The Object States panel appears on the left-hand side of the Properties dialog box. The panel contains a list of states an object can have depending on the users interaction with the object. For example, when an object first appears on a page in a publication it shows its Normal state, when the user moves the mouse over the object it shows the Mouse Over state and when the user presses the button it shows the Mouse Pressed state.
The Object States panel allows you to change the appearance of an object for those different states. This is particularly useful for creating rollover graphics and buttons, which is a common feature of multimedia publications.
The Objects States panel contains four categories of states:
The Normal state this is the default appearance of an object; the Properties dialog will contain all of the property tabs for this object. If you do not change any of the other states for the object (e.g. Mouse Over, Disabled, etc.) then the Normal appearance is used see The Normal State for more information.
The Modified states the Mouse Over, Mouse Pressed and Disabled states can change the appearance of the object when the user moves the mouse over the object, clicks the object or when the object is disabled. The Properties dialog will only contain the following tabs: Background, Image, Border and Effects tab. Each of these states can be entirely different in appearance see The Modified States for more information.
The Button states the Button Down, Mouse Over Down and Button Down Disabled states can change the appearance of the Button object when the button is in a down position; the user moves the mouse over a button while the left mouse button is pressed down or when a checkbox type of button is down and then disabled. The Properties dialog will only contain the following tabs: Background, Button, Image, Border and Effects tab. Each of these states can be entirely different in appearance see The Button States for more information.
The Drag and Drop states these states will only appear in the Object States panel when the object has been made a drag object or a drop zone using the Drag and Drop tab. Like the Modified states, the Properties dialog will only contain the following tabs: Background, Image, Border and Effects tab. Each of these states can be entirely different in appearance see The Drag and Drop States for more information.
Double-click the object on the page that you want to have different appearances for different states this will open its Properties dialog box.
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If several objects will have the same appearance for different states you can select each object on the page and use the Properties option on the right-click menu to open the Properties dialog. Whatever changes you make to the states will affect all of the selected objects.
Click on the name of the state in the Objects States panel that you want to modify. For example, to change the properties of the Mouse Over state, simply click on the Mouse Over icon in the panel displayed on the left of the Properties dialog.
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If the state selected is the Normal state, then all the tabs in the Properties dialog are displayed. For all other states only the following tabs will appear: Background, Image, Border and Effects tab.
A Warning dialog box may appear on the screen, this is to indicate that you are switching between states. Click on the OK button to continue.
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Tick the Do not show this message again box in the Warning dialog box if you do not want the message to appear every time you switch between states.
Change the objects appearance using the Property tabs available to you. Remember to click the Apply button whenever you make a change the object on the page will reflect the changes you have made.
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Whichever state you are currently working with is displayed on the screen. It is usually good practice to make your changes to the state and then switch back to the Normal state so that its appearance is the one showing in the Opus Editor. This stops you from getting confused it is easy to think you have created an object incorrectly just because it is showing a different state in the Editor!
To change the appearance of a different state, repeat the steps from point 2 above.
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You can modify the appearance of any of your states at any time.
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If you want to change the appearance of several objects at one time with different appearances for each one, use the Rollover object see Using the Rollover Tool for more information.