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Putting mouseover text with your pictures

By
Real Estate Agent with HomeSmart Realty West CalBRE #01458572

Birch Aquarium, San Diego, CaliforniaI often like to hide messages in my pictures using mouseover text, and recently I had a couple of requests to teach people how to put mouseover text with their pictures.

It's really pretty simple but it is not necessarily intuitive.

Place your mouse over any picture, hold it steady for about a second, and if there is an mouseover text, it will magically appear. For example, scroll down to the bottom picture of Zoey the Cool Cat, hold your mouse steady over the picture, and you should see this:

Zoey the Cool Cat with best wishes for all

Here's how you do it:

  1. Click on the little oak tree icon to start uploading your picture to ActiveRain.

    Click on the oak tree icon to start uploading a picture


  2. An "Insert/edit image" box will pop up. Click on the little icon to the right of the Image URL box to browse on your computer and find the image you want to upload:

    Upload your picture to ActiveRain


  3. Another window will open up. Click on the Browse button and find your picture file. They can only be jpg, png, or gif files, so if you have a tif or bmp file, you'll have to convert it. You can do that with Microsoft Paint, Adobe Photoshop, Corel Photopaint, or any of the many free programs on the Internet. Just Google "bmp file conversion" or "graphics file conversion."

     Click on the browse button to find your file


  4. Once you find your file, double click on it and your window should look something like this, with the name of your file in the box. If it does, click on "Upload Photo."

    Click on upload photo


  5. Now you're ready for your mouseover text, and this is the part that's not necessarily intuitive. You should now have a window that looks like the following. The image description box is where you'll put the text that you want in your mouseover. As far as I know, your mouseover text is limited to 255 characters.

    Enter here what you want your mouseover text to say


    Enter here what you want your mouseover text to say


  6. That's it! You're finished! Now whenever someone holds their mouse over your picture, they'll get your mouseover text. Try it on any of the pictures in this post!

Best wishes for health, happiness, peace, and prosperity on your journey through life. Remember to take lots of pictures!

Dagny Eason
Dagny's Real Estate - Wilton, CT
Fairfield County CT, CDPE Homes For Sale and Condo

Very good tips, Russell.  I did the mouseover, and didn't get anything, but I also know that it works, because I do it also.   Do not know what's up with it today....

Great post, russell - I love your demos!!!

Mar 30, 2010 12:52 PM
Susan Neal
RE/MAX Gold, Fair Oaks - Fair Oaks, CA
Fair Oaks CA & Sacramento Area Real Estate Broker

Hi Russel - Of all the posts to get a gremlin, this one shouldn't have but it looks like it did.  I always check your "mouseover" comments, as I do them on all my photos too.  But today of all days, yours don't show up.  Wouldn't you know?!?!

Mar 30, 2010 01:46 PM
Joan Whitebook
BHG The Masiello Group - Nashua, NH
Consumer Focused Real Estate Services

A excellent tutorial.. By the way... I think zoey at the mouse in the mouseover.

Mar 30, 2010 02:52 PM
John Novak
Keller Williams Realty The Marketplace - Las Vegas, NV
Henderson, Las Vegas and Summerlin Real Estate

Hi Russel - Very easy to follow explanation. I just had to comment on the irony of mouseover text on pictures of cats!

Mar 30, 2010 02:55 PM
Evelyn Johnston
Friends & Neighbors Real Estate - Elkhart, IN
The People You Know, Like and Trust!

That is pretty cool Russel! I am going to do this on the next photo I upload.  Thanks!

Mar 30, 2010 03:04 PM
Maria Morton
Platinum Realty - Kansas City, MO
Kansas City Real Estate 816-560-3758

Russel, this is too cool for school!  Thanks for another great lesson!

Mar 30, 2010 06:55 PM
FN LN
Toronto, ON

Ray - Adding text to your photos can also help your SEO and BingJuice.

Mar 30, 2010 10:51 PM
Sally K. & David L. Hanson
EXP Realty 414-525-0563 - Brookfield, WI
WI Real Estate Agents - Luxury - Divorce

We think you should get a professor's degree at AR university and teach regular classes...hmmmm ? Zo could be the University Mascot....all the cheers...Go Zo GO !

Mar 30, 2010 11:38 PM
Carra Riley & Declan Kenyon
Brokers Guild Cherry Creek Ltd - Westminster, CO
Helping people Transition at all ages!

Russel...What a great informative post.  Thanks for the information.  You are indeed an AR professor!

cosmic cow

Mar 31, 2010 02:35 AM
Ted Tyndall
Davidson Realty Inc. - Saint Augustine, FL
I will help You find the Home YOU want to Buy

Russel, great advice to make a picture a little better.

Mar 31, 2010 04:08 AM
Cheryl Ritchie
RE/MAX Leading Edge www.GoldenResults.com - Huntingtown, MD
Southern Maryland 301-980-7566

I wonder what Riley Rover is going to think of Zoey on my blog. First cat ever. Thanks for the reblog!

Mar 31, 2010 03:02 PM
Andrew Haslett
Van Warren Home Inspections, NAHI CRI - Fort Knox, KY
Heartland of Kentuckynulls, Best Home Inspector

Now I know what "mouseover" is. But, why did it ever get called a mouse in the first place?

Mar 31, 2010 03:32 PM
Chris Wechner
CW Health Inc - Waterford, MI

This is a good step-by-step instruction guide--very visual.  You're very good!

Apr 01, 2010 04:03 AM
Terry Chenier
Homelife Glenayre Realty - Mission, BC

Russel,

You continue to be a wealth of information. Thanks.

Apr 01, 2010 05:22 PM
Ana Hitzel
AccentPositives Home Staging - Corona, CA
Professional Home Stager Inland Empire

Thanks for the tutorial Russel it was non geekish and easy to understand, unlike so many others!  I will try it out:) 

Glad to hear Zoey will be back full time.

Apr 02, 2010 05:21 AM
Pamela Cendejas
Second Self Virtual Assistance - Kingman, AZ
Second Self Virtual Assistance (928) 692-3235

Hi Russel - That's a great tutorial.  Another benefit of embedding text is that you can add keywords.

Apr 02, 2010 06:21 AM
Marilyn Harrell
Better Homes and Acres - Beaverton, MI
Wixom Lake - Beaverton MI

Too cool! My sister & I were just talking about "how" do ya do that while we were looking at my daughter's facebook pictures! Thanks!

Apr 02, 2010 07:04 AM
Valerie Osterhoudt
Johnson Real Estate, Inc. - Cromwell, CT
ABR, Cromwell, CT Real Estate ~ 860.883.8889

Russel.. Very clear and precise blog.  Thanks for clearing that up.  I was wondering how this was done.

VALERIE OSTERHOUDT

Apr 03, 2010 12:34 PM
Nicole Monary
Sellstate Next Gen Realty - San Diego, CA
Nicole Knows San Diego Neighborhoods

I always wondered where that secong line of text went and why I should fill it out.  Now I know, thanks.

Apr 06, 2010 07:34 PM
Russel Ray, San Diego Business & Marketing Consultant & Photographer
Russel Ray - San Diego State University, CA

Hey, Folks!

Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I notice that mouseovers have not been working since early May. Hope they come back soon.

Since I'm rather late getting back to my own blog post to read all the comments, I'll forego responding to each and every comment and just let everyone know that I'll be by to read your blog and leave a few comments here and there, if I haven't been already. Be sure to have lots of good stuff for me to read! If any specific comments have questions that need answers, or any other needed response, I'll make those below this comment.

Meanwhile, hope everyone has a great June, and best wishes for health, happiness, peace, and prosperity.

Jun 01, 2010 03:52 PM