Width & Height
The width and height of the applet are set in the HTML code you add to the web page. Be sure to change the dimensions in the <object> and the <embed> tags.

The applet's width must be less than the total width of the images + the amount of space added between each. The applet's height must be at least as tall as your tallest image.

To avoid the trial-and-error of finding the best size, set the Testmode parameter to 'yes' and click anywhere inside the applet: the minimum width and height will be shown in a tooltip message. You can then edit the HTML code and set Testmode back to 'no'.

Parameters
The parameters below should be added to your datafile in the form NAME=VALUE (for instance, BgColor=FF0000). Each parameter should be on a separate line. You can leave blank lines in the list to organize the parameters into groups if you want to. The parameter names are not case-sensitive, and neither are the values, so BgColor=FF0000 is the same as bgcolor=ff0000. You can add the parameters to your file in any order. Most parameters have a default value which we show in bold text below: if you don't include the parameter in your datafile, the default value will be used automatically.

Accelerate
A choice of yes or no, with a default of yes. If set to 'yes', the speed of scrolling will increase as the user moves the mouse closer to the right or left edges of the applet. (The speed always returns to normal if the mouse leaves the applet.) If you set this to 'no', the speed will never change, and will remain at the speed you set in the ScrollDelay parameter.

AccelerateSpeed
A number which sets the amount by which to accelerate if the Accelerate parameter is set to Yes. The default value is 150, and higher numbers produce faster acceleration.

AlignTops
A choice of yes or no, with a default of yes. If set to 'yes', the top of each image will be at the top of the applet. If set to 'no', images of different heights will be centered vertically in the applet.

BgColor
Sets the background color of the applet, if Transparent is set to 'no'. The default value is FFFFFF (white). (Note that PicStrip can only change the background color after it has loaded. To have the same background color shown before the browser starts loading the applet, change the BgColor setting in the HTML code too.)

BorderColor
When the mouse moves over an image, a border can be drawn around it (this can be useful if the image is a link). This parameter lets you choose the color of the border. The default color is to match your chosen BgColor, which makes the image appear to shrink when focused. You can also choose the width of the border with the BorderWidth parameter.

BorderWidth
This lets you choose the width of the border drawn around an image when the mouse is over it. The default width is 2 pixels. You can make the border as wide as you like. If you set this to 0, no border will be shown and the BorderColor parameter will be ignored.

ChangeDirection
A yes or no parameter, with a default of yes. If set to 'yes', the direction of scrolling will change when the user moves to the right or left half of the applet. (Scrolling will continue in that direction when the mouse leaves the applet.) If set to 'no', the direction will always be the direction you chose in the StartScrollFrom parameter. (If ScrollOnEnterOnly is set to 'Yes', this parameter is ignored and always set to 'Yes'.)

ClickDown
Another yes or no parameter, with a default of yes. If set to 'yes', PicStrip will make the images behave like buttons when clicked - the image will move down 2 pixels when the mouse is clicked, and then back up again. If set to 'no', the image will not move when clicked. If images are not being used as links, it's sensible to set this parameter to 'no'.

DefaultTarget
Every item can link to a separate URL, and it can open it into a separate frame or window: we provide numbered Target parameters for that. However, you probably want most (or maybe all) the links to open into one particular frame. Enter the frame name in this parameter, and every item without its own Target parameter will open the link into this 'default' frame. You can use the HTML names _self, _top, _parent, _blank or _new. If you leave this parameter out of your datafile, links will open into _self (the frame or window containing the applet).

FocusTint
Another yes or no parameter, with a default of yes. If set to 'yes', an image will be tinted with the color set in the TintColor parameter when the mouse is over it. Set this parameter to 'no' to switch this option off.

HotSpotWidth
The 'hotspot' is an invisible area in the center of the applet. When the mouse moves into this area, scrolling will pause. This parameter lets you choose how wide the hotspot area should be. The value can be any figure from 0 upwards. The default is 40 pixels. If you set this value to 0, the scrolling will never pause. If you make this value larger than the applet's width (for example, by entering a very large number such as 5000) the hotspot will be the whole applet area, so scrolling will pause as soon as the mouse enters the applet. (If ScrollOnEnterOnly is set to 'Yes', this parameter is ignored and always set to 0.)

ImageOpacity
A number which sets the initial opacity level of all images. This can be from 0 (completely transparent) to 100 (fully opaque). If the value is less than 100, the image will fade up to full opacity when the mouse moves over it and back again when the mouse leaves. The default value is 100.

ImageOpacityDelta
If the ImageOpacity parameter is set to less than 100 (turning on the semi-transparent effect), this parameter provides a number which sets the speed at which images fade up or down in opacity. This can be a number between 1 and 100, where higher numbers produce a faster fade. The default value is 20.

LoadProgressBorderColor
While PicStrip loads the images you are using, it displays a progress bar. This parameter sets the border color of that bar. The default is 606060 (dark gray).

LoadProgressFillColor
This parameter sets the fill color of the progress bar (the part of the bar that indicates the loading progress). The default is 00FF00 (green). (The background color of the progress bar will match your BgColor.)

LoadText
Specifies the text to be displayed while PicStrip loads the images you are using. The default text is Loading.... The text you choose must be short enough to fit into the width of the applet - PicStrip does not wrap this text onto a second line.

LoadTextColor
Sets the color of the LoadText shown while PicStrip loads images. The default is 00FF00 (green).

MaskWidth
If ShowMasks is set to 'yes', this sets the width of the semi-transparent 'masks' at both sides of the applet.

Name
Specifies a name for this instance of the applet. This is only necessary if you are using the applet in conjunction with our free Satellite add-on, and it's explained in the documentation for Satellite, available from the Cool Focus web site. If you are not using Satellite with this applet, it's best not to include this parameter in your datafile (although nothing bad will happen if you do).

ScrollAmount
This parameter (combined with ScrollDelay) set the speed of PicStrip's animation. Use this parameter to set the number of pixels images are moved at each step of animation. The default is 15 pixels.

ScrollDelay
Along with ScrollAmount, this sets the speed of PicStrip's animation by setting the delay time between each animation step. The default is 10 milliseconds. Reduce this value to make the animation faster.

ScrollFromMouse
If ChangeDirection is set to 'yes', allowing the scroll direction to change according to mouse movement, this parameter determines which direction the images will scroll. If this is set to yes (the default), images will scroll from the side of the applet where the mouse is. If you set this no 'no', images will scroll towards the side where the mouse is.

ScrollOnEnterOnly
A choice of yes or no, with a default of no. In normal use (set to 'no'), PicStrip starts scrolling images as soon as it loads, adjusting its speed and direction when the mouse enters or moves toward the left or right of the applet. If this parameter is set to 'yes', images begin scrolling only when the mouse is over the applet and stop when the mouse leaves the applet.

ShowMasks
The 'masks' are semi-transparent blocks at both sides of the applet. They have the same color as your chosen BgColor and blur the edges of the applet, making images appear to fade out. Set this parameter to yes (the default) to display the masks, or no to hide them. (If the masks are displayed, you can change their width using the MaskWidth parameter.)

ShowVersion
A yes or no value. This parameter is included in all Cool Focus Flash applets, and its default is no. If set to 'yes', the version number of the applet (and other details) will be shown when the applet starts. This is included only for troubleshooting purposes, to help you determine which version of an applet you're using. It should be set to 'no' (or removed from your datafile) before you publish your page.

Note: If the applet is not registered, this information will always be shown when the applet starts, regardless of the ShowVersion parameter's setting.

SoundClick
Specifies the absolute or relative URL of an MP3 audio file to play when the mouse is clicked on a linking image. If you don't want to play a sound for this event, just leave this parameter out of your datafile.

SoundRelease
Specifies the absolute or relative URL of an MP3 audio file to play when the mouse is released after clicking a linking image. If you don't want to play a sound for this event, just leave this parameter out of your datafile.

Spacing
Sets the amount of horizontal space (in pixels) between each image. The default is 10 pixels.

StartScrollFrom
This parameter lets you choose whether PicStrip begins scrolling images from the right or the left side of the applet. The value can be either left or right. The default is right.

Testmode
A yes or no value, with a default of 'no'. This parameter is included in most Cool Focus Flash applets, and is used to help you determine the best width and height for the applet. (Because of this, it's best to use this parameter when you've got everything in the applet the way you want it.) Set this parameter to 'yes', then view the applet in your browser and click anywhere inside the applet. You'll see the minimum width and height displayed in a tooltip message, and you can copy these values into the page's HTML code. When you're done, remember to set the Testmode parameter back to 'no' or delete it from your datafile.

Note 1: The Width shown is the maximum width for the applet. You should make the applet's width smaller than the figure shown.

Note 2: If you've specified a list of font names in the applet's font parameters, it's a good idea to check that the applet will be big enough whichever of those fonts is used: with Testmode set to 'yes', move each font name to the beginning of the list and refresh the page to see if Testmode reports that larger dimensions are needed.

TintColor
If FocusTint is set to 'yes', this parameter sets the color to use when tinting the image under the mouse. The default is FFFFFF (white), which has the effect of lightening the image.

Transparent
A choice of yes or no (with a default of no) to set whether the applet's background should be transparent in compatible browsers, showing the HTML page background or other content behind the applet. Note that in animated applets like PicStrip, the animation is much slower when transparent and uses much more of the computer's CPU power.

Images
The parameters below are the most important ones: they set the images to be displayed by PicStrip, and the URLs (if required) that each image should link to. You must include at least one Image parameter or PicStrip will display nothing at all!

The parameters all have numbers after their names, and the numbers you use must be consecutive, starting from 1. If you want to show 10 images, but you forget to include an Image7 parameter, PicStrip will stop looking for any more, and will only find images 1 to 6.

Image1, Image2, ..., Image_n
These parameters specify the absolute or relative URLs of the images you want PicStrip to display. The images will be shown in numerical order, starting from 1, and you can include as many images as you like. The images must be in JPEG format. If you want to include GIF images, you must convert them to Flash .SWF files first (see Image Support in Flash Applets).

URL1, URL2, ..., URL_n
The optional URL to which the image with the same number should link when clicked. If you don't want the item to act as a link, don't include a URL parameter for it. To make items behave like links in all respects except linking somewhere (which can be useful for testing), use a dollar sign ($, or when encoded, %24) as the first character of the URL.

Target1, Target2, ..., Target_n
The name of the frame or window into which the URL with the same number should open. If you don't include this parameter, the frame name set in the DefaultTarget parameter will be used.

Message1, Message2, ..., Message_n
An optional text message which will be displayed in the browser's status bar (in compatible browsers) when the mouse moves over the image with the same numeric suffix.