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XIXL - Parameter Indices
What is a parameter index?
A parameter index is when the menu content is read from a set of
applet parameters placed between the applet tag in your HTML
page. A parameter index can be dynamic if desired (i.e. the HTML
can be dynamically generated by any standard scripting source).
How does the applet know to look for a parameter index?
Please refer to the individual applet documentation. This may vary.
What is the required format of the parameters?
Ensure you have read this first. Then read on.
Each parameter is considered to be one single
entry for the navigation applet.
Order of items: each parameter has a sequentially increasing integer
attached to the parameter name (e.g. "entry0", "entry1", "entry2", etc.
The numbers determine the order in which the items will be displayed in the menu.
So you add a number of parameters like this between your applet tags:
<PARAM NAME="entry0" VALUE="....">
<PARAM NAME="entry1" VALUE="....">
<PARAM NAME="entry2" VALUE="....">
<PARAM NAME="entry3" VALUE="....">
<PARAM NAME="entry4" VALUE="....">
<PARAM NAME="entry5" VALUE="....">
The exact name of the parameter (here: entry) may vary slightly
from applet to applet; please check the individual applet documentation
and any template files which may be in your download package.
The 5 entry segments: Every parameter value MUST contain 5 segments. Each of the
5 segments MUST be separated by a vertical line like this: | (which means that there will be exactly four vertical lines in every entry parameter). Each segment must contain at least one character, even if this is just a blank space Thus an empty but valid line would
look like:
<PARAM NAME="entry0" VALUE=" |1| | | ">
.
The five segments, in order, are interpreted as:
- Appearance entry: contains one or more distinct commands
which affect text and graphics appearing in the menu at this point.
The commands available vary from applet to applet - always look in the applet documentation
under "XIXL commands". Typical commands include TEXT (for defining the text which displays
on a menu item) and ICON (for defining the icon next to the text).
- Hierarchy marker: an integer marking the level at
which the menu item is displayed (1=top level; 2=second level (submenu); etc);
even if the menu applet is not a hierarchical menu, the hierarchy
marker must still be present for cross-applet compatibility.
- Stylesheet marker: an integer indexing the entry
to a set of formatting commands in a stylesheet - it decides how
the entry will appear. Even if the applet you are using does not
have stylesheets, the stylesheet
marker must still be present for cross-applet compatibility.
- Command entry: contains one or more commands to be issued
when the site visitor clicks on the menu entry. These may include
a number of normal hyperlinked URL's. The commands available vary from applet to applet - always look in the applet documentation
under "XIXL commands". Typical commands include LINK (for setting a hyperlink URL)
and SCRIPT (for firing a user-defined javascript function).
- Message: the text which will be displayed in the browser
status bar when the mouse moves over the menu entry; iTree applets
and Sensomap applets
will also display this information in an optional multi-line preview panel immediately below the menu.
An example:
<PARAM NAME="entry0"
VALUE="TEXT:my entry|1|4|LINK:myPage.html,myFrame|description of my page">
This line defines a menu entry with the text "my entry" at the top hierarchical level;
it is formatted according to the 4th entry in the stylesheet
(which you may define by parameter) and when
clicked it loads the page "myPage.html" into the frame "myFrame". When the mouse moves
over the entry, the message "description of my page" appears in the browser status bar.
Can I insert comments and white space to organise my thoughts?
Netscape 6 is extremely sensitive to any unusual comments or code between the applet tags.
For good organisation and long-term maintenance, we recommend you edit and "store" your index in external file format, converting it to parameter format only at the last moment.
How can I debug my external source for errors?
Our applets have an internal error reporting system, which is active if the
escapepage parameter is NOT set. Errors
which are related to index format will usually be accompanied by a line
number, which will tell you approximately where to look for your error.
Are there reserved characters?
Yes. Vertical lines and semi-colons.
To display these, ask us for a customisation.
What are the advantages of external files against parameters?
See this.
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