Setting Slice Options in Photoshop

Okay, here’s the part you’ve been waiting for: What do you do with these slices, anyway? In the Slice Options dialog box (discussed briefly earlier in this chapter), you can control how a Web browser uses the slices. You can set or view the options for any slice by double-clicking the slice with the Slice Select tool or by clicking the Slice Options button in the Options bar. Either command opens the Slice Options dialog box. Here are the parameters you can set in this dialog box:

- Slice Type: You can choose Image (the usual choice) or No Image. Select No Image if you have a slice that contains only a solid background color or text because a nonimage slice downloads very quickly. If the slice is part of a larger image and contains no actual image content, you can speed up the download of that portion considerably. If you choose No Image, the Slice Options dialog box changes, providing space for you to enter the HTML tags or text you want to appear in the slice.
- Name: In this text box, you can enter a custom name for your image slice (unless you chose No Image as the Slice Type), usually based on its content. You can name slices automatically by using the Slice Output Options, described in the next section.
- URL: If you enter a Web address in this text box, clicking anywhere in the slice links to this address. The slice behaves like a defined portion of an image map.
- Target: Briefly, the target is the default frame (if your Web page has frames) that will be accessed in the URL you specified in the URL text box.
- Message Text: In this text box, type a message you’d like to appear in the browser’s status bar when the mouse passes over the slice. If you enter nothing, the URL is displayed.
- Alt Tag: This is important text that’s too often neglected. Alt text appears in nongraphical browsers (that is, browsers that show only text and not images) and also pops up as sort of a ToolTip when the mouse passes over the slice. Many people still use nongraphical browsers, particularly users who are visually impaired and rely on text-tospeech software to translate Web pages to sound. Alt text allows these folks to “see” a description of your image and serves as a handy explanation for users who have graphical browsers. The Alt text also shows up if users suffer a lengthy wait while images download.
- Dimensions: These text boxes show the width and height of the slice and its coordinate location in the image. You generally won’t want to change these settings at this time.
- Slice Background Type: Choose a color for the transparent portion of an image slice (for example, when you’re using a transparent GIF) or the full area of a No Image slice. Your choices include None, Matte, Black, White, or Other. Click the Background Color patch to select a specific hue.