Which 'menu' will provide this functionality?

[msmith0957]

1) Script Title:

Ajax Tabs Content Script (v 2.2)
DD Tab Menu (5 styles)
Mouseover Tabs Menu

2) Script URL (on DD):
http://www.dynamicdrive.com/dynamici...axtabscontent/
http://www.dynamicdrive.com/dynamicindex1/ddtabmenu.htm
http://www.dynamicdrive.com/dynamici...seovertabs.htm

3) Describe problem:

Well this isn't exactly a problem but I'm on the search for a script similar to these three that I've posted, but none of them have exactly what I want.. or at least I don't think they do.

What I want:

I'm looking for a script that I can use to show different content upon clicking the link. For example on a product page:

Product: Some Product
this is the product description.. its not very long

specifications | options | more info <--- these are clickable, content loads below

[content for the links above to be loaded in]


I'm looking for a script similar to these. I really like the first one, because I think I might use the slideshow function on my home page. The problem I have with it is that I don't really care for Ajax/IFRAME, since the content will not really be changing very much over time. Also, I have a feeling that if I used that script, the content will not be parsed by search engines. Please correct me if I'm wrong, because that's very important to me.

I think the one closest to what I want is the third (mouseover tabs menu) because the content is not stored in external files which may not be associated by the content on the rest of the page on the search engine. But my major problem with that (and the 2nd menu option) is that the tabs when clicked go to external pages, but I just want to be able to click the tab to view the content below it, and not use a mouseover.

If anything was unclear please let me know. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[msmith0957]

Actually.. I think I found one that does what I want: Virtual Pagination script v2.1

But would there be a way I could also set the content to scroll through automatically in a slide show fashion?

Like I stated earlier I'd like to also use the same script on my homepage to show case a few different products, and the same script to show different information on product pages. If it's not an easy solution, I wouldn't mind using two separate scripts I suppose. Just makes things easier.

[msmith0957]

and... I'm curious.. If I saw something I like on someones website (commercial for example) and it involves javascript, is it perfectly OK to use that same code, modified for my purpose, on my website? I saw pretty much exactly what I want on Yamaha's website, tracked down the specific JavaScript functions in use and got it working. Do I have to leave someone credit ? I'm assuming not just content is copyrighted but also code.. where do we draw the line ?

[traq]

It depends. Many commercial sites use freely licensed scripts (open source/ freeware/ etc.), and so it's okay to use them: in most cases, it's part of the license terms that the script can be used by anyone.

In other cases, companies develop (or pay to have built) their own, proprietary scripts. While it's just as easy to find, examine, and rebuild/reuse as an open source script, no, it's not "okay."

So, you need to find out if/how the script is licensed for use.

Now, in practice, there's nothing wrong with learning from scripts you find around the web and using your new knowledge to build something for yourself - but that's not the same as "copying" something or writing something that's more or less identical except for a few options or lines.

Luckily, if you look around long enough, you're likely to find an open-source script that provides the same functionality as any given script that's not publicly usable.


To answer your earlier posts, I think you might be looking for something like a tab content script. Search for it. There's one here on Dynamic Drive; also a pretty cool one at css-tricks. If that's not what you need, please let me know.

Edit:

About your search engine question: in the ajax tab content script (the first one you mentioned), yes, the content would be indexed by search engines. The difference is that the search engine would find the content by following the link (and not by using ajax to load the content), so it would appear as a separate page rather than part of the page a normal user would find it on. In practice, however, that's fine; in fact, it ensures that non-javascript users can still see all your content.

[msmith0957]

Thanks for the clarification! And that css-tricks script looks great. Should have that up and running in no time.