Frequently Asked Questions
How do I change the text color?
How do I change the font?
Can I change the angle and speed of the orbit?
Can I change the height of the letters?
Can I put an image in orbit?
Netscape 4 won't run Orbiter2 from my local drive.
Why can't I see my planet image in Netscape?
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How do I change the text color? Use the text_color_front and text_color_back parameters to change the color of the orbiting text. How do I change the font? Use the fontName and fontStyle parameters to select the fonts supported by Java. For fonts not supported directly by Java, it will be necessary to use a graphics editor to create an orbit image. Can I change the angle and speed of the orbit? Use the dip and tilt parameters to control the angle of the orbit. Use the rpm parameter to change the speed of the orbit. Can change the height of the letters? To make the letters smaller, either (1) decrease the aspect ratio or (2) increase the length of the orbiting string by adding spaces or repeating the message. To make the letters larger, use a combination of (1) increasing the aspect ratio and (2) decreasing the length of the orbiting string. Can I put an image in orbit? Use the orbitImage parameter to specify an orbiting image. If you want the image to appear in color, set the text_color_front parameter to "polychrome". Netscape 4 won't run Orbiter2 from my local drive. Netscape 4 does not allow Java applets to read image files from your local disk drive. Since Orbiter2 usually needs a background and/or a planet graphic, Netscape 4 will not run this applet properly from your local drive, but it will run just fine over the Internet. Upload the files to a test page on your web site and run it from there; or better yet, use Microsoft Internet Explorer. Why can't I see my planet image in Netscape? All versions of Netscape Java have a bug in handling images with transparent holes. Netscape Java works fine with images that are transparent at the edges and opaque in the middle (like the graphic of Earth). However, Netscape Java will not handle images where the transparent areas are surrounded by opaque pixels (like the hole in a doughnut). If you expect your page to be viewable in Netscape, stay away from this type of image. This is just one more reason to use Microsoft Internet Explorer. |
Parameter Reference
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aspectRatio
This parameter contols the maximum width of the orbiting band. Values range from 0.01 to 0.5; the larger the value, the wider the orbiting band. Widen the orbiting band when you want larger letters in the string. Narrowing the orbiting band results in smaller letters in the string. The default value is 0.1. Larger values can make the animation run slowly. To set the aspect ratio to 0.07: <PARAM NAME="aspectRatio" VALUE="0.07"> background This parameter specifies an image to be used for the background of the applet window. If the image is too small to fill the window, it will be tiled to fit. If no image is specified, the background will be the color specified in the bgcolor parameter. To set the background image to stars.gif: <PARAM NAME="background" VALUE="stars.gif"> bgcolor This parameter controls the background color of the applet window. The value consists of six hexadecimal digits; each successive pair of digits specifies the red, green, and blue color component, respectively. This parameter is ignored if a background image is specified. The default color is black. To set the background color to white: <PARAM NAME="bgcolor" VALUE="ffffff"> dip This parameter controls how far (in degrees) the "north pole" of the orbit is tipped toward the viewer. The default value is 10 degrees. See also: tilt. To set the dip angle to 45 degrees: <PARAM NAME="dip" VALUE="45"> fontName This parameter specifies the name of the font to be used for the oribiting string. Java supports the following font names: Courier Dialog DialogInput Helvetica TimesRoman (this is the default font) ZapfDingbats If you want to use a font which is not listed above, then you must use an orbiting image. See the orbitImage parameter. To set the font name to Courier: <PARAM NAME="fontName" VALUE="Courier"> fontStyle This parameter specifies the style of the font to be used for the oribiting string. Java supports the following font styles: BOLD (this is the default style) PLAIN ITALIC This parameter is ignored if the orbitImage parameter is specified. To set the font style to ITALIC: <PARAM NAME="fontStyle" VALUE="ITALIC"> orbitImage This parameter specifies an image to put in orbit. Black pixels in the image will be considered transparent. All other pixels will be the text_color_front color. Use an orbiting image when you need a font that Java does not directly support, or if you want to put a graphic into orbit. If an orbitImage is not specified, then the text given in the string parameter will be put in orbit. Due to a bug in Netscape, it is strongly urged that you NOT use transparent pixels in the orbiting image. Let Orbiter2 convert black pixels to transparent for you. An orbiting image will typically take the form of a very long, narrow strip. To keep the file size as small as possible, use a 2-color gif for monochrome images. View a sample image. View another sample image. To set the orbiting image to orbiter2.gif: <PARAM NAME="orbitImage" VALUE="orbiter2.gif"> planet This parameter specifies the image that the message will orbit. The image will be centered in the applet window. This image will typically be transparent at the edges, such as an image of the Earth. Due to a bug in Netscape Java, images with transparent holes should not be used. To set the planet image to earth.gif: <PARAM NAME="planet" VALUE="earth.gif"> rollover This parameter specifies a string to be displayed in the browser status window when the user moves the mouse over the Orbiter2 applet window. This parameter is typically used in conjunction with the URL parameter. To set the rollover string to "Enter my website!": <PARAM NAME="rollover" VALUE="Enter my website!"> rpm This parameter specifies the speed of the orbiting text or image, in revolutions per minute. The default value is 10. To set the speed to 6 rpm: <PARAM NAME="rpm" VALUE="6"> string This parameter specifies the text string to put in orbit. This parameter is ignored if the orbitImage parameter is supplied. To set the string to "Welcome!": <PARAM NAME="string" VALUE="Welcome!"> target This parameter specifies a target frame to be used in conjunction with the URL parameter. This parameter is ignored if the URL parameter is omitted. Valid values for this parameter are: _self ..... show in the current frame (default value) _parent ..... show in the parent frame _top ..... show in the top-most frame _blank ..... show in a new unnamed top-level window name ..... show in a new top-level window named "name" To ensure that the new page is shown in a top-level frame: <PARAM NAME="target" VALUE="_top"> text_color_back This parameter controls the color of the back surface of the oribiting text or image. The value consists of six hexadecimal digits; each successive pair of digits specifies the red, green, and blue color component, respectively. The default color is red. If the value is "transparent", the back of the orbiting text or image will be invisible. To set the back text color to dark blue: <PARAM NAME="text_color_back" VALUE="000080"> text_color_front This parameter controls the color of the front surface of the oribiting text or image. The value consists of six hexadecimal digits; each successive pair of digits specifies the red, green, and blue color component, respectively. The default color is yellow. If the value is "polychrome", the front color is derived from the colors of the image specified in the orbitImage parameter. To set the front text color to green: <PARAM NAME="text_color_front" VALUE="00ff00"> tilt This parameter controls how far (in degrees) the "north pole" of the orbit is tilted left or right. Positive values tilt the "north pole" to the left. The default tilt is 10 degrees to the left. See also: dip. To tilt the "north pole" 30 degrees to the right: <PARAM NAME="tilt" VALUE="-30"> URL This parameter specifies a page to be shown when the user clicks on the Orbiter2 applet window. The URL parameter is often used in conjunction with the rollover and target parameters. To set the URL to "http://www.yahoo.com": <PARAM NAME="URL" VALUE="http://www.yahoo.com"> |
