Each MSU page is required to have the MSU Logo Bar. In order to aid MSU web developers, the MSU Logo Bar is automatically inserted into the page by the MSU Template application.
The MSU Logo Bar includes the MSU Logotype, which is a link back to the MSU homepage (Tier One); and the MSU Search box, which allows users to conveniently search the MSU website and directories from any MSU page.
Much like the MSU Logo Bar, the MSU Navigation Bar is required on all MSU pages and is automatically inserted by the MSU Template application. The MSU Navigation Bar provides links to high-level (Tier Two) MSU web pages.
The Logo Bar and the Navigation Bar are inserted automatically into every MSU Template page. The line below tells the server how to process the web page, and is always the first line of an MSU Template web page:
<?php require_once($_SERVER['SMARTBUILDER']); $version=1;
The line cannot be deleted, and the version should not be modified at this point. No additional code is required to display the Logo Bar and the Header Bar.
A page-specific and descriptive title is very useful for the visitors of your web page and critical for search engine indexing. Every MSU page has two titles to be specified: one is displayed at the top of the browser window ($windowtitle), and the other one on the web page itself ($headertitle).
Because of its placement $windowtitle is rarely read by the visitors, but most search engines rely on it heavily for indexing. $windowtitle is meant to be the full title of your page, e.g., "Technical Communication Program – Department of English – Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSU)". The title should always end with "– Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSU)", also for search engine indexing.
The $headertitle variable is inserted directly into the page as an <h1> XHTML tag. It is visible to web page visitors and, like $windowtitle, important for search engines. It should be the actual title of the page, e.g., "Technical Communication Program".
Note: Be sure to verify that the $headertitle you selected fits in the space provided for it. The space is limited in pixels.
$windowtitle='Full Page Title – Minnesota State University, Mankato';
$headertitle='Page Title';
Page Breadcrumbs provide a logical trail which gives visitors an idea of where they are within the MSU website. Breadcrumb links can be used to navigate "up" to parent categories of a web page. Breadcrumbs are especially helpful for visitors who entered an MSU web page from a direct link (search engine or other) without navigating "down" through the MSU website structure. For example, $breadcrumbs='MSU[http://www.mnsu.edu/]^AH[/link/]^English[/link/]^Technical Communication[]'; tells visitors they are on the Technical Communication program page of the English department of MSU.
Note:The first item in the $breadcrumbs is always a link to the MSU home page.
The breadcrumbs use University Web Template syntax. The first part of a breadcrumb is the title. In the example above the titles of the breadcrumbs are MSU, English, and Technical Communication. The title is the only part that will actually be visible when the page is generated. The part denoted by square brackets [ ] contains the URL of the breadcrumb item. Breadcrumb items are separated by a caret ^ (Shift+6 on your keyboard). The links are required for all items in the breadcrumb trail, except the last item.
$breadcrumbs='MSU[http://www.mnsu.edu/]^English[/link/]^Technical Communication';
$breadcrumbs='MSU[http://www.mnsu.edu/]^Breadcrumb[/link/]^Breadcrumb';
This optional feature is used to show a graphic on a department home page. It is displayed between the University navigation bar and the page title.
$subheadbg must be 105px high, and, since it's tiled,
does not need to be wider than 1-2px in most cases$subheadimage must be 772px wide by 105px highUse the static sub-heading to display a single image, which will not change on page refresh. $subheadimage specifies the URL of the image to be displayed.
$subhead='static';
$subheadimage='[/images/techcomsubheader.jpg]';
The custom option allows use of a sub-header image, along with a sub-header background to fill the width of the screen. TODAY magazine is a good example.
$subhead='custom';
$subheadbg='#fff url(/techcomm/images/techcomm-subhead-bg.png) repeat-x scroll 0 1px';
$subheadimage='Technical Communication[/techcomm/images/techcomm-subhead-logo.png]';
Note: image URLs (above, in italic) are the only items to be modified.
The flash option allows you to use Flash in the sub-header image. The Athletics homepage is a good example.
$subhead='flash';
$subheadbg='#fff url(http://www.mnsu.edu/kmsufm/images/kmsu-subhead-bg.png) repeat-x scroll 0 1px';
$subheadimage='KMSUFM
Logo[http://www.mnsu.edu/kmsufm/images/kmsu-subhead-logo.png]';
$subheadobject = '/headerobs/header.swf';
This option displays a single image in the sub-heading, which changes randomly on page reload. This option is primarily for MSU Tier 2 page use. Please verify with webteam@mnsu.edu before choosing this option for your pages.
$subhead='rotating';