javascript menu in header.html does error message

[lutz]

hi all,
i inserted a well running javascript menu in the header.html. but here it does an error message. the links are working, but the mouseover and some other effects are gone.
example:
(the link is removed now, because the problem is solved...)
on any other html-site it works perfectly, but unfortunately not here...
???

[lutz]

ok,
to be more specific:

if i call the header.html directly it works.
if i call the index.php it won´t work in the same way, so it must have to do with some things in the 4images code...

i´m not able to find and correct these problem, because i don´t have any knowledge about php  

it´s really a main problem for the whole gallery-site.

is someone here who knows this problem (maybe jan himself   )?

btw.: am i the only one who has ever tried the implementation of a superior (javascript)menu? or is there a big bug in my procedure?

many thanx in advance!

[V@no]

try to comment 4images javascript from header.html template.

[lutz]

hallo v@no,
where did you find 4images javascript in the source code of my header.html?

[Chris]

Here's a suggestion.  Start up Internet Explorer.  Go to the tools menu and choose "Internet Options...".  Click the "Advanced" tab.  Uncheck "Disable script debugging".  Check "Display a notification about every script error".  Load your main page.

You will find the line numbers, character numbers and a message stating what the problem is displayed in a dialog box each time your javascript is run and hits a problem.  This will help you isolate what is going on.

I tried it and started to find these:

Code: [Select]

Line: 16
Char: 9
Error: Syntax error

Code: [Select]

Line: 26
Char: 9
Error: Syntax error

Code: [Select]

Line: 123
Char: 1
Error: 'version' is undefined

Using this info, right away I can see a problem here:

Code: [Select]

       function blurLink(theObject)        {
                if (msie4)        
        }
You've got an if-statment that is incomplete since it's missing the "then" portion.  If msie4, then what?

Finally, here's a good reference for you:
http://www.devguru.com/Technologies/ecmascript/quickref/javascript_intro.html

[lutz]

first, thanx for this detailed examination!
although i´m not able to write javascript (the menu is just copied from the output of my cms http://www.typo3.org) it´s very interesting to see the following:
if you call the header.html directly (with the link above) the source code displays:

       function blurLink(theObject)        {
                if (msie4)        {theObject.blur();}
        }

if you call the index.php it shows

       function blurLink(theObject)        {
                if (msie4)
        }

???

[Chris]

I have the answer now.  You need to edit your javascript.  Code such as this:

Code: [Select]

{theObject.blur();}will be treated as a template tag by 4images!  Thus since there is no tag named "theObject.blur();", it is removed by 4images.  To fix this, change the javascript code to this:

Code: [Select]

{
theObject.blur();
}or move the entire script to a separate MyMenu.js and include it in header.html like this:

Code: [Select]

<script type="text/javascript" src="/scripts/MyMenu.js" language="JavaScript"></script>assuming you put the MyMenu.js file in a top-level directory named "scripts".  This way 4images won't parse your javascripts looking for 4images template tags.

[lutz]

hey, that was the trick!!

there were some other lines to change the syntax too and now it works!

my annotation is:
1) you have found the problem
2) it depends really on the 4images script(!)
3) you have found...

regarding point 2):
this problem with the syntax should be a general advice to other people who will have the same problem in the future, shouldn´t it?

many thanx!

[V@no]

regarding point 2):
this problem with the syntax should be a general advice to other people who will have the same problem in the future, shouldn´t it?

First of all, with a huge javascript as yours, I'd more all the code in .js file in the first place. This way u'd save some bandwith, because most of visitors wont need download this .js file each time they open page on your site (just first time download, then most browsers would use it from cache).
Second, I havent seen before javascripts that would use something like

if (msie4) {theObject.blur();}

I think this is just a waste.