Rules for "Repeating" Nav Bars across the site

[suzzie1234]

I have made up a "Master Nav Bar Page" on the first page in XWD. Im thinking that I will make all my nav bar changes here to this master copy and then have them repeat throughout the site when I make any changes here in this one place.

Question: If I just group the 20 different objects in my cascading menu nav bar into one large group and say "make repeating layer"...sometimes it does not work consistently on other pages. It seems like I have to have each individual element selected first as individual items... and not as a whole single group for it to work...but then... I have to go and shut off the visible and selected layers on each and every single page after I repeat the bar using this method.

Are there some "Special Rules" that others have found for making sure a master cascading nav bar gets repeated correctly through out the site correctly and most efficiently? Sometimes my repeating Nav Bar does not consistently cascade on other pages sometimes.

My cascading nav bar has master navigation buttons... and then popups... and then multiple menu choices... so its especially important to get things correct for it to continue to work correctly.

Thanks

Suzzie

[cursor]

Hi Suzzie.

If you'll post/attach your master navbar page (.web file), I'll be happy to evaluate what you've done so far, then offer a recommended checklist that should ensure predictable replication across multiple pages.

[suzzie1234]

Thank you Cursor.

The site Im working on has several e-commerce placeholder areas - so while I feel uncomfortable sharing the whole site publically right now...it seems like you are just asking for the Master Nav Bar Page...Thats Fine. I would feel OK about sending the whole site to you privately off line... and then sharing the results back here.

For example: Its been so unpredictable. It will replicate OK on pages 1-4 but then on page 5 the mouseOver states will get replicated... but not the mouseoff states for example...or sometimes the cascading action will not preview correctly for some pages...but OK on others.

Im thinking there may be some exception rules...or rules I dont understand or maybe a process im not following conceptually. The footer elements replicate fine because they are VERY simple with only a box and some text...so no problems there.

When I make a Master Replicating Cascading Nav Bar...Can I group the whole lot of objects then replicate? If I do... I seem to loose the mouseOver actions. If I control select and select ALL the elements individually then it seems to replicate and work mostly...but then I get these unpredictable results sometimes from that.

The file I have here is stripped away from the main site... and is now a standalone page. Just the Master Nav Bar and Footer.

Thank You.

[cursor]

I'm glad that you responded.
I'll look at your file right now.

[cursor]

It looks like what you have structured should work just fine. You'd simply have to make sure that you update any links for new web pages. The buttons appear to be properly constructed and soft-grouped.

[robobugs]

In my NavBar plan, I always made sure none of the layers involved were locked and all were visible. Then I tuned off everything else and selected all of the elements of the NavBar including all sub-menu items. Then, I select repeat on all pages and voila.

Some basic rules I've noticed:

1 - The NavBar will appear in the exact same position relative to the Top Left corner of the pages. If you move it on one page, when you update that page all other pages are moved too.

2 - Pages in the same file will update links between them automatically if you change the page filename.

3 - If you link to a page/filename outside of the current .xar file, you need to update them manually to reflect changes in the destination directory/filename. Then, update repeating objects to spread the change to all other pages.

I have to be aware of this because I have my site broken up into 4 .xar files that are exported to different directories and they all link together as a single site.


Hopefully this helps a little.

[Eyescream]

Suzzie, Real Quick, the sample Nav. .web you included, I saw a mistake (you may have caught it already). But if not, the Main Banner at top reads Retoucing rather than Retouching. (missing the H)
~

[cursor]

For example: Its been so unpredictable. It will replicate OK on pages 1-4 but then on page 5 the mouseOver states will get replicated... but not the mouseoff states for example...or sometimes the cascading action will not preview correctly for some pages...but OK on others.

If you're still having issues and you'd like me to look at the full file, simply attach it to an email. You have my address, I'm sure.