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More Display Options for EZ-Directory
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INTRODUCTION
We have updated EZ-Directory so that you can have much more control over how the directory pages will look. You can now change the labels, the font face/color/size, background colors, and the buttons. Consequently, you can configure the directory to fit with the color scheme of the rest of your web site.
There are a great many configuration options now available for EZ-Directory. Some of these options can be readily and easily changed on the configuration page. However, the bulk of the changes must be coded into a Cascading Style Sheet. Working with a style sheet will require some technical knowledge. We have chosen this two tiered approach so that we can keep our system both “EZ” and feature rich. Several years ago we added many new features to EZ-Catalog. Many people were overwhelmed with the number of options, resulting in confusing and diminished usability of the tools. By using this tiered approach we can add some additional features for those who are less technical while providing a great deal of control of the look and feel to those who are more technical. We have also found that knowledge about style sheets is becoming more widely available.
NEW OPTIONS ON THE CONFIGURATION PAGE
The following options are now available:
- You can now specify to display descriptive information and links in the directory for both premier and standard entries. Before, only the premier listings included these additional options. This ability has been request often.
- You can now specify how wide the directory listing should be. Before, the width was a percentage of the width of the window. Now you can chose to have a different percentage or a fixed width.
- You can now specify the how the premier and the standard listing sections are labeled.
- You can now choose your own label for phone numbers.
As you will notice, now you can basically change all of the words that appeared in the directory. This will allow you to customize the directory to your industry but also makes the directory multilingual.
THE CASCADING STYLE SHEET.
For those who want a great deal of control over the look and feel of the directory listing, you can now specify a style sheet. While customizing a style sheet is somewhat technical, someone with a little knowledge and determination can configure the directory listing to match the color scheme of the web site. To jump start this process, you can create a style sheet based on the default settings. You can use EZ-TextEditor to maintain the style sheet online or upload one from your computer. Some of the options you can change are:
- Background colors
- Font styles, colors, and sizes.
- Border trim colors
- The graphics for maps, web sites, email, and more information. (The default graphics with yellow backgrounds are still available. However, we have also developed another set of graphics that will fit better with other color schemes. You can used either set or a set of your own making.)
We have tried to make the names of classes in the generated style sheet descriptive enough to be self explanatory. However, with so many options, you will need to experiment a little. There are some short instructions at the top of the generated style sheet. The default values are indicated in the style sheet as comments (/* and */). To make a change, you need to change the default values and then removed the “/* and */” to make the property active.
SUMMARY
Cascading Style Sheets are a powerful and an increasing popular tool to create the look and feel of a web site. EZ-Directory is the latest tool to incorporate this potent feature. Yet for those who do not have the time, desire, or knowledge to use style sheets, the options on the EZ-Directory configuration page provide an convenient way to get a directory functional quickly and easily.
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