Working with Image Maps in DITA

Image Map Editor Interface in DITA

The interface of the Image Map Editor consists of the following sections and actions:

Toolbar

New Rectangle: Use this button to draw a rectangular shape over an area in the image. You can drag any of the four points to adjust the size and shape of the rectangle.
New Circle: Use this button to draw a circle over an area in the image. You can drag any of the four points to adjust the size of the circle.
New Polygon: Use this button to draw a polygon shape over an area in the image. This action opens a dialog box that allows you to select the number of points for the polygon. You can drag any of the points to adjust the size and shape of the polygon.
New Free Form Shape: Use this button to draw a free form shape over an area in the image. After selecting this button, left-click anywhere in the image to place the first point of your shape. Then move the cursor to the location of the next desired point and left-click to place the next point, and so on. To complete the shape (area), click the first point again and a line will automatically be added from the last point that was added, or simply double-click the last point to automatically add the line from the last point back to the first.
Duplicate: Use this button to create a duplicate of the currently selected shape.
Delete: Use this button to delete the currently selected shape.
Undo: Use this button to undo the last action.
Redo: Use this button to redo the last action that was undone.
Show/Hide Numbers: Use this button to toggle between showing or hiding the numbers for the shapes.
Bring Shape to Front: Use this button to bring the currently selected shape forward to the top layer.
Bring Shape Forward: Use this button to bring the currently selected shape forward one layer.
Send Shape Backward: Use this button to send the currently selected shape back one layer.
Send Shape to Back: Use this button to send the currently selected shape back to the bottom layer.
Color Chooser: Use this drop-down menu to select a color scheme for the lines and numbers of the shapes.
Zoom Slider: Use this slider to zoom the image in or out in the main image pane.

Image Pane

This main Image Pane is where you work with shapes to add hyperlinks to multiple areas within an image. The editing mechanisms that are supported in the Image Pane include the following:

Mouse Controls and Keyboard Shortcuts

Use the mouse to select and move shapes around in the image pane. It is easy to see which shape is selected in this image pane because the border of the selected shape changes from a solid line to a dotted one.
You can also drag any of the points of a selected shape to adjust its size and shape.
You can hold down the Ctrl key to select multiple shapes and then move them simultaneously.
You can also move shapes by using the arrow keys on your keyboard. In addition, you can hold down Shift while using the arrow keys to move the shape further or Alt to move it 1 pixel at a time.
To zoom in or out, you can use the NumPad + or NumPad - keys respectively. Use Ctrl + NumPad 0 to reset the zoom level to its default value.
You can use Ctrl + Z to undo an action or Ctrl + Y to redo the last action that was undone.

Contextual Menu Actions Available in the Image Pane

You can right-click the shapes, points, or anywhere in the Image Pane to invoke the contextual menu where the following actions are available:

Add Point: Adds a point to Polygon or Free Form shapes.
Remove Point: Removes the current point from Polygon or Free Form shapes.
Duplicate: Create a duplicate of the currently selected shape.
Delete: Delete the currently selected shape.
New Rectangle: Creates a rectangular shape over an area in the image. You can drag any of the four points to adjust the size and shape of the rectangle.
New Circle: Creates a circle over an area in the image. You can drag any of the four points to adjust the size of the circle.
New Polygon: Creates a polygon shape over an area in the image. This action opens a dialog box that allows you to select the number of points for the polygon. You can drag any of the points to adjust the size and shape of the polygon.
Undo: Use this action to undo the last action.
Redo: Use this action to redo the last action that was undone.

Shape Table

The table at the right of the Image Pane is a sequential list of all the areas (shapes) that have been added in the image. It shows their number, type, and description (if one has been added). If you select one of the entries in the table, the corresponding shape will be selected in the Image Pane.

Properties

Type

Displays information about the selected coordinate.

Target

Allows you to choose the target resource that you want the selected area (shape) to be linked to. Select a target by using the Link drop-down menu to the right of the text field. You can choose between the following types of links: Cross Reference, File Reference, or Web Link. All three types will open a dialog box that allows you to define the target resource. This linking process is similar to the normal process of inserting links in DITA by using the identical Link drop-down menu from the main toolbar.

When you click OK to finalize your changes in the Image Map Editor, an <xref> element will be inserted with either an @href attribute or a @keyref attribute. Additional attributes may also be inserted and their values depend on the target and the type of link. For details about the three types of links and their dialog boxes, see Inserting a Link in Oxygen XML Author Eclipse plugin.

Description

You can enter an optional description for the selected area (shape) that will be displayed in the Image Map Details section in Author mode and as a tooltip message when the end-user hovers over the hyperlink in the output.

How to Create an Image Map in DITA

To create an image map on an existing image in a DITA document, follow these steps:

Right-click the image and select Image Map Editor.

Step Result: This action will apply an image map to the current image and open the Image Map Editor dialog box.
Add hyperlinks to the image by selecting one of the shape buttons (New Rectangle, New Circle, or New Polygon).
Move the shape to the desired area in the image and drag any of the points on the shape to adjust its size or form. You can use the other buttons on the toolbar to adjust its layer and color, or to perform other editing actions.
Tip: You can right-click any of the points, shapes, or anywhere in the Image Pane to access various helpful contextual menu actions. For example, the easiest way to remove a point is to right-click the point and select Remove Point.
With the shape selected, use one of the linking options in the Link drop-down menu to select a target resource (or enter its path in the Target text field).
(Optional) Enter a Description for the selected area (shape).
If you want to add more hyperlinks to the image, select a shape button again and repeat the appropriate steps.
When you are finished creating hyperlinks, click OK to process your changes.

Result: The image map is applied on the image and the appropriate elements and attributes are automatically added. In Author mode, the image map is now rendered over the image. If the image includes an <alt> element, its value will be displayed under the image. The following two buttons will also now be available under the image in Author mode:

Image Map Editor - Click this button to open the Image Map Editor.
Image Map Details - Click this button to expand a section that displays the details of the image map and allows you to change the shape and coordinates of the hyperlinked areas. Keep in mind that if you change the shape in this section, you also need to add or remove coordinates to match the requirements of the new shape.

Figure 2. Image Map Details

How to Edit an Existing Image Map in DITA

To edit an existing image map, use any of the following methods:

Simply double-click the image.
Right-click the image and select Image Map Editor.
Click the Image Map Editor button below the image.

All three methods open the Image Map Editor where you can make changes to the image map using the various features described above. You can also make changes to the XML structure of the image map in the Text editing mode.

You can also click the Image Map Details button below the image to expand a section that displays the details of the image map and allows you to change the shape and coordinates of the hyperlinked areas. Keep in mind that if you change the shape in this section, you also need to add or remove coordinates to match the requirements of the new shape.

Overlapping Areas

If shapes overlap one another in the Image Map Editor, the one on the top layer takes precedence. The number shown inside each shape represents its layer (if the numbers are not displayed, click the Show/Hide Numbers button on the Image Map Editor toolbar). To change the layer order for a shape, use the layer buttons on the Image Map Editor toolbar (, , , ).

If you insert a shape and all of its coordinates are completely inside another shape, the Image Map Editor will display a warning to let you know that the shape is entirely covered by a bigger shape. Keep in mind that if a shape is completely inside another shape, its hyperlink will only be accessible if its layer is on top of the bigger shape.