AquaLogic Interaction Administrator Guide

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Selecting a Navigation Scheme for an Experience Definition

For each experience definition you can specify a default navigation style to define the menu layout and core navigation structure most appropriate for your bandwidth constraints, browser requirements, design needs, deployment size, and end-user expectations.

  1. If the Experience Definition Editor is not already open, open it now.
  2. Click the Edit Navigation Options page.
  3. Under Navigation Type, choose a navigation scheme.
    • Horizontal Combo Box Drop-Down Navigation: This navigation scheme uses standard HTML controls to place navigational elements in drop-down menus. Because it does not use JavaScript for rendering menus, this option is bandwidth-efficient.
    • Tabbed Section Left Vertical Navigation: This navigation scheme uses horizontal tabs at the top for the main portal areas, which, when clicked, display links on the left to the options available within that portal area. This scheme is similar to the navigation for sites such as Amazon.com and MSN.
    • Left Vertical Navigation: This navigation scheme lists all available links unless the user minimizes particular elements. It is very easy to use, because users see all links without additional clicks. Because it does not use JavaScript for rendering menus, this option is bandwidth-efficient. However, if users join a large number of communities, they have to scroll to see some of the links.
    • Mandatory Links Only: This navigation scheme displays only the mandatory links (which you specify in the experience definition) using the same menu style used in Horizontal Drop-Down Navigation. Users can see only their home page (the page that displays when they log in) and any areas for which you have created mandatory links. However, they can still access documents through search and might be able to access other areas if those areas are available through portlets. You might use this scheme if you want to severely limit portal access to users. For example, you might want a group of customers to access only a particular community to learn about a new product.
    • No Navigation: This navigation scheme displays no navigation, but includes the top bar. However, there is a link to Administration if the user has access. As with the Mandatory Links Only navigation scheme, users can access portal content and areas through search and portlets.
    • Horizontal Drop-Down Navigation: This navigation scheme uses horizontal tabs and JavaScript-based drop-down menus to access navigation elements. Clicks, not mouse-overs, display the menus. The drop-down menus expand both vertically and horizontally, but cover only the portal’s banner to avoid covering the portlets. If a user belongs to more communities than can fit in the allotted space, a vertical scroll bar appears in the drop-down. You can configure the extent of the vertical and horizontal tiling of the drop-down menus.
    • Low Bandwidth and Accessibility Navigation: Low Bandwidth and Accessibility Navigation is used by low bandwidth and accessibility modes of the portal. This navigation is used by those modes no matter which navigation is selected by the experience definition for standard mode.
    • Portlet-Ready Navigation: Portlet-Ready Navigation disables all navigation areas except the header and footer. The top bar, which includes the search box, is also disabled. This navigation scheme is only used when you are using adaptive page layouts or when navigation is controlled by portlets (usually header or footer portlets) using navigation tags. Adaptive page layouts and navigation tags provide developers a faster, easier way to customize navigation than modifying the other available navigation schemes.
    Note:
    • If you have written your own navigation styles, they should also be available on this page.
    • Vertical navigation styles lessen the page width available for portlets on My Pages and community pages.
    • If you have selected any navigation option other than Portlet-Ready Navigation, do not use the default adaptive page layouts available with the portal. If you use the default adaptive page layouts with other navigation options, users will see two methods of navigation.
    • The experience definition you log into might have a different navigation style than the experience definition you are creating. To make sure that the experience definition you are creating has the appropriate appearance, log in as a user that sees that experience definition.

If you selected Mandatory Links Only, you must now define the mandatory links. See Defining Mandatory Links to Display in an Experience Definition.

If you selected Portlet-Ready Navigation, you must select the header and footer and/or the adaptive page layout settings that define your navigation. See Branding Experience Definitions with Headers and Footers and Applying Adaptive Page Layouts.


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