Image maps are parts of the same image that is 'divided' in several areas, each with its own link.
An image-map is an image with clickable areas. So, you can use a single image for several links inside it.
Creating Image Map
To create an image map, add the usemap attribute inside the <img> tag.
<img src='image.jpg' alt='Text' usemap='#map_name' />
- The value of the 'usermap' represents the name of the map.Then begins to form the map, using the <map> tag:
<map id='map_name'> ... </map>
- 'map_name' must be the same value added in 'usemap' attribute, it creates a relationship between the image and the map.The map element contains a number of
<area> tags, that defines the clickable areas in the image map:
<area shape='value' coords='coordinates' href='url' />
- The '<area>' tag defines an area inside an image-map. The 'shape' attribute specifies the shape of an area, the 'coords'attribute specifies the coordinates of an area.In the following example you can see the general form of an image-map with two rectangle areas:
<img src='image.jpg' usemap='#map1'> <map id='map1'> <area shape='rect' coords='9, 120, 56, 149' href='url'> <area shape='rect' coords='100, 200, 156, 249' href='url'> </map>
In the table below are presented the attributes which can be used, and their description:
| Element | Attribute | Description |
|---|---|---|
| <img attributes > | - Tag used to add an image in an HTML document | |
| ismap | Specifies an image as a server-side image-map | |
| usemap='#map_name' | Specifies an image as a client-side image-map | |
| alt='Title' | Specifies an alternate text for an image | |
| src='img_address' | the URL of an image | |
| <map attributes > ... </map> | - Defines an image-map | |
| id='map_name' | Specifies the name for an image-map | |
| <area attributes /> | - Defines a clickable area inside an image-map | |
| shape='value' | Specifies the shape of an area. The 'value' can be: rect, circle, poly | |
| coords='coordinates' | the coordinates of a region (in pixels); are defined according to the top left corner of the image (it has coords (0, 0); x = 0, y = 0); varies depending on SHAPE: - for 'rect' - it specifies the coordinates of the top-left corner and the bottom-right corner of the rectangle (x1, y1, x2, y2) - for 'circle' - it specifies the coordinates of the circle center and the radius (x, y, radius) - for 'poly' - it specifies the coordinates of the edges of the polygon. If the first and last coordinate pairs are not the same, the browser must add the last coordinate pair to close the polygon (x1, y1, x2, y2, ..., xn, yn) |
|
| href='url' | Specifies the destination of a link in an area | |
| alt='text' | an alternate text for an area | |
| target='value' | Specifies where to open the linked page specified in the 'href' attribute (_blank, _parent, _self, _top) | |
The following example creates an Image Map with three different areas: circle, rectangle and polygon; each of them with its own link.
<html> <head> <title>Image Map</title> </head> <body> <img src='image_map.gif' alt='Image Map' width='300' height='300' usemap='#map1'> <map id='map1'> <area href='dir/contact.php' alt='Contact page' title='Contact page' shape='rect' coords='6,116,97,184'> <area href='html/course.html' alt='HTML Course' title='HTML Course' shape='circle' coords='251,143,47'> <area href='index.html' alt='Home page' title='Home page' shape='poly' coords='150,217,90,257,150,297,110,257'> </map> </body> </html>This code will display:
