Creating a FOUR-Tier Website using WebMerge

with files nested into directories and subdirectories

 Beta Edition

The key to creating a four-tier website with files nested into directories and subdirectories is to use forward slash "/". When you tell WM to create a file based on a field name that includes a forward slash "/", WM will create a folder and a file. For example, telling WM to create a file name based on CAT+SUBCAT field that includes "Baby Bedding/Baby Blankets" will results in the creation of a folder called "Baby-Bedding" and a file within that folder called "Baby-Blankets.html.

 

By creating two additional fields that combine information from the Category, Subcategory and SKU fields AND that include the forward slash, you can create a four-tier nested website. In this tutorial these fields are called CAT+SUBCAT and CAT+SUBCAT+SKU, and are shown using the FTC 20-record table.

 

Creating those fields is possible by using the CONCATENATE function within Excel. The formula shown in the table below will create those combined values. This assumes that SKU is column D (not shown below), CATEGORY is column I, and SUBCATEGORY is column J. Create the formula in the first record, then copy the formula down the column. Export your data using your favorite delimiter.

 

 

You need to create three settings files with the following configuration. This is not very different from the configuration used to create the four-tier website (but the difference are very important). The template files are the same as those used in the previous four-tier tutorial (almost!). There is a minor change in the Subcategory template in the link back to the Category index. The zipped datafiles provided below include all the templates, settings files and datafiles for this tutorial. Make sure that you don't mix them up with the previous files!

 

Good Luck!

 

 

 

Download sample templates and settings files for this tutorial HERE

 

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