Left-hand navigation SSI instructions
Left-hand navigation is exactly the same as the main navigation on your website's homepage.
- Some websites require you to to update the main navigation in two files - the homepage (index.shtml) and the left-navigation SSI
- Some websites use one or more more SSI files for main navigation on both the home page and left-hand navigation. Instead of updating navigation in two places you only update one SSI
This page explains how to identify and update both situations.
How can I tell if your left navigation is 1 file, or 2 or more files?
Step 1 - Open nav.html or sitename_nav.html (ssi folder)
If you can select the text then your site uses one file for the left-navigation. In this example from the Web Team site you can see the first link 'Web Support' is selected. There is only one file for the left nav and you can edit and make changes as you would on a .shtml page in your site. NB Links must be absolute, not relative.
Any changes made to this SSI must also be made on your website's home page.
If you can't select the text as described here continue with the steps below.
Step 2 - How to identify SSIs when more than one are used for your left-navigation and home page
With nav.html or sitename_nav.html open, when you try to select a link a heading and links beneath it select as a block. (Alternatively you might find you can't select any text, especially when trying to select the first heading or associated links). This means your nav.html or sitename_nav.html is comprised of separate SSI files for each heading and links. In this example there are 3 headings with associated links. Each block (heading and links) is a separate SSI file.
If your left-hand navigation uses two or more files, these also update the corresponding links on your site's home page.
Select the 'block' with the link you want to update. The filename shows in the 'Properties box' at the bottom of Dreamweaver. In this example the second block of heading and links is selected. The filename is called nav_preparedness.html. SSI files are in the ssi folder. Note the edit button beside the file name. This is the easiest way open the file.
If you cannot select the 'block' with the link you want to edit you will need to read the SSI filename from the code. At the top of Dreamweaver change the view from 'Design' to 'Split'. In this example we can see the top SSI file is called nav_during.html. All SSI files are in the ssi folder.
Once you have identified the SSI filename witch the view back to 'Design'.
Step 3 - Open and update the SSI file (from the ssi folder)
To open either click on the 'edit' button (to right of ssi filename in the properties box) or open the ssi folder in the file panel, navigate to the file and double click to open.
In this example the SSI called nav_during.html is open (it is the top block of heading and links shown in the images in Step 2). The heading and links can be selected and updated.
Updates made to this SSI update the left-navigation and home page of your website.
