Embedding Outlines

You can embed an outline in two ways. First, you can embed it in a page by clicking the Use Outline button from the outline Work pane. Second, to embed it in an existing page, form, or document, you can choose Create, Embedded Element, Outline from the menu in Domino Designer. Most often, you will embed an outline in a page and then use the page in a frameset. This section deals with embedding outlines in pages because it is the most common use, but the same principles apply to other objects.

The first thing you'll notice when you embed an outline in a page is that it doesn't necessarily include all the elements in the outline (see Figure 9.10). To change this effect, you'll need to work with the properties of an embedded outline. Embedded outline properties are independent of the outline design object itself. The properties box has a number of tabs described in the following sections:

Figure 9.10. Clicking the Use Outline button in the outline Work pane embeds an outline in a new page.

The Border, Paragraph Margins, and Paragraph Hide When tabs should be familiar enough to you by now that they don't need to be covered here.

The Info Tab

The Info tab has settings that control the appearance of the outline (see Figure 9.11). For example, to change the appearance of the outline in Figure 9.10, you change the Height and Width properties. Embedded outlines default to a fixed height of 1 inch, which frequently doesn't display the entire outline. To change the default settings, choose Fit to Content in both the Height and Width fields of the Outline Size section of the properties box.

Figure 9.11. The Info tab of the Outline properties box ”note that the Height setting has been changed to Fit to Content.

Five sections on the Info tab control the display of the embedded outline. The first section enables you to name the object and set the type, title style, target frame, and control twisties. The second section specifies a root entry and whether the object is displayed as saved, expanded, or collapsed . The third section enables you to determine the size of the embedded outline, and the fourth section specifies how the outline works on the Web. The fifth and last section shows the number of unread documents in parentheses beside the outline entry and sets the font style to bold.

NOTE

Remember that changing the properties of an embedded outline in no way affects the outline design element itself; it just changes this particular use of the outline.

 

The Type field has two options: Tree Style (the default) and Flat Style. If you choose Tree Style, the outline displays in a hierarchical fashion. Figure 9.10 shows an outline using Tree Style. When Tree Style is selected, a check box is available to turn twisties on or off. Another check box, OS Style, controls the type of twistie. If OS Style is checked, the twisties appear in Windows platforms as small squares with either plus or minus signs (collapsed or expanded). If OS Style is not checked, standard Notes twisties appear. You can also choose an image resource for a twistie or use a formula to determine which image to use. A Flat Style outline displays only the top level of the hierarchy; when you click an entry that is expandable, the next level rolls out under the entry. Flat outlines can be displayed either vertically or horizontally. You make this choice from the drop-down list that appears next to the Type field when you choose Flat Style. Displaying the outline horizontally lists the images associated with the entries across the top of the page.

NOTE

You can affect the display of a horizontal outline by working with the Height setting on the Layout tab. The Layout tab is discussed later in this chapter in the section "The Layout Tab."

 

You can choose between Simple and Hide (the default) for the Title setting. If you choose to display the title, you can set various background and font properties on other tabs for the title.

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If you choose Flat Style, be sure to choose Simple for the title. If you leave Title at the default (Hide), users will not be able to navigate back up the hierarchy. Setting the title to Simple displays the next higher level in the hierarchy as the title. Clicking the title navigates up one level.

 

The last setting to cover in the topmost section is Target Frame. In this field, you can specify the frame in which the outline displays when used in a frameset.

The Root Entry section contains a field in which you can enter a category entry in the outline. Note that you must use the alias of the entry, not the entry label. When you specify a root entry, only the entries that fall in or below the root are displayed. The field next to Root Entry lets you determine how a hierarchical view displays. If you choose Flat Style, this field automatically defaults to Collapse All, but if you select Tree Style, you can choose from the following options:

The Outline Size section has settings for Width, Height, and Show Scrollbar. Contrary to what you might expect, even if you set a fixed width and height, there is only a vertical scrollbar. For Width, you can choose from the default Fit to Window (%), Fit to Content, Fixed (Chars), and Fixed Width. For Height, you can choose from Fixed Height (the default), Fit to Window, and Fit to Content.

The Web Access field consists of two settings: Using HTML (the default) and Using Java Applet. If you use the Using Java Applet setting to generate the outline, you get a much snappier interface, including background colors, mouseover color settings for the outline entries, and much better graphics. In general, it is preferable to Using HTML.

NOTE

If you choose Using Java Applet, you must have Use JavaScript When Generating Pages set as a database property. If you don't, when you select Using Java Applet, Domino Designer prompts you to make the setting.

 

The Font Tab

The Font tab enables you to specify the fonts for three different levels: Title, Top-Level, and Sublevel (see Figure 9.12). The Font tab has the standard choices for the font, size, and style. Additional settings are located at the bottom of the properties box for color settings based on the state of the text. The Title setting has two color settings: Normal and Moused. Because a title cannot be selected, the Selected Color list does not appear. The Level settings have three choices: Normal, Selected, and Moused.

Figure 9.12. The Font tab enables you to set font properties for three levels ”note the three color settings at the bottom of the properties box.

NOTE

The Title setting appears only when the Title setting of Simple is made in the Info tab. Also, setting the font style to Shadow, Emboss, or Extrude has no effect on the Web, even if Using Java Applet is enabled.

 

Clicking any one of these settings opens the Domino color palette. Normal is the color you see when the text is not selected or moused. When you click an outline entry, the color changes to the choice you made for Selected; when the mouse passes over the text, the color changes to that selection. Note that these settings don't work on the Web unless you choose Using Java Applet in the Web Access field.

The Background Tab

The Background tab has settings for background colors and images. You can set these properties for the entire control, the title, top-level entries, and sublevel entries. Depending on the element, you can choose background colors for Normal, Selected, and Moused. The control background has just one color choice, but the title background has choices for Normal and Moused. The top-level and sublevel entries have choices for Normal, Selected, and Moused colors (see Figure 9.13).

Figure 9.13. The Background tab has color settings for each level, from the entire control to individual entries in the Outline ”note the Normal and Moused color palettes available for the Title background setting.

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If you want to use the same settings for the colors (Normal, Selected, and Moused), you can click the Set All to Same button. This button is also available for the Layout tab.

 

You can also add an image to any one of the levels, from Control through Sublevel. Images must be stored as image resources to be used in an embedded outline. After you add an image to a level, you can set it to display in one of the following modes:

NOTE

If you apply an image to an entry in the Outline Designer, it will still appear in an embedded outline. The images in the embedded outline are background images. Any entry image appears over the background image setting.

 

The Layout Tab

Settings on the Layout tab determine the positioning of the entry, the entry label, and any image associated with the entry. You can affect three levels: Title Layout, Top-Level Layout, and Sublevel Layout. Title Layout only has two sections, Entry and Entry Label. The remaining two layouts have three sections, Entry, Entry Label, and Entry Image (see Figure 9.14).

Figure 9.14. The Layout tab is set to Top-Level Layout, exposing all three sections.

Two types of settings exist in each section: Alignment and Offset. In the Entry section, the only alignment that you can affect is the height because the Entry section controls the layout of the entire entry as a block. You can control the height by selecting Fit to Content (the default) or Fixed. If you select Fixed, you can specify the height of the entry. The Entry Label and Entry Image sections have extensive alignment settings available. Each of the three sections has two offset fields available, Vertical and Horizontal, as shown in Figure 9.14. You can move the entry, the entry label, and the entry image vertically or horizontally with these settings by entering an offset in inches. As the arrows next to the fields indicate , entering a value in the vertical offset pushes the entry down; entering a value in the horizontal offset pushes the entry to the right.

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If you are using an outline with a horizontal flat style, you can control the width of the entries with the horizontal offsets.

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