u3a SiteWorks

The Tabs block

To explain by example, below is a tabs block that could be used as the basis of a page for an upcoming u3a AGM. You can click on the four heading to reveal different content.

Setting up a Tabs block

The Tabs block a a bit like the Columns block but simpler.

Insert the block where you want the tabs to appear – use the /t shortcut to locate it.

Select the Tab List section of the block. Put the title of the first tab in the red outlined box and the content below. Repeat for the second tab. For further tabs use “Add tab” from the block’s menu.

What are the advantages of the Tabs block?

The Tabs block offers a stylistic alternative means to present a page.

Clearly having a main menu entry for the AGM example would need four submenus and be clunky to say the least. Each section would load as a separate page and the menu would need to be opened repeatedly.

The usual approach is a page with all the content under four headings. This requires the reader to scroll up/down the page.

The need to scroll can be improved by having internal links that can be setup as a short table of contents to the headings on the page. This will be better than tabs for presenting a document with a lot of sections. Having more that say 5 or 6 tabs may have a crowded look, especially with tabs containing a lot of text. A negative is that setting up and maintaining these links is fiddly, the Tabs block offers a cleaner and easier to maintain approach.

For the above example there could be a list of four links.

• Venue and directions
• Agenda
• Reports
• Nominations

Setting up internal links is described in this how-to.