Sothink Glanda

In fact, using Glanda does not at all have the feel of working with Flash. When you create a movie, the program allows you to save it by copying the coding to the clipboard and the .swf files to the folder on your hard drive without leaving the program. That's the extent of Flash knowledge you need to take advantage of Glanda.

The sample is a rather simplistic one, but the program offers about 200 templates from which users can select that run the gamut from simple to silly to suave. Beyond that, each of the templates can be modified greatly to create thousands of different possibilities.

Users begin by selecting the movie's parameters, including height, width, background color, alignment, frames per second, and whether or not you wish to have the effect loop or not.

Next, users select the "Button" menu, opening a number of possibilities in several styles. To get additional options, simply click on the "More" file-folder icon.

Each button is already made with normal, mouseover, and onclick effects, a time-saving step Glanda provides that many such programs do not. To add buttons, simply drag and drop them into the movie frame. Alignment, spacing, and other modifications can be made at the top menu, as well as selecting the preview mode to see the results.

At this point, users can fine tune the fonts and word content they wish to have displayed on their buttons. That includes font size, color, face, and decoration. This is also the place to adjust the text placement as it sits on the button.

Should the user not want to use an existing template, they can choose to insert a shape create a button of their own, which they can save as a template for future use. As with all graphics created in Glanda, the button could then be resized by selecting it and dragging the corner. That is also true for type.

The program also offers the ability to open multiple button menu templates, rather than create a menu one button at time. There are about 20 or so of these templates available. In addition, the program allows the user to create their own by combining buttons and images.

The user can then select the sound button and simply drag a file over a button to apply that sound to it. Users can easily add their own .wav or .mp3 sound clips.

The final step in the creation is choosing the "Info" button, where users can apply a URL link and target for each of the menu buttons.

After saving the menu from the "File" menu at the top of the screen, the user can select the "Publish" button from the same area. A box will popup with the complete code, and the user simply selects the "Copy to Clipboard" button, then the "click here to see the generated Flash file" and copy it to the same directory that stores the HTML file in which you will place the coding.

Glanda is a great little program for making Flash menus without having to be stressed-out about working with Flash itself, making it great for neophytes. It also has enough options to make it a nice time-saving device for the experienced users, too.

What is it called again? Sothink Glanda 2001

Where can I get it? http://www.sothink.com

How much does it cost? $30

How big is the download? 3.7 MB

Do I recommend it? It's a useful tool at a very reasonable price. What's not to recommend?