Extend the Power of Text

Although there are various elements used in multimedia presentations, text and graphics are the basic components. "Multimedia provides the opportunities to extend the traditional power of text by linking it to other media in new and exciting ways" (Boyle 151). When developing a hypertext system, text is the predominant element. In such as structure, text is viewed in small pieces of information, which link together concepts, thoughts, and similar information. When a text is part of a more complex hypermedia system, providing graphics, sound, or related information, the links become nodes connecting the user with text and other elements to arrange an "expansion on the material presented in those nodes" (Boyle 151). Text can be linked to other media elements to complete the intended message. "The art of hypermedia design lies in the visualization of these nodes and their links so that they make sense, not nonsense, and can form the backbone of a knowledge access system" (Vaughan 234).