Chapter 2: Anatomy of a WebMap

At the heart of Content Analyzer is the WebMap, your key to understanding the content and structure of your (or anybody else's) Web site. This chapter describes the essential information about maps, including:

  • What makes up a WebMap When you create a map, the map shows every resource in your site: pages, images, audio files, video files, Java applets, and so on. The way the map objects are shown gives you important information about how those resources are used in a site. Object icons, label colors, and placement in relation to other objects let you quickly see the types of resources in a site and how they're organized.

  • The Tree view The Tree view represents site resources as a tree-like hierarchy with the home page at the top. Like a family tree, you can see "parent" objects and their "children."

  • The Cyberbolic view The Cyberbolic view depicts your site as an interconnected web of resources, and offers an excellent overview of your site.

  • The basics of working with maps: opening, saving, and printing You can open existing maps, make changes to them, and then save those changes. For a hard copy of the contents of the site, print out the map or export it to HTML and then print it.

Topics in this chapter:

What's in a WebMap

The Tree View

The Cyberbolic View

Opening, Saving, and Printing Existing Maps

What's in a WebMap

If you manage a Web site or are a Webmaster, you know that a Web site consists of pages and other resources--such as images and audio files--and the links (cross-references on Web pages) that connect them. A WebMap depicts how resources in the site are related to each other. In the Tree view, which is much like the Microsoft Windows File Manager or Windows Explorer, the site's resources are shown in a linear hierarchy. In the Cyberbolic view, the site's resources are shown in a web-like structure that emphasizes how the resources are interconnected. Throughout this manual, we refer to Web site resources as objects in the map.

 

A WebMap shows you the resources in your site and the relationships among them. 

Often, only pages are displayed in a map, but there might also be other objects in a Web site. These objects can be displayed in the map, or they can be hidden. If you like, you can display different objects in each view. For example, you might choose to show all the objects in the Tree view, but only the HTML pages and image files in the Cyberbolic view. You can change what's displayed by adjusting Content Analyzer's display options (see "Showing or Hiding Types of Objects" in Chapter 3, "Creating and Customizing WebMaps").

A map is not only a visual reference to your Web site, but it also acts as a database of the site. When you map a site, Content Analyzer records an array of information about each object and link: hyperlink text, size, MIME type, hit count, and so on. Having this abundance of information at your fingertips will help you manage your site more easily and efficiently.

The Map Window

A WebMap appears in a map window, which can be controlled and manipulated like any other window in the Microsoft Windows environment. You can minimize the window so it appears as an icon, which you can then double-click to reopen the window. You can also move and resize the window, or open multiple map windows to show different maps.

The Two Map Views: Tree and Cyberbolic

The Content Analyzer window is divided into two panes, one for the Tree view and one for the Cyberbolic view. These two views offer two ways of looking at the same map. When you create your first map, the Tree and Cyberbolic views share the screen in two window panes. You can change how much space each view takes up by grabbing the "splitter" that divides the panes and sliding it left or right.

The splitter divides the map window into two panes 

As you work with Content Analyzer, you'll discover which view you prefer. You'll probably find yourself switching from one view to the other, depending on the task at hand. For example, many people find that the Cyberbolic view is excellent for understanding the overall structure of a Web site, but prefer to do their browsing or customization from the more linear Tree view. And, because you can set different display options in each view, you have quick access to much more information: you can focus on one aspect of the site in one view, and another aspect in the other view.

For more information on the Tree view, see "The Tree View." For more details on the Cyberbolic view, see "The Cyberbolic View."

The Content Analyzer Toolbars

Content Analyzer has two toolbars: the Main toolbar and the Cyberbolic toolbar. When you place your cursor over each toolbar button, a description of its function appears in the status bar at the bottom of the window.

The Main toolbar 

 

The Cyberbolic toolbar 

Map Objects

In the Tree view, each page in a map is represented by an icon like this:

 

The Cyberbolic view does not show page icons. Pages are easy to identify in this view, however, because they either have question mark icons or no icons at all. A question mark indicates that an object is unexplored.

Each map object is accompanied by a label, which you can change; see "Changing How Objects are Labeled" in Chapter 3, "Creating and Customizing WebMaps."

Of course, there are many types of resources besides HTML pages that might exist in a Web site. For instance, a site might contain some GIF images, shown with the Mona Lisa icon. Or perhaps it has a fancy new Java applet, or a video file. Every resource in a Web site translates into an object type in the map, and is represented by a unique icon.

The following two tables show the icons for each object type you can display in a WebMap. It's possible that some of these object types might not exist in your Web site. Or perhaps they exist, but are currently hidden (see "Showing or Hiding Types of Objects" in Chapter 3, "Creating and Customizing WebMaps," and "Showing or Hiding Individual Objects" in Chapter 8, "Site Management Tips & Techniques"). As the last entry in the following table shows, if Content Analyzer finds an object type it doesn't recognize, it appears in the map as an unknown object type with a special question mark icon.

Icon

Object Type

 

HTML page

 

HTML page with form

 

Page with frame

 

WebMap

 

Mailto

 

Image

 

Audio

 

Video

 

Gateway script

 

Application

 

Microsoft Word file

 

Text

 

FTP

 

Gopher

 

WAIS

 

NNTP

 

Telnet

 

Generic Internet Service

 

Unknown object type

The following table shows the icons Content Analyzer uses to indicate third-party Web site objects:

 

Java applet or script

 

PDF file

 

PostScript file

Alternate Route Icons

Besides object icons, you'll also see link icons in the Tree view. These icons represent alternate routes to objects that Content Analyzer has previously discovered during exploration of the site. For information on alternate routes, see Chapter 5, All About Routes.

How Imagemaps Appear in a Map

Client-side imagemaps are represented in a WebMap by the image icon. Any objects that are referenced by a client-side imagemap are shown as siblings of the imagemap (children of the page containing the imagemap). These objects can be explored, just like other pages; no assistance is required from a CGI script. On the other hand, server-side imagemaps, which use CGI scripts, are shown in the map with only an image icon and an associated gateway icon (for the CGI script). The gateway may appear as a broken link (displayed in red), depending on the server. Server-side imagemaps are "dead ends"; further mapping isn't possible at this time. For information on changing server-side imagemaps into client-side imagemaps, see "Turning Server-side Imagemaps into Client-side Imagemaps" in Chapter 8, "Site Management Tips & Techniques."

Object and Route Label Colors

The various colors in Microsoft maps help you quickly recognize what kind of object you're looking at.

This Color

Identifies

Black

Onsite, main routes through the site. See "Main and Alternate Routes (Black and Green Labels)," which follows this table.

Blue

Offsite objects.

Green

Alternate routes to an object. See "Main and Alternate Routes (Black and Green Labels)," which follows this table.

Red

An unavailable object (broken hyperlink, unavailable server, and so on); red overrides any other color assignment

Magenta 

The selected object, in the Cyberbolic view only.
Also, the most-used routes (busiest links) are shown with magenta lines between objects (only in Cyberbolic view). This feature is available only if you've imported usage data into your map; see "Importing Usage Data" in Chapter 8, "Site Management Tips & Techniques," for details.

Cyan 

The home page, in the Cyberbolic view only.

The various label colors (viewable online) 

Main and Alternate Routes (Black and Green Labels)

Every object in the mapped site is represented only once in the hierarchy as a main route. Main routes are shown with black labels (unless they're offsite, in which case their labels are blue). However, there could be one or more alternate routes to the same object--that is, several hyperlink references to that object. These alternate routes are shown with green labels. (For full details about how routes are determined, see Chapter 5, All About Routes. Note that, by default, alternate routes are shown in the Tree view but hidden in Cyberbolic view. You can change this if you like by adjusting Content Analyzer's display options; see "Showing or Hiding Types of Objects" in Chapter 3, "Creating and Customizing WebMaps." Multiple routes to the same object are what makes the World Wide Web a web: there can be many cross-connections between resources. So while there is only one instance of a particular object in a Web site, there might be several hyperlink references to the same object. For instance, most sites have several links back to the home page, and these links are all alternate routes.

If you're a Webmaster, alternate routes are important because they represent the different navigation routes through your site. When you display them in the WebMap, you can analyze and then change the structure of your site. If you publish maps of your site, you can decide which alternate routes to include and which to hide.

There are several other things you can do with alternate routes: you can change an alternate route into the main route, display alternate routes with link icons that show site structure (in the Tree view only), or control whether alternate routes are able to be expanded (in the Tree view only). See Chapter 5, All About Routes, for details.

Offsite Objects (Blue Labels)

Your Web site or the site you're mapping can contain links that point to other sites. A map object that's located on a different site than its parent page's site is an offsite object. Content Analyzer displays offsite objects in blue.

Any children of an offsite page are displayed in colors relative to the offsite page: black if they're on the main route, green if they're alternate routes, red if they're unavailable, or blue if they're on another site.

Note If you begin mapping a site at a page other than the home page, the map could include offsite links to objects in a region of the site that wasn't included in the map. Note also that you can tell Content Analyzer to extend the domains that are initially mapped; in that case, the particular offsite domains you specify will be shown as onsite (black labels instead of blue). For more information, see "The Extensions Tab" in Chapter 3, "Creating and Customizing WebMaps."

Unavailable Objects (Red Labels)

When Content Analyzer can't reach a page or other object, it displays the object with a red label. There are several reasons an object might be unavailable:

  • The object no longer exists on the server, or the hyperlink is incorrect (an HTTP 404 error); in this case, the hyperlink is truly "broken."

  • The server or computer on which the object resides is down; it has lost power or been disconnected.

  • The server is busy; there's a lot of Internet traffic going in and out of the site right now.

  • If you're mapping from the Web, your connection to the Internet is faulty.

  • The object requires a password (or other security procedure) for access.

When you're mapping from the Web, sometimes a page or other object is unavailable because of heavy traffic at a site or some other network problem. If an object's label is red for this reason, you can often wait for the traffic to subside and then successfully explore the page. If Content Analyzer is able to reach the object, the label is no longer red. (If you're up on your HTTP status codes, you can view the status code for the object in the Properties dialog box. See "Using the Properties Dialog Box to Analyze an Object" in Chapter 8, "Site Management Tips & Techniques.")

A hyperlink is truly broken if the object the hyperlink refers to has changed in some way. For example, the object might have been renamed, moved, or deleted from the site. Or the hyperlink itself might be incorrect. In that case, you might want to remap the site later to create a more accurate map, assuming you've repaired the broken link yourself (if it's your own site), or that the site's Webmaster has fixed the broken links. (See "Locating and Fixing Broken Links" in Chapter 7, "Managing Links," for more details about dealing with broken links.) In the last two instances, you might want to try to reach the object again later (by choosing Verify Links from the Mapping menu).

Viewing Map Objects in Your Web browser

As you create and manage your Web site, you can use your WebMap to quickly display objects in your Web browser. For example, if you're checking the ALT strings of images and you suspect that a particular ALT string is not appropriate for the image, you can quickly look at the image in your browser to double-check.

To view a page or other map object in your browser
  1. In either the Tree or Cyberbolic view, double-click the map object you'd like to view in your Web browser. Content Analyzer launches your Web browser and displays the object.

  2. If you like, rearrange the windows on your screen so that the map window and your browser are side-by-side. In Windows 95, close all applications other than Content Analyzer and your browser, then right-click a blank area on the Windows taskbar and choose Tile Vertically from the menu that appears.

  3. Continue double-clicking map objects to view them in your browser.

Although your map is likely to contain mostly pages, it may contain other objects (such as audio or video files). You can double-click these objects also. Depending on how your browser is configured, it either lets you view or hear the object, or it asks you to configure a helper application that will help you do so.

A page in the Cinemania site, shown with map and browser windows side-by-side 

Desynchronizing the Map and Your Browser

When you navigate with your Web browser, the map stays in sync with your browser; the selected object changes in the map to reflect the page you've traveled to with your browser. That way, you can use the map to track your progress through the site. If you like, you can keep your map and browser activity separate. This lets you keep your context in the map while you explore the site further with your browser. For more information on how Content Analyzer works with your browser, see Appendix , Appendix A: Content Analyzer Setup.

The Tree View

The Tree view, shown in the left pane of the map window, is similar to an outline or a family tree. If you've used the Windows Explorer or Windows File Manager, you'll find that the Tree view works in much the same way. In the Tree view, pages and other Web site resources are shown in a linear hierarchy, with the home page at the top. The children of the home page--that is, pages and other resources linked to that page--are shown indented beneath the home page, the grandchildren of the home page are shown a level down from there, and so on.

The Tree view 

In the Tree view, every object in the map has an icon associated with it that gives you a hint about what type of object it is. For example, a page has an icon of a sheet of paper. (To view a table that lists the object types that can appear in a WebMap, along with their associated icons, see "Map Objects.") Also, every object has a label (some text that describes the object). An object's label need not be permanent. You can change it, as you will see in "Changing How Objects are Labeled" in Chapter 3, "Creating and Customizing WebMaps."

In this view, some pages might have control icons next to them. Control icons appear as plus signs, minus signs, or question marks. For more information about control icons, see "What the Tree-View Plus, Minus, and Question Mark Icons Mean."

What the Tree-View Plus, Minus, and Question Mark Icons Mean

In the Tree view, pages in a map might be preceded by one of the following smaller control icons:

 Plus: The page contains hyperlinks to other objects that are not shown; the hierarchy is collapsed at this point. If you click the plus icon, those objects lower in the hierarchy (children) appear directly beneath the parent, and the plus changes to a minus, indicating that the page is now fully expanded.

 Minus: The page contains hyperlinks to other pages, and those pages appear directly beneath it. If you click the minus icon to collapse the page, its children are no longer in view, and the minus changes to a plus.

 Question mark: The page has not been explored; that is, Content Analyzer has not yet looked up any hyperlinks on the page. If you click a question mark icon, Content Analyzer looks up the page and examines it for hyperlinks. Note that in the Cyberbolic view, question mark icons are shown, but they are not clickable. To explore a specific page in the Cyberbolic view, right-click it and choose Explore Page from the menu. See "Exploring More (or Less) of Your Site" in Chapter 3, "Creating and Customizing WebMaps." for more information.

If There's No Icon

There are several reasons why a page might not have a control icon next to it: the page has been fully explored and contains no hyperlinks to other pages, or there are hyperlinks to objects that are currently hidden, or the page is an alternate route and your display options are set up so that alternate routes are not expandable. (See "Showing or Hiding Types of Objects" in Chapter 3, "Creating and Customizing WebMaps," or "Showing or Hiding Individual Objects" in Chapter 8, "Site Management Tips & Techniques," for more information.)

Expanding or Collapsing Pages in the Tree View

In the Tree view, any explored pages that contain hyperlinks to other pages are shown with either a plus or minus icon to the left. A plus icon means that the page has been explored and there are child objects of the page that are not currently visible (the page is collapsed). A minus icon means that all child objects that match the current display options are visible (the page is expanded).

Cyberbolic view has no plus or minus icons, because the view is always fully expanded; if there are children of an explored page (and they aren't hidden), those children are shown in the Cyberbolic view.

Expanding the view is not the same as exploring (looking up URLs for) the Web site. If you expand the view, question mark icons appear next to pages that haven't been explored yet. For more information on exploring a Web site, see "Exploring More (or Less) of Your Site" in Chapter 3, "Creating and Customizing WebMaps."

There are two ways to expand or collapse a page: one page at a time, or a specified number of levels at a time. You can expand or collapse the entire map, or just one branch of it.

Expanding or Collapsing a Particular Page

To expand a particular page, simply click the plus icon. Likewise, to collapse a page, click the minus icon.

Expanding or Collapsing Levels of a Map

As an alternative to clicking plus or minus icons one at a time, you can expand all or part of the currently explored map hierarchy with the Expand Branch command.

To expand or collapse a branch to a particular level in the hierarchy
  1. In Tree view, select the starting object where you want to begin expanding or collapsing. (If you want your setting to affect the entire map, select the home page.)

  2. Choose Expand Branch from the View menu, and choose the level you want to expand to (1, 2, 3, or All) from the submenu. If you choose a number that's less than the number of currently displayed levels, the view collapses to the specified level.

    Map of Cinemania site, expanded three levels (home page is level 1) 

Content Analyzer expands or collapses the selected branch of the map to the level you specify.

If you want to view the entire explored map, be sure the home page is selected, then choose All from the submenu. If your map is big, you might end up having to scroll quite a bit, which can become tiresome. If this is the case, consider expanding only the areas that interest you rather than choosing Expand Branch|All from the home page.

The Cyberbolic View

The Cyberbolic view, shown in the right pane of the map window, represents the Web site as just that--a web of relationships among pages and other site resources. When you click an object in the Cyberbolic view, it moves to the center of the pane (unless you specify otherwise), and the objects linked to it fan out accordingly. Unlike the Tree view, the Cyberbolic view is not linear. Its strength lies in the way it helps you immediately grasp the layout of a Web site. It's also very helpful if you've imported usage data, since it shows the busiest links in a different color; see "Importing Usage Data" in Chapter 8, "Site Management Tips & Techniques," for more information. Because of its web-like nature, the best way to understand the Cyberbolic view is just to play with it.

Cyberbolic view 

Since the Cyberbolic view is most useful for giving you a quick, global view of a site, by default it shows only pages, and no alternate routes. (You can change what's shown by adjusting display options; see "Showing or Hiding Types of Objects" in Chapter 3, "Creating and Customizing WebMaps.") This default scheme reduces clutter and allows more room for page labels. When other site objects--such as graphic files--are shown, every object except pages is shown with an icon that identifies its type, and with a descriptive label. Additionally, the Cyberbolic view offers a pop-up label that appears when you move your cursor over an object. (The pop-up labels are handy because they provide the full text of an object's label, which may be truncated in the other labels.) You can change both labels independently.

The Cyberbolic toolbar lets you quickly perform tasks related to the Cyberbolic view. (See "The Content Analyzer Toolbars" for a description of each toolbar button.)

There are no plus or minus icons in the Cyberbolic view. All children are always shown (the map is always fully expanded), so there is no concept of expanding or collapsing the map in this view. Question mark icons are shown in the Cyberbolic view, but--unlike in the Tree view--are not clickable. In the Cyberbolic view, question mark icons are just an indication of which pages are unexplored; explored pages, or pages without children, have no question mark. (As the next figure shows, you can explore objects that have question marks in Cyberbolic view, however. To do so, simply right-click the object you want to explore and choose Explore Page from the right-click menu.)

There are a number of ways you can tailor the Cyberbolic view to your liking. Cyberbolic options are available from several places:

  • On the View menu: Choose Display Options, then the Cyberbolic tab.

  • On the View menu: Choose Label Options, then change options for the Cyberbolic pop-up label.

  • On the View menu: Choose Program Options, then the Cyberbolic tab.

  • Right-click anywhere in the Cyberbolic view for a menu of options.

  • Click buttons on the Cyberbolic toolbar.

Exploring a Page in the Cyberbolic View

The Explore Page command lets you manually explore a page in the Cyberbolic view. Instead of clicking a question mark as in the Tree view, just right-click the object and choose Explore Page.

Changing the Orientation in the Cyberbolic View

The Orientation option (View|Display Options|Cyberbolic tab) lets you determine how you want the map to be displayed--with the home page at the left side of the Cyberbolic pane and with the other pages fanning out to the right (the default), or with the home page at the center and the other pages fanning out all around it.

Place the home page at the left (the default) or at the center of the Cyberbolic pane 

To change the orientation
  1. Choose Display Options from the View menu or click the Display Options button on the Main toolbar. The Display Options dialog box appears.

  2. Select the Cyberbolic tab.

  3. In the Orientation field, select the option you want: either Centered or Left to Right.

  4. Click Apply, then click OK.

Shortcut: You can also click the Left/Right Orientation or Center Orientation button on the Cyberbolic toolbar.

Changing the Distance Between Objects in the Cyberbolic View

The Node Distance option (View|Display Options|Cyberbolic tab) lets you specify how far apart you want to display the map objects (also called "nodes" in the Cyberbolic view). You can experiment with sliding the indicator between Near and Far to see which distance you prefer; you may want to alter the distance of this setting for different maps.

Move the nodes closer or further apart. 

To change the object distance
  1. Choose Display Options from the View menu or click the Display Options button on the Main toolbar. The Display Options dialog box appears. 

  2. Select the Cyberbolic tab. 

  3. In the Node Distance field, move the indicator between Near and Far until it's adjusted to your liking.

  4. Click OK. 

Shortcut: You can also use the Cyberbolic toolbar to quickly change node distance.

  1. Click the Node Distance button on the Cyberbolic toolbar.

  2. Slide the indicator between Near and Far until it's adjusted to your liking.

  3. Click OK.

Centering the Selected Object in the Cyberbolic View

In the Cyberbolic view, by default the object you select moves to the center of the view when you click it. This makes it easier to identify which object is selected. If you don't want this to happen, follow these steps:

To de-center the selected object
  1. Choose Program Options from the View menu.

  2. Select the Cyberbolic tab.

  3. Clear the Center Selected Node on Mouse Click option.

  4. Click OK.

If you later decide you want the selected objects to be centered, re-select this option.

Enabling Snap Mode in the Cyberbolic View

In the Cyberbolic view, by default the selected object glides to its new position; you can see the motion when a newly selected object moves to the center of the view. If you prefer, you can enable "snap mode" so that the objects appear immediately in their new positions.

To enable snap mode
  1. Choose Program Options from the View menu.

  2. Select the Cyberbolic tab.

  3. Select Enable Snap Mode.

  4. Click OK.

Shortcut: You can also click the Snap Mode button on the Cyberbolic toolbar.

If the selected objects are changing rapidly (for example, if you're selecting a lot of objects in the Tree view, one right after the other), you might want to make sure snap mode is enabled so that you don't have to watch the constant shifting of the map.

Changing the Cyberbolic Pop-up Label

You can change the Cyberbolic pop-up label that appears when you place your cursor over an object in the Cyberbolic view.

To change the pop-up label
  1. Choose Label Options from the View menu. In the Cyberbolic Pop-up section of the dialog box, you'll see two radio buttons: Use Node Label (which means to use the same label settings you're using for the "main" label) and Use Alternate Label.

  2. Click Use Alternate Label.

  3. Choose the type of label you want from the drop-down list.

  4. Click OK.

If you've imported usage data into your map, you can choose to display the busiest links between objects in your site with a special color--magenta--in the Cyberbolic view. The links with the most traffic are shown as magenta lines stemming from their parent objects. This option is on by default, but you can change it if you prefer not to see the busiest links.

  1. Choose Program Options from the View menu.

  2. Select the Cyberbolic tab, then select (or clear) the Show Busiest Link checkbox.

    Note If you don't see magenta lines where you think you should, try turning on the display of alternate routes; it's possible the busiest routes aren't on the main route. 

For information about how to import usage data, see "Importing Usage Data" in Chapter 8, "Site Management Tips & Techniques."

Showing the Common Ancestor When Selecting Objects in Both Views

When you select objects in the Cyberbolic view, it's generally quite easy to see the relationship between two objects in the map. You can see instantly whether two objects are "siblings" or "cousins," and you can visually trace the lines back to find the common ancestor between the two.

But because the Tree view is linear, you usually have to scroll up and down the map to select the objects that interest you, and you can sometimes lose track of how the objects are related to each other. Also, since the Cyberbolic and Tree views stay in sync, once you select two objects that are far away from each other, you won't be able to see their relationship in the Cyberbolic view either.

To more easily keep track of where you are in the map, you can set the Cyberbolic view to first show the nearest common ancestor when you select different objects in the Tree view. If you choose this option, as you select objects in the Tree view, the Cyberbolic view will pause its movement briefly to highlight the common ancestor before settling on the next object you selected in the Tree view.

Note This option is most effective if you disable snap mode. If snap mode is on, the common ancestor is highlighted, but the effect will probably be too fast for you to see it.

To show the common ancestor
  1. Choose Program Options from the View menu, then select the Cyberbolic tab.

  2. Be sure that the Show Common Ancestor When Selecting in Tree View option is selected.

  3. Clear the Snap Mode option if it is selected.

  4. Click OK.

Try selecting different items in Tree view. In the Cyberbolic view, Content Analyzer briefly highlights the common ancestor between each item you select.

Changing the Font Size in the Cyberbolic View

In the Cyberbolic view, you can change the font size of the labels to display in either small, medium, or large font. You may want to adjust this setting to suit each map--the small font size shows more text in each label and permits more of the map to be displayed, so you might want to use it for maps that contain many objects.

To change the font size
  1. Choose Display Options from the View menu or click the Display Options button on the Main toolbar.

  2. Select the Cyberbolic tab.

  3. In the Font Size box, select the font size you want.

  4. Click OK.

Tips for Using the Cyberbolic View
  • To bring an object into focus, click its label.

  • Experiment with clicking anywhere in the Cyberbolic view, then dragging. This changes the overall layout of the view.

  • Consider showing fewer objects in the Cyberbolic view than in the Tree view. For example, if you show only pages (or perhaps just pages and images) in the Cyberbolic view, you can get a better global perspective on the site you're viewing.

  • When you double-click an object in the Cyberbolic view, that object appears in your browser. If you move your mouse slightly between clicks, the first click determines which object is displayed in the browser.

  • If you click overlapping items, the object on top is the one that becomes active.

  • The pop-up labels are an easy way to determine which object you're "on." When the pop-up label displays the object you want, you can click it to make it active or double-click it to display it in your browser.

  • The pop-up labels are also a handy way to view the entire text in the cyberbolic label (the text is often truncated if there's not enough room to display it). The pop-up label text is usually the same as the cyberbolic label text, but you can change it to a number of choices. (See "Changing How Objects are Labeled" in Chapter 3, "Creating and Customizing WebMaps," for more information.)

  • Use the Enable Snap Mode option on the Cyberbolic tab of the Program Options dialog box to speed up navigation and avoid watching the shifting of the map that occurs if you're jumping rapidly from one object to another in the Tree view or in the browser.

  • If you select an object in the Tree view that isn't currently visible in the Cyberbolic view, the object's nearest "ancestor" (usually its parent or grandparent) is selected in the Cyberbolic view. This could happen if you've set different display options in the two views.

Opening, Saving, and Printing Existing Maps

You can open, save, and print the WebMaps that you've created or those made by someone else. Also, if you want an HTML version of your map, you can export the current map view as an HTML file and then use it as a table of contents in your site.

Opening a Map

As with most programs that run under Microsoft Windows, there are several ways to open a map file. WebMaps have the file extension wmp.

To open a map, use one of these methods
  • Choose Open from the File menu, or click the Open Map button on the Main toolbar. The standard Windows Open dialog box appears. Type (or browse for) the name of the map you want to open.

  • From the Desktop, Windows Explorer, or File Manager, drag any map file to the Content Analyzer icon or into the map window. Or just double-click any map file. Content Analyzer launches and opens the map you selected.

  • Click the WebMap icon, which you might see on certain sites:

     

When you click this icon, Content Analyzer launches and displays the map associated with the icon (usually a map of the site you were browsing).

If you haven't done so already, you'll need to configure Content Analyzer as your Web browser's helper application for maps. For more information, see "Configuring Your Browser to Recognize WebMaps," in "Setting Up Content Analyzer to Work with Your Browser" in Appendix , "Appendix A: Content Analyzer Setup."

Saving a Map

After creating or customizing a map, you can save it to disk. Later, you can open the map from disk, and you won't have to spend time remapping the site. (If you created the map some time ago and know the site has changed, you can remap the site and then compare the new version to the older map. See "Comparing and Updating WebMaps" in Chapter 8, "Site Management Tips & Techniques," for more information.)

To save a map:
  1. Choose Save or Save As (to save the map under a new name) from the File menu, or click the Save Map button on the Main toolbar. The standard Windows Save dialog box appears, suggesting the default WebMap file extension wmp.

  2. Type a file name and click Save. The map is saved with the current display and label settings.

Printing a Map

Use the Print command on the File menu to print either the Tree or Cyberbolic view of your maps. Content Analyzer prints the map, using the current display options and label settings, as well as the expansion level currently in effect. If you want your printout of the Tree view to show a fully expanded map, including all objects, be sure to set your display options to show all objects, and choose View|Expand Branch|All.

You can use the Print Preview command to see how your map will appear when it's printed.

Exporting a Map to HTML Format

You can export a map as an HTML file and, if you like, print it from your Web browser. The HTML file also serves as an ideal table of contents for your site.

Note that Content Analyzer exports the current view of your map. That way, you can customize your printed map by specifying which objects are included and how they're labeled. You can print the entire map by expanding all levels before exporting.

Print an HTML version of the map window from your Web browser 

To export the current map view to HTML
  1. Set up the map window so that it displays exactly what you want to export.

    For information on customizing the content of the map window, see "Showing or Hiding Types of Objects" in Chapter 3, "Creating and Customizing WebMaps," and "Changing How Objects are Labeled" in Chapter 3, "Creating and Customizing WebMaps." If you want to export the entire map, you should show all objects and use the Expand Branch command to expand the entire map. 

  2. From the File menu, choose Export, then Tree View.

  3. Choose HTML from the Format list.

  4. Enter or browse for the file name. By default, Content Analyzer names the file Tree.htm

  5. Click Save. The HTML "snapshot" of the current map window automatically loads into your default Web browser.