MultiLayout Confusion

[Dan]

I have been trying to use the MLR feature in a rather simple website.
I've read the manual and the forum. The manual says to look for a
..basic in the MLR CSS style - it's not there. It says to use the CSS
Common panel for entering changes but it seems the CSS Property panel is
the only option. Okay. There are numerous paths to any CSS code but I
cannot find any 'legend' to help me know which of the CSS codes changes
what. Which changes just the MLR Tab color? The line around it? etc.
etc. I suppose I could just hammer this forum with question after
question but I would rather be more self-reliant.

Is there a legend for the CSS code references used in the MLR or
anything else in NOF?

Dan

[BeachApe]

Search Subject line: "Re: Multi Layout Regions" by BeachApe 12/11/2009.
Answers there.

"Dan" <dan@red74.com> wrote in message
news:hidg7n$9ms$1@DailyPlanet.news.netobjects.com. ..
> I have been trying to use the MLR feature in a rather simple website. I've
> read the manual and the forum. The manual says to look for a .basic in
> the MLR CSS style - it's not there. It says to use the CSS Common panel
> for entering changes but it seems the CSS Property panel is the only
> option. Okay. There are numerous paths to any CSS code but I cannot find
> any 'legend' to help me know which of the CSS codes changes what. Which
> changes just the MLR Tab color? The line around it? etc. etc. I suppose
> I could just hammer this forum with question after question but I would
> rather be more self-reliant.
>
> Is there a legend for the CSS code references used in the MLR or anything
> else in NOF?
>
> Dan

[Dan]

On 1/10/2010 1:40 PM, BeachApe wrote:
> Search Subject line: "Re: Multi Layout Regions" by BeachApe 12/11/2009.
> Answers there.
>
> "Dan"<dan@red74.com> wrote in message
> news:hidg7n$9ms$1@DailyPlanet.news.netobjects.com. ..
>> I have been trying to use the MLR feature in a rather simple website. I've
>> read the manual and the forum. The manual says to look for a .basic in
>> the MLR CSS style - it's not there. It says to use the CSS Common panel
>> for entering changes but it seems the CSS Property panel is the only
>> option. Okay. There are numerous paths to any CSS code but I cannot find
>> any 'legend' to help me know which of the CSS codes changes what. Which
>> changes just the MLR Tab color? The line around it? etc. etc. I suppose
>> I could just hammer this forum with question after question but I would
>> rather be more self-reliant.
>>
>> Is there a legend for the CSS code references used in the MLR or anything
>> else in NOF?
>>
>> Dan
>
>
Your instructions work, and I thank you for that. Why is the top .png
graphic two images? When I open it in a graphic program, it is one file
but the left and right edges are split, with the right side placed under
the longer left? I don't get it.

[Charles Edmonds]

On Thu, 14 Jan 2010 05:21:33 -0800, Dan wrote:


> Why is the top .png
> graphic two images? When I open it in a graphic program, it is one file
> but the left and right edges are split, with the right side placed under
> the longer left? I don't get it.

That is a CSS technique known commonly as "Sliding Doors".

The left side image is anchored on that side, then the right side is set so
that it is stretched to fill the remaining horizontal space.

Since only the right side curve is different from the long section you
don't see the image with any distortion as it fills the gap.

This allows the tab to be different widths (based on the amount of text in
the tab).

Does that help?

Charles


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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Dan]

On 1/14/2010 5:27 AM, Charles Edmonds wrote:
> On Thu, 14 Jan 2010 05:21:33 -0800, Dan wrote:
>
>
>> Why is the top .png
>> graphic two images? When I open it in a graphic program, it is one file
>> but the left and right edges are split, with the right side placed under
>> the longer left? I don't get it.
>
> That is a CSS technique known commonly as "Sliding Doors".
>
> The left side image is anchored on that side, then the right side is set so
> that it is stretched to fill the remaining horizontal space.
>
> Since only the right side curve is different from the long section you
> don't see the image with any distortion as it fills the gap.
>
> This allows the tab to be different widths (based on the amount of text in
> the tab).
>
> Does that help?
>
> Charles
>
>
Now I get it. Thanks for the clear explanation.

[Dan]

I tried editing/creating a nav top file using Xara and exporting to
..png. The alignment always fails. It seems that the very process of
exporting from Xara modifies the NOF program's ability to use the file
as a sliding graphic. I even simply imported the tab_top.png into Xara
and exported it without any modification. The sliding effect failed and
the tabs do not align.

I have used NOF for at least a decade. Websites are not my business. I
use it to make sites for my non-website businesses. I liked it because
I did not have to know a great deal about coding to get a relatively
nice site up and running and that saved me money. Now, NOF has added
features, but for us Weekend Webmasters, those features require too much
coding experience. If I made money from building sites, then the new
features would warrant learning more. But I don't make money from
websites and the NOF program seems to be migrating away from the ease of
use which was its original attraction. I chose NOF over Adobe and other
products for its ease of use and now a simple thing like changing the
color on the tab requires too much time to figure out. It may seem
absolutely intuitive to the web coding community to know which file,
buried in the CSS code, changes different aspects of the new Ajax
features in NOF; but not to a lot of us. A simple legend explaining
which CSS code does what would help.

Sorry for the rant but my experience with version 11 seems to suggest
that the ease of use for the new features is not so easy anymore and
that future versions of NOF are migrating towards the website
professional and away from us non-website professionals.

IMHO

Thanks,
Dan

On 1/15/2010 3:59 PM, Dan wrote:
> On 1/14/2010 5:27 AM, Charles Edmonds wrote:
>> On Thu, 14 Jan 2010 05:21:33 -0800, Dan wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Why is the top .png
>>> graphic two images? When I open it in a graphic program, it is one file
>>> but the left and right edges are split, with the right side placed under
>>> the longer left? I don't get it.
>>
>> That is a CSS technique known commonly as "Sliding Doors".
>>
>> The left side image is anchored on that side, then the right side is
>> set so
>> that it is stretched to fill the remaining horizontal space.
>>
>> Since only the right side curve is different from the long section you
>> don't see the image with any distortion as it fills the gap.
>>
>> This allows the tab to be different widths (based on the amount of
>> text in
>> the tab).
>>
>> Does that help?
>>
>> Charles
>>
>>
> Now I get it. Thanks for the clear explanation.

[Jonathan Bridge]

Dan

You don't HAVE to use all the gizmos!

Speak to graphic designers about websites and they roll their eyes!


The advice I've consistently got from my grahic designer acquaintances is
- keep it simple! less is more!

It's informative content and useful functionality that count. Colour,
contrast and good placement are far more effective than any amount of
flashing or sliding. Oh yes - and a straighforward structure with clear
navigation.

And let's face it, from our own perspective, that way there's less to go
wrong!

Can't say my sites are anything special, technically, but it's true since
I took the advice, the statistics and feedback shows it works.




--

Jonathan Bridge


01878 700828 ; 07793 404379
jonathan@biggarden.co.uk
portal.biggarden.co.uk





On Sun, 17 Jan 2010 22:42:26 -0000, Dan <dan@red74.com> wrote:

> I tried editing/creating a nav top file using Xara and exporting to
> .png. The alignment always fails. It seems that the very process of
> exporting from Xara modifies the NOF program's ability to use the file
> as a sliding graphic. I even simply imported the tab_top.png into Xara
> and exported it without any modification. The sliding effect failed and
> the tabs do not align.
>
> I have used NOF for at least a decade. Websites are not my business. I
> use it to make sites for my non-website businesses. I liked it because
> I did not have to know a great deal about coding to get a relatively
> nice site up and running and that saved me money. Now, NOF has added
> features, but for us Weekend Webmasters, those features require too much
> coding experience. If I made money from building sites, then the new
> features would warrant learning more. But I don't make money from
> websites and the NOF program seems to be migrating away from the ease of
> use which was its original attraction. I chose NOF over Adobe and other
> products for its ease of use and now a simple thing like changing the
> color on the tab requires too much time to figure out. It may seem
> absolutely intuitive to the web coding community to know which file,
> buried in the CSS code, changes different aspects of the new Ajax
> features in NOF; but not to a lot of us. A simple legend explaining
> which CSS code does what would help.
>
> Sorry for the rant but my experience with version 11 seems to suggest
> that the ease of use for the new features is not so easy anymore and
> that future versions of NOF are migrating towards the website
> professional and away from us non-website professionals.
>
> IMHO
>
> Thanks,
> Dan
>
> On 1/15/2010 3:59 PM, Dan wrote:
>> On 1/14/2010 5:27 AM, Charles Edmonds wrote:
>>> On Thu, 14 Jan 2010 05:21:33 -0800, Dan wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> Why is the top .png
>>>> graphic two images? When I open it in a graphic program, it is one
>>>> file
>>>> but the left and right edges are split, with the right side placed
>>>> under
>>>> the longer left? I don't get it.
>>>
>>> That is a CSS technique known commonly as "Sliding Doors".
>>>
>>> The left side image is anchored on that side, then the right side is
>>> set so
>>> that it is stretched to fill the remaining horizontal space.
>>>
>>> Since only the right side curve is different from the long section you
>>> don't see the image with any distortion as it fills the gap.
>>>
>>> This allows the tab to be different widths (based on the amount of
>>> text in
>>> the tab).
>>>
>>> Does that help?
>>>
>>> Charles
>>>
>>>
>> Now I get it. Thanks for the clear explanation.
>