LICENSE
This license ("License") contains rights and restrictions associated with use of the accompanying software. Read the License carefully before utilizing the software. By using the software you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of this license.
Congratulations...
Introduction
You should be careful to check that your unzipping program has named the files correctly. Some DOS programs will name according to the old 8.3 format, rename .class files "*.cla".
The Gallery Example
The code which produces the above is:
<p><!--webbot bot="PurpleText" PREVIEW="Do not delete the two comments"
--><!--webbot bot="HTMLMarkup" startspan --><applet code="Outline"
width=200 height=400><!--webbot bot="HTMLMarkup" endspan --><!--webbot
bot="PurpleText" PREVIEW="Do not delete these two comments" -->
David Griffiths' Web Site
<ul>
<li>Home pages</li>
<ul>
<li><a href="home2.htm">The Great Heresy</a>
<li><a href="home3.htm">Bill's World In Pieces</a>
</ul>
<li><a href="spigots.htm">Java WebSpigots</a></li>
<ul>
<li><a href="nim.htm">Java Nim</a></li>
<li><a href="cgmimage.htm">The CgmImage Applet</a></li>
<li><a href="cuecards.htm">The CueCards Applet</a></li>
<li><a href="flag.htm">The Flag Applet</a></li>
<li><a href="hawkray.htm">The HawkRay Applet</a></li>
<li><a href="lake.htm">The Lake Applet</a></li>
<li><a href="panorama.htm">The Panorama Applet</a></li>
<li><a href="Outline.htm">The Outline Applet</a></li>
<li><a href="quiz.htm">The QuizShow Applet</a></li>
<li><a href="ripple.htm">The Ripple Applet</a></li>
</ul>
<li><a href="vbasic.htm">Visual Basic</a></li>
<ul>
<li><a href="quiver.zip">Quiver!</a></li>
<li><a href="lantern.zip">VB Lanterns</a></li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="catalog.htm">Catalogue</a></li>
<li>The Muriel Stint Column</li>
<ul>
<li><a href="muriel.htm">UFOs and the paranormal</a></li>
<li><a href="muriel4.htm">The Mysterious Nut</a></li>
<li><a href="muriel3.htm">All About The British</a></li>
<li><a href="muriel2.htm">Parliamentary FAQ</a></li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://www.microsoft.com">A Really Fun Page (hmmm...)</a></li>
<li><a href="mailto:davidg@spigots.com">Contact me</a></li>
</ul>
<p><!--webbot bot="PurpleText" PREVIEW="Do not delete the two comments"
--><!--webbot
bot="HTMLMarkup" startspan --></applet><!--webbot
bot="HTMLMarkup" endspan --><!--webbot
bot="PurpleText" PREVIEW="Do not delete these two comments" --> |
Paying for the Applet
There is NOTHING to pay. The applet is completely free. However, if you make a donation ($5 - $10?) to Ty Hafan, Children's Hospice of Wales, which is a charitable appeal formed to build, equip and run a Children's Hospice in Wales to provide care for terminally ill children, you can consider your applet well-and-truly registered. Click here for details on how to make a donation. They now have an excellent new OnLine donation page. In just a few minutes you can change a few old, crinkly, dirty little bank notes into a nice warm glow...
Using Outline in a web page...
To include Outline in a web page, you should copy the Outline.class file into the same directory as the web page and then insert an <APPLET...> tag into the page, e.g.
<applet code="Outline" width=200 height=400>
Some title text here
<ul>
<li>First folder
<ul>
<li><a href="sub1.htm" target="right">An item</a>
<li><a href="sub1.htm" target="right">Another item</a>
</ul>
</ul>
</applet>
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If you have used applets before you will have noticed that Outline is a little different. First of all you don't have to pass it any graphics files for use as icons. The Outline class contains all of the images it needs. Secondly, you do not pass parameters to Outline with <param....> tags.
Outline works by spicing up the sort of indented lists that you see all the time in web pages. It does it by reading the HTML code between the <applet...> and </applet> tags. That way you don't have to separately maintain the list code in the applet and the list-code that will be visible to non-Java browsers. Another advantage is that you should be able to edit the web page in a WYSIWYG editor (such as Frontpage 98) far more easily than a traditional applet. It also means that Outline is perfect for use in automated pages which traditionally use indented lists, such as message boards, guestbooks, etc..
NOTE: Outline reads the lists related to the first Outline applet on a page. Consequently, you cannot use more than one Outline on a page at a time.
Talking about FrontPage 98, you are probably wondering what all the weird code wrapped around the <applet> tags in the gallery example is for. If you try opening the page in FP you will not see the applet, but instead a set of indented lists which you can directly edit. Hopefully this will make you life easier.
You set the width and height to be large enough to display the outline tree when it is fully expanded. Incidentally, the maximum height will always be 16 * the maximum number of displayed rows.
I'd suggest you put the class files in the same directory as the page on which it will appear. If you want to move it elsewhere then use the "CODEBASE" option to point to the appropriate directory.
Troubleshooting
Why won't the applet work off my hard disk?
Some web browsers have trouble opening applets straight from a hard disk. I have noticed this happen with Internet Explorer 3 and Netscape 4. Once you have loaded the class file and the web page onto your web site you should find it works OK.
Why does my web page say "Class Format Error"?
Class files are binary files, just like image files are. Binary files contain more information than text (also known as ASCII) files do. If you transfer class files as if they were ASCII files then they will lose this extra information and will become corrupted. How do you transfer class files as binary files? You should transfer them in the same way that you transfer image files.
Why does my web page say "Class Not Found"?
This is a very common problem. It may be because of one of the following:
Examples from the Web
Specialist Sites
| * | . |
Jim Perry's Site
Jim Perry has very cleverly connected Outline to the output of a Perl script so that the outline is created dynamically. Very clever Jim! |
| * | . |
The Aviation Site of Jan Van Ooteghem
This is just part of a very large and very informative site about commercial airliners. |
| * | . |
Unofficial Shelton State
|
Linking to my site
If you use this applet then it would be nice if you gave me a link by copying the image:
(this is the file "dglogo.gif" in the .zip archive) into the same directory as your web page and then pasting the following into your page.
<a href="http://www.demon.co.uk/davidg/spigots.htm" target="_top">
<img src="dglogo.gif"
width=88 height=31 border=0></a>
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It will put a little button on your page that will link through to my Java Spigots page.
It is only a request: feel free to omit it.
Transferring files
Contacting Me
If you still have trouble getting the applet to work and you have tried all of the possible solutions listed above, then feel to contact me, remembering to include:
| 1 | . | A precise description of the problem (do you just get a grey rectangle, or an error message etc. etc.) |
| 2 | . | The URL of the page containing the applet (that's the actual page - not just the front page on your site) |
These two pieces of information will make it a lot easier for me to solve the problem. I cannot guarantee that I will be able to respond to all messages (there's only so many hours in the day...) but sending the URL of a page that doesn't work will greatly increase the chances of getting an answer.
Remember to keep a look out at my web site for new applets.
24/11/1999
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Privacy Statement Created in Glorious Polyphonic HPL Last updated: Wednesday 24 November 1999 |