Navigation components index

Main Navigation menu on the left - on all the pages

Type Navigation Component
Navigation pattern Vertical hierachical navigation inside the site
Inclusion Included on the web page by means of <!--#include virtual="....."--> syntax
Navigation implemented Vertical hierachical navigation inside the site
Component structure
  • For the Public: <table class="mainMenuLeft borderBlue">
  • For the Intranet: <table class="mainMenuLeft borderRed">
Content formatting ordered list using <ol>
Description and use
  • The menu situated in the leftmost column of the page (left menu) implements the hierarchical navigation inside the web site. It is presents on all the web site pages and designed for containing the first two levels of navigation (see the Example ).
  • Exceptionally it can also contain 3 levels, but it is recommended to use the right column for the third level navigation (see Example 2).
  • Only pages and sections that exist within the site map of the site in question are allowed in the left menu.
  • Links to external sites or portions of external sites should be included in the interface elements such as 'Quick links' or 'Feature box' (see the Example ).
  • The menu can be 'closed' and show the first level of the site's hierarchical navigation or 'open' and expand one or more first levels to show the second level of the hierarchical navigation. Exceptionally the menu could expand to show the third level navigation, but it is recommended to use the right column menu for this purpose.
  • It is possible to use the menu always 'opened' on all the pages, including the home page, when the total amount of items is less than 10 items (see below)
Position on the page Left column
Conventional File name used leftmenu.htm

Menu which opens during the navigation revealing/displaying the sub-sections

Main navigation menu on the home page: closed

It displays only the main topics, and only once a single main topic has been selected, the corresponding second level items are revealed.
/public/english/template1/components/leftmenu/leftmenu_close.htm

Main navigation menu on the following pages: opened

It displays the second level items corresponding to the main topic selected. Note that in this example the "Main section 1" link doesn't has a corresponding page. In this case the link "Main section 1" leads to a page belonging to the second level and the section title "Main section 1" is unlinked.
/public/english/template1/components/leftmenu/leftmenu_open_subtopic.htm

Main navigation menu on the following pages: opened

It displays the third level items corresponding to the sub-topic selected.
Warning: it is strongly recommended of not having the third level on the main navigation menu. The right column should be used instead, see Example 1.
/public/english/template1/components/leftmenu/leftmenu_open_subtopic1.htm

Menu always opened on all the pages home page included

Main navigation menu displaying all the levels of navigation on all pages, home page included: always opened

The menu displays all the levels on all the pages in case it contains less then 10 items, typically this means we are in front of a simple web site see example. Note that the "Main section 2" item is not linked. It act as title for grouping and giving context to a list of links. It doesn't belong to the hierachical content organization, so it will not appear on the bread crumbs navigation system.
/public/english/template1/components/leftmenu/leftmenu_open.htm

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