1 Cool Button Tool Overview What does 1 Cool Button Tool do? 1 Cool Button Tool creates Java applet buttons without requiring any Java or HTML coding. How do Java applets work? The Java applets created by 1 Cool Button Tool require three things to run: An HTML file which contains one or more < applet > tags The BtnPlayer.class file.   This is the Java program which displays the buttons.   It must be in the same folder as the HTML file. Any bitmaps or sound files used by the button project.   These files must also be in the same folder as the HTML file. Dont worry if you don't understand this.   1 Cool Button Tool will do all the work for you.   When you press Build Applet, it will create a folder that contains all the neccessary files for your button applet.   All you need to do is copy the contents of the folder to your web server. Why is 1 Cool Button Tool better than Applet Button Factory? Applet Button Factory is a very simple program.   It can produce only very limited range of button styles and behaviours.   Buttons must be arranged in a column or row, all the buttons must be the same color, and there is is no sound support.   Worst of all, you have to launch a web browser just to see what your applet looks like. 1 Cool Button Tool gives you so much more power and flexibility.   Check out the list of features below. Why is 1 Cool Button Tool better than Macromedia Flash? Flash is great for vector animations and more complex web pages, but if all you want is interactive buttons, Flash is total overkill   The Flash player is much larger at 40K (compresssed) than the 1 Cool Button Tool player at only 6K (compressed) which means your buttons will take longer to display.   1 Cool Button Tool applets also work on a wide range of platforms (Mac, Unix, OS/2) unlike Flash which requires a plug-in or ActiveX control. List of Features: Buttons can be arranged in a column, in a row, or you can specify the size and position of each button.   Buttons may overlap each other. The button applet background can be colored, or a bitmap.   Bitmap backgrounds can be scaled to fit the applet, centered or tiled. Each button can be assigned a URL to link to when clicked, and a target frame. A button can be behave like a Push Button, a Check box or a Radio Button. All buttons have three states -- Up, Down and Mouse-over.   You can assign different colours, bitmaps, sounds and text labels to each of these states. You can test the button project at any time without launching an external browser. Buttons can be duplicated, deleted or re-ordered.   You can create a new bitmap button from any GIF or JPEG bitmap. Text styles include -- bold, italic, underlined, raised and recessed text.   Text can be aligned to the left, center or right of the button, or you can specify a text offset from the top left corner of the button. Bitmaps can be in GIF or JPEG formats, and can be aligned to the left, right or center of the button.   The bitmap can also be scaled to fit the button. Transparent GIF bitmaps can be used to create non-rectangular buttons. Sounds must be in AU format only. You can assign different sounds for up, down and mouse-over states. Buttons may transparent, flat, or bevelled up or down.   Bevelled buttons can be of any depth, with heavy, light or medium shading. A button can have a border of any thickness or color, and border settings may be different for different button states. Actions can be assigned to various events -- on entering a button, on leaving a button, and on a button press.   Actions include showing and hiding a button, and setting the state of a button.   You can assign multiple actions to a single event. When building the button applet 1 Cool Button Tool will automatically generate the required Java and HTML code, and collect all the required images and sounds into an output folder.   You can then test the finished applet in your default browser. 1 Cool Button Tool automatically builds compressed CABinet files for faster downloading on Internet Explorer.   (Netscape Navigator does not support java applet compression)