There is really only one thing that is critical to getting MenuMachine to work properly, out of the box and that is that you MUST be using a GoLive site file to manage your files.
Virtually all problems with non-appearance of the menus are due to users not understanding how a GoLive site file is used.
The reason that a GoLive site file is necessary is that MenuMachine uses support files: an external JavaScript library called menumachine.js and a transparent GIF image called spacer.gif. These files must be linked to from each page that contains a MenuMachine object.
The ONLY way that MenuMachine can install and link to these files is if you are using a site file, so that MenuMachine can determine the root of your site. If you simply create a stand-alone page and then preview it, MenuMachine links to the "master" version of the support files in the MenuMachine folder: some browsers do not understand the file:// links created in this fashion.
If you have already created the menu page outside of a site, click here for instructions.
What happens if I don't save a site?
If you are creating a menu on a page and are testing it without saving it into a site, it might work great in GoLive and on your local system but no-one else can see it, or it won't preview in a browser.
Why does this happen?
This problem is almost always caused by a broken link to the MenuMachine support files, including a JavaScript library called menumachine.js and a transparent GIF image called spacer.gif. These files must be present in your site and linked correctly for the menus to work.
When you save a file that contains a MenuMachine menu, MenuMachine looks for the support files in your site. If it can't find them, it attempts to copy the master version of the files into your site. It places these files in the folder which is set as the default script library folder in Edit >> Preferences >> Script Library. This folder is called GeneratedItems by default. MenuMachine then updates your page to link to the new menumachine.js file.
There are circumstances that will cause MenuMachine to be unable to find either your site or the master menumachine.js file - this will result in MenuMachine writing a local file:// link to the master file rather than the file in your site. This will allow local previewing in some browsers (not all) but will cause the menu to fail when it is uploaded.
The things that will cause a failure to create the support files are:
1) Either you are not using a GoLive site file to manage your pages, you have not saved the page you are working on or you are saving the page outside the root of your site file.
Remedy: You must use a GoLive site file to manage your site. Use of a site file is the "normal" method of working with GoLive and if you are not doing so you are missing out on much of the functionality of the application.
MenuMachine needs the site file to be present and open in order to locate the Script Library Folder and create its support files. Save the pages containing the menus into a GoLive site and the support files and links will be created automatically.
2) The path to your site file / site folder contains non-alphanumeric characters such as option-f (ƒ), the trademark symbol(™), forward slashes (/), back slashes (\) etc.
Remedy: If you are using GoLive 6.0, update to GoLive 6.0.1. It is available for free from Adobe. If that doesn't resolve the issue, close GoLive and change the folder names to exclude the non-alphanumeric characters.
3) The site file is contained within the site folder. GoLive expects the site file to be at the same level as the site folder, not inside it.
Remedy: Close GoLive. Move the .site file out of the Site folder and place it at the same level as the folder containing your pages and images. Re-name the .site file and the Site folder. When you next open the site you will be asked to locate the site root folder - choose the folder containing all your pages.
The finished folder structure should look like this:
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GoLive CS: |
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IMPORTANT:
After performing any of these remedies you must open all pages which contain a MenuMachine menu, make a slight change (like add some text then remove it) and re-save. This will update the link to the menumachine.js file.
What if I don't want to or can't use a site?
Only advanced users should attempt to use MenuMachine without using a site. A large number of GoLive's features rely on a site file being present and you are missing out if you don't use one. If you do not know how to create a site we have some instructions here but you should also refer to your GoLive manual.
You should only attempt to work without using a site if you are extremely confident in editing source code.
There is a pathsettings.xml file in the MenuMachine folder which can be used to hard-code paths to the MenuMachine support file (e.g. menumachine.js). The .xml file contains documentation on how to do this.
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