked to different URLs. In the current version, only Rectangles, (True) circles and Polygons are implemented. Future versions will include Ellipses. Each region can have its own unique color, line width, and comment as defined in the Inspector Tool (Only for NCSA and Client-Side output formats). Regions can be moved and resized (drag the yellow handle for resizing). Regions can also be copied, cut, pasted, and deleted. 3. Preferences. In WebMapper, you can define the default Server Type, Region Color and LineWidth, and the Default URL. Click on Info->Preferences to edit these values. 4. Displaying Background Imagemaps. This is done through dragging and dropping an image into the main window or defining it in the Inspector tool. For GIF images, make sure you have ImageViewer or another filtering application available. Also make sure that the image you drop is not deleted or moved to another location. If so, you will need to open the ".map" file using a Text Editor and input the correct full pathname for the background imagemap or re-drag'n'drop the new image. 5. Drag and Drop URL Rather than typing a URL, you can drag and drop a URL arrow or icon into WebMapper's URL Well from other applications such as OmniWeb, NetSurfer and DataPhile. Note that in the current version you cannot drag the URL out of WebMapper. To-Do List 1. Elliptical Regions. 2. Resizing from any node or from perimeter. 3. Error Checking while Reading/Writing. 4. Undo. 5. Dragging out of a URL Well. 6. Bug Extermination. Acknowledgments Many thanks go to Robert Vasvari for providing the Starter.app on which this application is built. Thanks to Don Yacktman for the MiscKit. And special thanks to my advisor Professor Harold Borkin for helpful hints on how to program in NEXTSTEP. Correspondence Comments, bugreports, suggestions should all go to wjabi@umich.edu Enjoy!!! Wassim M. Jabi
These are the contents of the former NiCE NeXT User Group NeXTSTEP/OpenStep software archive, currently hosted by Netfuture.ch.