I just installed Firefox, Opera, and Chrome to see how my web site looks and works in the "other" browsers, and I discovered that the Alternative Text feature associated with MouseOvers does not work. Any idea why?

Also, how do I get VSD to activate these other browsers so they work with the Preview menu. Select Browser is grayed out, and I can't find anything in the Help that explains how to get VSD to recognize new browsers.

Tom

Can you give an example of this "Alternative Text feature" you are associating with "MouseOvers"?

It may be that you are thinking of the alt attribute that is used with images. It allows you to provide alternate text to be displayed for screen readers and if images are turned off or failing to load.

IE 6 and 7 incorrectly show the alt text when you hover your mouse over images which have alt text. If you want this sort of behavior in other browsers, then you need to use the title attribute instead of the alt attribute.

Generally, when both are used with images, the alt text should reflect the content of the image, and the title text should provide supplementary information.

You can select which browser you want to use under Settings - Select preview browser.

Inger,

Thanks for the help with my browser question. I was able to add all three browsers, but when I selected one of them and did a preview, VSD caused the browser app to open in its own window. I guess this is how the command works, which makes me wonder what the default browser is that is built into VSD. Have any idea?

Carv (or is it Cary?),

Here's an example of what I'm using the Alternative Text feature for. I have created small solid color rectangles (20 pixels high x 28 to 36 pixels wide) that say "Print," "Save," or "Email," and give my website visitors the option of printing, saving, or emailing someone a copy of an article on the page they are viewing. When they hover their mouse over this rectangle in IE 6 or IE 7, the alternate text appears, which says, "Print a copy of this article," or "Save a copy of this article," or "Email someone a link to this article." But when I hover the mouse over these rectangles in Opera, Firefox, or Chrome, none of these messages appear. Instead, the location of some file is displayed at the bottom of the browser in the lower lefthand corner. So, my question is, how do I get this feature to work with these other browsers?

Tom

The alt text for those should simply be "Print", "Save" and "Email".

The alt text you are using would be perfect for the title attribute, but VSD doesn't have an input for title attributes. Basically, you won't be able to do this with VSD without doing all the button codes by hand coding the html and using VSD's insert html feature.

Tom,

VSD always opens the preview in a new window, even if you use the built-in browser.

The built-in browser is kind of like Internet Explorer, since that is installed on any Windows platform. The 'default' browser is the one you have defined as the default browser on your system. Like I have some 5 browsers installed, and FireFox is my default one. If you haven't defined any browser as your default one, the default browser will be IE by default. (Nice, eh, all those 'defaults' )

Cary,

I should mention that my Print, Save, and Email "buttons" change color when I hover the mouse over them, and they also display the same "Print," "Save," and "Email" text. The alternate text appears in addition to the text inside the rectangular box "buttons" and it is displayed as small black text in its own rectangular box with a yellow background. However, I have it offset about 20 pixels down and 20 pixels to the right. So, what's up with those other browsers that they can't (or don't) display the alternate text like IE does?

Inger,

Perhaps you misunderstood me. When I use VSD's built in browser, it opens a new window, but that new window is displayed within VSD. However, when I use any of the other three browsers, VSD starts the browser's application, which then opens in its own window outside of VSD. My default browser is the built in browser, which must be an IE equivalent because it displays the alternate text just like IE does.

Tom

Can you please post the URL of your test page so we can see why this is/isn't happening?

Tom,

In times past, each browser had their own way of displaying everything. Now, there are standards that state what each tag should do, and what tags are valid tags.

To answer your question, what is up is that IE does not follow the standards and the other browsers do follow the standards. The standards state that the alt tag is to explain what is in the image for those browsers that do not display images. The title tag is what should be displayed when the mouse is over an image.

IE 6 is a bit of a problem, IE7 is better, but still not fully following the standards. I have not had the time to test IE8, but I hope it will follow the web standards, and make it easier to maintain a website. It would also help if IE6 were to disappear very soon.

Cary,

I have created a test page and uploaded it to the following URL:

http://www.abcdtest.150m.com/index.html

The page doesn't do anything but illustrate the mouseover effects that work in IE7, but not in the other browsers. Let me know what you think.

BillR,

From what you're saying, my mouseover effects (alternative text) should not be working in IE7 but it should be working in the other browsers. Actually, it's the opposite way around. I'm familiar with the standards issue you mentioned. However, which is the standard in my case?

Tom