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RWDe Header/Footer Links Tab (Content Sub-tab)
The Header/Footer Links Tab in the RWD Administrator form is used to convey site-pervasive links (this is our recommendation, not a requirement). By site-pervasive links, we mean those links that are the same on all pages and are not page-specific. Examples of site-pervasive links are links to the school or corporate home page, a district site, central calendar, etc.
1) Header Links Broadcast Behavior
A powerful feature of RWDe with respect to the links used in the administrator form is the ability for the administrator to choose how the links appear on all of the sub-sites; the links created by the administrator can either replace the links on all sub-site pages or they can be added to the local user's links. Certain settings can turn the section on or even off in all sites if the RWDe Administrator so desires.
There are a number of settings in this control that will affect all pages in the site regardless of the level of control set by the RWDe Admin Form.
The Broadcast setting in this control works in conjunction with the Allow User's To Override Admin Format control on the Page Tab of the RWDe Admin form, and the Local RWDe Builder form to determine the actual result that will display on the web.
For a detailed explanation of the behavior of web pages based on the value in this control and the modifying conditions that can exist, please see the Diagram in the document entitled Appendix C - RWDe Logic Diagram - Content Broadcasting located in the appendix section of this help. A table displaying the effects of the various settings in conjunction with the RWDe setup can also be viewed in this document.
Note: Since the Header / Footer links bar is only as wide as the page itself, care needs to be taken to ensure that the number and width of the text in the links does not exceed the width of the page. Because of this possibility, it is recommended that the administrator choose either to replace all user's links or avoid using the links.
2) Include Footer Bar
This option determines whether or not the page will have a Footer Links Bar. It can be activated independently of the Header Links Bar but the object itself is an EXACT copy of the Header Links bar (including any defined graphics) so consideration needs to be given to how it will look on the page if you have used graphics in the Header Links Bar as part of your design.
3) Header Links – Add, Remove, Insert Rows
These buttons allow you to manage the links that will appear in this section.
Add New Row: Creates a blank row after the last existing row
Remove Selected Row: Deletes the rows that is currently selected
Insert New Row: Creates a new row above the currently selected row. To Insert a row, click in the row below where you want the inserted row to appear and then click on the Insert New Row button.
Note: It may appear that the feature is functioning properly at when you insert rows at first but once you click into the other rows or close the RWD form and re-open it, the rows will appear properly.
4) Top Menu?
This field is used to determine which Links or graphics appear in the Header Links Bar when the page loads. If you are NOT using the Header Links bar as a drop down menu, you may leave this field unchecked for all rows. If you wish to have some links only become visible as a drop down when a user hovers their mouse over a specific link, check this field for the link that you wish to be at the top (visible on the bar) all of the time.
All other rows below a row where the Top Menu field is checked will not be visible on the web page until a user hovers over the link that is visible (with this field checked) or clicks on the small icon that denotes the presence of additional links.
For example, the following Images show how the settings in a form will display on the web:
Setting Links in the Builder Form like this:
Will result in the links on the page appearing like this:
A) Checking the Top Menu? Field will ensure that the Text in this row will appear on the Header Links Bar at the top
B) Entering text in a row with no link (or the # character, which we prefer) will cause a grouping condition to exist
C) Sets of related links that exist between no-link rows will appear grouped in the menu
D) The next Row with the Top Menu? Field checked will appear beside the last one with the same setting at the top of the menu
Important Note for this feature: When using drop down menus, the alignment of your Header Links Bar links can ONLY be set to left and right, centering is not supported. Due to the nature of the object being used to accomplish drop down menus, setting the alignment of the links to right will reverse the order that the links appear in on the bar in the web page. If you wish to use a right alignment, you will have to build your menu in reverse order to how you wish it to appear on the web.
5) Header Links - Image
Creating a link is simple. A graphical image (such as a web button or other small graphic - 20 pixels high or less is recommended) can be used as a bullet if desired. The image must be uploaded to the FirstClass server, to the site in which it is being called and the path to the container it has been stored in must be entered as well as the image file name.
6) Header Links - Display Text
The displayed text for the link should be kept to a reasonable length due to the limited width of the page.
7) Header Links – Link URL
As in all other cases in the administrator form, links must be in the full internet syntax if calling pages located outside of the local site and, if calling a page within the local site, the absolute path from the root of the site must be given because the .sitepref form affects all pages in the system.
8) Header Links – Link Opening Behavior
Some links (particularly links that lead to other web-sites) can be made to open in a new browser window so that the web user does not drift away from the core site. Other links can open in the same window.
9) Header Links – Link Special Format
If you want your link to open a calendar or other FirstClass object (like a conference or a folder that doesn't contain any web pages), you can tell RWDe to do this in a way that makes the content very usable on the web. RWD contains a special set of features that create a different kind of page when displaying FirstClass content such as Calendar items, Conference Items, Documents that are NOT web pages, and 'stuff' in folders.
If the destination of the link is a FirstClass object, this control tells RWD to keep the Header Section, Navigation Sidebar, Header Links, Information Sidebar, etc. all in place and replace the Body content with the object that is being linked to. If linking to another Web page or a location within the existing page, select None.
New in Version 2 is the ability to show Calendars in any of three default views - Month view, Week View or Current Day View. Also, if you want to allow users to log right in to FirstClass via the web but would like them to be able to keep their RWD web page navigation elements as well as the graphical layout you have built in RWD, you can use another new template that will accomplish this called FC Templates. The table on the next page shows the available options.
Special Formatting Options for Links In RWD (Header Links and Navigation Sidebar)
Select the appropriate item from the list to set the link to open the way you want:
Setting |
Purpose /Effect |
none |
The default value which is used for all links that are NOT FirstClass container objects (calendars, folders, conferences, etc) unless the conference or folder being opened contains a web page. Links to other pages in the site, markers in pages, or other, external websites should be set to none. This is BY FAR the most common setting |
FirstClass Object |
Use FirstClass Object to open folders or conferences in a list view. DO NOT use this setting to open a web page itself because this setting causes a frame to be created that is meant to be filled with FirstClass documents of messages. You could use this setting if you wanted to display an external website in the Page Body area of your RWD page however. DO NOT OPEN ANY LINKS WITH THIS SETTING IN A NEW WINDOW (leave checkbox unchecked) |
Calendar Monthly View |
Use this setting to open a calendar in a Month view inside a frame that will replace the page body content of the current page. Users can switch between views when viewing the calendar on the web. DO NOT OPEN ANY LINKS WITH THIS SETTING IN A NEW WINDOW (leave checkbox unchecked) |
Calendar Weekly View |
Use this setting to open a calendar in a Week view inside a frame that will replace the page body content of the current page. DO NOT OPEN ANY LINKS WITH THIS SETTING IN A NEW WINDOW (leave checkbox unchecked) |
Calendar Daily View |
Use this setting to open a calendar in a Month view inside a frame that will replace the page body content of the current page. DO NOT OPEN ANY LINKS WITH THIS SETTING IN A NEW WINDOW (leave checkbox unchecked) |
RWD Nav Left |
Almost exactly the same as the FirstClass Object setting, use this to open folders or conferences in a list view. The difference with this setting is that any subconferences or subfolders in the container being opened up will appear down the left side of the frame as opposed to at the top of the frame.
Again, DO NOT use this setting to open a web page itself because this setting causes a frame to be created that is meant to be filled with FirstClass documents of messages. You could use this setting if you wanted to display an external website in the Page Body area of your RWD page however. DO NOT OPEN ANY LINKS WITH THIS SETTING IN A NEW WINDOW (leave checkbox unchecked) |
RWD Nav Top |
This setting currently functions exactly in the same way as the FirstClass Object setting but may change a little in a future release of RWD. Essentially it is only slightly different than the RWD Nav Left setting because in the RWD Nav Top setting, subfolders and conferences and calendars are all listed horizontally above the list view of the conference being opened DO NOT OPEN ANY LINKS WITH THIS SETTING IN A NEW WINDOW (leave checkbox unchecked) |
FC Templates |
These templates access the full FirstClass templates. This link is generally only used with the '/login' link to enable you to allow users to log in to FirstClass without leaving your RWD site. Instead of opening a new browser window and effectively 'leaving' the RWD site, using this template produces the result that whatever object you open (folder, conference, calendar, or your FirstClass desktop) will open with the full FirstClass templates in a frame on the current page. DO NOT OPEN ANY LINKS WITH THIS SETTING IN A NEW
WINDOW (leave checkbox unchecked) |
Message Blog |
This setting displays the contents of a folder or conference in a Blog view. The container being opened must have the Preview feature activated to operate fully. DO NOT OPEN ANY LINKS WITH THIS SETTING IN A NEW WINDOW (leave checkbox unchecked) |
Fixed Height |
Similar to the FC Templates and RWD Nav left and Top settings, this setting forces the framed area to remain 600 pixels high, regardless of how many or how few items are in the conference or folder that you are opening. This rectifies a problem faced when a list of documents was opened with only a few items in the list. It also fixes the problem some users experienced when opening PDF or Word files inside the frame where the document would open in a very short window. DO NOT OPEN ANY LINKS WITH THIS SETTING IN A NEW WINDOW
(leave checkbox unchecked) |
Podcast |
FirstClass Podcasts have been added to the pickers in RWD and if you wish to have a link to a Podcast, use this setting as the special format for the link. DO NOT OPEN ANY LINKS WITH THIS SETTING IN A NEW WINDOW (leave checkbox unchecked) |
Embed Today's Events |
New in RWD version 3 is the ability to embed calendars and conferences or folders right in the Navigation Sidebar. This setting embeds a list view of a specific calendar (must be named in the Link To field) for today's events only. Clicking on the event will open the named calendar to that specific event. DO NOT OPEN ANY LINKS WITH THIS SETTING IN A NEW WINDOW (leave checkbox unchecked) |
Embed Monthly Calendar |
This setting embeds a Month view of a specific calendar (must be named in the Link To field) which will show days with events in them as bold. Hovering a mouse over any day with events in it will pop up a window showing the events for that day listed. Clicking on a specific event opens the calendar to that event and clicking anywhere other than on a specific event opens the calendar to that specific day. The Month Name and year will display as a Headline. DO NOT OPEN ANY LINKS WITH THIS SETTING IN A NEW WINDOW (leave checkbox
unchecked) |
Embed Container |
The content of conferences and folders can be displayed in the Navigation Sidebar as a list. The list will show up to the 6 most recent items (most recent at the top) but the Headline will indicate how many items are in the container. Hoving the mouse over any item will pop up a window with a preview of the underlying content and clicking on an item in the will open that item to display the whole contents of the document / message. DO NOT OPEN ANY LINKS WITH THIS SETTING IN A NEW WINDOW (leave checkbox unchecked) |
Embed Container Scrolling |
This is the same format as the Embed Container above except that it displays all items (not just the first 6) in the conference in a scrolling format. DO NOT OPEN ANY LINKS WITH THIS SETTING IN A NEW WINDOW (leave checkbox unchecked) |
Insert a blank Row (RWD 4.5) |
This creates a blank row in the Navigation Sidebar ONLY. The height of the blank row can be changed by putting the pixel size you want the space to be in the Display Text field of the form. If no value is entered, a regular return will be generated at the font size as dictated in the page builder form or the .sitepref form. Click on image at right for an example:  |
Super Important Feature!: Release 4.5 of RWD has a feature that is very useful.
The situation up until this release was that if a builder made a link to a calendar or conference or folder (an object) using the special formats above, the object would open up in a frame in the current page. While this was not a significant problem for end node sites such as a teacher site, it could be very confusing if the link was put in the RWD Site Administrators Form (.sitepref) where the link would appear on all pages. The confusing part is that a visitor to the website could be on a page that was called 'athletics' for example but if they clicked on a link to the district calendar or district news, these objects would just open up. Unless the web visitor was aware of what had happened, they might believe that, because the page name and title was 'Athletics', that they were looking at the Athletics News or
Athletics Calendar.
The remedy for this was some significantly complex code that had to be put in the Link field in the RWD form in order to take the web visitor to another page, say a page called 'Calendar' and then open the object.
Now the good news:
Using the new syntax, you can tell RWD to open an object (Calendar, Conference or folder) using any of the above special formats that are appropriate:
FirstClass Object
Calendar Monthly View
Calendar Weekly View
Calendar Daily View
RWD Nav Left
RWD Nav Top
FC Templates - use at your own risk - test lots
Message Blog
Fixed Height
Podcast
Syntax for opening an object on a different page than the current page:
Object path and name:Page path and name - Set one of the special formats above in the special format field
Example: to open a monthly calendar called "District_Calendar", located in the root of the site in a special calendar title page called "Calendars", also in the root of the site, the syntax would be:
/District_Calendar:/Calendars (and the special format would be set to 'Calendar Monthly View')
In the RWD form (.sitepref or the page builder form, Navigation Sidebar or Header Links Bar), the link above would look like:
Navigation Sidebar Tab Shown in above example
RWD Header/Footer Links Tab (Modify Colors and Fonts SubTab)
1) Alignment
This setting determines the alignment of the links in the Header Links Bar - Left, Right or Centred on the page.
2) Header / Footer Links Background Color
The Header / Footer links bars can be formatted to be a solid color using the Background color picker.
3) Header / Footer Links Background Image
Instead of a solid color making up the Header Links Bar, one of the pre-loaded graphical bars can be selected to constitute the formator, if desired, a customized graphical bar can be uploaded and referenced here using the standard administrator form syntax as previously described. If using a custom graphical bar image, make sure that it is not larger than 23 pixels high for best results unless you are using a left or right graphic image to set the bar height to fixed. Also, ensure that the background graphic is of a format that allows it to look good when tiled across the page.
4) Left Image
You may wish to have an image in the Header Section that transcends all sub-sections. You can use the image field here to enter the path and filename of a stand alone image or an image that has been cut from a larger image (to carry a visual continuity accross the various sub-sections of the Header section). An image in this field can also be used to set the Header Links bar to a specific height as well. An image in this field will appear at the very left end of the Header / Footer Links bars.
5) Right Image
Exactly the same as the Left Image, except that it appears on the right side of the Header Links Bar. In order for links to appear properly aligned, we recommend putting an image in this field if you have one in the Left Image field. You can use invisible (transparent) images if need be.
6) Header / Footer Links Font and Font Attributes
when formatting the font for the actual links on the Header / Footer links bar, it is important to choose a font size that will properly fit all of the links across the page and to choose a font color that contrasts with the color or graphic chosen for the bar itself.
7) Header Links Hover Format
New in RWD 2 is the ability for Header Links text to be formatted differently when hovered over by a user’s mouse.
9) Use Customized Item Separator
The default item separator in the Header Links Bar is the pipe Character (|) however, you can customize this and use either an image or any other character or string of characters. Checking this checkbox reveals the fields needed to define a custom separator.
10) Use Image
If you wish to use a graphical image to separate items in the Header Links Bar instead of a character or string of characters, check this box and then enter a path and file name to your uploaded image in the next field.
11) Image Path and Filename OR Text Character
This field serves two purposes, depending on the state of the 'Use Image' checkbox. If the 'Use Image' field is checked, this field is meant to contain the path and filename of the image you want to use to separate the links in the Headr Links bar. If the 'Use Image' field is unchecked, this field should contain the text character or characters that you wish to use as a separator.
12) Character Font Color
If using a character instead of an image as a custom separator, this field will determine the color of the character(s) you use.
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