Creating Graphics with Paint Programs

 

                                        For

 

                    The Pixel coordinated Buttons

 


 

 

This tutor will show you the steps to put the first button which is the Open button on the ButterflyPlayer which is located in the jExamples directory.

 

The remaining four buttons are created in the same manner as the first one. Just repeat the steps.

 

1.  First we create the whole thing in a Paint Program and save it as Player1.BMP.

 

 

You need to use a Paint Program that shows Pixel coordinates. Some paint programs will show the cursor positions in Inches, so you’ll have to switch over to Pixel. The Pixel readings are needed when putting in buttons. MSPaint in windows doesn’t show the pixels as you move the cursor around, so you’ll have to download a better paint program that will show pixels.

 

 

2. We select an area around the first Butterfly and cut it out. At the start of selecting that area, we write down the X-Y  coordinates on a piece of paper. In this case it’s X-60 and Y-35. We need that coordinate when we place the buttons.

 

 

 

 

3. Click on Edit and cut it out. These cutouts will make covers for our buttons.

 

 

 

4. Click on Edit and paste as new Image, or paste into a new window.

 

 

5. Click on File and Save As and save our cover as mmOpen.bmp

 

6. Repeat the Steps 2 thru 5 until all the button covers are completed. The next file, you would name as mmPlay.BMP and so on, that is if you cut out the play button cover next. These little covers will hide the buttons, but the buttons will be there when you click on them.

 

This is the end of the first Part, which is getting all of your graphics saved to files.

 

 

 

 

 

 


                                   

                             Creating the Player with JaxGUI

 


 

                                         

1. Now start JaxGUI and select an area on the grid about the size of the Player1.bmp which is 600x139. You don’t have to get it right on, just enough room where you can place 5 buttons will do. It will come out right since you use those numbers you wrote down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Click on PopUp without a Frame. The PopUp will allow the window to loose it’s caption.

 

 Select Popup and click on continue.

 

 

 

 

3. Your Parent Grid will be showing now. Select the whole thing and Right click on Static.

 

 

 

 

 

4. Now that you have the Static control Right Click Menu, click on Adjust Parent to BitMap and then click on Continue. This will make the Parent the same size as the Bitmap.  

 

 

 

 

 

5. When the Open file dialog appears, browse to in this case, the jExamples directory and click on Player1. It is the main Graphics file that will cover the whole Parent.

 

 

 

 

 

6. Now that we have our Graphic placed on our Parent, we’ll do the buttons next. Select an area close to where the first button might go and click on Button, don’t Right click on it, like the others.

 

 

 

 

 

7. In the buttons Menu, click on Ex that’s beside Open MM.

 

 

 

 

 

8. Click on Pixel Coordinated.

 

 

 

 

9. Click on MMOpen which is the first Graphic button cover we saved.

 

 

 

10. Enter the First X-coord number, that was written down that went with mmOpen.bmp.

 

 

 

11. Enter the Y-coord number with went with this graphic.

 

 

 

12. Click on Continue.

 

 

 

13. The Parent might look something like this.

 

 

To do the rest of the Buttons, follow steps 6 thru 12 for each one.

 

 

 

When finished, the parent looks like this in JaxGUI.

 

 

 

The Resume button has been discontinued since this tutorial was created. The Pause Button  causes it to resume play. The player in the jExample directory also has a Close button added to it. The menus will reflect the absence of the Resume button.

 


                                       

                                                      THE END

 


 

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