Sonance Navigator K2 - Chapter 6. Image Editors; The Difference between Custom Buttons and Bitmaps

Navigator K2 keypad
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Chapter 6. Image Editors
The Navigator K2 Manager software comes with two additional programs for
creating custom graphics. These programs are very similar in appearance and
functionality and both programs can be accessed from the Library menu within the
Navigator K2 Manager program.
The Button Bitmap Editor is for creating and editing button bitmaps for such things
as channel and transport icons.
The Custom Button Editor is for creating and editing custom buttons for such
things as company logos or complex groups of controls.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CUSTOM BUTTONS AND BITMAPS
Custom Buttons have several fundamental differences from Bitmaps:
1. Custom Buttons must specify an image of the entire button. Bitmaps are
smaller and therefore can be placed on buttons with the standard border
styles.
2. Custom Buttons can contain more than one active button area, so a whole
group of related controls can be created as a single Custom Button.
Bitmaps are indivisible, and must be placed separately onto individual
buttons.
3. Custom Buttons must provide an image for both the Up (normal) and
Down (pressed) states of the button. Bitmaps provide only the Up
image. The Down image of a Bitmap is created by simply inverting it.
4. Custom Buttons can be any size, up to the entire display size. Bitmaps
are limited to a handful of pre-defined sizes.
Given these characteristics, Custom Buttons are most appropriate for complex or
large groups of controls, such as a customized set of transport controls for a VCR or
a large company logo.
Bitmaps are most appropriate for small pictures that don’t need a full button to
display, such as TV channel icons or small logos. Since Bitmaps don’t have a Down
image, they take half as much memory to store in the Navigator K2, so more Bitmaps
can be created.
Both Custom Buttons and Bitmaps are stored within Libraries not as individual
files. Before you can design your own Custom Buttons or Bitmaps you must create
a new library file using the Custom Button Editor or Button Bitmap Editor. The
library file can have many Custom Buttons or Bitmaps within it. The Custom
Button and Bitmap files included with the Navigator K2 Manager software are