UBB 2 - Getting Started

etting Started: Installation

Please remember that version 2 of the Ultimate Button Bar requires a browser that supports Java 1.1 or higher (e.g. Microsoft Internet Explorer 4, Netscape Navigator 4 with Java AWT 1.1 support, and Sun's HotJava). If you would also like to support Java 1.0 browsers, then please read the topic Supporting Java 1.0.

Version 2 of the Ultimate Button Bar applet consists of a single file named "UBB.jar". To use the applet on a web page, you will need to place the "UBB.jar" file in the same directory as your HTML, or in a directory identified by the CODEBASE attribute of the <APPLET> tag (for information about the <APPLET> tag, see the Getting Started: The Applet Tag topic).

While you are learning how to use the Ultimate Button Bar applet, it is recommended that you do not use the CODEBASE applet tag attribute, but rather that you keep all of your button bar files in the same directory as your HTML file. With everything in one directory, you eliminate the possibility of errors related to the incorrect placement of files, and errors due to the incorrect specification of file paths.

Here is an example of an applet tag for an Ultimate Button Bar applet where the "UBB.jar" file is located in the same directory as the HTML file:

<APPLET CODE="UBBApplet.class" ARCHIVE="UBB.jar" WIDTH="306" HEIGHT="160"> <PARAM NAME="UBBdefnFile" VALUE="MyButtonBar.txt"> </APPLET>

If you prefer to keep your Java applets in a separate directory, then you can use the applet CODEBASE attribute to identify the root directory where the Java applet should be loaded from. For example, suppose that you have you site organized as shown below:

If you are placing the button bar on the page "page1.html," then the applet tag in the "page1.html" file will look like this:

<APPLET CODEBASE="Java" CODE="UBBApplet.class" ARCHIVE="UBB.jar" WIDTH="306" HEIGHT="160"> <PARAM NAME="UBBdefnFile" VALUE="MyButtonBar.txt"> </APPLET>

The CODEBASE attribute in the applet tag tells the browser to look for the Java code in the directory named "Java."

IMPORTANT: The Java language is case sensitive. This means that not only does the spelling of a file name in a parameter need to match the spelling of the name of the actual file, but the capitalization of the file name must match as well. For instance, the file name "MyButtonBar.txt" is not the same as "mybuttonbar.txt".

ey Points to Remember

	*Version 2 of the Ultimate Button Bar* requires Java 1.1 or higher.**
	*All of the code for version 2 of the Ultimate Button Bar* resides in the single file named "`UBB.jar`." This is the only program file that you will need to create button bars.**
	To keep things simple and to minimize the chance of making mistakes when specifying files, place all of your button bar files in the same directory as the HTML file, and do not use the `CODEBASE` attribute of the `<APPLET>` tag. After your button bar is working correctly, then you can reorganize your files, if desired.