Graphic as buttons and format advice?

[Scott Rossi]

Recently, yoy  wrote:

> For a major version overhaul, I am creating LOTS of 3D round buttons, but
> creating graphics instead of buttons.
> 
> The option I can save them as are .24-bit .png, 8-bit .png or .jpg.
> 
> Which one is best for cross-platform? And which, overall, is the best
> quality?
> 
> I have 280 graphics (140 "up button" and 140 "down button" graphics).

Any of the formats you mention can work, even GIF.

There are two ways to create buttons that have a smooth non-rectangular
appearance: 1) 24 bit PNG with transparency, or 2) any supported graphic
format with the background color or texture included in the rect of the
button image.

1) If the buttons will sit on changing or various color backgrounds, then 24
bit PNG with transparency is a good way to to go since the edges of the
buttons will always blend with the background.  Note that it is sometimes
possible to see a slight color shift in PNG images when sitting against
non-PNG images, so if absolute color accuracy is important then either make
all the images in your stacks PNGs, or use a different image format.

2) You can use 8 bit PNG, JPEG and GIF formats for your images, with the
only drawback being that must sacrifice either smooth edges or a truly round
"live" area (hit region).  You can create button images that *appear* round
but are really rectangular, in that the corners of the image include
whatever background color/texture is present in your stack.

One other thing to keep in mind: make your buttons as efficiently as
possible.  If your 140 buttons all have the same dimensional characteristics
(beveling, shadow, etc) then you might be able to use a single non-colored
transparent image for the dimensional appearance of all the buttons, and
assign each button a varying background color or icon.

There are actually many ways to build non-standard buttons in Rev; it really
depends on the application.

Regards,

Scott Rossi
Creative Director
Tactile Media, Multimedia & Design
-----
E: scott at tactilemedia.com
W: http://www.tactilemedia.com