Relative Links (again)

stephen702 · Post by **stephen702** » Wed Feb 18, 2004 6:25 pm

I spoke too soon. I'm still having problems trying to use paths in the menu_data.js file and also in html pages.

This is new territory for me, and I clearly am not grasping some very basic concepts. Perhaps someone can look at the problems below, and figure out why this is turning into a monumental frustration for me.

I'm on a shared server, and the path (at least in FTP) is: /home/aact/www/

PROBLEM ONE: JAVASCRIPT ERROR

When I use the following script in the html header of a page [in the directory /home/aact/www/start], it produces a javascript error message that "ns4 is undefined"

<SCRIPT language=JavaScript src="/home/aact/www/milonic_src.js" type=text/javascript></SCRIPT><script language=JavaScript>if(ns4)_d.write("<scr"+"ipt language=JavaScript src=/home/aact/www/mmenuns4.js><\/scr"+"ipt>");else _d.write("<scr"+"ipt language=JavaScript src=/home/aact/www/mmenudom.js><\/scr"+"ipt>");</script><SCRIPT language=JavaScript src="/home/aact/www/menu_data.js" type=text/javascript></SCRIPT>

You can see the error at: http://www.aact.org/start/index2.html

PROBLEM TWO: THE FAULTY MENU

If I change the script on the page referenced above to the following, I get a menu, but the images and links don't work:
<SCRIPT language=JavaScript src="../milonic_src.js" type=text/javascript></SCRIPT><script language=JavaScript>if(ns4)_d.write("<scr"+"ipt language=JavaScript src=../mmenuns4.js><\/scr"+"ipt>");else _d.write("<scr"+"ipt language=JavaScript src=../mmenudom.js><\/scr"+"ipt>");</script><SCRIPT language=JavaScript src="../menu_data.js" type=text/javascript></SCRIPT>

You can see the faulty menu at: http://www.aact.org/start/index3.html

I'm sure that the faulty menu results from a problem in the menu_data1.js file, but I don't know what's causing links and images to fail.

The menu_data1.js syntax is:
aI("text=Logos;url=/home/aact/www/members/logos.html;image=/home/aact/www/dot_gold.gif;status=Logos");

However, the "dot_gold image" doesn't display and the "url=" sends the browser to a non-existent URL [http://www.aact.org/home/aact/www/logos.html]

THANKS FOR ANY HELP OR SUGGESTIONS.

Maz · Post by **Maz** » Wed Feb 18, 2004 6:46 pm

The paths are not quite right,

I locate your js files here

http://www.aact.org/menu_data.js

Therefore all you need is /menu_data.js

Do the same for the images /image.gif

You can ignore everything before www and from www add the slash.

Correct all your paths and you should have it working.

Regards,
maz

stephen702 · Post by **stephen702** » Wed Feb 18, 2004 8:38 pm

Maz's explanation of how to code the relative path seems to be working:

http://www.aact.org/start/index2.html

However, while the menu now displays (and works) online, it doesn't display at all when I view the page on my computer, where I always test before uploading. I assume that Windows doesn't understand the path in the header:

<SCRIPT language=JavaScript src="/milonic_src.js" type=text/javascript></SCRIPT><script language=JavaScript>if(ns4)_d.write("<scr"+"ipt language=JavaScript src=/mmenuns4.js><\/scr"+"ipt>");else _d.write("<scr"+"ipt language=JavaScript src=/mmenudom.js><\/scr"+"ipt>");</script><SCRIPT language=JavaScript src="/menu_data1.js" type=text/javascript></SCRIPT>

Since I am in the process of redesigning all pages with the Milonic menu, I need to see the menu displayed. For any pages in the main directory, I can just take out the "/", but that still leaves those pages in subdirectories.

Is there a solution to this?

Many thanks!

stephen702 · Post by **stephen702** » Wed Feb 18, 2004 9:14 pm

On my own computer, not only does the menu not display, but I get a "runtime error" message that "ns4 is undefined"

heinrichegg · Post by **heinrichegg** » Thu Feb 19, 2004 1:29 am

I have almost the same problem as you. I wrote about it long time ago, but I never got a solution that worked.

For now I have all the .htm files in one directory <root>/norwegian. The .js scripts are in another <root>scripts/ver_5_0/

My code in each .htm file is like this:

<SCRIPT language=JavaScript src="../scripts/ver_5_0/milonic_src.js" type=text/javascript></SCRIPT>
<script language=JavaScript>
if(ns4)_d.write("<scr"+"ipt language=JavaScript src=../scripts/ver_5_0/mmenuns4.js><\/scr"+"ipt>");
else _d.write("<scr"+"ipt language=JavaScript src=../scripts/ver_5_0/mmenudom.js><\/scr"+"ipt>");
</script>

This works. Hovewer, I would like to move .htm files into subdirectories. I also use one temlate for all my pages and I would like to store the pages in different subdirectories and different levels.

I use Dreamweaver and all relative paths are automatically adjusted when I save a new file based on the template or if I move a file up or down into the directorystructure.

Hovewer, this part of the code is not updated since Dreamweaver does not recognise this as links:

if(ns4)_d.write("<scr"+"ipt language=JavaScript src=../scripts/ver_5_0/mmenuns4.js><\/scr"+"ipt>");
else _d.write("<scr"+"ipt language=JavaScript src=../scripts/ver_5_0/mmenudom.js><\/scr"+"ipt>");

Many on this forum writes that I can use this syntax:

if(ns4)_d.write("<scr"+"ipt language=JavaScript src=/scripts/ver_5_0/mmenuns4.js><\/scr"+"ipt>");
else _d.write("<scr"+"ipt language=JavaScript src=/scripts/ver_5_0/mmenudom.js><\/scr"+"ipt>");

Then the code will always start from the root.

I have never got this syntax to work? Not on my own computer - my local copy, or on the webserver (shared webhotel).

Does this has something to do which webserver the site is running on? Locally I am running the IIS that is included in Win XP Pro. What is on the webhotel I do not know.

Thanks!
H

Maz · Post by **Maz** » Thu Feb 19, 2004 10:58 am

I make changs on the server, if you already have a site running you could make a test page and change the name menu-data.js on the template. That way you don't have any surprises when you finally upload it.

Sorry I can't help with the other questions.

maz