Tricks and Tips

ricks and Tips

This page contains some ideas to help you get the most out of the programs in the Ultimate Button Bar^TM package.

If you come up with some tips or tricks of your own, please let us know and perhaps we will include them on this page (giving you credit, of course).

Use only the Classes you Need

While including all of the Ultimate Button Bar class files on your web site (regardless of whether they are used or not) will not cause trouble or result in slower load times, some people like to keep their web site tidy. Below is a listing of the Java class files that are used by each of the applets so you can prune out the other stuff that's not needed.

ImageURLButtonBar

    ButtonBar.class

    ButtonBarObserver.class

    ButtonRegion.class

    ButtonAnimate.class

    ImageURLButtonBar.class

    ButtonBarImg.cab (if using CABBASE)

    ButtonBarImg.zip (if using ARCHIVE)

TextURLButtonBar

    ButtonBar.class

    ButtonBarObserver.class

    ButtonRegion.class

    ButtonAnimate.class

    TextURLButtonBar.class

    ButtonBarTxt.cab (if using CABBASE)

    ButtonBarTxt.zip (if using ARCHIVE)

LiteTextURLButtonBar

    ButtonBar.class

    ButtonBarObserver.class

    ButtonRegion.class

    ButtonAnimate.class

    LiteTextURLButtonBar.class

    ButtonBarLTxt.cab (if using CABBASE)

    ButtonBarLTxt.zip (if using ARCHIVE)

Speed Up Loading

You can speed the process of loading the Java code over the network if your applet is being accessed by Microsoft Internet Explorer by using a CAB file file. If Netscape Navigator is loading your applet, using a ZIP file (included) will result in a quicker load time.

Using Single Buttons

Normally, it's not very efficient to use the Ultimate Button Bar^TM to create a single button. However, if you are using, for instance, a navigational button bar on a web page, then using a single button (or buttons) on the same (or subsequent) web page is not such a bad idea.

Here's why. Once the Ultimate Button Bar^TM has been loaded, all of the Java code that has been loaded over the network will (normally) be saved in the browser's cache. If the browser subsequently sees a reference to same code, then it will load it from the cache instead of from over the network. This means that all that needs to be transferred for your single button is the image file(s) -- not the Java code!

(Note that if you are using a text based button bar, not even image files will need to be transferred).

Creating Button Bar Images

A simple way to create multiple button bars for different button states is to create the base bar first, then make a copy of the bar for each additional button state.

You can modify the button bar copy and give it a different "look" for the intended button state without having to worry about lining the buttons up on each bar.

Overriding Applet Created Images

This tip pertains to the use of the ImageURLButtonBar applet or the ButtonBar class.

It is possible to override the automatic creation of an image for a button state with an existing image file (see How the Applet Creates Button Images for more details).