Making a Navigation Bar in FrontPage 2002

This page will help you create a navigation bar using Microsoft FrontPage 2002. (FrontPage 2000 users see Making a Nav. Bar with FrontPage 2000.) A navigation bar contains links to the major sections of a website. It appears on each page, providing an easy way to "navigate" through a website. You will need to have a website before you can begin, since a navigation system requires the existence of multiple pages. Adding the navigation bar will make significant changes to your site, so try it first on a practice Web to see if you are satisfied with the results.

Opening a Web
1. Open your Web in FrontPage by selecting Open Web from the File menu.

Browse to your Web folder, select it and click Open.

Adding the Navigation Bar Throughout Your Site
The navigation bar will usually appear on every page of your website. Without a navigational system, Web users have to use the back button of their browser to get from page to page. However, if you only want the navigation bar to be on one page, go directly to step 4.

2. From the Format menu, select Shared Borders. The Shared Borders dialog box will appear. After Apply to select All pages. Check the box for Top if you want your navigation bar to be at the top of the page. Check the box for Left if you want your navigation bar to be at the left of the page. (Check both if you want the navigation bar on both.) Whichever you select, you will have the option to Include navigation buttons. If you have a theme applied to your Web, this option will cause buttons to be used instead of text. Without a theme, you won't be able to use this option. For more information about using themes, see the Help menu in FrontPage.

Click OK to create a shared border.

Inserting a Navigation Bar in the Shared Border
3. Open a page in your Web. (Choose any page since the shared border has been applied site-wide). Notice the formatting changes made to the page.

Click on the text that says, "Comment: This border appears in all pages in your Web. Replace this comment with your own content." Now that it's selected, choose Navigation from the Insert menu. The Insert Web Component box pops up. Select Links Bars and Bar based on navigation structure. Click Next.

Choose the theme you want and click Next. Choose an orientation and click Finish, then proceed to step 5.

Making the Navigation Bar for a Single Page
4. Open the page on which you want the navigation bar to appear. Select Navigation from the Insert menu, and proceed to step 5.

Choosing Link Bar Options
5. Several options for the layout of the navigation bar can be set in the Link Bar Properties dialog box:

• Parent level: Creates links to the pages on the level above the current page.
• Same level: Links all pages on the same level.
• Back and next: Creates links for going back and forward.
• Child level: Links to pages branching off the current page.
• Global level: Creates links to all the pages on the level as the very top page.
• Child pages under Home: Creates links to all the pages under the very first page.

If you want to choose two of these options, you will need to use two different navigation bars. This is why you might want to have a shared border on the left side as well as the top. Most of these options will also allow you to select Home page and Parent page under Additional pages. Under the Style tab, for Orientation and appearance, select Horizontal or Vertical.

Click OK to finalize your options. Remember to save your work before closing.