How to create button backgrounds with css - html

Question

I read once how to create cross-browser rounded buttons with shadow using images, I lost my bookmarks unfortunately that's why I ask does anybody remember the technique.
There is left side picture i.e
And then very wide body image which ends up with right curved border/shadow like this :
So at the end you end up with one button which can be used with multiple sizes? I was googling this, but it seems noways everyone use css without images.
Does anybody knows how this technique is called or can refer me to the link? or give me code example, I'd appreciate any of those

Answer 1

When using an image for the start and one for end of the button, these technique is called "sliding doors" and there are myriads of search results with any search engine…
For an introduction read the A List Apart article: http://www.alistapart.com/articles/slidingdoors
But as Neurofluxation asked you in the comment above: Why the hell would you do that years after we have multiple other methods of styling a button in CSS? The A List Apart article for example is from 2003 - which is an age in Internet terms.

Answer 2

This technique is a variation of the "Sliding Doors" technique:
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/slidingdoors/
http://css-tricks.com/snippets/css/perfect-css-sprite-sliding-doors-button/
http://azadcreative.com/2009/03/bulletproof-css-sliding-doors/
Basically you use markup like this:
<button><span>Text</span></button>
Then style the span with the edge image to the side, overlapping the main background image of the parent element. Something like this:
button {
background:url(main-image.png) top right no-repeat;
border:0;
padding:0;
width:80px; /* with only 1 "door", you might need to set a width */
/* other resets may be necessary */
}
span {
background:url(left-door.png) left top no-repeat;
}
button, span {
height:37px; /* height of your sprite */
display:block;
}​
Demo: http://jsfiddle.net/Kqs3m/
Your results may vary depending on your sprites and the natural width of the content.

Answer 3

Here's the technique which I think you are looking for (using the same images you attached):
HTML:
​<a href="#" class="button">
<span>Small</span>
</a>
<a href="#" class="button">
<span>Large button</span>
</a>​​​​​​​​​​​​
CSS:
​.button {
background: url('http://i.stack.imgur.com/htUHL.png') no-repeat left top;
padding-left: 9px;
height: 37px;
display: inline-block;
text-decoration: none;
color: #555;
text-shadow: 0 1px 1px #FFF;
font-family: sans-serif;
font-size: 0.8em;
}
.button span {
background: url('http://i.stack.imgur.com/ID6nO.png') no-repeat right top;
display: inline-block;
height: 37px;
padding: 5px 12px 5px 3px;
}
.button:hover span {
​color: #333;
}​
Link to the demo: http://jsfiddle.net/v284q/

Answer 4

Using CSS properties instead of images can make your applications faster.
In this case you could just use: Border-Radius, Box-Shadow combined with a gradient background.
Here you can find a good Gradient Editor:
http://www.colorzilla.com/gradient-editor/
How to use Border-radius and Box-shadow:
http://www.css3.info/preview/rounded-border/
http://www.css3.info/preview/box-shadow/