Note: Certain newer browsers support Client Side Imagemaps.
The explanation below however explains server side imagemaps, which are 100% browser compatible.

'Imagemap' refers to an interaction between a user's browser and the WWW server which allows clicking on an image to select hyperlinks. (Other implementations have a separate /cgi-bin/imagemap program. Our server handles them internally. Use the reference style shown below, not one like /cgi-bin/imagemap/mymap.map.) Each designated portion of the image may select different links.

Images that are to be used as imagemaps must be designated as "ISMAP". A companion .map file specifies the coordinates of the portions of the image that are hyperlinks, and the URL or local reference of the link.

The following HTML:

    <A HREF="name-of-map-spec-file.map">
    <IMG BORDER SRC="name-of-image.gif" ISMAP></A>

tell the browser that "name-of-image.gif" is to be displayed and used as an imagemap. The "name-of-map-spec-file.map" file contains the coordinates of the clickable areas in the image and specify the hyperlinks associated with each clickable area.

The map specification file MUST have extension ".map". While this example assumes the file is located in your www directory, it may be located anywhere under the www directory. In such a case, the path from the www directory must be specified. If you put it in /home/your-id/www/map-directory, then use
<A HREF="../map-directory/name-of-map-spec-file.map">

Please use the NCSA format for your .map file.

A file named imagemap.conf does NOT have to edited when using our imagemap program. That complication has been removed from our version of imagemap.

Here is a sample file named fo-abc.map:

default http://oceania.org/weblinks.html
poly http://oceania.org/weblinks.html#A  23,14  44,2  66,14  66,39  45,51  23,39
poly http://oceania.org/weblinks.html#A  67,14  88,2 110,14 110,39  89,51  67,39
poly http://oceania.org/weblinks.html#C 111,14 132,2 154,14 154,39 133,51 111,39

Note that the URL's are full URLs. You can't use relative URLs.

The number pairs specify the X-Y coordinates in pixels of the points of the three hexagons that are the clickable areas in fo-abc.map. Clicks outside of the areas specified get the default link.

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- Last modified on 3/16/2003 -