An image map defines areas of the image (called hotspots) with a URI (a web address or a file on the computer). Hotspots are the graphic equivalent of text hyperlinks. Clicking on a hotspot causes Impress to open the linked page in the appropriate program (for example, the default browser for an HTML page; OOo Writer for a .ODT file; a PDF viewer for a PDF file). You can create hotspots of various shapes, and include several hotspots in the same image.

To use the image map tool:

1. Select the picture where the hotspots will be defined.
2. Choose Edit > ImageMap from the menu bar. The ImageMap Editor dialog opens.
3. Use the tools and fields in the dialog to define the hotspots and links necessary.
4. Click the Apply icon to apply the settings.
5. When done, click the Save icon to save the imagemap to a file, then click the X in the upper right corner to close the dialog.

The dialog to create image maps. The last "o" is set as an active hotspot.

The top part of the dialog contains the following tools:

• Apply button: click this button to apply the changes.
• Load, Save, and Select icons.
• Tools for drawing a hotspot shape: these tools work in exactly the same way as the corresponding tools in the Drawing toolbar (described in Chapter 5).
• Edit, Move, Insert, Delete Points: advanced editing tools to manipulate the shape of a polygon hotspot. Select the Edit Points tool to activate the other tools.
• Active icon: toggles the status of the hotspot activating a deactive the selected hotspot or deactivating it if active.
• Macro: associates a macro with the hotspot instead of just associating an hyperlink.
• Properties: sets the hyperlink properties and adds the Name attribute to the hyperlink.

Below the toolbar, specify for the selected hotspot:

• Address: the address pointed by the hyperlink. You can also point to an anchor in a document such as a specific slide number; to do this, write the address in this format: file:///<path>/document_name#anchor_name
• Text: enter the text that will be displayed when the mouse is moved over the hotspot.
• Frame: where the target of the hyperlink will open: pick among _blank (opens in a new browser window), _self (opens in the active browser window), _top or _parent.

The value _self for the target frame will work just fine in the vast majority of the occasions. It is therefore not recommended to use the other values unless absolutely necessary.

The main part of the dialog shows the image on which the hotspots will be defined and the hotspot itself. Note that an active hotspot is indicated by a white shading, while an inactive hotspot is identified by a red border but no shading.