QuickBar Parameters
Click an item in the list to the left to find out more about it.
Width & Height
The width and height of the applet are set in the HTML code you add to the web page. Be sure to change the dimensions in the <object> and the <embed> tags.
QuickBar's width can be almost whatever you like. It must be wide enough to display all the items using your chosen font. Beyond that, any extra width is divided equally between each item and captions are centered.
QuickBar's height can also be whatever you like (as long as it's tall enough to display your chosen font). Any extra height will be used to make the bar taller, keeping the text centered vertically on the bar.
You can use the Testmode parameter to determine the minimum width and height for the applet.
Parameters
The parameters below should be added to your datafile in the form NAME=VALUE (for instance, BgColor=FF0000). Each parameter should be on a separate line. You can leave blank lines in the list to organize the parameters into groups if you want to. The parameter names are not case-sensitive, and neither are the values, so BgColor=FF0000 is the same as bgcolor=ff0000. You can add the parameters to your file in any order. Most parameters have a default value which we show in bold text below: if you don't include the parameter in your datafile, the default value will be used automatically.
BgColor
Sets the background color of the applet. The default value is FFFFFF (white). This color should be seen only briefly while the applet loads (if at all) and is then covered by the buttons. (Note that QuickBar can only change the background color after it has loaded. To have the same background color shown before the browser starts loading the applet, change the BgColor setting in the HTML code too.)
ButtonColor
Sets the fill color of the buttons when not focused (and if the applet is not transparent). The default is BDCFEC (pale blue).
ButtonFocusColor
Sets the fill color of a button when the mouse moves over it. The default is 5A86CF (blue).
ButtonBorderColor
Sets the color of the borders around the buttons when not focused. Set this to match the ButtonColor if no borders are wanted. The default is 000000 (black).
ButtonBorderFocusColor
Sets the color of a button's border when the mouse moves over it. If no border is wanted, set this to match the ButtonFocusColor. The default is 000000 (black).
Font
Sets the name, size and style of font to use for the text of the items, with each part separated by commas. The default is Sans,8,plain.
- Name: You can include any number of font names, separated by pipe symbols (|), and the applet will use the first font available on the user's system. To ensure compatibility, finish with one of these generic names: Sans, Serif or Typewriter.
- Size: The size of the font in points.
- Style: The style can be plain, bold, italic or bold-italic.
An example font parameter would be: Comic Sans MS|Verdana|Arial|Sans,9,bold.
DefaultTarget
Every Item can link to a separate URL, and it can open it into a separate frame or window: we provide numbered Target parameters for that. However, you probably want most (or maybe all) the links to open into one particular frame. Enter the frame name in this parameter, and every item without its own Target parameter will open the link into this 'default' frame. You can use the HTML names _self, _top, _parent, _blank or _new. If you leave this parameter out of your datafile, links will open into _self (the frame or window containing the applet).
ShowVersion
A yes or no value. This parameter is included in all Cool Focus Flash applets, and its default is no. If set to 'yes', the version number of the applet (and other details) will be shown when the applet starts. This is included only for troubleshooting purposes, to help you determine which version of an applet you're using. It should be set to 'no' (or removed from your datafile) before you publish your page.
SoundClick
Specifies the absolute or relative URL of an MP3 audio file to play when a menu item is clicked. If you don't want to play a sound for this event, just leave this parameter out of your datafile.
SoundRelease
Specifies the absolute or relative URL of an MP3 audio file to play when the mouse is released after clicking an item. If you don't want to play a sound for this event, just leave this parameter out of your datafile.
Testmode
A yes or no value, with a default of 'no'. This parameter helps you to determine the best height for the applet after entering text and setting the font. Set this parameter to 'yes', then view the applet in your browser and move the mouse over it. You'll see the minimum width and height displayed in the browser's status bar (in compatible browsers), and you can copy these values (increasing them if you like) into the WIDTH and HEIGHT settings in the page's HTML code. When you're done, remember to set the Testmode parameter back to 'no' or delete it from your datafile. Note: If you've specified a list of font names in the applet's font parameters, it's a good idea to check that the applet will be tall enough whichever of those fonts is used: with Testmode set to 'yes', move each font name to the beginning of the list and refresh the page to see if Testmode reports that larger dimensions are needed.
TextColor
Sets the color of an item's text when not focused. The default is 000000 (black).
TextFocusColor
Sets the color of an item's text when the mouse moves over it. The default is FFFFFF (white).
Transparent
A choice of 'yes' or 'no' to whether the applet should be transparent in compatible browsers, replacing the ButtonColor with the content or background of the page behind the applet. (If the ButtonBorderColor matches the ButtonColor, it will also be made transparent.) Note that in incompatible browsers, the ButtonColor will still be visible. The default is no. If you do choose to set this parameter to 'yes', you must also alter the HTML code to support transparency (see Step 3 for this simple change).
Items
The parameters below are the most important ones: they set the menu items to be displayed by QuickBar. You must include at least one Item parameter or QuickBar will display nothing at all!
The parameters all have numbers after their names, and the numbers you use must be consecutive, starting from 1. If you want to show 10 items, but you forget to include an Item7 parameter, QuickBar will stop looking for any more, and will only find items 1 to 6.
Item1, Item2, ..., Itemn
These parameters specify the text you want QuickBar to display for each item. The items will displayed in numerical order, starting from 1, and you can include as many items for each caption as you like.
URL1, URL2, ..., URLn
The URL to which the Item with the same numeric suffix should link when clicked. To make items behave like links in all respects except linking somewhere (which can be useful for testing), use a dollar sign ($, or when encoded, %24) as the first character of the URL.
Target1, Target2, ..., Targetn
The name of the frame or window into which the URL with the same number should open. If you don't include this parameter, the frame name set in the DefaultTarget parameter will be used.
Message1, Message2, ..., Messagen
An optional text message to accompany each menu item, shown in the browser's status bar (in compatible browsers) when the mouse moves over an item.
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