xara menu maker and sitespinner

[hidden]

So I built the buttons I like with a drop down menu and now I can't figure out how to put in the links that the buttons go to because it just inserts a place holder in the design view. Have you tired that yet Sammy or anyone or do you have any idea how to do it? I think I recall that you used menu maker before.

[hidden]

Wow after all the looking it figures I would find a tutorial on menu making after coming here. Now do I understand it? NO. lol But I found it and I suppose what I do is use the gifs from the menu maker and just utilize them as it is shown ini the tutorial. But still, if anyone has created a drop down type menu I would love any tips I can get. Do you have some on your page that I can look at? Thanks ..  This looks tedious!

[hidden]

Even though I bought Site Spinner Pro, I have not used it because I am mostly using Xara Web Designer these days. If Site Spinner uses a placeholder for menus, then probably you can insert HTML where the placeholder is. If this is the case, then prepare your Xara menu in the normal way. Open the "navbar.html" file (or whatever you have named the navbar) in Notepad, and copy the line which looks something like this (depending on what you have named your navbar): <script src="xaramenu.js"></script><script Webstyle4 src="horiz_navbar.js"></script>

Put this line in the "insert HTML" of the placebar. Of course you have to make sure all the navbar files are in the right directory so that they are uploaded correctly. All this assumes my guess about the placeholder in SS is right! 

Rick

[hidden]

Thanks but I don't think that will work for a drop down menu with links. As there is no place to insert the links. I don't see a note pad file in there with the one I saved either. They actually have a tutorial for how to build a drop down menu that I found but boy is it confusing me. I bet it isn't that hard once I do it. It just looks tedious. In this case, you build the menu - insert the images on the page itself and z layer them while marking them with the link you want. Then you assign them an action - I have the pro version and wow is it smoking with things it can do. I am just using it for the first time. I haven't tried xara and I already have a few years with spinner now so most of it other than the new features are easy for me. Does xara build for phones as well? This is one feature I really like is that you can simultaneously build for phones or hand helds and regular sites.

[hidden]

I bought spinner but not installed it yet     
Just too many things on my plate to work with new program but guess I will have to start.

Does xara build for phones as well? This is one feature I really like is that you can simultaneously build for phones or hand helds and regular sites.

Xara's  builder has great features and some that hopefully will be addressed in the next version.
(I have the separate builder AND XXP 5 with the builder inside and both have some FABULOUS features and some rough edges that need to be addressed).
Well...does not directly build for cell phones. But don't know if that is so important now.  Iphones/Itouch have WONDERFUL viewing of normal websites, nothing special is needed to view them.  Even my windows cell phone can now see a regular web page (since I installed SKYFIRE with similar features to Safari on the iphone).  Having special pages for the cell phone is diminished now that browsers are working better with mobile devices.

[hidden]

Wanda, Xara Web Designer also has a way of making menus, it seems similar to what you described with SS. But I gave up trying to understand it! Making menus in Xara Webstyle (or Menu Maker) is so easy, flexible, and has many options and designs. So I find it far easier to use that, then simply put the menu into any web design software using "insert HTML". It certainly would work for a drop-down menu with links. I do it all the time.

I use both XWD and Dreamweaver, and I do it that way with both of them. It is a snack!

Rick

[hidden]

I don't have menu maker but have used webstyle with GREAT success.  Love that little program and am very sad they dumped it....  If they put that ability into the web designer program it would be a smash hit!!!

[hidden]

Wanda, Xara Web Designer also has a way of making menus, it seems similar to what you described with SS. But I gave up trying to understand it! Making menus in Xara Webstyle (or Menu Maker) is so easy, flexible, and has many options and designs. So I find it far easier to use that, then simply put the menu into any web design software using "insert HTML". It certainly would work for a drop-down menu with links. I do it all the time.

I use both XWD and Dreamweaver, and I do it that way with both of them. It is a snack!

Rick

Rick, I tried inserting the html - but what happened is that there are no links associated with the menu. It looked great, the tabs slid open and my sub categories were there but I had no links to anything. I couldn't figure out how to insert links. So the step by step build seems like the only way. I looked all over menumaker for a place to insert an html link perhaps for building the html file but there wasn't a space for it.

Did I explain that correctly? I hope so because if there is a way to insert the links I would be thrilled and it will save me hours of work.

[hidden]

Wanda, I have not used Xara Menu maker, but as I understand it, it is exactly the same as the menu maker built into Xara Webstyle. They just sold the menu maker as a separate item, but I believe it is exactly the same.

When you create a menu in Menu Maker, click on the Menus button. There you will find the field to add links for each button and drop down item in the menu. This field is titled URL. You can add any kind of link: pages, anchors, or URL's.

When you save the menu, it creates a number of files. Included in these are .js files. These contain all the details of the menu, including the links. Make sure you upload all the files (in a suitable directory) to your web server. Add the HTML script to your website as I described in an earlier post.

Here is an example of a site I am working on right now. It is built with XWD, but uses a menu made in Webstlye and imported with "insert HTML": h**p://www.bushtrack.com.au/gcs_v5.0

Rick

[hidden]

(I recognize the animated flash on left!  )

[hidden]

  I found it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know how I missed that before - and it wasn't in the help files as to how to add the url.!!! I am so excited! I owe you a hug!    Oh wow hours and hours saved! 

[hidden]

Pleased to be of help Wanda.  

Yes Sami, the very same animated flash! This customer is a friend of mine and very slack in providing info, so that site has been a long time in the making! I recently had a problem with layers, and got fantastic response from the Xara forum - problem solved within a few hours, including a specially made tutorial.

Rick

[hidden]

 

[hidden]

Oh darn it! Not so fast on the applause! GRR I just did tests all day and can't get the menu to work in terms of how it layers over every thing below it - (And it doesn't show up on EX at all! New Ex too)

To explain:

Placing the menu at the top of the screen it needs to expand down to show the sub categories.
In ss one inserts an HTML placeholder where the HTML file goes
On a blank page Fire Fox preview it works beautifully including links. (It doesn't show up on Ex preview :-( )
But - obviously, the menu opens and drops down. When it does, if the place holder is spread the length it needs to drop down, it covers up every thing on the page below it. Meaning the background of the menu covers everything in the space provided below.
I will have a long list of sub categories so no way can I have visually 3 or 4 inches below the button tabs to allow the sub menus to display.
I have played with the z order and no matter what I do it isn't working.
Either the object I place to the front covers the menu or if I place the object behind the menu then it still won't drop down unless I expand the space needed which obviously covers it up.
There is java script included with this program.
I can't figure out where that goes at all.
Rick, your comment makes me wonder if you ever used a drop down menu  and if you can tell me anything about this problem.

(Sammy) Why does the screen here and in all the places I try to type, stop loading down and start hiding the bottom of the window to type in once I reach about to the end of where the side slide bar is? I can keep typing but it the screen jumps continually and I can't see what I am typing at all - such as now.

[hidden]

Wanda, I am not clear about what you want to do. Did you look at the example in my last post? Is what you are trying to do similar in principle to this, or something else?

If I understand you correctly, you are saying that the placeholder needs to be the size of the expanded menu, therefore covering everything in the space below. Why does the placeholder need to be like that? Surely the placeholder would be the size of the unexpanded menu. For a placeholder, I normally use the graphic from the menu files, which shows the complete, unexpanded menu.

When the menu is operating, it is normal for the expanded menu to briefly cover part of the webpage under it.

Am I off the track, or is this what you refer to?

Rick

[hidden]

Hi Rick - I am trying to post a page to look at with it installed but haven't had any success with that. I moved the folder to the web site and maybe I have to change the html file to link to the folder there. I must be missing a big step. I will be back later or tomorrow with what ever I can come up with if anything and address your comments. I really appreciate your help!

[hidden]

Yes, you have to make sure the HTML code correctly defines the exact same folder and string where you have put the menu files. To use my previous example:

<script src="xaramenu.js"></script><script Webstyle4 src="horiz_navbar.js"></script>

You need to change "horiz_navbar.js" to whatever you called your menu, and make sure the folder heirarchy is also correct. For example, if you put the menu bar in another folder below the top level, you would have to change the script to:

"other_folder_name/navbar_name.js"

It is most likely just a small step you are missing, not a big one!