Getting Started With Version 6
The Sothink DHTMLMenu site has a tutorial for beginners, and we suggest that you use that tutorial to get started. To view the tutorial, click here.
Here are some suggestions based on our use of the program:
1) Don't include menu code in the body of your Web pages; instead, create an external JavaScript file (a *.js include file) when you publish your menu.
Place a link to the main JavaScript file (stmenu.js) between the <head></head> tags of your pages and a link to your menu specification JavaScript file (we named our file "menu.js") in the <body> of your pages. If you use a floating menu and specified x and y coordinates in Global Settings - Menu Type, you should place the link right after the opening <body> tag on your pages. Otherwise, place the link at the location in the page where you want the menu to appear (i.e., within the div or table cell). We used a Dreamweaver template to generate the pages for this site, and we placed the following code between the <head> and </head> tags in the template:
<script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript1.2" src="http://pittwebs.com/sothink6/version6/stmenu.js">
and we placed the following code right below the opening <body> tag in the template:
<script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript1.2" src="http://pittwebs.com/sothink6/version6/menu.js"></script>
Both JavaScript links are in locked areas of the template, so they are included in every page we generate or update from the template.
2) Place stmenu.js, the JavaScript file with your menu specifications, and all other menu resource files (JavaScripts and images) in a separate subdirectory (folder). For this site, we placed the menu resource files in a subdirectory named "version6". During the publish process, you will have an opportunity to copy all resource files to the desired location. Make use of the Global Settings - Web Path and enter an absolute path for Script path and Image path. It is also a good idea to enter a Link Prefix. If you want to preview your pages locally during site development, set the paths as local paths (i.e., C:\mysite\menu) but, before publishing the menu, use absolute paths (i.e., http://mydomain.com/mysite/menu/) for Script path and Image path. Also, set the Link Prefix to your site's URL (e.g., http://mydomain.com/mysite/). Here are the Web Path settings we used for this site:
Script path and Image path:
http://pittwebs.com/sothink6/version6/
Link prefix:
http://pittwebs.com/sothink6/
3) We like to use a floating menu. In Global Settings - Menu Type select Float, specify the X and Y coordinates for the menu, and check "Auto-scroll" for the Y coordinate. One of the arguments for the use of frames is that site navigation is always available. The use of a floating menu keeps site navigation in view without the use of frames.
4) In Global Settings - Highlight make sure that "Auto highlight current item" is selected and select the desired highlighting settings in the Styles box.
5) Important! A recent survey indicated that approximately 10% of Web browsers have JavaScript turned off, and the rate is even higher with some businesses. It is very important, therefore, that you provide an alternative to a DHTML menu. Go to "Advanced>Generate Site Map..." , generate a site map, and place links to the site map in visible locations on each page. On this site, we placed one link in the nav div, where it will be visible if JavaScript is disabled, and another link in the page footer. The site map and links will make the site friendly to search engines and accessible to browsers that have JavaScript disabled.
