Part of the Multimedia and graphics glossary:

In Web page development, an image map is a graphic image defined so that a user can click on different areas of the image and be linked to different destinations. You make an image map by defining each of the sensitive areas in terms of their x and y coordinates (that is, a certain horizontal distance and a certain vertical distance from the left-hand corner of the image). With each set of coordinates, you specify a Uniform Resource Locator or Web address that will be linked to when the user clicks on that area.

Next Steps

The X and Y coordinates are expressed in pixel s either in a separate file called a map file or in the same HTML file that contains the link to the image map. Popular tools like MapEdit provide a graphical interface for creating an image map (so that you don't have to figure out the X and Y coordinate numbers yourself).

Originally, the map file had to be sent to the server. Now the creator can place the map information either at the server or at the client (a "client-side map").

Image maps are used widely on many Web sites as a more adventuresome form of main menu.

This was last updated in April 2005
Posted by: Margaret Rouse

Related Terms

Definitions

  • backward mapping (inverse mapping or screen order)

    - Backward mapping (also known as inverse mapping or screen order) is a technique used in texture mapping to create a 2D image from 3D data. (WhatIs.com)

  • bit map

    - A bit map (often spelled "bitmap") defines a display space and the color for each pixelor "bit" in the display space. (SearchCIO-Midmarket.com)

  • MIP map

    - A MIP map (sometimes spelled mipmap) is a computer graphics technique used to achieve an illusion of depth in a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional (3D) image. (WhatIs.com)

Glossaries

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  • Internet applications

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