Topics

Window Layout

Note: the LivingBook interface has been revised slightly since this page was created. Some of the information on this page is no longer current, but the overall ideas are still relevant!


The LivingBook window contains two frames

This page describes:

• the Navigation Frame (on the left with a gray background)
• the Content Frame (on the right)
• the Section Menu, which appears in the Content Frame

Navigation Frame

The Navigation Frame supports the following Documentation Level views

Index

Key terminology used in the book, with links to the sections in which the terms appear.

Tables

A table of tables appearing in the book. Each entry is linked to the section in which a table appears.

Figures

A table of figures appearing in the book. Each entry is linked to the section in which a figure appears.

Bibliography

Brings up a list of all references cited in the book in a separate window (the Sources environment). The reference information can be searched, sorted and extended by readers.

The bottom part of the Navigation Frame contains the Table of Contents. This is a collapsible outline (similar to MSWord's feature). The wedges open and close the outline, while clicking on a section title displays the section in the content frame.

Content Frame

The Content Frame displays the results of selecting a link from the Navigation Frame.

The primary use of the contents frame is to view information in a specific Book Section (e.g., "Part III", "Chapter 9", etc). A Section Menu at the top of the frame supports the user to choose between various Section Views.

Section Menu


The Section Menu appears at the top and bottom of each Book Section page

The section menu specifies the current Section View. The current section view is highlighted in the menu. The section view remains in effect until it is explicitly changed by the user. For example, if the current view is full text, then each section is viewed as full text until the user selects a different section view.

The previous and next arrows navigate to the previous and next sections of the book, respectively. This is the WWW equivalent of "turning the page". The table of contents in the navigation frame is highlighted accordingly to provide a global indication of the current location.