datapitstop » Website Help »Menu Item OrganizationDirectory
Everyone has different content and different goals for their web site, so having the ability to organize and arrange your menu items is very important. We have provided a way for you to place your menu items in any order you wish, as well as create sub menus. You can even point one menu item to another. You have all the flexibility you need in order to create a menu system that works best for your organization. The basis of arranging your menu items is in the following.

  
Current Web Pages:

   (Sort order)   [Page Refer]   {Referring to}

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Sub Menus

One thing you need to understand before you get into arranging your menu items is the concept of sub menus. Sub Menus are simply menu items within menu items. This is best shown with an example.

Before "First Level Menu" Click
After "First Level Menu" Click


This example needs a little explanation but this is all you need to see to understand sub menus. I created a menu item, or web page, and I named it "First Level Menu". I created 3 other menu items, or web pages, and named all three "Second Level Menu". The difference with the "Second Level Menu" items are that I created them as sub menus of "First Level Menu." Now, when a visitor visits the site, they will see what's shown in the first image above. You do not see any of the 3 "Second Level Menu" items. However, when they click on the menu item "First Level Menu", the menu will expand and they will now see the 3 "Second Level Menu" as shown in the second image. If this sounds confusing and you want a live, working example, click HERE. Once you get to that page, click on the menu item "State Links (A-D)". You will notice that several other sub menus will appear.

You need to remember 2 terms from the above example. They will be used throughout the document and other help pages. The terms are "First Level Menu" and "Second Level Menu". What these terms mean is represented in the above example images. First Level Menu simply refers to "First Level" menu item and Second Level Menu refers to the "Second Level" menu item(s).

Now that you understand what sub menus are, you are ready to tackle arranging and creating sub menus.


Sort Order

The Sort Order refers to the order in which your menu items appear on your web page. The Sort Order is a 5 digit number. Here is an example.

  
Current Web Pages:

   (Sort order)   [Page Refer]   {Referring to}
   (000-00)   [0001]    Home
   (090-00)   [0010]    State Links (A-D) {0001}
         (090-01)   [0013]    Arizona
         (090-02)   [0014]    Alabama
         (090-03)   [0015]    Alaska
         (090-04)   [0016]    Arizona
         (090-05)   [0017]    Arkansas
         (090-06)   [0018]    California
         (090-07)   [0019]    Colorado
         (090-08)   [0020]    Connecticut
         (090-09)   [0021]    Delaware
         (090-10)   [0022]    District Of Columbia

The sort order is in green and is something like:

(090-00)

As you will notice, the Sort Order is broken down into 2 sections. The first section is comprised of 3 digits. The second part is 2 digits. They are separated by a dash. The following is a breakdown of what these numbers represent and how you can use them to arrange menu items on your page.

  • First Level Sort Order- first 3 digits

        (090-00) (first level in purple).

    The purpose of the first part of the sort order is to arrange your first level menu items. It does not involve your second level menu items. If you don't know what a first level menu item is, please click HERE.

    The lower the first part of the Sort Order is, the higher the first level menu item will appear in the menu. View the following list of menu items. I changed the first part of the Sort Order to bright purple for clarity.

    Example 1
    First Level Sort Order- Purple
      
    Current Web Pages:

             (Sort order)   [Page Refer]   {Referring to}
       (001-00)   [0001]    Home
       (002-00)   [0006]    Calendar
       (003-00)   [0003]    Directory Listing
       (004-00)   [0007]    FAQ
       (005-00)   [0075]    DataPitStop Hot Links
       (006-00)   [0005]    Links
       (007-00)   [0068]    Minutes
       (018-00)   [0004]    News Articles
       (009-00)   [0069]    Reports/Forms
       (010-00)   [0067]    Staff Directory
       (011-00)   [0070]    Statistics
       (012-00)   [0008]    Terms/Dictionary
       (013-00)   [0009]    Site Map
       (014-00)   [0077]    Help
       (015-00)   [0002]    Login
    Example 2
    First Level Sort Order- Purple
      
    Current Web Pages:

       (Sort order)   [Page Refer]   {Referring to}
       (141-00)   [0001]    Home
       (147-00)   [0006]    Calendar
       (149-00)   [0003]    Directory Listing
       (151-00)   [0007]    FAQ
       (168-00)   [0075]    DataPitStop Hot Links
       (169-00)   [0005]    Links
       (179-00)   [0068]    Minutes
       (185-00)   [0004]    News Articles
       (199-00)   [0069]    Reports/Forms
       (237-00)   [0067]    Staff Directory
       (265-00)   [0070]    Statistics
       (299-00)   [0008]    Terms/Dictionary
       (311-00)   [0009]    Site Map
       (420-00)   [0077]    Help
       (588-00)   [0002]    Login

    These 2 examples show you everything you need to know about arranging your first level menu items. The order in which you see your menu items arranged under "Current Web Pages" is the way they will show on your web site. Also notice that the first level menu item numbers, in purple, always increment. This is very important, as this is what determines what menu items comes before the next. How do you choose your numbers? That's the easy part, it doesn't matter. Pay close attention to the examples above and notice their first level menu item numbers. They are completely different, yet the menu items appear in the same order. The numbers do not matter, only their order. You can use numbers 0-999 to arrange your first level menu items.


  • Second Level Sort Order- last 2 digits

        (090-01) (second level in purple).

    The second part of the sort order is for ordering your second level menu items. If you don't know what a first level menu item is, please click HERE.

    As with the first level number, the lower the number, the higher the second level menu item will appear on your menu. Take a look at the following 2 examples. I changed the first part of the Sort Order to bright purple for clarity.

    Example 1
    Second Level Sort Order- Purple
      
    Current Web Pages:

       (Sort order)   [Page Refer]   {Referring to}
       (000-00)   [0001]    Home
       (090-00)   [0010]    State Links (A-D) {0001}
             (090-01)   [0013]    Arizona
             (090-02)   [0014]    Alabama
             (090-03)   [0015]    Alaska
             (090-04)   [0016]    Arizona
             (090-05)   [0017]    Arkansas
             (090-06)   [0018]    California
             (090-07)   [0019]    Colorado
             (090-08)   [0020]    Connecticut
             (090-09)   [0021]    Delaware
             (090-10)   [0022]    District Of Columbia
    Example 2
    Second Level Sort Order- Purple
      
    Current Web Pages:

       (Sort order) [Page Refer]   {Referring to}
       (000-00)   [0001]    Home
       (090-00)   [0010]    State Links (A-D) {0001}
             (090-11)   [0013]    Arizona
             (090-23)   [0014]    Alabama
             (090-31)   [0015]    Alaska
             (090-45)   [0016]    Arizona
             (090-46)   [0017]    Arkansas
             (090-52)   [0018]    California
             (090-59)   [0019]    Colorado
             (090-66)   [0020]    Connecticut
             (090-71)   [0021]    Delaware
             (090-99)   [0022]    District Of Columbia

    The way in which the second level menu items are arranged here is the way they will appear on your web site. Also notice that the actual numbers themselves do not matter. The only thing that matters is the order. Since this number is only 2 digits, you can only use numbers 0-99.

    There is one more important thing to point out when dealing with second level menus. All of your second level menus have to "belong" to a first level menu. In the case above, all of the states(Arizona, Alabama, etc), which are second level menu items, have the same first level menu number as "State Links (A-D)". This is outlined in the following example.

    Both First Level and Second Level menu items have the same first level number- Purple
      
    Current Web Pages:

    (Sort order)   [Page Refer]   {Referring to}
       (000-00) [0001]    Home
       (090-00)   [0010]    State Links (A-D) {0001}
             (090-01)   [0013]    Arizona
             (090-02)   [0014]    Alabama
             (090-03)   [0015]    Alaska
             (090-04)   [0016]    Arizona
             (090-05)   [0017]    Arkansas
             (090-06)   [0018]    California
             (090-07)   [0019]    Colorado
             (090-08)   [0020]    Connecticut
             (090-09)   [0021]    Delaware
             (090-10)   [0022]    District Of Columbia

This is all there is to arranging menu items. The system may seem a little confusing at first but once you get the hang of it you will be able to completely re-organize all of your menu items in no time.


Page Refer

A Page Refer is a unique number that is assigned to your menu item when it is created. Every page has one and you cannot change it. The purpose of the Page Refer is to enable you to create a new menu item, or web page, and have it point to another web page. Not an external link, but another one of the pages listed under "Current Web Pages."

Why would you want to point one of your web pages to another one of your web pages? A common use is when you create sub menus. When you click on a first level menu item that has sub menus, it shows you your sub menus below it. What web page are you currently on? Do you even want to create a new web page when you have a first level menu item with sub menus? Sometimes you will and sometimes you will not. The Page Refer gives you a reference so when you create a new menu item you don't always have to create a new web page.

The best example of this is our main DataPitStop web page. Go here and click on "State Links (A-D)". The sub menus are now showing, but what page are you on? You are still on our home page. Our menu item for "State Links (A-D)" simply refers to our home page. This is what Page Refers enable you to accomplish.


Referring To

Referring To is very simple. If you use a Page Refer, as described above, this will show which page you are "referring", or pointing, to. Continuing our "State Links (A-D)" example, look at the following menu structure. This is part of our actual menu structure for the DataPitStop site. Yes, we use the same tools you do :^)

  
Current Web Pages:

   (Sort order)   [Page Refer]   {Referring to}
   (000-00) [0001]    Home
   (090-00) [0010]    State Links (A-D) {0001}
         (090-01)   [0013]    Arizona
         (090-02)   [0014]    Alabama
         (090-03)   [0015]    Alaska
         (090-04)   [0016]    Arizona
         (090-05)   [0017]    Arkansas
         (090-06)   [0018]    California
         (090-07)   [0019]    Colorado
         (090-08)   [0020]    Connecticut
         (090-09)   [0021]    Delaware
         (090-10)   [0022]    District Of Columbia
Notice that the second menu item, or web page, is called "State Links (A-D)". Also notice that {0001} follows it. This is the page we are "pointing to." What page is {0001}? As described above, we need to find the page that has a Page Refer of [0001]. With our example here, the "Home" page has that Page Refer.. In short, the "State Links (A-D)" points to the "Home" page.