PhotoWebber

Like most photographers, we would rather be out in the field shooting than working on web sites. PhotoWebber by Media Lab is one of those tools that can make your life easier. You can create an HTML from your Photoshop (PSD) file in less than one minute. "So what" you say, "I can do that in Dreamweaver". Yes, you could spend an hour in Photoshop creating roll-over buttons, slicing large images and photo collages. Then you could spend another hour in Dreamweaver setting up the scripts for the roll-over buttons, creating the layers or tables for the collages or image slices. But wouldn't it be quicker and easier to let PhotoWebber create the HTML file for you?

How It Works

PhotoWebber is relatively easy to use. To get started, import a layered Photoshop file. PhotoWebber reads the Photoshop file and analyzes the layers looking for rollover states, click states, pop-up menus, popup graphics, etc. All you need to do is add the links for the, type in the title of your web page, decide which format you want your files to be and where you want them to be placed. Once that's done, PhotoWebber will build the page for you and create all the necessary GIFs, JPEGs, and HTML.

There are a couple of naming conventions you need to remember when creating your layers in Photoshop if you plan to let PhotoWebber create your web page. When you create a PhotoShop file, your second image layer should be named "firstimagelayer_r". Once PhotoWebber sees the "_r" it knows to create a roll-over image. Other suffixes include "_c" for on-click, "_p" for simple pop-up and "_m" for pop-up menu.

What It's Not
PhotoWebber is not a an HTML editor, site management tool, image editor or FTP program. It only works with Photoshop PSD layered files. However, it is a great tool for those who work with Photoshop. It is also an great tool for people, like myself who create a lot of web sites. It is not for someone who doesn't know what a layer is or pop-up menu is. With that said, let's look at some of the features of PhotoWebber.

Features

• Take your image designed in Photoshop and convert it to a web page
• Easily create JavaScript buttons with roll-overs and pop-up menus
• Ability to import or link to JPG or GIF images.
• Incorporate existing website content into any PhotoWebber project
• Support for layer effects & layer styles
• Ability to divide (slice) large layers into smaller ones
• Plug in support for QuickTime, Flash and Java Applets
• Interactive preview for buttons and menus (can view them effects as you create them)

Summary

If you use PhotoShop and don't have the time to learn HTML or want to purchase Microsoft Front Page or Macromedia Dreamweaver, PhotoWebber might just be the perfect solution for you. I like the ability to be able to select "Tables" or "Layers" when creating the web page. It's a great tool for creating photo collages. While it won't replace programs like Fireworks or Dreamweaver, it's a nice addition to my web page design tools.