Image Magick can be intimidating until you read their instructions, then it's downright scary!

Now, I'm not a stupid person but those instructions never made one bit of sense to me. So one day I used their sample image and just started playing. Remember, you're on a WebTV and, unlike a computer, you can't hurt anything by experimenting. When you've got some spare time, take an image there (or use their sample) and just start clicking away. You can't hurt anything!

But, for now, let me walk you through the procedure for making your own custom buttons using the blank buttons provided with each set.

1. When you arrive at ImageMagick Studio, you'll see two text boxes. In the one labeled "URL" enter the URL of the blank button you have chosen to annotate and press "View".

2. Your image will be displayed on the next page. At the top of that page, you will see what look like little file tabs. Click the one that's labelled "Annotate".

3. The next page will have lots of text boxes and buttons on it. DON'T PANIC. On each page containing background sets, I've included the information you'll need here. You will need to enter or change the information in the following input areas:
   • Text: Erase what is already there and type in the text you want on your button.
   • Location: Erase what is already there and type in the location you were instructed to use. If the instructions for this set said "Leave Blank", just leave that box blank after you've erased it.
   • Gravity: You'll see that this button is already set at "NorthWest". If that's the gravity you were instructed to use, just leave the button alone and go on to the next step. If you were instructed to use a different gravity, click on the button to display all of your choices. When you see the gravity you want, click it.
   • Font: Click on the box that contains all the font names. (This will allow your cursor to arrow up and down through that box.) When you find the correct font name, click it.
     [hint: Once you get your cursor in the box, press the first letter of the font name on your keyboard. That will take you directly to the fonts beginning with that letter.]
     
   • Fill Color: Erase what is already there and type in the color you want.
   • Stroke Color: None
   • Box Color: None
   • Point size: Erase the number that is already there and type in the point size you were instructed to use.
   • Leave all other text areas just as they were when you arrived.

4. Once you've filled in those boxes, scroll up to the "Annotate" button that's just beneath "Location" and "Gravity" (not the "Annotate" tab at the top of the page) and click.

5. You will then be shown your newly annotated button!
   • If it's not the way you want it, press your "Back" key and you'll go back to the page asking for text, location, gravity, etc. Check to be sure you entered all information correctly. If you spot an error, correct it and press the annotate button again. Every time you press "Back" you "un-do" the previous transformation and get to do it over again.
   • If you're satisfied with the way your button turned out, scroll up to the top of the screen and click the "Output" tab. This will take you to the first of two Output pages.

6. The first box here lists image file types. This field will usually default to the image's existing file type. If the image you're using is a gif, be sure "gif" is checked. If it's a jpg, be sure "jpg" is checked. If you wish to convert a gif to a jpg, or vice versa, you can do it here.

7. Click the button labeled "Single File", then click the "Output" button.

8. This is your final Output page. Now you have two options to get this annotated button to your own website.
   • If you click on the image, you will get it all alone on a black screen. From here you can go to your favorite transloader or Scrapbook Uploader to transload/upload the button to your website.
   • If you click on the blue words,"Transload this picture to your website", you will be sent directly to the StarBlvd Transloader.

You will be given "location" instructions of either nothing at all (leave blank) or two numbers preceded by plus signs (+), and "gravity" instuctions consisting of a "direction" name (North, South, etc.) Here's what they tell the computer at ImageMagick:

• Gravity, when used alone, will place the annotation in one of nine places on the image: North, South, East, West, Center, NorthEast, NorthWest, SouthEast, and SouthWest. Think of the image as a map. North will place the annotation at the top center of the image, West will place it at the center point of the left side of the image. SouthEast will put it in the bottom right corner...and so on. Just like compass points.

• Location will "tweak" or fine-tune the placement of the annotation on the image. A gravity of NorthWest used alone will place the annotation in the top left corner of the image. Using location as well as gravity turns that Northwest gravity into a starting point. Using a location value of +25+50 combined with a gravity of NorthWest tells the program, "Start at the top left corner, then count over 25 pixels to the right and fifty pixels down. Now, annotate there!". In the location example used here (+25+50) the first number (+25) counts pixels to the right, while the second one (+50) counts pixels down. Always enter both numbers. If you want to annotate an image at it's far left side but down 10 pixels, just entering +10 won't give you the desired results. The program doesn't know if the +10 is vertical or horizontal. In that instance you would use the location +0+10.

Once you are comfortable with the ImageMagick programs you may want to use location values different than the ones I've given you. Depending on the size of the word(s) you wish to annotate, you may also want to change the point size of the text you put on the button.