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This page explains all of the extra options hidden away in these menus.
| How to understand the indexsource parameter
STEP 1
Always begin editing the HTML file with the menu in it by opening the file in a simple text editor like Windows Notepad. To open an HTML file with Windows Notepad, right-click on the file while viewing it in Internet Explorer. Theoretically you could also edit the HTML file with the source code viewers of FrontPage or Dreamweaver, but to do this you should be an expert and know how to avoid these programmes rewriting or corrupting your HTML code.
The part of the HTML file you need falls between the <APPLET> tags, where you will see a short series of <PARAM> tags.
STEP 2
<PARAM NAME="indexsource" VALUE="menu.php">
<PARAM NAME="indexsource" VALUE="menu.asp">
<PARAM NAME="indexsource" VALUE="menu.jsp">
<PARAM NAME="indexsource" VALUE="menu.zip,1">
<PARAM NAME="indexsource" VALUE="menu.php,1">
<PARAM NAME="indexsource" VALUE="menu.php,0,-,2000">
<PARAM NAME="indexsource" VALUE="menu.txt,2,GB2312"> |
At its simplest, the indexsource parameter can simply contain the name of a text file, such as menu.txt. The text file must be formatted as described elsewhere in this help system.
A step more complicated is to point the indexsource parameter at a server script, such as a PHP script. The script could produce different menu content for each user, or for each day. The script could look up a database or scan the site for new files, and produce a constantly changing menu.
The indexsource parameter can have extra information inserted into it using commas to separate the pieces of information. Up to 4 pieces of information can be inserted, using commas to seperate them. The first piece of information is usually the name of a file which delivers the menu content. The second piece of information is a number (0 to 4) which specifies the format of the menu content (see below for more details). The third piece of information is usually blank (write a dash - for this), but can contain a character set designation (for example, if you are using Greek, Arabic, Chinese, etc). The fourth piece of information is used for specifying the maximum size of the menu (typical values would be in the thousands).
Not all of these functions are available with the Professional and Lite versions - only the Enterprise version offers all the features of the indexsource parameter.
The meanings of the numerical codes in the second piece of information are as follows.0 = normal1 = zipped2 = special character set3 = zipped with a special character set4 = read from parameters (client-side, not server-side)
More information about specific functions of the indexsource parameter are contained in other help pages - pull down the drop-down box at the top of this page to find these topics.
STEP 3
Always finish your editing session with a test of the new change. Ensure you have saved the HTML file. Remember that the old version may still be cached. If the change does not appear immediately on testing, close down all browser windows and web development environments, and then restart them - this should clear cache. If testing online, ensure that the new file has really uploaded rather than a cached copy of the old one.
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