Custom Navigation Bar

[cursor]

I've dragged a navigation bar from the Design Gallery onto a web page. Digging into its structure, I see that it consists of three buttons — grouped and soft-grouped text and graphic elements on both the mouse-over and mouse-off layers. Right-mouse clicking allows me to edit the properties of the navigation bar (add buttons & sub-buttons, change buttons spacing & orientation, etc.)

Is it possible to turn my own custom button set into such a navigation bar, complete with a Properties dialog? Essentially, I'd like to lasso-select a set of custom buttons, then do Arrange | Create Navigation Bar.

Ideas?

[gwpriester]

Hi Curt

Create a button, add a mouse over button on the MouseOver layer. Select the buttons on both layers and Arrange > Apply Soft Group.

Open the Website Properties menu and select the Navigation Bar icon, this opens the Navigation Bar Properties menu.

Check Site Navigation Bar.

[cursor]

A couple of observations:

1. When examining the same dragged navigation bar, I see that I can select it, then Arrange | Ungroup. Doing so removes the Navigation Bar container (including the Properties dialog). That container cannot be reapplied, except with an Edit | Undo Ungroup.

2. I considered trying to edit/customize the internal shapes within a navigation bar dragged from the Design Gallery. Ctrl+Alt+click allows me to select elements "inside" the navbar. Right-mouse clicking on the internal shapes allows me to select the Shape tool. I can use that tool to delete the outside control points at each side of the rounded-corner rectangle, resulting in a square-cornered rectangle. This must be done for shapes on both the mouse-off and the mouse-over layers.

More experimentation to follow.

[cursor]

Thanks for your post, Gary. I'm going to have to play with that!

I just noticed that I can:

• Create shape & text on mouse-off layer, then group them together.
• Copy the new group, then Ctrl+Shift+V onto the mouse-over layer.
• Ctrl+click on the internal shape at the mouse_over layer, then change its color.
• Lasso-select the 2 groups on 2 layers, then Apply softgroup.
• Right-mouse click and select Create Navigation Bar from the popup menu.
• Shazaam!

I see that there is a topic on this very subject in the online Help: Creating your own Navigation Bars.

I've had Xara Designer Pro X for some time now, but haven't really dug in. I guess it's about time I did!

[gwpriester]

I think you have it!