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Structure Group navigation

To implement navigation based on Structure Groups, you typically create a Page Template that reads a Publication's Structure Group hierarchy down to some level, and then uses the collected information to turn an empty Page into a 'navigation Page' that you can include in any published Web Page.

Procedure

  1. In the Content Manager, you organize your Pages in Structure Groups. Create a hierarchy of Structure Groups that corresponds to the menu hierarchy that you want to show on the Web site. The names of the Structure Groups should be the names of the menu items.
  2. Create a Metadata Schema that contains a Number field and use it to add metadata to each Structure Group. The number indicates the position of this menu item in the menu. For example, a Structure Group with metadata set to '400' appears below a Structure Group with metadata set to '300'.
  3. Add the same metadata to the Pages of your Web site.
  4. Create a "menu Page Template" to generate this menu. The menu Page Template navigates through the Structure Group hierarchy and the Pages in it, and creates a menu structure in the order specified by the metadata.
  5. Create an empty Page and associate it with the menu Page Template. Use scripting in each of the various regular Page Templates to include this menu Page on each Page.
  6. Use the Event System to make sure that whenever a Page is (re)published, the menu is also republished.