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The purpose of this page is to familiarize you with the navigational features of this web site, so that you may move through it freely and make the most of your visits.
The information on this page is divided into the following categories.
Organization
Navigation
Bread Crumbs
Global Navigation
Department Navigation
Following Links Within the Site
Viewing Large Images
Viewing Maps
Viewing Attachments
Following Links to Other Web Sites
Search
Site Map
Pop-up Blockers
If you have a specific question that you don't find an answer for on this page, please look for your answer on our Frequently Asked Questions page.
Organization
In general, the pages within this site are organized under four categories. The first three, "For Visitors," "For Residents," and "For Businesses," serve to group information within particular areas of interest. The fourth category, "Quick Links," serves to provide easy access to frequently sought or timely information of general interest.
Please note that a given page may be found under one, more than one, or all of the categories. Though this may seem somewhat redundant, it is our intention that all of the pages may be readily accessible to anyone who may find them of interest.
The contents of these will differ depending upon the area of the site you are viewing. When you are viewing pages provided by a specific department, the categories will present you with links related primarily to the services provided by that department. On the other hand, when you are viewing pages that are not department specific, you will find that the selection of links within the categories are more generalized.
The following figures illustrate how these categories are presented.
Figure 1
The drop down lists in Figure 1 show how the "area of interest" categories appear on most pages. To view and select from the links within a category, click on the downward pointing arrow within the box and click on a title.
The categories are presented in a slightly different manner on the City's home page and the home pages of the departments. On these, the first most popular selections are presented in a list. You may select one of the items shown by clicking on it. These popular choices are usually followed by the symbol more >>, which when clicked will take you to a page that lists all topics within the category.
Figure 2
Figure 2 provides an example of how the Quick Links category is display. Quick Links are displayed in the same manner on all pages throughout the site. As in the previous example, you may click on the visible selections, or select more >> to see a complete list of the category.
As a side note, the Job Listings link, as shown in Figure 2, provides an excellent example of how the categories have been made specific to the part of the site from which they are viewed. When the Job Listings topic is selected from an area of the site that is not related to any one department, the link will take you to a full listing of all job openings in the City. However, when followed from one of the department-specific pages, it will present a list limited to the job openings within that particular department.
Navigation
This site utilizes several general navigational features that appear and function consistently throughout the site.
See also within this topic: Bread Crumbs, Global Navigation, Department Navigation
Bread Crumbs
Bread crumbs, a navigational feature that often helps in retracing ones steps through a site, may be found near the top of each page, directly beneath the heading area. These identify the placement within the site of the page currently being viewed. Figure 3 illustrates the bread crumbs on a typical page, Parks.
Figure 3
At the beginning of the line is "City Home," with which the bread crumbs always begin. Following this is the name of the department area within which the page is provided. (The department name will not be shown if the page is not part of any specific department's area.) One or more additional items may appear at this point, such as one of the major categories, For Visitors, For Residents, For Businesses, and Quick Links. Finally, the name of the current page ends the line. Each of the items that make up the bread crumbs is a link to a higher, more general area of the site and may be clicked to move to that area.
Global Navigation
At the very top of each page is a global navigation bar that provides four useful links: Contact Us, which provides address, telephone number, and e-mail address information for the City and each of the departments; Help, which brings you to these Help pages; Site Map, which is described in a following topic on this page; and City Home; which will take you back to the City's home page from anywhere within the site. Figure 4 illustrates the global navigation bar. 
Figure 4
Also available on each page is the Department Finder, which will direct you to the home page of any department. This feature is illustrated in Figure 5.
Figure 5
To select a department to visit, simply click on the downward facing arrow adjacent to the instruction "Choose a Department." A list of departments will drop down and you may then click on the department of your choice.
Department Navigation
On those pages provided by specific departments, you will find a department navigation bar directly beneath the department name in the heading area of the page. Figure 6, below, illustrates a typical department navigation bar.
Figure 6
The first item is always Department Home, which will take you back to the department's home page within the site. Following this are any number of links that the given department has chosen. Though the selection will vary from one department to another, they generally include Contact Us, which provides telephone numbers, street addresses, and e-mail addresses for the department, and Mission, which displays the department's mission statement. Other common links on the department navigation bar are FAQ, which serves to answer Frequently Asked Questions, and About Us, which may describe the services provided by the department or its organizational structure. The remaining links, if any, provide access to frequently visited or otherwise important areas of the department's site.
Following Links Within the Site
Links are represented by underscored text as shown in Figures 7, below.
Figure 7
The illustration shows the normal appearance of the link. When the cursor is moved over the link, the link is highlighted by a change in the color of the text to a medium blue, as shown in Figure 8, below.
Figure 8
When any link that points to a page within the site is selected, the new page is displayed in the same browser window. The only exceptions to this rule are the display of maps and other large images and documents in PDF format. These topics are addressed below.
See also within this topic: Viewing Large Images, Viewing Maps, Viewing Attachments
Viewing Large Images
Some images that are displayed on pages within this site may be clicked to allow you to view a larger version. These images may be identified by the change in shape of your cursor when it passes over the image. Also, when the cursor is held over the image, a tool tip (a small floating box) inviting you to click to view a larger image will appear. The tool tip will indicate the size of the image in kilobytes, so that you may determine whether you wish to view it, based on the speed of your internet connection. (Tool tips display the contents of alternate text tags. These help pages provide information on the use of this feature for accessibility.)
Viewing Maps
Some of the maps that may be displayed on this site require the use of an image viewer. If you choose to view such a map and have not done so in the past, you will be prompted to download and install the viewer module, which is provided at no cost to you. Simply follow the instructions that are provided. The image viewer opens in a new window.*
*If you find that this type of link is not working, please see Pop-up Blockers.
Viewing Attachments
This site provides access to many documents that are stored in the Adobe PDF (Portable Document Format) format. Viewing of these documents requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader software, of which a free version is available. Links for downloading the software are available on all pages that provide access to PDF attachments. This topic is covered more fully in the help pages that deal specifically with Software Requirements and Accessibility. Documents on this site that are viewed with Adobe Acrobat Reader will open in a new window.*
*If you find that this type of link is not working, please see Pop-up Blockers.
Following Links to Other Web Sites
This site provides many links to pages on other web sites that you may find useful. The links appear the same as those to pages within the site, but a linked page on another site will open in a new window.* After viewing the page, you may close the window, without disrupting your visit to the City's site.
*If you find that this type of link is not working, please see Pop-up Blockers.
Search
Figure 9, below, illustrates the search control that may be found on each page within this site.
Figure 9
Enter relevant words or phrases into the text box and either click on the adjacent "GO" or press the Enter key on your keyboard.
Site Map
A site map, a complete listing of the pages within this site, is available by clicking the Site Map link that appears in the global navigation bar of each page.
The page titles are listed in a tree structure, beginning at the City's home page and spreading out through the various department areas, categories, and such. You may click on the name of any page to visit it.
Pop-up Blockers
Should you be unable to open some links, it is most likely that the link is configured to open in a new browser window, but your browser or other internet security program is configured to block such new windows, so-called pop-ups. (On this site, such links might be for maps, document attachments, or pages on other web sites.)
In order to avoid this problem when using our site, you may adjust the settings of your browser or security product to exempt MyDelrayBeach.com from being blocked. As the method for doing this varies by product, please consult the Help for the specific product that you are using.
This has become a more common problem with the distribution of the Service Pack 2 (SP2) update to Microsoft Windows XP, because this installation of this update automatically turns on pop-up blocking in Microsoft Internet Explorer, without making the user aware of it. (See the Microsoft Knowledge Base article: How to Configure the Pop-up Blocker in Internet Explorer. We've made this a direct link so that you will be able to open it even if pop-up blocking is enabled.)
To exempt MyDelrayBeach.com from Internet Explorer's pop-up blocking, please follow these steps:
- From the Internet Explorer menu bar, select Tools, then Pop-up Blocker.
The Pop-up Blocker Settings window will open.
- In the Address of Web site to allow text box, type the following: *.mydelraybeach.com
- Click the Add button.
The information that you typed will then appear in the Allowed sites list, as illustrated by Figure 10.
Figure 10
- Click the Close button.
Links on the MyDelrayBeach website will then be able to open in a new Internet Explorer window.
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