Nav Bar

[Kitty Hopkins]

Can't change colors on the nav bar. Been working on it for days. One of my customers wants a nav bar with just words and | to separate the pages. I finally managed that, but the words disappear on mouse-over. Couldn't get that fixed so I picked one from the design menu and managed to get it white with the color for text that she wants ... but now the background on mouse-over changed to blue and she hates that. (www.mcfeelywindowfashions.com)

The other customer's page background is black and I made a new nav bar from the design group and can't get it to stop making the mouse-over color orange. (www.merkertinteriors.com)

Probably about the 7th nav bar for each and hours of work trying to get it to change. I just downloaded the latest version of Web Designer 7. I go into edit nav bar and select menu style, but no matter what I do, it doesn't change.

So, do I start over again? Is there an answer or step-by-step to accomplish a non-design nav bar.

Thanks for the help

[gwpriester]

Welcome to TalkGraphics Kitty

If your client wants a simple nav bar with | to separate the links then I would create a simple line of text using the | to separate the text. HOME | ABOUT US | OUR PRODUCTS, ,etc.

You can change the color and remove the underscore in the Website Properties > Website tabbed section.

Alternatively, you could create your own mouse over button with a rectangle and text. The rectangle can be the same color as the page background so it will not appear to be a rectangle. Group your text and the rectangle, copy the group to the clipboard (Ctrl c). Select the MouseOver layer and Edit > Paste in Place. Modify the color of the text for the mouse over effect. The rectangle can remain white. So the effect is a text navigation bar. Select both and Arrange > Create Soft Group.

Go back to the mouse off layer, select both versions of the button, and from the Arrange menu, select Create Navigation Bar. Check your preferences, (Horizontal, Vertical, space, equal width, etc. then check the Site Navigation option.

I've attached a file with an all text nav bar for you to de-construct.

[Kitty Hopkins]

2nd try to post this -- the first one dumped me out saying I didn't have permission to access this site. This time I'll copy/paste it so I don't have to do it again. This happened before right after I bought the program and signed up. Here goes:

Thanks for the help and quick reply!

Jumping into the web properties for link colors works much better than nav bar properties. Why do the colors never change when I access nav bar properties?

The first web site I fixed (www.merkertinteriors) is now much better, but sporadic with the mouse-over and visited color options. I can live with that for now until I know everything -- ha!

My real problem (www.mcfeelywindowfashions.com) is for someone who is really particular. So I used web properties and changed the nav bar to plain with burgundy text. The mouse-over should be black text and when you mouse-over all you get is nothing (white text?). If you click it will take you there, but you can't see the text. If you want me to publish it at this point so you can see what I'm talking about, just let me know. It also has sub-links that I don't know how to do by using the rectangle you suggested.

Can you explain the difference between web properties and nav bar properties? Can you guide me about why the text goes white?

Any help you can give me that will keep me from shooting myself or ripping my hair out would be sooo appreciated.

[gwpriester]

Website Properties > Website lets you change the colors for linked text and determine if you want linked text to be underlined. So, if all you want to do is create a simple all text navigation bar then this lets you control the mouse off and mouse over colors.

The colors in the Navigation Bar Tool are for sub menus and have no effect at all on the navigation bar colors.

I know this is confusing.

The only way to change navigation bar colors is to select Ungroup to Edit Graphics in the Navigation Bar Properties menu. Then you need to select one of the buttons, and from the Arrange menu, select Remove Soft Group.

Now you have a mouse off button group and a mouse over button group and you can edit the colors for each.

When you have finished editing the two button groups, select both and Arrange > Apply Soft Group. A soft group connects two objects on different layers.

Delete all the other buttons except the one you just modified then in the Navigation Tool Properties menu, recreate your navigation bar.

[Artyboots]

Wouldn't it be great if, in the nav bar menu, we could also select CHANGE BUTTON DESIGN. It would make the nav bar tool like the one in Webstyle's, and give us complete control over both the button and the drop down. And we wouldn't have to struggle with the grouping/ungrouping graphics thing.

Yes, I want everything

Ali