BAM! includes the ability to build some types of assets that deliver special functionality.  The list of builders will grow over time, as new features and enhancements are added.  Not all builders are included with a standard license — see your Account Manager for more information about builders and licensing.

Navigators

The Navigator Builder creates a Navigator asset, combining a series of image assets with clickable Nav Zone areas to provide a user-friendly, image-based navigation method for MST users to browse products or materials without the need to use the asset library.  Slides in a Navigator asset can be linked to other navigation slides or to any published asset in the MST.  

Navigator assets are similar in many ways to Product assets but may require more preparation and planning.  In some cases, image assets may need to be created specifically for Navigator assets, in order to provide the necessary visual cues to users.

Understanding Visual Navigation

Organizational Structure

Creating a successful Navigator asset requires an understanding of the intended use and some best practices to achieve the best outcomes.  Typically, the organization of assets and their links follows a hierarchical structure, moving from more general, high-level slides, down through product categories, eventually linking to product-specific assets.  A sample navigation structure may look something like this:



In this illustration, the organizational structure is broken down into company divisions, then product lines, then further into individual products. Each item in the upper blue area indicates a slide in the Navigator asset, while the green area at the bottom contains other assets in the library which are linked from the Navigator slides.

Planning the structure of the Navigator in this fashion helps identify the individual slides needed and provides a navigation structure that can be followed when building links.

Navigation Slides

Navigation slides are images which have been formatted to facilitate navigation to other slides or assets in the library.  The BAM! Navigator Builder creates slides from images, and those images may contain clickable Nav Zones linked to other assets.  For example, this image is a very basic Start Page for our fictional company, Tadashe Robotics:



This image was created using common image editing software and includes clearly defined areas for adding clickable navigation areas.  When a user clicks on the Nav Zones surrounding any of these three images, they will be taken to another slide which contains further choices for products within these categories.  This is similar to websites or product catalogs, where we go from general categories to more specific ones.  Eventually, we get to individual products, where we can link to a Product asset, Feature asset, spec sheet, pricing, or any other relevant content within the library.

Creating a Visual Navigator Asset

To begin creating a new Navigator asset, click the Builders link in the top navigation bar, then click the +Navigator button:



The Navigator Builder is launched, from which a new Navigator asset may be created:



To begin creating a Navigator asset, fill in the fields on the right side:

  • Navigator Name - This is the name of the Navigator asset and is a required field.
  • Description - This should be a brief description of the Navigator, in order to help users understand its purpose.
  • Preview Image - This is the image displayed in the library for the Navigator.  
  • Tags - Additional keywords used to identify and label assets, for easier searching and grouping.

Once the first fields in the Navigator Builder have been completed, click the Next button.  You will be prompted for a location within the Library to which the Navigator asset will be saved, once you are finished with the Navigator Builder process.  Select the appropriate folder and click Next to add slides to the Navigator asset.

Adding Images

Once you have chosen a location to which the Navigator asset will be saved, you will be prompted to select an image asset from the asset library to serve as the background image for the first slide.  In Navigator assets, a slide's background image is presented as the visual layout of the navigation options, and Nav Zones are applied to those images which are then linked to other content in the DAM library, either simple assets like images, text & videos, or more complex builder assets, like Products & Features.  After selecting an appropriate image for the first slide, clicking directly on that image will allow you to set the Nav Zones for that particular slide. Click the + icon to add another slide, or click the Create button to finish building the Navigator asset:


NOTE: Adding an easily recognizable Slide Label is entirely optional, but recommended for ease of use.


While viewing slides within the Navigator Builder, a device template is displayed over the image to show where different screen sizes or shapes may cut off portions of the image. To change the aspect ratio of the overlay click the button in the upper right of the builder screen: 



The slide image will be centered on all the mobile devices & it is worth checking that it will be displayed as expected on multiple devices using the aspect ratio overlays within the Navigator builder. A device template is displayed over the image to show where different screen sizes or shapes may cut off portions of the image. To change the dimensions of the overlay, click the button on the upper right of the image screen. 


 
 

 


These aspect ratio guides are useful for deciding where to place Nav Zones (see next section below) so that those zones are accessible on all target devices.  Further image editing may be necessary to fully display the desired image content on all screens.

NOTE: The slide image(s) will always be displayed centered in the middle of the user's mobile device, regardless of the image's dimensions or that particular device's aspect ratio. 


Adding Nav Zones

A Nav Zone is a clickable area on the Navigator slide.  It may be linked to other slides within the Navigator, other assets, or a folder in the Library.  To create a Nav Zone on a slide, click and drag within the image and a box will form:



After drawing the box for the new Nav Zone, you will be prompted to decide what happens when that area is clicked:



Since this is the first slide created in the Navigator, the option to link to an existing slide is unavailable.  Here you may choose between adding a new slide as the target for the Nav Zone, or linking to an asset or folder within the Library. As Nav Zones are added to a slide, a list of targets appears on the right side:



Once you have finished adding slides and Nav Zones, click the Create button to save the finished Navigator asset.  The Navigator asset may then be published to the MST.