Last week I listed some of the new features you can expect to
find in Version 2 of IMS Studio applications. (Web Engine,
Web Spinner and Web Dwarf). A new feature that seems to be
of interest to many of you is the Navigation Bar Editor with
drop menus. We believe that this will be a very popular
feature that will greatly simplify the creation of advanced
navigation bars.
Even though Version 2 will greatly simplify and improve on
this task, drop menus can already be created using IMS Web
Engine. I consequently decided that it would be useful to
republish an answer to a user question on creating a Drop
Menu.
These are instructions for creating a drop menu. I have also
posted these at is4fig3
with an example.
Drop Menus are a feature of IMS Web Engine. IMS Web
Spinner can produce a Mouse Over Effect which is close but
not exactly the same. In either program, create a text Object
with your links:
The leading <br> is included to force a blank line at the top of
the list. This first line will be hidden under the Menu Bar. This
Object has also been defined in Rich Text Format. If HTML
format is used a <br> must also be included at the end of each
link.
You can assign a background color to this list with the
Shading Dialog. Select the Link List Object. Select the
Shading Dialog (red, green and blue circles), use the sliders to
mix a color or select a color or background picture with the
appropriate button. An outline can be assigned with the
Geometry Editor (Peeling Pattern button). Use the sliders to
assign an outline color and thickness.
Create a Trigger Object. This goes on the Menu Bar and will
trigger the drop menu when the mouse moves over it. It can
also be a text object with or without shading or a Picture.
You may wish to give both Objects an easy to remember
name. Right click the trigger Object to display the Object
Editor. The current name of the Object (Obj1 is the default
first Object name) and will already be highlighted in the
Object Name Box. Type your new name with no more than 9
characters. Something like "Trigger" for example. Exit the
editor and right click the list Object. Change the list Object
name to "List" for example.
In IMS Web Engine, select the 'Mouse Trigger Effect' from
the Wizard Menu. On page one, select the "Trigger" Object
from the 'Existing' drop menu. On Page two select "List"
Object from the 'Existing' drop menu. IMPORTANT, on page
three be sure to check the 'Leave Display Object' check box.
Create a Menu Bar Object. In this example we Imported a
small 10x10 blue rectangle then stretched it to create a
horizontal menu bar. Position the "Trigger Object" over the
blue Menu Bar and the "List" Object underneath with the top
under the Trigger Object. If necessary, use the Arrange
'ToFront' command to move the "Trigger" Object in front of
the Menu Bar and the 'ToBack' Arrange command to move the
"List" Object behind the Menu Bar.
Preview the Drop Menu with the DHTML 4.0 Preview
command.
IMS Web Spinner can be used to create a similar Drop Menu
in the same way with the Mouse Over Wizard. The primary
difference is the List menu will appear whenever the mouse
moves over it and not over the "Trigger" Object.
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