Navigation Manager > Using the Navigation Manager

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Your site navigation forms part of the basic structure of almost any site. From the beginning of web site development, links have been provided in web pages to allow your clients to navigate from one page to the next. Generally your web site is broken down into different pages. These pages contain manageable amounts of content and contain content specific to a particular topic. This document and video explore the Navigation Manager.

The Navigation is a module located in the modules area of SoftPage that launches the main site navigation manager. Giving you quick access to the tools you need to edit or start working on your web site navigation.

Quick-read Supporting Documentation

The Navigation Manager opens with the Default Navigation Bar already set on the left. The Default Navigation Bar is a pre-set navigation that cannot be removed or changed. This represents the default navigation used by the site. In most cases a website will contain some form of default navigation bar/area that customers can click on to get from page to page. We have also provided the ability to add additional navigation bars that can be added to your custom template or even to default content areas. There is no limit to the number of navigation bars you can have and there is no limit to the complexity of the navigation layout - however please remember that you may just be confusing your customers. Please keep it simple.

The Navigation Manager has two basic functions, to add Navigations Bars and to add Navigation Items. The Navigation Bars are for you to add custom navigation bars to your own templates or to particular pages within a page.

The Add Navigation Item allows to to add a new navigation item to the Default Navigation Bar or to your own Navigation Bar. The Navigation item allows you to specify the following properties:

• Navigation Text
  The actual text that displays
• Page Location / URL
  Either as a page or as a URL to another site.
• Item Type
  A "Normal" navigation item is one that simply has the ability to list additional sub-navigation items under it, however there is a Product Category type that automatically list the categories from the product inventory as menu items.
• Parent Item
  This allows you to nest menu items within menu items, effectively creating drop-down or fly-out style menu.
• Class Name
  This is an advanced feature for more customised menu styles
• Sort Index
  Allows you to set the order of the items. If all set to the same value then the menu will be alphabetical.
• Target
  This is the target window for the link will open in - either _self (same window) or _blank (as a new window).
• Visible
  This sets the navigation item visibility.