Help:Image maps

The ImageMap extension to the MediaWiki software allows you to insert images with clickable links into articles in the wiki. With the ImageMap extension, you can make an entire image serve as a link to a different article or you can select multiple areas within that image to link to different articles. The ImageMap extension is a powerful and flexible tool, but because it is coded in HTML and defines regions via coordinates, many users may find it difficult to use at first. This guide will show you the easiest way to use the ImageMap extension to use an image to link to another article.

Steps

 * 1)  Upload your image to FamilySearch Wiki if you have not done so already.
 * 2)  Go to the page displaying the image and description (e.g., http://www.wikihow.com/Image:Framing_hammer_956.jpg), and then click on the link to the file just below image to bring you to the page showing the full URL to link to the image.
 * 3) * Your browser should now just show the image, but no descriptive information.
 * 4) * You should see a URL similar to this: http://www.wikihow.com/images/a/af/Framing_hammer_956.jpg
 * 5) * Copy this URL.
 * 6)  Open a new window or tab in your browser and navigate to the ImageMap Editor.
 * 7) * The ImageMap Editor is a tool that will help you to select the appropriate region(s) within your image for use as links to other pages.
 * 8) * Once you have selected your region(s), the ImageMap editor will also generate the correct code to define those region(s). This code can then be pasted into your article to make your image map work as intended.
 * 9)  Enter your URL into the field labeled URL under "Load from URL" and enter the image name in the field labeled "Name" (note: the image name is the text following the final / in the URL you copied). Be sure to include the file extension (e.g., .PNG, .JPG, .GIF) as well.
 * 10) Click "Load" to display your image in the ImageMap Editor. The image will display in a box labeled "Image" below the "Load Image" box.
 * 11) Define the region to be used as your link.
 * 12) *Choose the area type that best matches the shape of your image (This example uses a rectangle, which will be the most commonly used shape to select an entire image).
 * 13) *Click on "Rectangle" in the "New Area" box.
 * 14) *Move your mouse pointer to the upper left corner of your image and then left click.
 * 15) *Move your mouse pointer to the lower right corner of your image and then right click. The XY coordinates for the corners of your image will now be displayed in the boxes indicating "Left/Top" and "Right/Bottom"
 * 16)  Scroll down the page in the ImageMap Editor until you see the box labeled "Global Settings." If you would like to keep the default settings, you do not need to do anything with this box. By default, these settings will superimpose a blue circle with an "i" in it on the bottom left corner your image which provides a link to the image's information page (the rest of the image will link to the page you select).
 * 17) * If you do not want to display the information link, select "None."
 * 18) * If you would like to select a different location for the information link, choose one of the other locations.
 * 19)  Scroll down and copy the ImageMap extension code from the box directly below the "Global Settings" box. This is the code you will paste into a wiki page to create your image link.
 * 20) * The code begins with the text . Be sure you copy these and everything between.
 * 21) * The rest of the code defines your area:
 * 22) ** "rect 1 1 299 298" indicates a rectangle starting at pixel 1,1 (i.e., upper right) and going to pixel 299,218.
 * 23) ** The " " are the brackets that will surround the page the image will link to. This follows standard wiki markup.
 * 24) Open a new window or tab in your browser and edit the page you wish to place the ImageMap link in.
 * 25) Paste your code in the appropriate location in the page. You should see something like this:
 * 26)  Add the link to your page between the  . For this example we are adding a link to "How to Use a Hammer Safely"
 * 27)  Inspect your code to make sure that you have closed the ImageMap tag properly using " . Your code should now look like:
 * 28) Save your page and test your link. If you followed the instructions for this code, you would see:

Tips

 * You can use the ImageMap extension and the ImageMap editor to define multiple regions within your image that link to different pages.
 * You can learn more about some advanced applications of the ImageMap extension at MediaWiki.
 * It's a good idea to get familiar with new tools by playing with them in the Sandbox before trying them out on full articles.

Sources and Citations

 * MediaWiki ImageMap Extension and documentation
 * ImageMap editor