• Search site
• A-Z
• Directory
• myUVM

|

• UVM Home
• UVM WEB GUIDE
• Template Publishing System
  • Why Use the UVM Template Publishing System?
  • Explanation of Template Features
  • Beginner's Guide
  • Maintenance Guide
  • Additional Template Features
    • Template Banner Settings
    • Right Column Features (Quick Links et al)
    • Sub-Menus
    • Placing Your Site in the Context
    • Left Menu Graphics
    • Cascading Style Sheets
    • Courses
    • Phone/E-Mail Directory
    • Campus Map
    • Calendar
    • News
    • Social Media and Web Metrics
    • Using a Configuration File
    • Adding Custom Meta Tags
    • Add Electronic Postcards
    • Adding a Site Table of Contents
    • Organizing Complex Sites Using Magicscript
    • Home Page Options
    • Using HTML Templates
  • Help

Q & a

• FAQ
• How should I organize my site?
• How can I convert my pages to unicode?

Related links

• Image Library
• Picnik: Online Photo Editor
• Editorial Guidelines
• Departmental Account Signup

To-do list

• Add Courses to Your Site
• Add a Calendar to Your Site
• Track your site's traffic
• Create a simple URL
• Redesign my homepage using one of the new templates

Design Feature: Left menu graphic

Introduction

You can place a graphic above your main menu area or at the bottom of your main menu area. Note: if you do not use a main menu this graphic option is not available to you.

(Of course, you are free to add as many other graphics as you would like to your content area on your home page and on your subpages.)

Instructions

• Because your graphic will be placed in the left-hand column it must be 200 pixels in width.
• Give your image the file name default1.jpg, default1.gif or default1.png (depending on the format) and transfer it over to the directory where magicscript.php lives. Don't forget to check permissions.
• File naming option:
  • If you want to name the graphic something other than default1.xxx, then you can. Just give it your own name, e.g., house.jpg.
  • Then, on the 0 Line of your defaultmenu.html or in your configuration file, append: ,image=house.jpg
  • Remember that commands on the 0 Line need to be separated by commas with no spaces around them.
  • This method (specifying the image filename in your defaultmenu.html) will override any default1.xxx image files.

That's it! The magicscript will place the image above your main menu. There are several more options available for this graphic feature.

• You should specify an alt-tag for your file. To do this, you'll need to add code to the zero ine of your defaultmenu.html (note: again, no spaces before or after the comma): ,image_alt= and include an appropriate alternate text for the graphic file. For example: ,image_alt=Image of UVM's greenhouse
• You also can make your image link to a location on the Web. To do so, add code to the zero line of your defaultmenu.html (note: again, no spaces before or after the comma): ,image_link=. For example: ,image_link=http://www.uvm.edu/admissions/ or ,image_link=?Page=apply.html

Formats for Saving Your Graphics

You may save your logo or graphic as a GIF, a JPG, or a PNG. Any of the three extensions will work. GIFs are usually used for illustration, type and simple logos, and JPGs are usually used for photos, while PNG is the newest of these formats and can be used for photos or graphics.

Random Logo on Page Load

Another option you have is to create a collection of graphics that appear randomly as a user navigates through your website. To do this, place all the graphics you'd like to appear on your site in a single directory in the same folder as magicscript.php. Then, in the zero line of your defaultmenu.html file or in your configuration file, use image=directoryname to point to the directory you have created.

Remember to keep all your graphics to a width of 200 pixels and the Web Team recommends maintaining the same height for all.

Flash® Graphic

You may also use an Adobe Flash movie/game as your graphic. Your Flash file should follow the same naming convention, default1, have a .swf extension, and have a width of 200 pixels. The publishing system will include all the proper plug-in information for your Flash movie to play properly on most computers and devices that support Flash.

If you have multiple default1 files in your home directory, the Flash file will take precendence over the non-Flash graphic counterparts.

Graphic Two: Below the Main Menu

It is also possible to have a graphic at the bottom of the main menu area. This graphic must also be 200 pixels in width and will have the same features as the default1 image above with the exception of the file naming, random, and Flash options. This lower graphic must simply be named default2.xxx

The magicscript will place the image below your main menu area. There are several more options available for this graphic, similar to those for the default1 graphic as explained above but using image2_ instead of image_.

• You should specify an alt-tag for your file. To do this, you'll need to add code to the zero ine of your defaultmenu.html (note: again, no spaces before or after the comma): ,image2_alt= and include an appropriate alternate text for the graphic file. For example: ,image2_alt=Image of UVM's greenhouse
• You also can make your image link to a location on the Web. To do so, add code to the zero line of your defaultmenu.html (note: again, no spaces before or after the comma): ,image2_link=. For example: ,image2_link=http://www.uvm.edu/admissions/ or ,image2_link=?Page=apply.html

Last modified October 01 2008 08:31 AM