Page Master

A Page Master is a special type of Page that can be used to predefine text, pictures, menus, and background colors that will be "inherited" by other pages.  Page masters also specify where boxes will be positioned on those pages.  When changes are made to the page master, they are reflected on all pages that use that page master.

Note that the page masters are not exposed in some versions of the site builder.

Each page "inherits" a page master in one of three ways:

• The page master may be selected on the control bar for the page.
• If a page master is not selected for the page (left as -- default --), it may be selected on the control bar for a folder that contains the page.
• If a page master is not selected in either of these places, the Default page master is used.  To specify a page master as the Default, select it from the Page Masters folder on the Style tab, then click .  A check mark will appear next to the selected page master.

(Note:  A page will always use a Page Master; if you do not want to use one, simply define a Page Master that does not contain boxes.)

What are the benefits of using a Page Master?

You can define your menu and artwork in one place instead of defining it on each page.  This means that when you make changes to the Page Master it affects all pages that use that Page Master.  By using Page Masters it is much easier to get a consistent look and feel throughout the entire website.  It is also much easier to redesign your site.

The Page Body (Page Data Box)

The Page Body is the area on a page where boxes can be placed.  In layout mode this is identified by the pale yellow grid.  The rest of the page is "inherited" from the Page Master.   You set the size and position of the page body on the Page Master.   When you move or resize the page data box, all of the boxes in the page body will move accordingly.  This gives you one place to control the space around your page boxes.

When you edit a page you will see a "grid" in the work area that represents the page body.  You can only place boxes within this grid. The size and position of this grid are exactly the same as the page body in the page master. 

You may also set a default stylesheet for pages that use the Page Master by clicking on the page body and setting the stylesheet on the toolbar.  The color of the page body can be set by clicking on the page body and setting the color on the toolbar.  Note that this sets just the color of the page body area on the page and not the entire page.

Nesting Page Masters

Since a Page Master is really a page,  it may also "inherit" a page master.   To nest Page Masters you select another Page Master in the control bar of the Page Master.   This would be done in circumstances where you want to have several Page Masters that all have some common portions.  In that case you would create a page master with the common portions and then set each of your other Page Masters to use that common Page Master.

Next Step:  Page Master Functions