Harness the Power of CSS with Clippy

Cascading style sheets (CSS) can be one tough cookie to crumble, and there have been a plethora of applications, programs and web services that have sprung up to help burgeoning web developers find their footing in the online world. One of the most important aspects of a successful web page is the implementation of modern aesthetic and functional elements, which does much more than enhance the convenience and oomph of the site itself; it also tells visitors that you're in the vogue and know what their needs are all about. It inspires confidence.

The property of CSS that governs clip-paths is a very simple one, conceptually speaking. While quite important, the fact that it's CSS creates a problem for many right off the bat. Clippy is the spotlight web service in this article, and it offers just about everything you could possibly need to set aesthetic and functional boundaries for your web page elements in CSS style without actually knowing any CSS. In addition, it works as a web-based service, meaning there's no need to download it. Isn't that convenient!

Clippy gives you the power to alter boundary shapes and sort them by layers with a different visual and functional element for each. There are 26 preset shapes to choose from plus one additional option for a custom shape, which allows you to set down at least three vertices and then adjust the exact parameters from there. You can also choose to add vertices to this option, effectively creating any of the preset shapes or allowing you to set the basis for other shapes to be appended for more complex results.

The site helpfully informs you that it's possible to create transitions and animations by creating multiple frames with an identical number of vertices assigned to each. You can create smooth, contemporary motions that respond to user input (such as a mouse-over) or act on their own. Browser support for all of Clippy's features is available across all platforms except Internet Explorer, although support for this may be available in the near future. For now, Firefox and Chrome claim the top two spots on that front, so you're recommended to use those with Clippy's web service.