Software
Review of: |
 At
the general meeting I was meandering by the review table in search of a
back copy of Overview of Design Features
Documentation
In addition to the tutorial, the 35 pages in the manual which cover
designing a new project through generating a series of buttons are well
organized with numerous illustrations and generous use of white space,
but small print. There is also such expected information as
system requirements, covered below, and instructions for installing and
uninstalling ButtonFly.
Using my accentless French and flawless English, ButtonFly quickly generated two sets of buttons including creating the subdirectories entitled US and FR in which to store them. I was a little disappointed to find that I had produced a nondescript gray button template but learned from later reading that “It is particularly recommended to work on a template the surfaces of which are made up of shades of gray, in which [when was the last time you used an ‘of which’ or ‘in which’ clause, not to mention two in one sentence!?]case the hue is assigned at a later date (at the time the data is captured) to each of the buttons to be generated.” Thus, I could have added colors before generating the buttons if I had understood the process a little better from having studied the manual before tackling the tutorial. The gray template is a nice feature when you want the buttons on a Web site to have different colors. Of course, it is possible to assign the desired colors to the template during creation when the buttons will all use the same colors. All in all, even though the coloring was bland, I was pleased that I had been able to produce a professional-looking button with relative ease. Adding color during creation was exactly what I did for my next project – a SIGS button for the calendar on the Alamo PC Web site. First, I loaded the Alamo PC logo into the “Become Inspired” frame in the ButtonFly window to have it available for matching the colors. When I used the eyedropper tool to select the green from the logo to use in my button, I almost gasped aloud. Instantly, a small window in the color grid gave me the hexadecimal number for the color! I couldn’t believe it! No more tedious hand conversions or trial-and-error guessing! I knew immediately that I would keep the software on my computer for that handy-dandy feature alone. With the Alamo PC colors of green and purple on the calendar page as givens, I experimented with various kinds of shapes, degrees of relief, widths of outlines, and assorted fonts for the SIGS button before deciding on a green oval outlined in purple with purple letters in clean Arial. Once I was satisfied with the button, I knew from having read the manual that I could save the single image, the only one that I needed, and bypass generating a series, a welcome timesaver. After the new SIGS button had been on the Alamo PC Web site for a couple of weeks, I decided to try the rollover tutorial. I created the second button with a lighter green background as suggested and clicked the RollOver icon. I’ve already mentioned having to reinstall the software, but once I had done so, the RollOver Generator brought up fields for Button #1. For reasons lost on me, this screen opens in a separate Internet Explorer window even offline. I considered emailing tech support for an explanation, but since I never received a reply to my first email, mentioned in Tech Support below, I didn’t bother. So, I filled in the fields for Button #1, clicked the View Script icon, and ButtonFly immediately provided Javascript with helpful hints which I could cut and paste into my HTML file for the calendar page. Delighted with the results, I remembered a section in the manual on using images for buttons, consulted it, and created a rollover for the Alamo PC logo and added it to the calendar page. Completion of the rollover tutorial left only the photo processing exercise. In a matter of seconds, well, maybe a couple of minutes, I produced a tinted photo with an attractive convex shadow effect which I am considering adding to the photos in the albums on several Web sites which I maintain. Tech Support
The email choices included an address for support plus five help forms, one for each of the company’s software applications. I used the ButtonFly form to ask for assistance, mentioning that I was working on a review for PC Alamode magazine. When I had not heard back five days later, I quit waiting and submitted my review. There were no phone numbers listed for tech support though there were phone numbers on the Contact us screen, and I’ve listed them with the company information below. Incorrect or bad Url
In a project creation, you can get a “Shape” in your html background image, then add an element over it that will represent the button (add a pictogram) Then in “Surface” select “Opacity” and move the cursor to get the desired effect. There were no phone numbers listed for tech support though there were phone numbers on the Contact us screen, and I’ve listed them with the company information below. The e-mail choices included an address for support plus five help forms,
one for each of the company’s software applications. I used
the ButtonFly form to ask for assistance, mentioning that I was working
on a review for Of course, the reply came the next day, and I did update and resubmit my review. In contacting tech support, I had specifically wanted to know how to duplicate the shiny appearance of the logo Web button used on the cover of the ButtonFly manual and on the GOTO Web site. Here is the reply to my inquiry, copied-and-pasted, sics added:
System Requirements
Conclusion
Company Information, Pricing, and Availability GOTO Software, Inc.There was also information for France, Germany and the UK. Version 1.30 of the software is available on the GOTO Web site for US
$49.95 and at www.tucows.com for the same price for version 1.2.
I did not find it at compusa.com, bestbuy.com, egghead.com, or amazon.com.
Linda Lange, aka WebWeaverWoman, joined Alamo PC in July 2000 and has received more than her money's worth in classes, reading material, and networking. |
