Microsoft Word - 1

5.5 Adding Text to a Multimedia Application An ourthorrnig program is the software used to integrate Individual media ^Itext, sound, graphics, video. animations and build the user interface Irnenus. hyperlinks video controllers etc.). Authodng applications such as Director, Authorvrare, or Pov~erPdnt provide several ways for developers to incorporate text. These include direct entry. Copy and paste, and file Import. Direct Entry of Text In direct entry, the developer simply types the desired text in the authoring program. datable text is generally typed into an area defined for this purpose, a Herr box or text Glad. Text boxes or Olds may have different progenies depending upon the authoring program and the purpose of the application being developed Some may be intended simply to display text information to the user. Other provide areas for users to enter Information d their own such as responses to questions or search queries. Graphics text is open simply typed onto any area of the screen and then positioned or further rnanlpulated by rotating, stretching, filling with color and so orb like any orhn graphic. Copy and Paste Copy and paste allows developers to select text from anarhet source. copy it to the cons puters clipboard, and paste it directly into their project Copy and paste is an essential. time-saving tool for the multimedia developer that is used not only for text, but also for

File import Finally, text can be entered by file import. In this Case the text to be incorporated already exists as o file, having been previously typed, scanned, or converted from speech. The authoring application will typically provide a dialogue box in which thedr velopr selects the file to be imported. File import is particularly useful for larger amounts of text since it Is much faster Ihan reentering text and more direct titan copy and paste. Scanning and OCR Developers open need to Incorporate text that exists only in its traditional format, the printed page. Scanning and optical character recognition ICCR) produce a computer text file from pnnteo sources. Scanning text for use in multimedia applications is a three stage process. First, the text 15 scanned using one of several different types or devices (hand scanner, flatbed scanner, etc. In this process light and photoreceptors are used to produce, In effect, a pleura of the page. Like the graphics text described above, the scan only records the shapes that make up the text and not the identity of the individual characters.

In the second stage, specialized software is used to identify the characters repress sensed by the scanned shapes. This is called optical character cognition, or OCR. The accuracy of OCR varies because, with so many different typefaces available, significantly different shapes may represent a particular letter, number, or symbol. In addition, imperfections on the printed page complicate accurate character recognition. OCR programs have continually improved and the best among them correctly identify a high percentage or characters. Some mistakes are nearly inevitable, however. This leads to the final str go of the process, proofing the text file produced by OCR. Proofing is usually expedited by first using a spell checker on the text file. Characters that have been misidentified (a 't' for an 'i,' for instance) will often show up as sparing errors Spell-checkers will not catch all errors, however. Scanned files should always be carefully proofread.

5.6 Guidelines for the Use of Text The effective use of text in multimedia applications is governed by the principles of good writing in general. Readers appreciate carefully crafted words whether they find them on screen or on paper. Conversely. poor word choices, spelling mistakes, and grammar errors rapidly undermine user confidence in the content of a multimedia application. Multimedia also raises writing challenges and opportunities of its own. Some of the more important of these are addressed in the following guidelines 1. Eve selective. Use ten where it conveys Information more effectively than other media: To present facts and abstract concepts To label unfamiliar icons . To solicit or respond to user input 2. Be brief. Reading large amounts of text on a r computer screen soon tires the user. · Eliminate unnecessary words. . Choose words carefully. Strive for precision and economy. · Break text Imo short, logical segments. · Use bullets. 3. Make text readable. · Preserve open space. Don't crowd the screen with too much text.

. Test fonts or legibility. · Use anti aliased text for a cleaner, more professional appearance, · Match fonts to backgrounds: · Choose font/background colors carefully—for instance red on black is much harder to read than yellow on black. · Avoid small fonts on textured backgrounds—the texture will obscure letter shapes. · Adjust tracing and leading when changing line length. · Unit the number of fonts. Too many fonts Transom note typography will distract the user. 4. Be con5isternt. . Maintain a tone to match the purpose of the application professional, formal casual or humorous. · Use the same fonts for each of the major categories of text page heading$ menus, body teak buttons etc. Font consistency helps to orient users. . Vary font be to reflect the relative importance of information. . Use a grid to consistently locate different types of text headings body text, navigation aids text entry boxes~. 5. Be careful. . Proofread. Spelling and grammatical errors quickly undermine your credibility. · Avoid plagiarism. Identify and credit your text sources · Check for font availability on playback systems. · Check for font compatibility on cross-platform applications.

6. Be respectful. · Avoid Stereotypes and disparaging usages that is racist or sexist languages. · Use humor with care. What is funny to one person may be offensive to another, · Limit the use of animated text and word art. These can easily become distractions shifting the user s focus away from the meaning or message of the text. 7. Combine text with other media Use sound graphics video or animation to reinforce, explain or extend the text message. For instance: · Spoken word pronunciation . Animation of s physical process 8. Moth text interactive. Much of the power of multimedia derives from interactivity. Try to engage users with ten. · Solicit user input · Use hyperlinks to tie words to rented information. · Use mouse avers: to display definitions of unfamiliarly terms. To pose a question. To make a comment.

5.7 Summary Often considered the leastglamorous of the various media, text Is nonetheless an impor^lant element in many multimedia applications. Text is ohen the most efficient communication medium and it is essential for the presentation of abstract ideas and theories. Well-crahed words can also be powerfully engaging and provocative. Multimedla text is built on a long standing text tradition and on the powerful erJiting tools of computengenerated text. but it has also made its own contributions to the expanding uses of the written word. These include many dynamic elements. Multimedia text can be animated, morphed, linked to any other medium, and automatically generated from speech. Like all written communication, multimedia text should be clears grammatically confect, and delivered in a style appropriate to its audience. Text is effectively combined with other media through a variety of resources includlng RTML and XHTML for web pages, PDF files for consistent delivery of highly formatted multimedia documents, and a wide range of authoring programs. Scanning and file Import complement direct entry techniques to expedite the Inclusion of text in rnulffme

Review Quesffons 1. What are the maln text propert es derived frc nn the print indust^ly7 1. What are the turo main font technologies? 3, identify an odvanuge and disadvantage for each of the two main font technologies. 4. What is the process of 'anti aliasing7 s. What is a benefit of graphics text7 6. What is one limitation of graphics text? 7. What is the rosin d st Art ion between ASCII and RTF text lilac 8. When should a person save a file created in Word as an RIF flk7 9. What is hypertext? 10. What is one benef t and one limitation of OCR text input? 11. What are two advantages of PDF files7 12. What is the problem of installed hunts'? How can multimedia developers ret this problem? 13. What are twoadvantag^ff of XHTML7 14. Identify and define the two principal uses of combining text and speech. 15. What are four methods to add text into a multimedia authoring application?

Discussion Questions 1. The characteristics of typography have their origins in the manual print industry. Identify and explain three features Or typography that began in the print trade. 1. When should you consider using graphics text in a muhirnedia applications Why7 3. locate and print the first page of your campus webslte. Circle two exannples oi graphks text and highlight two examples of editable text. i xplain why these spe ciflc text elements were presented as graphics or editable text. A. As the text editor of a multimedia tutorial, explain why you will only accr pt file formats that are ,rti, 5. As the text editor d a multimedia book why will you convert your final chapters to a .pdl format7

6. Provide three guidelines you would follow to create the text based content in A PowerPoin^l multimedia Wosi^i to announce your campus events.