What is a Link Item
A Link Item is similar to a Display Item except that here you can make the Item link to any other Item, Page or external URL.

Typically a Link Item will be an image such as a graphical button that you will add to your store as part of its navigational features.

Link Items can also simply be text or in some cases just an Item Name.


Adding a Link Item

To add a Link Item to a page,
1. Ensure that the page you want to add the Item to is selected in the Tree View 2. Click the blue 'Add Link Item' button.

This will add a Link Item onto the page and will be displayed in the List View with its relevant icon.


Giving the Link Item a name
To name the Item selected in the List View, insert a name in the 'Name' field.

The name you insert here will also be displayed in the List View.


Hiding the Link Item name
The name of your Link Item, unless otherwise specified, will always appear as part of the Link Item on the page. Due to the nature of Link Items, which are typically images such as custom buttons, you may wish to hide the name so that it is not visible on the page.

To do this you will need to select or build a Link Item template that does not include the Item name.


Linking the Link Item to a destination
On the 'Link To' sub-tab, select whether you want the Link Item to:
1. Link to another EROL Page (and Item on that page)
2. Link to an external URL (e.g. another website)
3. Be a store control Button (i.e. Back Button, View Basket Button or Checkout Button)

Everything you have inserted in the 'Name', 'Description' and 'Image fields' will become a link (unless you have selected or built a template excluding any of them).


Linking a Link Item to another Page in the store

To link a Link Item to another page in the store:
1. Select the relevant Link Item in the List View
2. Make sure the 'Link To' sub-tab on the Item Details tab is active
3. Check the 'Page' radio button and from the dropdown select the relevant page you wish to link to. The dropdown menu will be populated with all the pages currently in your store.

Linking a Link Item to an individual item on a different page
Apart from just linking to another page in the store, you can link to any item on that page too.

To link a Link Item to an individual Item in the store, on another page:
1. Select the relevant Link Item in the List View
2. Make sure the 'Link To' sub-tab on the Item Details tab is active
3. Check the 'Page' radio button and from the dropdown select the relevant page you wish to link to.
4. From the 'Item' dropdown menu select the Item you wish to link to on that page. The dropdown menu will be populated with all the Items currently on that page.

When you link to another Item, the Item will always be loaded and displayed on its own at the top of the page.

It is not possible to get EROL to jump to a certain point on a page.


Linking a Link Item to an individual item on the same page

To link a Link Item to an individual Item in the store, on the same page:
1. Select the relevant Link Item in the List View
2. Make sure the 'Link To' sub-tab on the Item Details tab is active
3. Check the 'Page' radio button and from the dropdown select the Page you are currently on.
4. From the 'Item' dropdown menu select the Item you wish to link to on the Page. The dropdown menu will be populated with all the Items currently on that Page.

When the link is clicked on the Page, all other Items on the page will disappear and the Item will be displayed on its own at the top of the page.

It is not possible to get EROL to jump to a certain point on the page.


Adding 'Description' to a Link Item
The 'Description' field is not always a very important field for a Link Item, since most Link Items will usually be an image or a single string of text (which will commonly just be the Item Name).

If your Link Item is to be a string of text, you can usually just use the 'Name' field to insert the text to be a link. Alternatively use the 'Description' tab to insert the string of link text..

Remember that everything you insert into the 'Description' field will become a hyperlink to your chosen link destination.


Formatting Display Item 'Description'
To format text added to the 'Description' field or to add any further elements such as extra images, HTML tables, Flash animations etc. you will need to double-click the 'Description' field, or click on the '<…>' button to launch the EROL HTML Editor.

The HTML Editor will allow you to modify, or add to, your Link Item details.

It is possible, should you require it, to make any of these elements an additional link. This, however, will be very hard to distinguish in the page since there will be no visible distinction between one link and the other.


Adding an image to a Link Item
You can insert a single image using the main image insertion area on the Link To tab. Using this area to insert your image gives you the advantage of a quick to access preview as well as the ability to change or modify the image quickly.

To insert an image using this method:
1. Click 'Browse' and search for the image from the EROL images folder. If your image is outside of the EROL images folder, you can locate it and EROL will save it to the images folder.
2. Once selected the image will be added into the image preview field.

Creating a rollover image
Any Link Image can have a so-called rollover effect.

A rollover (sometimes called a 'mouseover') is an illusion of movement or animation caused by the browser quickly swapping one image with another when a user runs their cursor over it. It is a popular method of indicating that a button is live and click-able, rather than being a static page element..

To utilise this feature you will need to have an 'on' and an 'off' state of any image you wish to apply the effect to. These will have to have been created by you beforehand using your favourite graphics software package.

The 'off' state is the normal graphic that sits on your page when it loads. The 'on' state is the image that will replace the 'off' state when the user rolls over it.

To create a rollover image:
1. In the main image insertion area on the Link To sub-tab, browse for the 'off' state image and insert it.
2. Select the link destination (either a page, item or external web site) or apply an action to the button.
3. Flip across to the 'Rollover' tab
4. Insert the 'on' state image and select the type of rollover you wish it to be.

NOTE: In order for your rollover to be activated, the Link Item MUST be linked somewhere else. Failing to specify a link will cause the rollover effect not to work.


Selecting a Link Item template
When you add a Link Item to a page, it will be inserted using one of default Link Item templates available on the Item Template tab.

To assign a different layout template to the Item, select a new template from the template dropdown menu. The template dropdown menu is populated with the default Link Item templates, as well as any templates you may have already created.

You can create a new - or modify an existing - template by clicking on the 'Edit' button. This launches the EROL Template Editor.

Setting a default Link Item template
You can set a default Link Item template that will be applied - by default - to all new Link Items you add to your store.

To do this,
1. Select Tools > Options… from the main EROL toolbar
2. Click the 'Templates' button
3. From the 'Link Item Template' dropdown, select your default Link Item template.
4. Click 'Save and Close'

This template can be overwritten on an Item-by-Item basis.

Previewing your Link Item
Once you have inserted all the details and elements that make up the Link Item, you can preview what it is going to look like in the template preview on the Item Template tab.

The template preview on the Item Template tab provides two views for your Item:
1. A template display
2. An actual display

The template display provides a theoretical display of the Item based on the elements included in the template.

The actual display provides an accurate display of what the item will look like in the page based on the details and image(s) you have inserted for that item.