| Help in Using the Illinois' Best Plants Site Navigation Tips | Browser Compatibility | Macintosh Users
Plant Search Help | Plant Detail | Plant Results/Detail | Audio
Navigation Tips
We have planted several navigation tools in the garden.
Logo Navigation Tip
A logo appears at the top of each page on the Illinois' Best Plants web site.
This logo will change, depending on the type of information being displayed. Three logo styles are used:
The main site logo and logos that refer to either woody or herbaceous plants.
Clicking on any of the logos will return you to the Table of Contents Page.
Navigation Bar Tip
You will see our navigation bar throughout the Illinois' Best Plants site.
From it you can immediately start a new search for plants; view the plant index,
glossary and resources pages; return to the help page; or go directly to the Chicago
Botanic Garden Home Page.
Button Bar Navigation Tip
You will find a display of buttons at the bottom of each plant detail page. These buttons
lead to additional information about the plant, or to other pages in the site.
If you notice a button is dimmed, then that button is
inactive for the plant you are viewing. All plants will have additional "Culture
& Care" information, some plants will have "Cultivar" detail information,
and most plants will contain "More Photos" to view.
The buttons represent the following functions,
in order: Start a New Search; Cultivars; More Photos; Culture & Care; Return to the Plant
Results Page; Zone Map; Return to the Chicago Botanic Garden Home Page.
Browser
Compatibility
For optimal viewing pleasure of Illinois' Best Plants and to see all the plant
detail features, you will need to be running Netscape or Internet Explorer, versions 3.0
and higher (or a compatible browser). Several pages rely on JavaScript 1.1 code
which is supported only in these browsers. Some versions of Internet Explorer 3.0
may also experience problems running the JavaScript code.
JavaScript code supports several popup
information windows, including the Icon Legend and pages activated from the buttons on the
plant detail page (described above). The "Cultivars," "More Photos," "Culture & Care,"
and "Zone Map" buttons open a secondary browser window. In
all popup windows a "close window" button appears to remind visitors to close
the window once the information has been noted.
If you would like to print one of the popup
windows, simply select File - Print from the Menu Bar of the popup window.
Even though the shortcut toolbar does not appear on these popup windows, you have access
to all the Menu Bar commands.
If you would like to upgrade your current
browser to the latest release, visit Netscape or Microsoft for the most current version.
Macintosh
Users
The Illinois' Best Plants Site HTML code has font families identified in the
formatting code. The Macintosh environment does not consistently support embedded
font family tag attributes. In other words, the browser often ignores the specific font
requested in the HTML code.
If the browser ignores our request to use a
specific font, some font displays may appear small and hard to read. If your
Macintosh is using a screen resolution of 640x480, we recommend setting your default font
to Geneva 12pt. If your screen resolution is higher than 640x480, we recommend
Geneva 14pt.
Plant Searching
Different visitors may have unique preferences for searching our database of
Illinois' Best Plants. To accommodate most people, we have designed three types of
query: Select a Plant by Name; Select a Plant by Characteristic; Advanced Search.
Select a Plant by Name
You can enter, in upper or lower case, any sequence of characters within a plant name.
The query looks at both scientific and common plant names to select the plants
that match the search string you requested.
Select a Plant by Characteristics
You can find plants to match your gardening needs by selecting chacteristics from the query table.
You will use a combination of drop-down menus, radio buttons, and check boxes.
Drop-down menus and radio buttons allow you to select one characteristic in the
category. Check boxes allow you to select all that you are interested in finding.
The following sample
illustrates a request to find
perennials that will grow in partial sun/shade with moderate soil, having flower blooms of pink  , white  , or blue  . Once you have made your selections, click on the "Search by Characteristics" button.
The plants matching your selection criteria
will be displayed in a Plant Results Listing.
Advanced Search
If you would like to further refine your selection criteria, instead of clicking on
"Search by Characteristics," click on the "Advanced Search" button.
Your initial characteristics will be saved and added to a more extensive selection
form. From the Advanced Search you can add the following fields to your selection:
Flower Bloom Time; Fall Color; Fruit Season; Fruit Color; Winter Interest; Landscape Use;
and Wildlife Interest.
No Plants Found
If you are too restrictive in your selection criteria, or select characteristics that
generally are not compatible within a plant species, you may receive no results. If
this happens, you will receive the following message:
"No plants match your selection criteria.
Please try selecting fewer plant characteristics."
You can return to the Plant Query table
by clicking on "Search" in the navigation bar below. If you want to modify your previous
selections, click on the "Back" button on your browser toolbar.
Plant Detail
The Plant Results Page, returned from your search, and the Plant Index (found on the
navigation bar) provide a listing of plants. The scientific plant name is displayed
as a hypertext link. Follow the link to get detailed plant information. Additional tips and screen samples are provided for the Plant
Results Listing and Plant Detail pages.
Copyright © Chicago Botanic Garden
With the support of the North Suburban Library System and the Illinois State Library,
funded by the Library Services and Technology Act, 1998. |
