This page introduces a home page design technique based on the common outline. We feel that home pages based on outlines are much easier to understand. Because this page and its hyperlinked pages were designed using the method, they also serve as an example application of the method!

• Concept and motivation
• The Page Outline Design Method (PODM)
1. Begin the page with a title for its topic
2. Introduce the topic with free-form narrative text and/or graphics
3. Using the outlining features of Netscape Gold, enter the outline of the topic
4. If an outline section under a major item becomes too large, move it to a hyperlink
5. Conclude the page with free-form narrative text and/or graphic elements that summarize or comment upon the topic that was covered
6. If the page is reached through a hyperlink, at the bottom of the page insert a hyperlink back to the parent page

We think that using outlines to structure your pages will make your information more comprehensible and navigable, while still allowing a great deal of freedom to use graphic elements and narrative text in your pages to increase reader interest. It also follows the old adage "Tell'um what your gon'na tell'em, tell'em, and then tell'em what you told'em!"

To argue that the outline is a familiar structuring tool we list examples of its use in the everyday world.

• People learn to write a paper by starting with an outline
• There is an outline of the animal kingdom that includes categories like mammal, reptile, etc.
• An organizational chart is a form of an outline
• Computer systems use outlines (directories and subdirectories) to organize files

Familiar elements in a document support rapid examination of the content.

Reasons an outline makes your information more accessible:

• People already know how an outline works!
• An outline makes the relationships of concepts to one another clearer
• An outline aids in finding a needed item

Home pages designed as outlines with hyperlinks from major points to detail pages have distinct advantages over monolithic outlines.

• The higher level concepts of the outline become more clearly contrasted
• There is more sense of motion through the outline
• The material is more interesting because graphic elements and/or narrative text begin and end each page

The reader is thus better able to comprehend the information.

A new page can be created in one of two ways: either use an entirely new file, or add a "logical" page to the bottom of the current file.

• To create a new page in a new file:
1. Select File/New Document/Blank
2. File/Save as... and name the file to indicate its topic
• To create a new page in the current file:
1. Go to the bottom of the file
2. Enter about 15 line breaks (Shift-Enter key)
3. Select Insert/Horizontal Line
4. Select Insert/Target (Named Anchor) and name the target to indicate its topic

In either case we are now ready to enter the content of the page.

A page should begin with a title that introduces the topic of the page.

1. Begin the page with the title of the page making the hyperlink
2. Use Shift-Enter to append a another line to the title, and type a subtitle for the topic

Making the structure of each page similar supports rapid examination of the content. Using multiple title lines helps the user to mentally keep track of the overall structure of the pages.

Once the topic has been introduced, it's time to present the outline of the topic.

1. Use one if the list buttons to start the outline
2. Enter the outline
• Use the Enter key to start a new item
• Use the Tab key to make an item a sub-item (indent)
• Use the Shift-Tab key to make a sub-item an item (unindent)
• Use the mouse to select multiple items of the outline to shift right or left with the Tab or Shift-Tab keys
3. Each level of the outline can be either a numbered list or a bullet list. The choice is important to conveying its meaning. To change it:
1. Click on any item at the level
2. Click on either the Bullet List or Numbered List button.

An outline may undergo several revisions before it is "right." Because we limit the scope of the topic covered on any given page, the outline is relatively easy to manipulate and revise.

At each outline level, a choice is made as to which kind of list best presents the information.

1. If you are documenting a sequence of things to do or consider in a certain order, use a numbered list
2. Otherwise, use a bullet list, because it relives some the "tension" of the outline format

Using either numbered or bullet lists as indicated above increase the reader comprehension of the outline because it's the common way of using lists.

When a section of an outline under a major point becomes too large, it gets in the way of seeing and contrasting the main points. Hyperlinking to a new page also allows a "break in the action" so that the user can have a mental rest from the rigid structure of the outline.

1. Design a new page to contain the section
1. Create a new page to be the hypertext target
2. Follow the page design method, except
• The target page gets a specific title format
• The outline section is cut and pasted it into the target
2. Create a hyperlink to the new page from the major point
1. Select text in the major point evocative of the topic
2. Select Insert/Link...
1. Locate the target page
• If it is in another file, browse to find it
• If the target page is not in a seperate file, select its anchor
2. Click OK

Each time you use a hyperlink, the page design method repeated for the target page. It will be clear to the reader that elaboration of the point is available, without it being in the way.

At the end of a page, the user must decide what to do next. Often, the user wants to return to the page they were just looking at, so they could just click on the BACK button. However, a page may be navigated to in other ways, so it is a good idea to provide the direct link back to the parent page.

1. Type "Patent Page" at the bottom
2. Select the text and Insert/Link...
1. Find the parent page
• If it is in another file, browse to find it
• If the parent page is not in a seperate file, select its anchor
2. Click OK

The parent page hyperlink is often more convinent to click on than the Back button, and also provides the sense that there is a concrete structure to the pages.

We believe that the hierarchical structure of an outline is a superior way to organize information for comprehension. However, outlines can also strike fear in the hearts of many people because the strict structure increases the mental "tension," and the lack of narrative text tends to make them "unfriendly."

1. The outline is a familiar structuring tool
2. Pages where no outline structure is exhibited have problems
• Incomprehensible
• Hard to find a particular item
3. The use of an outline to structure your information makes it more accessible
4. A large outline, however, can be
• Hard to follow
• Hard to maintain
• Boring
5. The page outline design method (PODM) yeilds significant advantages by utilizing hyperlinks to visit detail topic pages

The lack of the proper use of outlines by some authors should not be regarded as evidence that outlines are useless! The page outline design method uses the new media of "home pages" to provide the structure of outlines with reduced tension and a friendlier narrative format.