This tutorial will teach you how to annotate, or write, on a graphic. This is one of the most difficult features to learn, so be patient. Let's get started! The first thing you will see on the annotate page is the text box. This is where you type the words that you want to put on your graphic. Note that long sentences require a smaller font size than simple phrases do, thus making them more difficult to read, and also harder to place in the correct location on the graphic. Next is the place where you select the word location. This is the tricky part. There is a drop-down menu where you can select the basic location such as north, center, southeast, etc. These work in much the same way as a map,,,northeast is the upper right-hand corner, south is center bottom, north is center top, etc. Start by using these basic locations to get the feel of it. The tricky part is using the location and gravity bar to place the text EXACTLY where you want it to be. For example, selecting west alone may place the words too far to the left, so that they run right off the graphic. In these cases you use the location bar to move the text around by pixels. The parameters would read + #(number) of pixels from the right by + #(number) of pixels from the top. For example, to move the text over 20 pixels from the right and 20 down from the top, you would type +20+20. I usually choose northwest as my starting location and then play around with the gravity and location parameters until I get the affect I want. You can use your back key to go back and change these as often as you want to. Next are two color selection bars...one for fill and one for stroke. Fill controls the color of the font, stroke controls the width of each letter. You can choose from a stroke of 0 (no stroke) to 3 (thick stroke). A stroke width of 3 is prefilled and produces very thick letters, which does not work well with all fonts, so you need to experiment with this one. Click on the blue color link and you will get a table of all available colors. Then go back and just type in the name of the color you chose. The font picker is next. There is a link to the font picker page, where you can see what the fonts look like, but it does not always work. So you may have to selct your font by trial and error, especially if you are not familiar with what the different fonts look like. Select the font by clicking on it. Finally, you need to choose the pointset and density of the font. Pointset changes the height of the letters, density changes the length of the words. The higher the numbers, the bigger the text. A pointset of 24 and a density of 72 are prefilled, which produces a very small font. Just experiment by increasing these numbers until you get the size font you want. After you have selected everything, scroll back up and click on annotate. If you don't like the looks of your text, just use your back key to go back and change things. It really is a trial and error thing...sometimes I have to change things several times until I am satisified. Several new annotating options have recently been added, and I have not tried them to see what they do. When I do, I will add them here if they are useful in annotating graphics for WebTV sets. Annotating is by far the hardest thing to learn, but with practice you will get so that you can usually select the right choices quickly. Try annotating some simple words on different parts of your graphic, using different sizes, fonts and colors. Don't give up! When you are ready. you can move on to the next tutorial.    This background set provided courtesy of This page hosted by Free HomePages