Tools

Displays the tree design on a WYSIWYG IE browser pane.

This is a fast way to view the changes made during the tree design phase. It is a WYSIWYG window that will help you experiment with your tree properties, observe its behavior and implement its design exactly the way you like.

If the preview window is open and a change is made at the properties or in the menu structure, the preview window signals its non-updated status by the bottom message colored in red.

To show the latest changes in your menu design, press F12 or click the icon in the application toolbar or the button in the Menu Preview window. The preview will then be updated.

Note that you can have your preview automatically updated every time you make a change to the menu by checking the related check box at the Options

Just have in mind that this is not recommended for very large trees as the automatic refresh may slow down the application response to your actions.

Compile Tree

Compiles the .awt file into a .js file that has to be linked to your web pages.

To use a tree menu in your web pages you must take the following four steps:

• Step 1. Compile the tree menu (note: spaces are not allowed in filename)
• Step 2. Link the compiled tree to your web pages using the related application command
• Step 3. Upload the necessary files and folders (see a description of these elements below)
• Step 4. Upload the web pages that contain the tree link

How it works:

When compiling a tree menu as tree.js, the following elements are created inside the same directory:

• The tree.js file that contains the tree contents.
• The domain-specific ldmt.js file, which is the javascript engine (library) that builds the tree on the page for the chosen domain (along with localhost).

The images subfolder (or your custom directory as defined in Project Properties > Compile Properties > Folders) which contains the images used in the tree.

Example

Let's say that the local root folder of your site is the c:\mysite folder and that the contents of your web site are:

| c:\mysite\index.html |

| c:\mysite\companyinfo.html |

| ... |

| c:\mysite\faq.html |

You now design a tree, called tree.awt, and you compile it into a file called c:\mysite\tree.js.

Assuming that you used the gnome theme, your local web site now contains:

| c:\mysite\index.html |

| c:\mysite\companyinfo.html |

| ... |

| c:\mysite\faq.html |

| c:\mysite\tree.js |

| c:\mysite\ldmt.js |

| c:\mysite\images\gnome\*.* |

The elements in bold should be uploaded on the server in the same directory structure where they are locally created.

If you don't upload them or you misplace them on the server, the tree will produce a run-time error and will fail to appear.

Notes:

You can compile the tree anywhere you like within your site's directory structure. This decision should not be affected by the location of the pages you want to link the tree to.

For example, if you want to link the tree into a Dreamweaver template, you are not required to compile the tree into the Templates directory. On the contrary, we do not advise you to do so as you will have to upload the Templates directory on the server too.

In general, simply compile your tree into your root directory or into a manually-created subdirectory and you will be able to link it to any page, shared border, template or library of your web site directory structure.

Extract ldmt.js

How to create and access a programmable tree using the API

• Step 1: Use the application to extract the library file (ldmt.js), which is the engine that generates the trees on-the-fly.
  • To extract the library, go to "Tools -> API: Extract ldmt.js" menu option of the application. Choose a folder where your page containing the tree also resides, as you will later insert a link into this page for the ldmt.js file.
  • The extracted library will be licensed (and functional) for the particular domain specified at your "Project Properties". Note that for testing purposes your trees will always be functional in your local environment (localhost), regardless of the domain chosen.
• Step 2: Edit the page where you want the programmable tree to appear, insert a link to the ldmt.js file, and start programming the tree based on the information found at:
  • The API Reference contained herein.
  • The sample pages located at the subfolder "API Examples" of your installation folder. The sample pages are the ones that start with the word "API".
  • The examples contained herein at the "Examples" chapter.