[las_users] Custom Velocity menus

[Ben Burford <benb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello All,

I need help understanding how to combine xml files and custom velocity templ
ates to make up one integrated menu system.  Previously I've only used xml f
iles.  However, I need to add a "connection" to another system by running a 
client from my LAS menus.

I want to have my top level menu be a vm template page, and have that templa
te page connect to xml categories to expand the menus.

The vm (top level) page might look something like:

#table_start()
<tr>
  <td align="left">
  <table border="0" cellspacing=10>
  <tr>

     . . . . <font size="3">1. In-situ Data</font>
     . . . . (somehow connect to an  insitu.xml file)

      <tr>
<td><a target="_self" href="http://ceop.restec.or.jp/echorefclient";>
<font size="3">2. Satellite Data</font></a></td>
      </tr>

     . . . . <font size="3">3. Model Data</font>
     . . . . (somehow connect to a  model.xml file)

  </tr>
  </table>
  </td>
</tr>
#table_end()


My "insitu.xml" file starts out like this (menus for different types of in-s
itu data):

  <category name="1. Surface">
    <category name="BALTEX_Cabauw">
      <category name="Cabauw">
        <filter action="apply-dataset" equals="CEOP Surface Cabauw Cabauw"/>
      </category>
    </category>
Etc.


So the user would see a top level menu like this:
1. In-situ Data
2. Satellite Data
3. Model Data

And, as you can see from my pseudo-example vm file above, if the user clicks
 on "2. Satellite" then "echorefclient" software will be run.

The LAS documentation "Writing custom Velocity templates" doesn't seem to co
ver this.  I hope someone can tell me how to do this.  Ideally please show o
r attach a sample of a working file.

Thanks in advance,

Ben