Getting Started             

If this page looks like a painful read, you may prefer to use CoolStrip Designer, a 32-bit Windows® utility that provides a friendly visual interface for adding CoolStrip to your page, with built-in page previewing and easy editing of an existing <APPLET> tag.
  1. Place the program files (CoolStrip.jar, CoolStrip.cab, ryCoolStrip.class, and optionally ryCoolTimer.class, ryCatcher.class and rySpy.class) in the directory containing the HTML document into which you want to insert the applet (or into a different directory, and add the correct CODEBASE= attribute to the applet tag given below).

  2. Add the following applet tag to your HTML document in the position you want CoolStrip to appear:
    <APPLET CODE="ryCoolStrip.class" ARCHIVE="CoolStrip.jar" WIDTH=160 HEIGHT=300>
    <param name=CabBase value="CoolStrip.cab">
    <param name=Copyright value="CoolStrip (c) 1998 Cool Focus [www.coolfocus.com]">
    <param name=Name value="UniqueName">
    <param name=Satellites value="no">
    <!--SET UP COLOR CHOICES-->
    <param name=BgColor value="000000">
    <param name=BgImage value="clouds.gif">
    <param name=StripColor value="303030">
    <param name=LineColor value="FF0000">
    <param name=TextColor value="F0F0FF">
    <param name=TextFocusColor value="ff0000">
    <param name=TextPressedColor value="800000">
    <param name=UseSelectors value="yes">
    <param name=SelectorColor value="505050">
    <param name=UseArrows value="yes">
    <param name=ArrowColor value="F0F0FF">
    <param name=ArrowPressedColor value="FF0000">

    <!--SET UP GENERAL OPTIONS-->
    <param name=Location value="left">
    <param name=Align value="center">
    <param name=ImageHeight value="150">
    <param name=EntrySpacing value="10">
    <param name=Font value="Dialog,plain,12">
    <param name=DefaultTarget value="mainframe">
    <param name=Sound value="yes">
    <param name=DownSound value="12up.au">
    <param name=UpSound value="opensub.au">
    <param name=UseHandCursor value="no">
    <param name=Testmode value="no">

    <!--SET UP MENU ENTRIES & IMAGES-->
    <param name=Entry1 value="Home">
    <param name=Entry2 value="Registration">
    <param name=Entry3 value="Feedback">
    <param name=Entry4 value="Applet Examples">
    <param name=Entry5 value="Products & Services">
    <param name=Image1 value="home.jpg">
    <param name=Image2 value="reg.gif">
    <param name=Image3 value="email.gif">
    <param name=Image4 value="design.gif">
    <param name=Image5 value="products.gif">
    <param name=URL1a value="home.htm">
    <param name=Target1a value="_top">
    <param name=URL2a value="reg.htm">
    <param name=URL3a value="contact.htm">
    <param name=URL4a value="demos.htm">
    <param name=URL5a value="products.htm">
    <param name=URL5b value="prod_list.htm">
    <param name=Target5b value="topframe">
    <param name=URL5c value="ref.htm">
    <param name=Target5c value="bottomframe">
    <param name=Message1 value="Back to the homepage">
    <param name=Message2 value="About online registration">
    <param name=Message3 value="Send us email!">
    <param name=Message4 value="Online applet demos">
    <param name=Message5 value="Our product range">
    </APPLET>

  3. Edit the first group of parameters above to adjust the colors you'd like to use.

  4. Edit the second group of parameters to set up Font and Sound options, and to determine sizes, spacing, text-alignment and whether the Arrow and Line should appear to the left or right of the text (Location parameter). If you choose to use images in response to mouseOvers, make sure that your ImageHeight value is at least as large as the height of your tallest image.

  5. Edit the third group of parameters to place entries on the menu. You need only include Target parameters for any links that will use a different frame-target from that specified in the DefaultTarget parameter. Up to 4 URLs/Targets can be included for each Entry (as you can see, Entry5 uses three URLs, the first of which opens into the DefaultTarget and the remaining two have their own targets specified.

  6. Adjust the applet's width and height attributes. Make sure that the width is sufficient to display your text (along with the scrolling arrow, if used). The height must be sufficient to display your last menu entry. The Strip and Line will adjust their sizes and positions automatically according to the number and length of your text entries. The menu will automatically center itself horizontally within the applet area defined. You can use the Testmode parameter to determine the minimum settings for width, height and ImageHeight.

  7. Details of each parameter and possible values are explained in The Parameters Explained.