Old Client Site with Webstyle 4 Menus - Needs Updating, BUT...

[dpm39560]

I have a client's website for which I built the menuing system using Webstyle 4. Now that site needs updating, but I'm working on a new Win7/64 computer.

I found the install file in my archives and was able to install the program on this machine just fine, but when I try to run it, I get the message "Failed to register the DLLs required by the program!"

I also have Xara Designer Pro X9 running fine on my system, but have no clue how to load the Webstyle 4-created menus into that program so I can edit them.

Can someone please help? Tell me either how to get Webstyle 4 to run on this computer OR how to update the existing menu in Xara Designer Pro X9?

Thanks!

David in Mississippi

[gwpriester]

Welcome to TalkGraphics

You will probably want to recreate the navigation bar. I do not think you can import it.

Here's what I would do. Load the page with the navigation bar, and mouse over one of the buttons so you can see the mouseover as well as the mouse down state, press Print Screen, then page the screen capture into Designer.

Create a button for the MouseOff state, copy the button, select the MouseOver layer in the Page & Layer Gallery and Edit Paste in Place.

Modify the MouseOver layer button to match the one in your screen capture.

For the button you need a shape, usually a rectangle, grouped with some text (Centered).

Let us know if you need more steps.

[dpm39560]

Hi, Gary, and thank you so much for this help.

I've held you in very high esteem ever since I asked my first question in a Xara forum more than a decade ago and you answered it quickly, understandably, and your answer WORKED! I've followed many of your tutorials since then with interest. On behalf of the thousands of people who follow your instructions and designs, thank you.

First, I'm assuming you are saying I should recreate the menu in Designer Pro X9, correct?

Second, I still have all the graphic buttons created by WebStyle 4, in PNG format, along with the graphic endcaps of the (horizontal) menu. I have these in both the MouseOff and the MouseOver states.

Using these buttons would please the client, as he is very happy with the look and feel of the current menu.

Several of the menu buttons have a drop-down submenu (only one level), which I believe I can do fairly easily in XDP X9.

The thing that would be the most help would be if you could point me to a step-by-step tutorial for (a) creating these sorts of graphic button menus with drop-down submenus, and (b) Importing those menus into an existing website.

Thanks again for all your mentorship and tutelage over the years.

David in Mississippi

[gwpriester]

(Blush). Thanks David.

Create a single button for the mouse off state. You cannot use the old PNGs because the new button needs to have editable text set to Center Justify.

Group the text and the button shape.

Copy the button, select the MouseOver layer in the Page & Layer Gallery, and Edit > Paste > Paste in Place. Make sure both layers are visible.

Make your changes to reflect the MouseOver state.

Select the MouseOff layer. Marquee select the button. The status bar should indicate two objects on two layers.

Arrange > Apply Soft Group.

Open the Website Properties menu from the Infobar and go to the far right of the fly out menu. Create Navigation Bar Tool.

In the Navigation Bar Properties menu, check Site Navigation Bar.

Click the Pop-Up Menu Style button and set the parameters for the sub menu.

Press Help in this menu (or any menu) for more information.