alt does not always work with all browsers in all scenarios .. you can also use title in addition to alt(or is it 'name'?) but that, too, does not work with all browsers. As Crescent said, if i hold the mouse still over the image, i do see the alt tag(using IE 5.5), but i think since there are people from many countries who use this forum, with many levels of finances(who may be using older browsers) and skills, that a simple straightforward interface would be best. At the very least, have the buttons as you want them on the left but put text links at the bottom for those who cannot view the buttons on the left as you intend for them to. Namaste, odyssey