Technical data

84 Preparing Web Graphics
q Click the Fixed Loop button and try entering a specific number of
repeats in the box. (The most common setting here would be “1,”
for example with a longer sequence that only needed to play once.)
q We suggest that besides saving your creation as an .SPP file, you
also export it as a .GIF. You’ll notice that the Export Optimizer has
a special tab for previewing and setting final animation options
before exporting to the .GIF format. On the Optimizer’s main
Options tab, you can check or uncheck the Transparent box. Since
this little example has only an opaque dot on a clear background, it
should export well as a transparent animation.
q You can also choose Preview in Browser from the File menu to
preview your animation in your Web browser.
We’ll leave it to you to create another example, varying only opacity on
a single layer, perhaps some text (like “CLICK HERE”) blinking on
and off. Two frames could accomplish that—in one, the layer set to 0%
opacity, and in the other, to 100%.
Notes on animation
♦ In practice, you can use one, two, or even all three of the layer
properties when creating a given piece of animation. Just remember
that a separate layer is only required for each element that moves
independently, or each differently-drawn state of a given element.
An element that doesn’t change its shape or color, but merely
moves about or changes opacity (appears or disappears), can be
animated on a single layer.
♦ With a little forethought and sketching, you can figure out in
advance how many layers you’ll need. Then you can set up the
image with the right number of layers to begin with.
♦ To preserve layer properties, be sure to save the image in the native
PhotoPlus (.SPP) format. You can reopen an image you’ve
exported as a GIF, but it will have lost PhotoPlus layer properties
like opacity and position.
♦ Although .SPP animations and .SPP pictures share the same file
extension, there’s no direct conversion option—a file either has
animation properties, or it doesn’t. To convert an .SPP picture file
to an animation, or extract a single frame from an animation to a
picture, first create a new image window and then use conventional
copy/paste commands to copy elements and/or layers from one file
to the other.