Help configuring buttons

Question

I am new to web design and have built my site on Fireworks CS4. I built custom buttons (links to10 pages) with up, over and down states. Everything was sliced and sent to the folder I am using in Dreamweaver CS4. I am using tables to build my site because it is the only way I know. I used a table of 2 rows and 5 columns to add my buttons between the header and text area. I inserted images of my "up" state for each button (all states worked when tested in Firefox3 from Fireworks CS4) but I am not sure how to configure the other states to make the buttons work properly in DW. If someone could talk me through coding them in CSS or HTML or whatever is best, I would sure appreciate the help.
PS> I also exported the html files from my button slices but have read it is wiser not to use Fireworks html coding
Thanks in advance

Answer 1

holmlist wrote:
I also exported the html files from my button slices but have read it is wiser not to use Fireworks html coding
Nonetheless it may already hold the relevant code, which you could still copy&paste... Anyway, in DW, simply choose to insert a rollover button from the insert panel. This will bring up a dialog that allows you to assign the image states and pick your files. It will also add the necessary JavaScript. for a CSS based solution, you would use pseudo-classes and unique IDs for each button:
#button_a a {background-image: url(button_a_inactive.jpg);}
#button_a a:hover {background-image: url(button_a_hover.jpg);}
#button_a a:active {background-image: url(button_a_active.jpg);}
#button_b a {background-image: url(button_b_inactive.jpg);}
Note: In the given example, a conditional notation is used where the images are inside a link/anchor (<a>) to access the various states. Additional CSS rules of course may be required.
Mylenium