custom buttons

[Scott Rossi]

Recently, "J. Landman Gay"  wrote:

> I need to combine two images in one button
>> and then have it act like one button as a 'real' button.
>> 
>> I have a special button look and feel and want to include that. Then I
>> want to put a special icon into that special button look and feel. Then
>> I want it to act like a default button or like a regular button.
> 
> The usual way to do this is to create the entire button as an image in a
> graphics program. Include the actual button shape itself, as well as its
> "icon," as a single image. Make two of these, one for the "up" state and
> another for the "down" state. Then create a transparent button and set
> its icon to the "up" state image, and its hilitedicon to the "down"
> state image.

To add to the above:

If you want a scalable image button, you would need to combine the separate
sections of the button image into a group and use the group as a button.  If
you want a button that only scales horizontally, you need a minimum of 3
items: left, center and right (scale the center element).  If you want a
button that scales in both directions, it gets more complex as you need a
3x3 grid of elements and you scale only the center cell.  It's work, but it
can be done.

Regards,

Scott Rossi
Creative Director
Tactile Media, Multimedia & Design
-----
E: scott at tactilemedia.com
W: http://www.tactilemedia.com