Newbie HTML question

[Tracey]

I want to put in a button that does the same thing as the browser's BACK button.

Is there a way? If so, what is it?

[mwenz]

<form>
<input type="button" value="Back"
onClick="history.go(-1);return true;">
</form>

or as a text link,

<a href="#" onClick="history.go(-1);return true;">Back</a>

Take care, mike

[gwpriester]

How does Tracey do this Mike? URL? Placeholder? Please be specific and offer details in case the member is not as experienced as you are.

[ShapeShifter]

Yes, this is really becoming Hypertext Markup Language tuition and support rather than Xara Web Designer support.

Remember Tracey, Xara developed this software for people who have no HTML skills and knowledge.
Xara make graphics software and WD is a graphics application, not a HTML editor.

Xara's own sales pitch gives us the clue;

Xara Web Designer is unlike any web design software you will have seen before; an easy template based solution that gives you total page design freedom, no HTML skills required.

Traditional web authoring tools are really just HTML editors, they are designed to create text layouts, providing few graphical capabilities. And yet it's evident that the vast majority of modern websites are of a graphical nature. We believe you should have complete freedom to include anything - text, graphics, photos - anywhere on the page, using just one tool. And you shouldn't need to know, or even see, the HTML that goes into creating your site, any more than a car driver needs to know how an engine works

However, provided you do know some HTML Xara have provided a means of using script snippets by way of placeholders for code insertion into body and head areas.

This is all explained in the Help file under Placeholder Tab. There really is no other way to add code snippets to a Web Designer page via it's UI.
So, any time you see some code suggested - remember that it needs to be added to the page 'body' or 'head' and here is where the Web Properties dialogue helps you.

As a general rule, anything which starts with a <script tag goes into the head section.
Other snippets such as Mike's <form or <a (anchor) will go into the body section.

Take a small amount of timer to watch some xara movies (there's lots of user made movies on YouTube as well) and have a browse through the Help file, someone spent a lot of time writing it

[mwenz]

Well, don't I feel like a putz.

I don't know about WD7 as I have XDP7. But it seems there is a drop down on the Link tab for advancing to next and return to previous pages. So hey, it's built in--at least into XDP7. I'm pretty certain if it isn't the same in WD7 someone will come along and correct the errors of my ways.

But in the interest of times that even in a WYSIWIGGY editor when one may desire to actually do something using a PLACEHOLDER, image or what have you, the code from above, and here again, needs to be placed into the body tag position:

<a href="#" onClick="history.go(-1);return true;">Go Back...</a>

Now, because of the text "Go Back" in the line above, you don't need to actually type it on your page. But, of course you can leave that out and use text, and group to say a rectangle, arrow or anything, and then you would be able to see it before the export.

And Gary, God bless ya.

Take care, Mike

[Tracey]

I tried Mike's stuff, but didn't know enough to make it work.

I found the other stuff talked about above, and bent it to my will. Go HERE and click the "CLICK HERE" link in the first line.

It takes you to a map. The red X on the map takes you back. The "taking you back" was what I wanted to do. I did it by CTRL+SHIFT+W, then linking the graphic object to the Member Directory page. (The only way anybody would get to the map is from the CLICK HERE link, so its OK to take them back to the page where that link lives.)

There is a LOT of useful stuff built into this program. There's a lot of learning to do, too.

Thanks to all for their help.

[covoxer]

There is a tweak with both back and forward history buttons in the tweakset. No need to play with code, just drag and drop.

[mwenz]

No need for even the tweakset (for this) as far as I now understand. Now, as I mentioned above, this is within XDP7, no idea if WD7 is the same or not.

Take care, Mike

[covoxer]

No, it's not the same. These options add actual URL links to the next or previous pages in the document. The browser history doesn't work this way. For example, if you jump from page 3 to page 2, and then use a <previous page> link as you suggest, you'll get page 1. However, if you use browser Back button, or a tweak, you'll get back to page 3.

[mwenz]

John,

The "same" comment was as regards to that option being available in WD7 like it is in DP7, which is all I have. I know it isn't the same as regards to entry point/method and subsequent return.

But, for Tracey's "problem," I think it is the best solution.

I'll personally still code the way I do. It's comfortable and reusable without much thought. I do need to be more attentive to Xara solutions from within Xara products. My errors were two-fold. One was the assumption that Xara methods were already exhausted and a code solution was needed for the problem at hand. A second related one was not looking for an in-built solution (or your tweaks).

Perhaps a third was simply trying to help with an unfamiliarity of web site building with Xara products at all. Which is one reason, I suppose, that I even bother popping into some of these threads. It helps me understand more about web site building in Xara products trying to answer--even when the answer is incorrect. I rest assured that when something I write is off-base or incomplete, someone will be along to slap me up alongside the head.

Best regards, Mike