Leslie D. Martin - Project 9

Leslie D. Martin / My Button.

1) What was your experience using Layer Comps?

The first problem I had was that I was confusing the instructions from the videos with the instructions from the text. The two are not totally compatible as they apparently take different approaches to the same problem. Complicating it for me is the fact that Layer Comps will only remember the state for certain layers and layer types and not others. To my thinking, a layer is a layer and to ignore a certain layer simply because it is a text layer is illogical.

2) Please describe which method you used to produce you slices. Did you experience challenges? After completing this part of the project, will you use slicing in future projects? Please review the Smashing Magazine link to see how Photoshop is being used to create web page layouts and assets. What are your thoughts about using Photoshop in your future web projects?

Years ago--before the dark times, before Windows--I read an article about how people who only really knew how to use Lotus 1-2-3 and nothing else were using it for everything from writing letters to creating basic illustrations and so on. The point of the article was that people were using what they knew to do a job,  not the best tool for the job. I get something of that same feeling here. Photoshop is certainly a powerful program, but at this point I'm not sure it's the best tool for what is being described here. That's not to say it can't be used for that, and that's not to say I can't or won't have my mind changed at some point in the future, I'm just not yet convinced that this is the best tool for this particular purpose. Though I could be wrong. I was once before.

3) In Part 2, you added images to your CSS to create a rolloever without the text added to your image. The text was added in the XHTML. Which method of adding buttons do you prefer in your web design: rollover buttons using Dreamweaver or adding the image to your CSS? Why?

Keeping the button image from the button text has an advantage in that you can more easily change the button text as needed without having to redo the entire button in Photoshop. Additionally, load time will be quicker since only one image needs to be loaded. On the other hand, keeping the button image and button text aligned is easier when they are both part of the same image and makes changing individual button graphics easier when each button is discreet. Not sure which I will use the most but I suspect I will separate the image and the text for performance purposes.

4) What web asset did you create for Part 3? Did you create any additional assets for your web site? Which ones?

I have used "assets" (if I understand the intent of the word as it is being used here) I have used them from the beginning, those being the red, grey and white textured backgrounds which appear behind just about everything on my pages.

5) Did you complete the bonus? Tell us how you completed it.

Yes. I copied the code from the project pages and pasted it in the body immediately before the container which holds the image gallery. This was required as the gallery container width was smaller than the overall width of the navigation button group. I also had to edit the directory information since the gallery was a couple of directories farther away from the navigation assets than other pages.

6) What keyboard shortcuts are you using regularly now?

D and X.

My general index page can be found here.