Navigation using Tabs and Templates

I am attempting to do a navigation bar that uses tabs to direct users from
section to section.

I created a template that contains the navigation system, and allows each tab
to change color on rollover. It works beautifully, except that when a user
rolls over "gallery" and then clicks on it, the tab restores itself to the
original inactive color state.

The question is; how do you make it so that when the user clicks on a section
tab and is redirected to a new section, the tab remains colored appropriately.
I want a universal template that I can apply to all pages and then a way to
make a nested template thats soul purpose is instructing the appropriate tab to
be orange rather than gray.

I do not want to make a seperate template for each section, because then I
will have to update multiple templates whenever I want to make a change to the
basic page layout.

Please help!

This is simple simon.

Depending on how you built your navigation element you could go one of two
ways -

If you are using CSS rollovers for your navigation (i.e., the images are the
background image of pseudo-class definitions - or you are not using images
at all),
you can just make sure that each menu button has a unique id, e.g.,

<a href="c_french.asp" id="button4">French Oak</a><a href="c_european.asp"
id="button5">European Oak</a>

and then use a stylesheet in the editable region in the head like this -

<style type="text/css">
<!--
#button0 {
color: #F5D1B1;
background-color: #999999;
background-image:url(images/buttondown.gif);
}
-->
</style>

where the button number would just be edited on any given child page to
throw that particular button
'down'.

You can see this latter method here -

http://www.oakfurnituremaker.co.uk/

Or, if you are using image rollovers then on your template page do the
following:

1. Select the first menu button. Press the right arrow key once to
position the insertion bar just to the right of the button.
2. Prepare to enter the twilight zone as you now insert the DOWN state of
the button in that location. This will wreck your Design view, but that's
OK since you already have the page built. You will now have this
situation -

<img name="button1up" ...><img name="button1down" ...>

or something like it.
3. Select button1down, and use MODIFY | Templates > Insert Optional Region.
Give this region the name "button1down". UNCHECK the box for Show by
default. Click OK.

You have now made the downstate of button1 invisible on every child page
UNLESS the optional region's controlling boolean is changed from FALSE to
TRUE.
4. Now, select button1up and also apply an optional region to it. But this
time, click on the advanced tab in the Optional Region dialog. Now select
the radio button for an expression, and enter the following expression -

!button1down (that's an exclamation point)

This expression says "if the parameter named button1down is false, do this,
and if it's true, don't do this)".
5. Click OK and admire the mess.

But - wait until you spawn a child page. Everything looks perfect! All
buttons will be in their up state.
6. Now, in this child page, select MODIFY | Template Properties... and
select the button1down parameter. At the bottom of this dialog, you can
enable the option to set the boolean to TRUE, click OK and see what happens
to the child page. Button1 is now shown in the down state.

Repeat this process for each button and you now have a very simple up/down
state system in place for your child pages.

--
Murray --- ICQ 71997575
Team Macromedia Volunteer for Dreamweaver
(If you *MUST* email me, don't LAUGH when you do so!)
==================
http://www.dreamweavermx-templates.com - Template Triage!
http://www.projectseven.com/go - DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
http://www.dwfaq.com - DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
http://www.macromedia.com/support/search/ - Macromedia (MM) Technotes
==================

"serrapumpkin" <webforumsuser (AT) macromedia (DOT) com> wrote

I am attempting to do a navigation bar that uses tabs to direct users from
section to section.

I created a template that contains the navigation system, and allows each
tab
to change color on rollover. It works beautifully, except that when a
user
rolls over "gallery" and then clicks on it, the tab restores itself to the
original inactive color state.

The question is; how do you make it so that when the user clicks on a
section
tab and is redirected to a new section, the tab remains colored
appropriately.
I want a universal template that I can apply to all pages and then a way
to
make a nested template thats soul purpose is instructing the appropriate
tab to
be orange rather than gray.

I do not want to make a seperate template for each section, because then I
will have to update multiple templates whenever I want to make a change to
the
basic page layout.

Please help!