A Plexus publication is not a separate publication type but a way of publishing a standard Opus Pro publication suitable for display in a browser across the internet or on a local intranet. The option is available via the options in the Publish Wizard
Using the Create a Web Publication option on the first page of the Publish Wizard allows you to publish your work on the Internet exactly as it appears on your computer. This uses a browser plugin, called Plexus, to extend the functions of your browser to include those available in Opus.
Important Note
However you should note that, as a security measure, most modern browsers now prevent these plugins from running automatically. Thus we now recommend the use of Plexus only for intranets where the use of a particular browser with particular settings can be guaranteed.
To publish to the internet without using Plexus choose a Flash or HTML5 publication type.
Although we have characterised them as web publications, Plexus publications can also be run as local files or on a local company intranet but they require a browser to view them rather than a standard Opus Pro publication which does not.
There are certain things to consider before and after you publish your Web publication, these are described below.
When a Web publication is produced using the Create a Web Publication option in the Publish wizard, the publication will only work using the Plexus Plug-in.
Before you publish your Web publication you should consider the type of publication you are building (e.g. is it information, training, advertising or sales) and the best structure to create it in Opus (e.g. in a linear sequence of pages). How your publication is structured is important because of the way in which the Plexus Plug-in downloads information..
When you have completed the publishing process in the Publish wizard, you will also be given the option on the final page to launch the Upload Wizard which takes you through the process of actually uploading the finished publication to your web site by following a series of straightforward instructions – see Upload Wizard for more information.
The Upload wizard allows you to add your files to the Server directly from the Publish wizard or at any later time by selecting the Upload Wizard option from the Tools menu in the Opus Pro Editor.
Note:
Uploading publications may be done by a web administrator, in which case you only need to specify the files that you want to load onto the Server.
Important Note:
In order to work successfully from a webserver, Opus publications must be served as a binary file type. This means the webserver should be configured to serve .ilm files with a MIME type of application/x-octet-stream.
If you do not control the webserver you will need to contact the administrator for the website and ask them to make this change for you.
As a Web publication in Opus uses the Plexus Plug-in, it does not use HTML – the source code remains entirely secure and cannot be simply copied by other web developers.
Web developers often include meta tags in their HTML to present web page titles, descriptions and keywords for search engines.
With Opus you can add meta tags by editing the small HTML file which launches the Plexus Plug-in. The HTML file is named ILM4AX.HTM in the sub folder of your installation named Players\Activex.
Note:
You can edit the HTML file using any text editor such as Windows Notepad or Notepad Plus