2D Objects existing in two dimensions, width and height. Illusions of depth can be created in 2D, but there is no actual measurement or independent display of depth.

3D Objects existing in three dimensions, width, height, and depth.

Analog The type of video and audio electrical signals recorded magnetically on various types of tape. These signals must be converted to digital data to be used by the computer.

Animation The illusion of motion created by a sequence of images.

Anti-aliasing Smoothing the edges for a non-jagged visual appearance; most commonly associated with text.

Attribute Assigns a specific value to a tag.

Audio The element of sound in multimedia.

Bit Depth Term that pertains to the amount of information in a graphic or audio file measured in bits.

Bitmap Graphics Computer graphics that are stored by the color value and relative location of each pixel.

Blend To combine varying intensities of two or more colors into a third color.

Body Tags section inside of which most HTML code is placed

Capture The act of acquiring multimedia data for the computer to process, such as sound through a sound card, video through a video card, and graphics through a scanner.

CD-ROM Laser-read disks that holds data in microscopic pits, to be used on a computer.

Color Made of three most basic variables: hue, value, and intensity.

Compression The reduction of file sizes by the removal of redundant data or by other algorithms.

Conversion When a specific computer file is translated for accessibility to another platform or another computer environment.

Copyright The ownership of rights to copy anything that is in a tangible medium.

Cross platform The capability of computer software or hardware to be used on another computer system (Mac and Windows).

Crop Cut out a section of an image

Cursor The small object that moves in relation to the user's navigational tool(usually a mouse).

Cut and paste The computer command common to much software that removes a selected object or text, holding it in temporary memory to be placed somewhere else.

Digital audio Sound that is stored as digital data, also called sampled sound.

Digital camera Filmless camera that records images as digital data that can be downloaded to a computer.

Dithering Computer ability to alter adjacent pixels and generate a shaded smoothing effect through the illusion of a third color.

Download The receiving of computer data between computers over a network.

DPI A common measurement for graphic data in print form.

DVD Based on the same technology as CDROM but with greater capacity for data storage due to a shorter wavelength laser and more densely packed microscopic pits for data storage.

Effects The computer-generated variations that can be applied to graphics, audio, and video elements.

Emboss A graphic effect of making an object appear raised.

Deboss A graphic effect of making an object appear recessed.

Encoding The process of compressing a file.

Decoding The process of uncompressing a file.

AGP Advanced graphics slot for high speed graphics cards.

Expansion slots Where expansion cards are physically located in the computer housing.

Font The size,shape and style of alphanumeric characters

Formatting The specifics that a developer applies to a text character, document, or group of documents. These include text styles, document margins, line widths, etc.

Frequency In relation to digital audio, the number of wave peaks in a given time period, measured in hertz (Hz) or kilohertz (kHz).

GIF A graphics file format that can display animations.

Gigabyte A quantity of one billion bytes of computer binary data.

Gradient A gradual transition from one color to another.

Graphics Images, pictures, or visual entities that can be displayed independently in print or electronic form.

Grayscale Black and white with 254 in-between grays that a computer uses for graphic display.

HEAD Tag section for advanced language integration in an HTML document.

Hz In audio data, the unit of measurement for frequency.

Home page The initial web site that is accessed when an Internet browser first opens on the computer.

HTML Text language used for web page development. Uses function tags to define formatting and interface function.

Hue The pure essence of colors.

Icon The graphic image that represents a file.

Intensity The brightness of a light source.

Interface The computer environment that a user interacts with.

Internet The worldwide network of networks.

Interpolation The computer's ability to add detail to graphics, audio, or video, like filling in the dots. Interpolated detail is not detail true to the original source of information.

Intranet A network that is confined to a specific company or establishment and is not accessible to the public.

Jaggies The stair-stepped effect along the edge of bitmapped graphics.

Jpeg A graphics file format that is best for photographs.

LAN A network of computers that is housed within a relatively small area.

Line weight The thickness of a line; often measured in points, similar to text.

Link The connection or path that a computer maintains to locate and use a specific file.

Lossy compression Data compression type that can degrade the original multimedia object with repeated use.

Lossless compression Data compression type that does not degrade the quality of the original multimedia object or file.

Megabyte Unit of measurement of binary data equal to one million bytes.

Multimedia The communication of ideas and information through the use of multiple computer elements presented in an interactive electronic environment.

Network Having two or more computers that are connected and able to exchange data.

Noise In computer graphics, the addition of random pixels with random color values.

OCR Computer software that is able to translate bit mapped graphics of text images into editable text documents.

Online Having a current connection to the World Wide Web.

Operating system The bottom-level set of software instructions that a computer must have to operate.

Output devices Hardware devices that serve to display or present computer data.

Palette The colors that are available for graphic display at any one time.

Path The instruction a computer uses to find specific file.

Plug-ins Mini-software instructions that are added to a base software application to extend its capabilities.

Pointing device Any hardware device that directs the pointer on the computer screen and enables human interaction with the computer.

PPI The method of measurement for computer monitor displays.

Presentation A compiled multimedia display having a flow of information displayed in a linear or nonlinear sequence.

RAM The computer memory used to temporarily hold instructions and data being used by the computer. Access to RAM is faster than with other areas of data storage.

Raster graphics Bitmap graphics.

Removable storage Hardware devices, such as floppy disks, on which the computer can read and write data for storage and archiving purposes.

Render The computer processing of graphic information to create a finished image or animation.

Resolution The pixels-per-inch information for an individual graphic.

RGB The three primary additive colors that produce all other colors by being mixed in various intensities.

Rollover The on-screen activity of moving the pointer over an object or area that triggers some other activity.

Sample rate The preset rate of intervals per second for capturing sound. Higher sampling rate equals higher quality sound as well as larger file size.

Scanner Input hardware that is able to translate a graphic image into computer data so that the image may be manipulated and displayed on a computer.

Simulation The imitation of something that occurs in real life.

Software Sets of instructions provided to computer hardware to perform specific tasks and functions and to present specific information. Any multimedia project, saved to any type of removable media, is software.

Sound card Expansion card that is installed on the motherboard and converts analog data to digital data, and vice versa.

Text Alphanumeric characters in the computer's character set. One of the six main elements of multimedia.

Transition A separate effect in presenting digital audio, or video that ties one part to another so there is no pause in the playback.

Tweak To take some computer element and do some little thing to it to make it better.

Typeface The appearance of characters in a font.

Typography The study of types and fonts.

Uploading The process of one computer sending data to another over the Internet or another network.

Vector graphics Computer graphics that are drawn by descriptions of size, shape, position, color, and line weights.

Waveform The graphic representation of a sound showing time on the horizontal axis and amplitude or strength on the vertical axis.

Wavelength The distance between peaks and valleys in a waveform.

Web page A computer-created and -generated location that contains elements of multimedia information specific to its creator's specifications and is available to anyone accessing the World Wide Web.

Web site A computer that is accessed for specific web page information.

White space In graphic design, the areas that contain nothing to draw attention; a place for the eye to rest. White space is also applied to audio as the silent spaces between sounds.

Workstation The separate components of a computer system that combine to make a functional system.

WWW A worldwide network of linked documents.