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joshuabaker
Fri Nov 21, 2008 8:44 pm

Flash drop down nav bar
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Hello, 

I am very new to building websites and i have learned to create a flash nav bar. But i can't seem to figure out how to get the drop down part to go over the whole website. Dose anyone have any idea on how to make a flash name bar go over the rest of my site?

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Tony
Fri Nov 21, 2008 8:56 pm

RE:Flash drop down nav bar
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Don't use flash for navigation.

Flash is great for rich media (such as streaming video).
Flash is decent for in-browser games.

Flash is a horrible choice for navigation. Not everybody has flash. Not everybody has flash enabled. It doesn't scale with the page. It's not read by screen readers. It's not crawlable (easily) by bots.

Drop down menus can be (and should be) implemented with [url=http://www.cssplay.co.uk/menus/final_drop.html]CSS only

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rdrake
Sat Nov 22, 2008 2:20 am

RE:Flash drop down nav bar
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I second the above; just say no to Flash navigation.

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Unforgiven
Sat Nov 22, 2008 1:30 pm

RE:Flash drop down nav bar
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Sorry for the "me too" post, but the sentiment can't be supported enough, for the reasons posted by Tony. I think flash is great for things like Youtube - it removes the client side dependencies for codecs and whatnot, but not for core things like navigation or content.

It's just like Javascript - it's a tool that can do wonderful things when used properly, but if the user doesn't have it, they should still be able to use the site, even if in a "reduced state". Make sure that if you go there with javascript, java, and flash all disabled, you can still find the information on the site.

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Tony
Sat Nov 22, 2008 11:24 pm

Re: RE:Flash drop down nav bar
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"graceful degradation" is the term :wink:

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Unforgiven
Mon Nov 24, 2008 1:31 pm

Re: RE:Flash drop down nav bar
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"graceful degradation" is the term :wink:

Yarg, I knew that and didn't even toss it in there. Thanks.

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jernst
Mon Nov 24, 2008 2:41 pm

Re: Flash drop down nav bar
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Or, if you wanted to be a jerk about it, you could start with flash, then when they complain it doesnt work for everyone: add javascript then when they complain again, do it properly with the graceful degradation haha....that way you can make money 3 times :P

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Unforgiven
Mon Nov 24, 2008 3:05 pm

Re: Flash drop down nav bar
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Or, if you wanted to be a jerk about it, you could start with flash, then when they complain it doesnt work for everyone: add javascript then when they complain again, do it properly with the graceful degradation haha....that way you can make money 3 times :P

Hah, I propose a new term for this: Profitable Degradation.

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Tony
Mon Nov 24, 2008 3:54 pm

RE:Flash drop down nav bar
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Except that people with no Flash will not be able to use the navigation to find that "contact us" page to complain :wink:

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md
Mon Nov 24, 2008 8:55 pm

RE:Flash drop down nav bar
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That and no one will hire you to to a job three times.

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Unforgiven
Mon Nov 24, 2008 9:34 pm

RE:Flash drop down nav bar
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Stop ruining our fun with reality. :P
