Chapter 2: TEXT

CSC413 : INTRODUCTION TO MULTIMEDIA

Prepared by Siti Norsyuhada Zainudin

Overview

Importance of Using text

Understanding
text in a elements in a
fonts and
multimedia multimedia
typefaces
presentation presentation

Font editing
Computers Multimedia
and design
and text and hypertext
tools
Importance of Text in a Multimedia
Presentation
 Importance of Text

 Words and symbols in any form,

spoken or written, are the most
common means of communication
 Text is a vital element of
multimedia menus, navigation
systems, and content
 Multimedia developers
must use words carefully Communication
and accurately.
 Factors Affecting Legibility of Text

Leading
Size

Background /
Style Foreground
Colour
 Understanding fonts and typefaces

Typefaces Serif vs
Font Style Font Sizes Cases
vs fonts Sans Serif
 Typefaces vs Fonts

TYPEFACE ARIAL
Arial Black
A typeface is a family Arial Narrow
of graphic characters,
often with many type Arial Rounded MT Bold
sizes and styles
FONT
A font is a collection of characters of a
single size and style belonging to a particular
typeface family.
Fonts and Faces

Serif
Font Font vs
Cases
styles sizes Sans
Serif
Font Style

 Boldface
 Italic
 Underlining
 Outlining
Font Size
Measured in points

Kerning Leading
spacing between space between
character pairs lines
 Cases

HELLO world
Capitalized / lowercase
Uppercase

FileMaker
Text’s upper- and lowercase
letters must match exactly to
be recognized

Intercap
Placing an uppercase letter in the middle of a word
 Serif vs San Serif

• Little decoration at the

end of a letter stroke
• Serif fonts are used for • Sans serif fonts do not
body text
• Example: Times New Serif have a serif at the end

Roman, Century, San serif of a letter stroke

• These fonts are used for
Bookman, Palatino headlines and bold
statements
• Example: Arial, Tahoma,
Verdana
Using Text Elements in a Multimedia
Presentation
Choosing a Text Font

Consider legibility Avoid too many Use color Use anti-aliased

and readability faces purposefully text

Use drop caps

Minimize centered Use animated text
and initial caps for Use white space
text to grab attention.
accent
Text Elements Use in Multimedia

▪ The text elements used in

multimedia are:
✓ Menus for navigation
✓ Interactive buttons
✓ Fields for reading
✓ HTML documents
✓ Symbols and icons
Menu for Navigation

• A user navigates through

content using
a menu.
• A simple menu consists of a text
list of topics.
 Interactive Buttons

• A button is a clickable
object that executes a
command when activated.
• Users can create their own
buttons from bitmaps and
graphics.
• The design and labelling of
the buttons should be treated
as an industrial art project.
 Fields for Reading

• Reading a hard copy is

easier and faster than
reading from the computer
screen.
• A document can be
printed in one of two
orientations: portrait or
landscape
HTML Documents

• HTML documents are

marked using tags
• DHTML uses Cascading
Style Sheets (CSS).
• Commonly used tags
• <B> : boldfaced
• <OL> : ordered list
• <IMG> : inserting images
 Symbol & Icons

• Symbols are concentrated text in

the form of stand-alone graphic
constructs.
• They are used to convey
meaningful messages.
• Symbols used to convey human
emotions are called emoticons.
• Icons are symbolic representations
of objects and processes.
Computers and Text
Font Wars

PostScript, TrueType, and OpenType outline fonts

allow text to be drawn at any size without jaggies.
Anti-aliasing text and graphics creates “smooth”
boundaries between colors.

THE FONT WARS

PostScript TrueType OpenType

 Font Wars

PostScript TrueType OpenType

• PostScript is a method • Apple and Microsoft • Adobe and Microsoft

of describing an image developed the developed OpenType,
in terms of TrueType now the international
mathematical methodology. standard.
constructs. • TrueType is a system of • It incorporates the best
• PostScript characters scalable outline fonts features of PostScript
are scalable and can and can draw and TrueType
be drawn much faster. characters at low
• The two types of resolution
PostScript fonts are
Type 3 and Type 1
Character Set

The American The extended The ISO-Latin-1

Standard Code for character set is character set is used
Information commonly filled with while programming
Interchange (ASCII) is ANSI standard the text of HTML
a 7-bit coding system. characters. pages.

The shared symbols of

Unicode is a 16-bit
each character set
architecture for
are unified into
multilingual text and
collections of symbols
character encoding.
called scripts.
Mapping Cross Platform

 Fonts and characters are not cross-platform compatible.

 They must be mapped to the other machine using font
substitution

x
Font Editing and Design Tools
Font Editing and Design Tools

• Fontographer is a specialized graphics

editor.
• It is compatible with both Macintosh and
Windows platform.
• It can be used to develop PostScript,
TrueType, and bitmapped fonts.
• It can also modify existing typefaces
and incorporate PostScript artwork.
Font Editing and Design Tools

▪ Applications that are used to enhance texts and images

include: Adobe Photoshop, TypeStyler, COOL 3D, HotTEXT and
TypeCaster
Multimedia and Hypertext
Multimedia and Hypertext

Using
Hypertext
Multimedia hypertext
systems
systems

Searching for Hypermedia Hypertext

words structures tools
Multimedia

▪ Multimedia is defined as the combination of text, graphics,

and audio elements into a single presentation.
▪ When the user assumes control over the presentation, it is
called interactive multimedia.
▪ Interactive multimedia becomes hypermedia when a
structure of linked elements is provided to the user for
navigation and interaction.
Hypertext System

 Hypertext is defined as the organized cross-

linking of words, images, and other Web
elements.
 A system in which words are keyed or
indexed to other words is referred to as a
hypertext system.
 A hypertext system enables the user to navigate
through text in a non-linear way.
Using Hypertext System

 Information management and hypertext

programs present electronic text, images, and
other elements in a database fashion.

 Software robots visit Web pages and index

entire Web sites
 Hypertext databases make use of proprietary
indexing systems.
 Server-based hypertext and database engines
are widely available.
Searching for Words

CATEGORICAL SEARCH
Selecting or limiting the documents, pages, or fields of text within which to
search for a word or words. (e.g. “Songs”, “Malay songs”)

WORD RELATIONSHIP
Searching for the words according to their general proximity and order.
Example : “birthday party” and “cake”.

ADJACENCY
Searching for words occurring next to one another. (e.g. “widow”, “black”)
Searching for Words cont.

ALTERNATES
Applying an OR criterion to search for two or more words. (e.g.“fish”, OR “prawn”)

ASSOCIATION
Applying AND criterion to search for two or more words. (e.g. “ship”, AND “ferry”)

NEGATION
Applying a NOT criterion. (e.g. “programs” NOT “university”)
Searching for Words cont.

TRUNCATION
Searching for word with any of its possible suffixes. Example : geo# (geology,
geometry)

INTERMEDIATE WORDS
Searching for words that occur between what might normally be adjacent
words, such as a middle name. (eg: “Mahathir”, “Mohamad”)

FREQUENCY
Searching for words based on how often they appear.
 Hypermedia Structure

1. Links
2. Nodes
3. Anchors
4. Navigating
hypermedia
structures
 Links

Link

 Links are connections Student

between conceptual
elements. University

 Links are the navigation

pathways and menus.
 e.g. Links will connect
“student” with “university”
Node

Node
Student

 Nodes are accessible topics, University

documents, messages, and
content elements.
 Nodes and links form the
backbone of a knowledge
access system.
 Anchor

▪ An anchor is defined as the

reference from one document
to another document, image,
sound, or file on the Web.
▪ The source node linked to the
anchor is referred
to as a link anchor.
▪ The destination node linked to
the anchor is referred to as a
link end.
Navigating Hypermedia Structures

 The simplest way to

navigate hypermedia
structures is via buttons.
 Location markers must be
provided to make
navigation user-friendly.
 Hypertext Tools

Function of Builder
Two functions common
to most hypermedia text
Identifying
management systems Creating link
nodes
are building (authoring)
and reading.
Generating an index of words
Hypertext systems are used for

 Electronic publishing and reference

works.
 Technical documentation.
 Educational courseware.
 Interactive kiosks.
 Electronic catalogues.
Summary

 Text is one of the most important elements of multimedia.

 The standard document format used for Web pages is called
HTML.
 Multimedia is the combination of text, graphics, and audio
elements into a single presentation.
 A hypertext system enables the user to navigate through text
in a non-linear way