The following can be specified for the left panel.
Width – This is set in pixels. Typically a left column will be somewhere between 100 and 150 pixels wide. This is sufficient to include any menu items. If you don't want to have a left hand column, which is often the case when you are creating a web page that looks like a typical sales letter, you can set the width to 0.
Padding – This is the space around any text that is entered into the left column. If you set this to 0 you will notice that the text is flush up to the left hand edge of the column, which is usually not ideal. In most cases a setting of 5 pixels is sufficient, but if you prefer to have more space you can increase this to 10 or even 15 pixels.
Color – Use the drop down list to select the background color you want for the left hand column. When you click on the drop down arrow a list of all the web-safe colors will appear. To select a color just click on it once with your mouse.
Font – The font you choose here (e.g. Verdana, Arial) will become the default font for all of the text appearing in the left hand column. You can have more than just menu items in this column so bear this in mind when setting the font. The font used for menu items can be further customized by selecting the Navigation Bar sub-tab on the Other tab.
Size – Here you select the default font size for text appearing in the left hand column.
Font color – Select a color to which all text entered in the left hand column will default. You can change this color later using Designer or you can change the color of the menu item using the Navigation Bar tab under the Other tab (see later).
Background Image – If you wish to use a background image rather than just having a background color you can select it by using the drop down button or by clicking on the Browse button. Any image you select will, by default, be tiled across and down the left hand column.
Include Navigation Menu Checkbox – If you wish to have a navigation menu appear in the left hand column (many web sites do this) just put a check in the Include Navigation Menu check box.
If you wish to edit the contents of the left hand column you can do so by clicking on the Designer button. This will open the Designer tool in a separate window.
If you have a check mark in the Include Navigation Bar check box you will notice that there is already a box in the Design part of Designer containing the words Navigation Menu. This is a marker for the navigation menu. It is where the various navigation links will automatically appear as you add new pages to your web site.
You can enter text above and below the Navigation Menu box by simply positioning the cursor before or after it with your mouse and then pressing Enter or typing the text you want to include.
You can also add graphics into the left hand column via the Design tool. For information on using the Design tool please see Chapter X Designer.
If you ever accidentally delete the Navigation Menu box you can easily re-insert it by right-clicking with your mouse anywhere in the Designer screen and selecting Insert Navigation Links from the menu that pops-up.
