nav manger master page appearing in multiple locations

[Dmitry Terner]

Hi guys,

Here is the issue, I want my navigation to look like this:

1. Page1
1. Page a
2. Page b
3. Page 2
   
2. Page 2
3. Page 3

As you can see Page 2 is a top level nav item but also appears as a sub section of Page 1

How do you handle this with nav manager? When I connect it to my navigation list as a sub- page it does not render.

Thanks in advance for any insights.

- Dmitry

[Tony Gayter]

As far as I am aware, and goign by logical though, you cant. A page can only physically exist in one place, you can referance it in lists etc but nav manager wont pull it though, it will only pull the page though when you use the list its attatched to. why would anyone want to create this horrendous structure anyway (Im assuming its not actually you but what a 'client' wants)

[Dmitry Terner]

Yeah I was afraid that is the case... but unfortunately the client does want this.

The site structure is split up into two sections they call Industries and Capabilities and Some Capabilities are also listed as sub Items of an Industry.

I am thinking of creating a separate page and referencing the content across but that seems messy as well.

In any case, thanks Tony.

- Dmitry

[Jian Huang]

Hi guys,

There is actually a solution for this.

For any secondary links, simply create a page that does nothing but
redirects to an anchor, either via metarefresh or javascript.

Also, make sure content class of the redirect page is set to master
page so it show up in navigation.

Best,

-Jian

[Tony Gayter]

Yes that is one way around it, just need to keep a record of pages which are linked to what otherwise you would end up with dead links if you remove the actual page. Also make sure its a 301 redirect so google doesnt get teh hump

[Jian Huang]

or have

<META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="NOINDEX, NOFOLLOW">

[Richard Hauer (5 Limes)]

How about creating a now Master Page that has nothing but a container
in it and attaching the other page to that?

HTH.

Richard Hauer.

> > actual page. Also make sure its a 301 redirect so google doesnt get teh hump- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Jian Huang]

Hi Richard,

That is a very creative suggestion.

By attaching the other page, I assume you meant referencing the other
way, else it would create publication issues due to pages being
connected to multiple locations.

There are 2 things one would have to be aware of if one choose to use
this method:
- Instead of using the single parameter navigation output area, one
has to use navigation emulation with all 4 parameters in navigation
outpput area.
- Links to deeper navigation will not appear.

For example:
Page 1
Page a
Page a.1
Page a.2
Page a.3
Page b
Page c
Page 2
Page a (container referencing Page a)

Page a.1, Page a.2, Page a.3 will not be rendered as navigation item
when viewed from Page a (container referencing Page a).

-Jian

On Jul 30, 6:21 pm, "Richard Hauer (5 Limes)"

[Dmitry Terner]

Thanks guys this has been very interesting and helpful. I think I will go with the meta refresh approach in this case.

- Dmitry

[Richard Hauer (5 Limes)]

Hi Jian,

What I was thinking was a bit simpler than that.
The down side of my approach is that you'll get different URLs as you
will end up with 2 different pages, but they will contain identical
content so the client probably won't have an issue with that.
There may be some tweaks needed to the Nav code to ensure the context
(i.e. "current node") is correct too. A will only recognise its
context where it's being used as a master page, not where its being
used as content to another master page. I think this could be handled
with some thought.

I was thinking:

Page to dupe = A
A is a master page and connected in to the nav as usual
B is also a master page with a Container and no content other than the
container tag. I can't remember whether it _has_ to also have a list
for Nav Manager to accept it as a master page but if so don't include
the list in the markup

Add A into Nav tree wherever you want
Add B wherever you want
Connect A to the Container in B. Same page, not a reference.

B will have its own URL, different than A - it will need it as the
context highlighting in the menu may be different as I mentioned
above.
The main thing is that the content will be identical and that changes
to Page A are automatically reflected everywhere, obviously.

The problem with the redirect approach is that it will not be able to
correctly present the different contexts and may confuse the user.
Clicking a link in one section and sending them to a different section
is a bit dramatic.

HTH.

Richard H.

> > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

[Jian Huang]

Hi Richard,

Neat idea, and I actually tested it out when it was first suggested
because it could potentially become a best practice.

The main obstacle is that links pages under A would not appear when
viewer from the container page B.

Another problem one may have to deal with is that pages with duplicate
content are now published onto the same site, not really SEO friendly.

However, this is definitely a solution for sites that require the
level of context you have mentioned.

Best,

-Jian

On Aug 2, 9:28 pm, "Richard Hauer (5 Limes)" <richard.ha...@gmail.com>

[Richard Hauer (5 Limes)]

Hi Jian,

I suspect the issue with the links is because we have broken the
Navigation chain.
To restore it, on the "Empty Container Template" that is also a master
page (B in this case), add a List and mark it as the navigation list.
Then reference the navigation list on A to the navigation list on B.
That should restore the chain - although it's a bit ugly and manual.
I can't remember if the Nav Indexing system automatically follows
references so Nav Mgr might need a prod in the right direction there
too.

Regards the SEO issue - if the client insists on putting the same
content in two places then it's probably moot and your SEO will
suffer; not much we can do about that. How much it will cost is
anyone's guess but I would suspect that if you only do it a few times
you're probably going to be OK. Do it a thousand times and you're in
for a pretty aweful PageRank.

If you use the "refresh" or "redirect" model you will break your
context (nav highlighting/breadcrumb) and the UX will suffer. Most
clients will rate UX over SEO. I would too.

Rgds,
Richard H.

[Jian Huang]

Hi Richard,

Your suspicion is correct regarding the broken naigation chain. I
have also tested out what you have suggested in my first test. The
navigation would not be displayed because navigation manager do not
accept references nor secondary linking appearances.

I just want to add that in a site with page search capability
(Delivery Server or google mini), duplicate pages will show up
multiples times in search.

I agree with your stance on the solution that is applicable per
situation and client requirement.

Best regards,

-Jian

On Aug 7, 9:13 pm, "Richard Hauer (5 Limes)" <richard.ha...@gmail.com>