mimi_m

Notepad all the way! Like other people have said in this discussion, it really is the best for coding. Frontpage *shudder* and dreamweaver may seem easier for creating designs and layouts, but really, it's just putting a bunch of crap behind the designs. If you want to get the most out of a website/layout, and you want to avoid as many errors, problems or complications in the future, you really need to write the code yourself instead of taking easy way outs, so that you understand what's going on in your coding, and if you want to come back and chage something, you can do it in two seconds instead of messing around for ages. Also, don't you just get that really satisfying feeling knowing you did something all on your own when you code yourself using notepad? I personally don't use any coding program, they annoy me to much. I've always used notepad, so I find it easier. And frontpage is despicable, it's an insult to any good webdesigner. You CANNOT in any way create a great layout using frontpage. impossible. Also, I have it on good authority (my professors at uni) that any webdesign firm prefers those who can code by hand rather than those who only use programs; they know what they're doing. Oops, I've ranted a little, havn't I?

I totally agree. I've used both CSS and tables to create site structure, and not only does it take me 50% less time to make a site with tables, but also, i find that tables don't generate nearly as much errors as floating layers with CSS does. I've worked with websites for quite some time now, and it's true that either way works, but I don't see any advantages of using CSS instead of simple tables. I guess it depends on how comfortable people are with either one. Personally, I've never had problems when using tables, but always seem to get at least some sort of error or problem when structuring with CSS. So naturally, tables is what i choose to use. That's my opinion.

I haveta say, I'm one of the ImageReady users. It's the program I originally started with, so maybe I'm just used to it... I dunno. I've tried some other programs, but I don't like them as much, maybe I'm too impatient =SAnyway, I know people say theres always alot of layers and things you have to mess with in IR, but it helps to make sense of the whole process of creating animated GIFs. lol, maybe that's just me.

Yeah, and that's completely reasonable, but i was just a bit confused about how it works. So, for example, if I had a website hosted here, for everyday that it's up, would that automatically delete a credit point from my current overall amount? I just want to clear it up

I noticed in the discussion about animations that a lot of people don't use IR, or don't know how. I love IR, and once you know how to make an animation, it becomes so simple! So I decided this tutorial may help people… 15 quick steps… nothing complicated, just the basic stuff. I will be using PS and IR version 7 for this tutorial. 1. In photoshop, create a small image, it can be anything you want. For this example, I created a pixel-based image of 'Duo' from Gundam Wing. It doesn’t have to be pixel-based, but I like the way these look. If you don’t know how to create pixel-art, there’s a million tutorials on the web, just search for them. Basically, it's just creating an image using only dots (or pixels) using the pencil tool with a size of 1px in photoshop. 2. Save it as a GIF image. (see thumbnail 1) 3. Now, using the same image, change it slightly in any way you want. I'm making Duo blink, so I just changed his eyes to being closed in this image (see thumbnail 2). It's IMPORTANT to note that you should only make a SLIGHT change to the image. Don't change the size at all (ie. keep the width and length the same), and keep the basic shapes or outlines the same. (If you practice and practice, you'll come to understand how to make just very, very slight changes... but we won't get into that now). 4. Save this image as another GIF, with a different name. Now you have two images that are the same size and basically the same in appearance. 5. Open them in ImageReady. In ImageReady, leave the settings to default (and all should be fine). Make sure you have the Layers window, the Animation window, and the Tools window open (they can all be found in 'Window' in the menu tab). These are all we'll need for this tutorial. 6. Click you're second image (by default, the 'original' tab should be chosen). Click on the 'Move' Tool in the tools window, and click and drag your second image ontop of your first image. IMPORTANT: You need to make sure that the second image fits PERFECTLY over the first one. This is essential in making the animation work, and that's why I stressed earlier about keeping them the same size. 7. You can close the second image now. We don't need it anymore. Now in the Layers window, you should have two layers… the original GIF image (Duo with open eyes) first, then ontop, a second layer with your second image (Duo with closed eyes). 8. Click on the animation window, and you should see a little picture of your second image (these are called FRAMES) with the number '1' in the corner of it. Click the Frame Duplication button on the bottom on the animation window, and a second frame should appear in the window next to the first one – exactly the same as the first but with a number '2' in the corner. (see thumbnail 3) 9. Click the first frame again in the animation window (the one with the number '1' in the corner), then go to the Layers window, and HIDE the layer that has your SECOND image on it. (you hide by clicking the little eye icon to the left of the layer). The frame with '1' in the corner should now look like your FIRST image (duo's eyes open), while the second frame ('2' in corner), should remain as your second image (duo's eyes closed). 10. Now for the animation part! On the bottom left corner of the animation window, you’ll see a tab saying 'once' with an arrow next to it. Click the arrow and change the 'once' to 'forever'. This will make the animation continuous, instead of just moving once. 11. Directly below each frame you should see '0 sec' and a little arrow. These are to specify the length each frame will run for when the animation plays. Click that little arrow for the first frame, and a menu will come up with a list of times you can choose (these are all in SECONDS, by the way). Choose a time you want the first frame of the animation to play for, or click 'Other…' to specify your own time. For my first Duo frame, I specified the time to be 1.3 seconds. 12. Click the second frame, and specify the time you want THAT frame to run for. I chose my second frame (closed eyes) to run for 0.5 seconds. 13. After this, you can click the 'PLAY' button on the bottom on the animation tab to play your animation and see how it looks. It will play in the image window it originally opened in. YAY! Now my Duo blinks! NOTE that if you specified really QUICK times for your frames, it might go slow on ImageReady, so just make sure to note that. Press stop before saving. 14. To SAVE the animated GIF, go to "File > Save Optimized As…" and a save window will pop up. Choose the GIF's destination and name it anything you like. Save as type: Images Only (*.gif), and the settings: custom. (these should automatically be present by default) 15. NOW you have a working animated GIF! Just close ImageReady (you don't have to save changes), open your animation in a browser or image viewer or whatever… and watch it move! My Duo now blinks proudly! (see thumbnail 4) (awww isn't he cute?) Just some side notes: If you want to make more than one frame, no prob. Just keep making the VERY slight changes to each image, drag all of them so that the layers are in order ontop of the first image, and duplicate as many frames as you need to have them all there (remember you just hide another layer for another frame). Keep practicing to get really good! I use to create all these smilies of my friends, and at one stage I was into those little dolls, you know? Lol... teen years. And you don't just have to make animations with pixel-art, you can manipulate normal images, too. But that's a little harder. I created this one for my sister's live journal last year, but it kinda looks scarey to me now... I don't really do animations that aren't pixel based. (watch his eye) Just ask me if you don't understand anything or if you have any trouble. Have fun chickadees!

Is it true that each credit = the amount of days that ur site can stay up? that doesnt sound very good... =S

Coding may seem pretty straigt-forward, like CSS having a certain place for a site's structure, but honey, the truth is you can do it anyway you like. I started off a self-taught coder, but now that i'm in uni, I understand many different coding conventions. What i'm trying to say, is go about it at your own pace. People would recommend that you use XML with CSS to get better page results, or that you should use CSS to structure a site. These may work for some people, but not for others. I'm still in Uni, but I'm working towards becomming a freelance webdesigner, and having made sites for several clients... and I can tell you, to just go with what's best for you. Personally, I like to stick to the good ol' HTML to structure my site, and only use CSS to set the design properties. I never structure a page with CSS. I find my best designs come when i stick to HTML. When i first learnt, i started off small... so just stick in a few codes here and there to, say, make hover links, or put nifty borders up. And as you go on, you'll be able to tell whether you like CSS and how you like to use it. I'm a practical person, so if you're anything like me, those articles and descriptions wont mean much to you. I suggest to just find a few tutorials or codes you can add to your page, and work from there. A great way to work out how CSS works and where to find great CSS codes is to look at the source of a good webpage. Usually, the CSS will be an external file, but it'll have the link reference so you should be able to find it. Anyway, i hope this helps you to understand how to go about learning CSS (i tend to ramble =S).

Basically, I started off with tutorials on the web, because my school didn't offer it. It took me a while, but you get the hang of it eventutally. A really good HTML site (that was practically my bible when i was first learning) is HTMLgoodies.After you get the hang of it, though, that's basically when you can start visiting sites and viewing their source. You really need to understand atleast the basics before you can attempt to understand site sources. And, oh yeah, PRACTICE! i hate to say it, but practice makes perfect. After you've played with HTML for quite some time, you begin to pick up and create your own little tricks. Right now, I'm doing a coding course at my uni, and because I already know stuff, it helps to just refine my knowledge and organise myself a bit better. So really, learning it yourself pays off.Oh, and just a warning, NEVER try to use books. They only serve to completely and utterly confuse you, and fill you with useless information about HTML... not the relevant stuff.