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To create a new tour, follow these steps:
- Make sure you are logged into your account. Click the Login link in the upper right of any MapsAlive page.
- Click Create New Tour in the Resources menu on the left from any page in the Tour Builder.
This step takes you to the Create a new Tour page. |
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To add a page to a tour, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour you want to add the new page to.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click Add Page in the Tour menu on the left.
This step takes you to the Add Page page where you can type a page name and choose between adding a map page or an info page. |
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To add a slide to a page , follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour containing the page.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click the page thumbnail for the page you want to add a slide to.
This step takes you to the Map page.
- Click Add Slide in the Page menu on the left.
This step takes you to the Slide Content page for your new slide. |
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To delete a tour, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the red X under the tour's thumbnail image.
This step displays a confirmation dialog.
- Click OK on the confirmation dialog.
This step displays a second confirmation dialog asking if you really want to delete the tour.
- Click OK on the second confirmation dialog.
The tour is deleted from your account. IMPORTANT: A deleted tour, page, or slide cannot be recovered. It is permanently removed from our database and cannot be restored. |
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To delete a page, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour containing the page you want to delete.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click the red X under the page's thumbnail image.
This step displays a confirmation dialog.
- Click OK on the confirmation dialog.
This step displays a second confirmation dialog asking if you really want to delete the page.
- Click OK on the second confirmation dialog.
The page is deleted from the tour.
IMPORTANT: A deleted tour, page, or slide cannot be recovered. It is permanently removed from our database and cannot be restored. |
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To delete a slide, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour containing the page with the slide you want to delete.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click the slide name in the Tour Navigator on the left.
This step selects the slide.
- Click Delete Slide in the Slide menu on the left.
This step displays a confirmation dialog.
- Click OK on the confirmation dialog.
The slide is deleted from the tour.
IMPORTANT: A deleted tour, page, or slide cannot be recovered. It is permanently removed from our database and cannot be restored. |
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| See my changes on the internet (let other people see my tour) |
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In order for you and other people to see changes in your tour on the internet, you must first Publish your tour.
To see your changes on the internet, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour you want to publish.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click Tour Preview in the top menu next to the Tour Builder logo.
This step takes you to the Tour Preview page.
- Click Publish in the top menu.
This step displays a confirmation dialog with the tour URL.
- Click OK on the confirmation dialog to publish your tour.
This step updates your tour and makes it available on the internet immediately. Why do you have to publish your tours? Because changes that you make in the Tour Builder are private until you publish. This lets you work on your tour without affecting people who might be viewing your tour on the internet. You can see how the changes look in the Tour Preview. When you are happy with your changes, you publish the tour and the updated tour becomes available on the internet immediately. |
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Once you have published your tour, its URL is displayed in the upper right on the Tour Preview page. You can click the link to view your tour in a new browser window.
The tour URL is also displayed on the Tour Manager page. |
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| Link to my tour from my website |
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There are several ways to integrate your interactive tours with your website. To learn more please see our Geek to Geek page.
For a specific tour, you can get the exact code you need by clicking Tour Preview and then clicking Show Code Snippets in the top menu on the Tour Preview page. This displays HTML for the different integration methods that you can copy and past directly into your own web pages. |
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In order for you to download your tour, you must first Publish your tour.
To download your tour, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour you want to download.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click Tour Preview in the top menu next to the Tour Builder logo.
This step takes you to the Tour Preview page.
- If you have not published your tour, Click Publish in the top menu.
This step updates your tour and makes it available on the internet immediately.
- Click Download in the top menu.
This step a confirmation dialog.
- Click OK, on the confirmation dialog.
This step creates a zip file containing the published version of this tour.
- Click the link in the zip file message to the right of the Tour Preview logo.
This step opens a dialog that lets you open or save the zip file on your computer.
See the ReadMe.pdf file in the zip file for instructions on how to use your downloaded tour.
Note: You must have a paid membership to download your tour. |
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To make a map zoomable , follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour containing the page.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click the page thumbnail for the page containing the map.
This step takes you to the Map page.
- Click Page Options in the Page menu at left.
This step takes you to the Page Options page.
- Check the Enable MapZoom box in the Map Options section.
This step makes your map zoomable.
Once you have made your map zoomable, additional options let you change the location of the map inset, set the map inset size, and specify whether to show the zoom and pan controls.
Note that you can control how much the map is zoomed and where it is panned when your tour displays. Do this on the Map Page by adjusting the zoom and pan to your liking, and then click the icon below the map that looks like a globe with a checkmark next to it (the one that says "Save current zoom/pan settings as the default" when you mouse over it). |
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| Change my map image (upload a new map) |
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To change your map image, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour containing the page.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click the page thumbnail for the page containing the map.
This step takes you to the Map page.
- Click Upload Map in the Page menu on the left.
This step takes you to the Upload Map page.
- Click Browse to choose a new map image from your computer.
This step displays the Choose file dialog.
- Choose a new map image from your computer and Click Open
This step selects the new map image.
- Click Load.
This step loads the new map image. |
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| Turn off the Page Title in my tour |
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To turn off the page title, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour containing the page.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click Tour Options in the left menu.
This step takes you to the Tour Options page.
- Uncheck Show Title Bar in the Title and Footer Options section.
This step hides the title bar in your tour.
Note that you can also control whether a header and/or footer stripe of color displays in your tour. |
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| Turn off the colored header and footer stripes in my tour |
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To turn off the colored header and footer stripes, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour containing the page.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click Tour Options in the left menu.
This step takes you to the Tour Options page.
- Uncheck Show Header Stripe and/or Show Footer Stripe in the Title and Footer Options section.
This step turns off the header and/or footer stripes.
Note that you can also control whether a title bar displays in your tour. |
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| Turn off the Page Menu in my tour |
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To turn off the page menu, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour containing the page.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click Tour Options in the left menu.
This step takes you to the Tour Options page.
- Choose No Menu from the Menu Location dropdown in the Menu Options section.
This step turns off the page menu. |
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| Turn off the Created by MapsAlive footer text |
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To turn off the Created by MapsAlive footer, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour you want to remove the footer from.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click Tour Options from the menu on the left.
This step takes you to the Tour Options page.
- Check Hide MapsAlive Link in the Branding Options section.
This step turns off the MapsAlive footer. |
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To add your own tour footer, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click Tour Options in the Tour menu on the left.
This step takes you to the Tour Options page.
- Type your text in the Footer Text box in the Title and Footer Options section.
This step lets you specify your own footer including a hyperlink.
You can include plain text and/or a link to your website or an email address in your footer. Instructions for how to format the footer can be found by mousing over the Explain box next to the Footer Text field on the Tour Options page. |
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| Choose a new marker for a slide |
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To choose a new marker for a slide, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour containing the page with the slide.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click the Slide Name in the Tour Navigator on the left.
This step takes you to the Slide Content page.
- Click Choose New Marker in the upper right below the Tour Builder Logo. This step takes you to the Marker Options page. Important: if the Instructions box is visible you will have to close it before you can see the Choose New Marker link.
- Click the Marker dropdown list and select a marker from the list.
This step sets a new marker for the slide.
- Click Edit Slide Content to go back to the Slide Content page.
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To create your own markers, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click My Markers in the Resources menu on the left.
This step takes you to the My Markers page.
- Click Add Marker in the upper right below the Tour Builder logo.
This step takes you to the Edit Marker page.
You can create markers using symbols, shapes (rectangles, circles, and polygons), or by combining symbols and shapes. Each marker generally has two appearances — one is the normal appearance and the other is the selected appearance that is displayed when you move your mouse over a marker. Thus, when you create a marker you define its normal and selected appearances. If you don't want the marker to change appearance when you mouse over it you would define both normal and selected appearances to be the same. You could also define a marker that has no normal appearance and only appears when you select it — this is common when working with map images that already have symbols such as numbered circles, dots for cities, or building shapes that might only highlight when you mouse over them.
You can choose the fill color and opacity for the normal and selected appearances. To make a solid shape, choose 100% opacity. To make a shape with no fill color, choose 0% opacity. To add a border to your shape, set the line thickness to 1 or greater and select the line color and opacity for the normal and selected appearances. Again, you would set the line opacity to 0% if you don't want a border. Or you can set the line thickness to 0px, but that will turn the shape border off for both normal and selected appearances. If your marker combines a symbol with a shape you can specify the location of your marker's symbol relative to the marker's shape. The default is to center the marker in the shape, but you can choose any other x, y position. |
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To upload your own symbols, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click My Symbols from the Resources menu on the left.
This step takes you to the My Symbols page.
- Click Add Symbol.
This step takes you to the Add Symbol page.
- Type a symbol name.
- Click Browse.
This step opens the Choose file dialog.
- Select a symbol file from your computer.
- Click Open.
This step selects the symbol file.
- Click Load.
This step loads the symbol into your account and makes it available in the symbol lists on the Edit Marker page.
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| Use a number, letter or symbol that is already on my map image as a marker |
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| You can take advantage of numbers, letters and symbols that are already on your map image by creating a shape marker and than placing it over the number, letter or symbol on the map in MapsAlive.
To create a shape marker, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click My Markers in the Resources menu on the left.
This step takes you to the My Markers page.
- Click Add Marker in the upper right below the Tour Builder logo.
This step takes you to the Edit Marker page.
Next, choose Circle or Rectangle from the Background Shape dropdown. For circles you can set the radius and for rectangles you can set the width and height. Choose colors and opacities for the normal and selected marker appearance. If you want the number, letter or symbol to show through when the marker is selected, set the Selected Fill Color Opacity to something like 25%. If you don't need a normal appearance because the number, letter or symbol works fine as the marker, set the Normal Fill Color Opacity to 0.
Now you can associate your new marker with a slide and place the marker over the number, letter or symbol. |
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To set the size of your tour, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour whose size you want to change.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click Layout Options.
This step takes you to the Layout Options page.
- Click Edit Sizes.
This step takes you to the Layout Sizes page.
- Select Max Canvas Width and/or Max Canvas Height from the Tour Size dropdowns to restrict the canvas area of your tour to a maximum width and/or height, but still allow MapsAlive to choose an optimum layout.
- Select Max Tour Width and/or Max Tour Height from the Tour Size dropdowns to restrict your tour to a maximum width and/or height, but still allow MapsAlive to choose an optimum layout.
- Select Exact Width and/or Exact Height from the Tours Size dropdowns if you want to set your tour to an exact size.
- Type values in the Width and Height fields corresponding to the desired tour size.
- Click Back to Layout Options to go back to the Layout Options page and preview your changes.
Tip: Only choose Exact for both width and height if your tour must be a specific size. If one dimension needs to be exact, but the other can vary, use Exact for the one and choose Max for the other.
Note: When you set both the width and height to exact dimensions, your map, photo, and text along with any page title, menu or banner will be placed within the size you choose. |
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To change the layout of your tour, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click the page thumbnail for the page whose layout you want to change.
This step takes you to the Map page.
- Click Layout Options.
This step takes you to the Layout Options page.
- Click Choose New Layout.
This step takes you to the Layout Choices page.
- Click the layout you want.
This steps takes you back to the Layout Options page to let you view and edit your choice at its actual size. |
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To turn off Auto Layout, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click the page thumbnail for the page whose layout you want to change.
This step takes you to the Map page.
- Click Layout Options.
This step takes you to the Layout Options page.
- Click Disable Auto Layout .
This step prevents Auto Layout from running. |
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| Change my tour margins and spacing |
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To change the margins and spacing in your tour, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click the page thumbnail for the page whose layout you want to change.
This step takes you to the Map page.
- Click Layout Options.
This step takes you to the Layout Options page.
- Click Edit Sizes.
This step takes you to the Layout Sizes page.
- Type values for the Canvas Margins, Popup Margins, and/or Content Spacing.
- Click Back to Layout Options.
This step takes you to the Layout Options page where you can preview your margin and spacing settings. |
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| Set the initial pan and zoom settings for my map |
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To set the initial pan and zoom settings for a zoomable map, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click the page thumbnail for the page whose map setting you want to change.
This step takes you to the Map page.
- Use the pan and zoom controls to set the initial zoom level and visible area of the map.
This step determines the initial zoom level and visible area of your map when this tour page loads in a browser.
- Click the small globe icon on the far right of the controls below the map.
This step saves the pan and zoom settings for the map. |
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To add a banner to your tour, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click Tour Options in the Tour menu on the left.
This step takes you to the Tour Options page.
- Click Banner Options on the upper right below the Tour Builder logo.
This step takes you to the Banner Options Page.
- Check the Show Banner checkbox.
This step specifies that you want to show the banner.
- Click Browse to choose a banner image from your computer.
This step displays the Choose file dialog.
- Choose a banner image from your computer and Click Open.
This step selects the banner image.
- Click Load.
This step loads the banner image.
- Click Back to Tour Options to go back to the Tour Options page.
Other options let you specify a URL to go to when the banner is clicked, tooltip text, and whether the page associated with the banner should open in a new window. |
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| Create an unbranded tour (remove the banner) |
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To create a tour that can be used both branded and unbranded, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click Tour Options in the Tour menu on the left.
This step takes you to the Tour Options page.
- Check Allow Banner Hiding in the Branding Options section.
This step specifies that you want to be able to use your tour both with and without the banner.
When you publish your tour, MapsAlive automatically creates a URL that you can use to load your tour without the banner. The unbranded tour includes '_' as shown below:
Branded: tour.mapsalive.com/1234/page1.htm
Unbranded: tour.mapsalive.com/1234/page1_.htm |
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| Show a specific slide when my map displays |
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To show a specific slide when your map page displays, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click the slide name in the Tour Navigator on the left.
This step takes you to the Slide Content page.
- Click Marker Options in the Slide menu.
This step takes you to the Marker Options page.
- Find the Marker Locator URL at the bottom of the page.
This is the URL to use to display that slide when the map first displays.
The Marker Locator URL includes a query string with the marker id similar to:
tour.mapsalive.com/1234?marker=16900
where 1234 is the tour number and 16900 is the marker id found on the Marker Options page. |
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To show popup slides, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click the page name in the Tour Navigator on the left.
This step takes you to the Map page.
- Click Layout Options in the Page menu on the left.
This step takes you to the Layout Options page.
- Click Switch to Popup Slides.
This step enables popup slides. |
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| Set the click URL for a marker |
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To set the URL for a marker, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour whose marker you want to change.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click the Slide name in the Tour Navigator on the left.
This step takes you to the Slide Content page.
- Click Marker Options in the Slide menu on the left.
This step takes you to the Marker Options page.
- Choose Link to URL from the Click Action dropdown.
This step displays a text box that lets you type in the URL. You can also choose whether to open the URL in a new window and whether you want the slide to display for this marker on mouseover. |
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| Add a hyperlink to my slide text |
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To Add a hyperlink to slide text, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour containing the page.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click the page thumbnail for the page with the slide you want to modify.
This step takes you to the Map page.
- Click the slide name in the Tour Navigator
This step takes you to the Slide Content page.
- In the Text field, click the Hyperlink Manager button - it looks like a globe with a chain link.
This step opens the Hyperlink Manager window.
- Type the URL for the page you want to link to and enter the Link Text you want to display. If you want to enter an email link, click the E-mail tab on the Hyperlink Manager window.
To remove a hyperlink, click the Remove Link button - it looks like a globe with a broken chain link.
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| Add video, other media, and HTML content to my slides |
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MapsAlive has powerful support for adding video, other media, and HTML content to your slides. See the Slide Content FAQ to learn how. |
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| Add a categorized directory to my tour |
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To add a categorized directory to your tour, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour you want to add a directory to.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click Tour Options in the Tour Builder menu on the left.
This step takes you to the Tour Options page.
- Click Directory Options in the upper right below the Tour Builder logo.
This step takes you to the Directory Options page.
- Check the Show Directory option.
This step enables the categorized directory.
You can customize the directory using additional fields on the Directory Options page. The Explain boxes for each field describe the different options. |
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To add a new category follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click My Categories in the Tour Builder Resources menu on the left.
This step takes you to the My Categories page.
- Click the Add Category link in the upper right.
This step takes you to the Add Category page. You can choose a category name, title, type and position.
You can assign a slide to one or more categories on the Slide Content page. |
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| Assign a category to a slide |
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| To assign a category to a slide, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour containing the page.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page. - Click the page thumbnail for the page containing the slide.
This step takes you to the Map page. - Click the slide name in the Tour Navigator on the left.
This step takes you to the Slide Content page. - Select the categories from the Category List.
This step assigns the slide to the category or categories selected. You can choose more than one category for a slide.
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| Exclude a slide from the directory |
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To exclude a slide from the directory, follow these steps:
- Click My Tours from any page.
This step takes you to the My Tours page.
- Click the tour thumbnail for the tour containing the page.
This step takes you to the Tour Manager page.
- Click the slide name in the Tour Navigator on the left.
This step takes you to the Slide Content page.
- Check the Exclude from directory checkbox.
This step removes this slide from the directory. |
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