Timed Billboards

Timed Billboards

Class File Names: bboard.class, occcolor.class
Total Size: 8K
Notice Tag: "Timed Billboards, (c) 1997, OpenCube Technologies, Registered (Unique Key ID#)"

Notes Regarding This Applet

Note: Depending on the platform and browser you are using you may receive a security error when attempting to view and modify this demo on a local computer. In Internet Explorer the applet will simply not run without indicating a security error, even though it is most likely the cause, Netscape will show the error message in the Java console. To avoid this error place all your files (class, text, and HTML) in the same folder or configure the applet on the web server. This error will not occur once the applet and text files are placed on the internet.

Note: When uploading your class files and HTML document to the sever make certain that the class files are uploaded in binary format and the codebase value in the applet tag appropriately point to the location of the class file (If the class file is in the same folder as the HTML document containing the applet leave the codebase command out of the applet tag).

Online Documentation at www.opencube.com

Information about the applet and its parameters

Required Parameters

Parameter 1 (the "notice" tag) must be included in the applet tag in order for the applet to work. Most of the parameters will default if you fail to define them, at a minimum you must include the notice tag, image base file name, extension, and the number of images to use.

Defining Colors

This applet uses a simple RGB or Hexadecimal color definition scheme. On most systems (depending on the software being used to choose a color) its easier to define a color using RGB, however since most web pages define colors using a HEX value we have allowed for both methods of color definition. To define a color using RGB use commas to separate the values such as 255,255,255 (White). To define a color using a hexadecimal value use a pound sign ('#') followed by a 6 digit hex value in the rage of 000000 - FFFFFF (e.g. #FFFFFF is equal to the color White).

Color Definition with RGB: To define a color in one of the color parameters using RGB choose a value between 0 - 255 for the red, green, and blue components separated by commas and typed out in the correct r,g,b order. Below is a sample of how a color parameter using RGB should look, the example specifies several different sample colors for the "bgcolor" parameter.

WHITE: <param name="bgcolor" value="255,255,255">
GREEN: <param name="bgcolor" value="0,255,0">
BLACK: <param name="bgcolor" value="0,0,0">
YELLOW: <param name="bgcolor" value="255,255,0">
OFF WHITE: <param name="bgcolor" value="240,239,234">

The best way to choose the exact color you are looking for without having to guess the numbers is to access your systems Color Picker. Color Pickers usually allow you to drag the mouse over a rainbow type color grid to select a color, and show you the appropriate RGB values. In windows the Color Picker is accessible through MS Paint as well as a majority of the popular Imaging and HTML Authoring Software.

Defining Multiple Attributes with the same parameter name

Parameters used to customize a specific message are indicated using a range, such as "desc0" - "descN". To define a parameter for a specific message (available when noted as above), use "textcolor0" to define, in this case, the text color for the first message - "textcolor3" would define the text color for the fourth message, etc., etc.

Applet Parameters

The Applet

Parameter 1
Attribute: Copyright notice.
param name="Notice"
value="Timed Billboards, (c) 1997, OpenCube Technologies, Registered (Unique Key ID#)"
Note: This must be included for the applet to work. The text must appear as one continuous line of text without a line break or the applet will not recognize the string, the appropriate capitalization must be used as well.

Parameter 2
Attribute: Applet Background Color
param name = "bgcolor"
Value = R,G,B, Where R,G,B are the red, green, and blue components of the applets background color.
DEFAULT: Black

Parameter 3
Attribute: Default Status Bar Text when mouse is off applet
param name = "offsbtext"
value="X", where X is the message to appear in the status bar when the mouse is not over the applet.
DEFAULT: Java by OpenCube

The Image Files

Parameter 4
Attribute: Image Base File Name
param name = "basename"
value="X", where X is the base name of the image to be used without the index number. The file images should all use this base name with an index number indicating the sequence in which they will appear. e.g. myimage0, myimage1, myimage2,... If the images files are located in a different directory then the HTML document specify this directory location in the basename value, e.g. images/myimage.

Parameter 5
Attribute: Image File Extension
param name = "extension"
value="X", where X is the file extension name used with each image file.
DEFAULT: ".gif"

Parameter 6
Attribute: Number of Images
param name = "numimages"
value="X", where X is the number of images to use. This number should correspond to the number of image files named with the convention described above in the basename tag.
DEFAULT: ".gif"

Parameter 7
Attribute: Default Delay Timing
param name = "delay"
value="X", where X is the default time to display each billboard image in seconds.
DEFAULT: 3

Parameter 8
Attribute: Specific Delay Timing
param name = "delay0" - "delayN"
value="X", where X is the amount of time in seconds to display a specific billboard image.

Loading Images Message

Parameter 9
Attribute: Load Description
param name = "loaddesc"
value="X", Where X is message to appear when the applet is loading the images.
DEFAULT: "Loading Billboard Images..."

Parameter 10
Attribute: Font Size
param name = "fontsize"
value="X", Where X is the size of the font for the loading message.
DEFAULT: 12

Parameter 11
Attribute: Text Color
param name = "textcolor"
Value = R,G,B, Where R,G,B are the red, green, and blue components of the text color for the loading message.
DEFAULT: White

URL Links

Parameter 12
Attribute: Image URL Links
param name = "desturl0" - desturlN"
value=X, where X is the link for the specific image. URL's can be defined relative to the HTML document containing the applet or fully qualified.

Parameter 13
Attribute: Default Load Destination Image URL Where?
param name="loadwhere"
The "loadwhere" tag specifies where the document specified in the "URL" value should be loaded. The default is "_self". A value equal to the name (case sensitive) of a frame will load the document in that frame.

"_self" show in the current frame
"_parent" show in the parent frame
"_top" show in the top-most frame
"_blank" show in a new unnamed top-level window
"name" show in a new top-level window named name
"frame name" show in the frame named frame name

Note: When targeting a frame location with the name of the frame make certain that the case and names are typed identically. If the applet cannot find the frame the document will be loaded in a new window.

Parameter 14
Attribute: Specific Load Destination Image URL Where?
param name="loadwhere0" - "loadwhereN"
The "loadwhere" tag specifies where the document specified in the "URL" value should be loaded. The default is "_self". A value equal to the name (case sensitive) of a frame will load the document in that frame.

"_self" show in the current frame
"_parent" show in the parent frame
"_top" show in the top-most frame
"_blank" show in a new unnamed top-level window
"name" show in a new top-level window named name
"frame name" show in the frame named frame name