Glossary of Terms

An array of words or images shown on websites. When you click one of these words or images, you are shown a new page, either on the same or a different website. As seen below, some menu items do not open new pages, but only provide a way to see additional menu items (Generic definition)

Move your mouse so that its cursor is over something like a top menu item or a menu item link. When you mouse over something sensitive to a mouse action, the shape of the cursor will change. In Windows computers, for example, when you mouse over a menu item the cursor will change from an arrow to a hand pointer. There will usually be other clues that the “something” is responsive to the cursor or mouse: It may change colors, or get an underline. These properties are true for most websites.

Mouse over is also called hover. (Generic definition)

On our website, most of the menu words that react to a mouse over are written with white letters on a blue background. All our links are blue text on a white background. All will be underlined when you mouse over them. (Specific to FHA website)

Mouse over the “something” and without moving the cursor, click on the “something” by pressing the mouse button, or press the left mouse button if your mouse has more than one button. (Generic definition)

This is a word in a menu that, when left-clicked with the mouse, causes a different web page to be displayed. Most of our website menu item links will replace the page you are on with the page you click. A few will open a new window, or a new tab within your browser to show the page you click.

Usually, if you are clicking on a link to a different website, a new window or tab will be opened to show the page you click. (Specific to FHA website)

The menu that appears centered below the site logo (the image of the happy beltie cows) on nearly every page of the website. It looks like this:

Each of the top menu items will show a drop-down menu when you mouse over it. One cue to this behavior is the small down-pointing arrowhead to the right of each menu item. (Specific to FHA website)

Each of the buttons in the top menu is termed a top menu item, or just an item. 

If you mouse over (see below for a definition) any of the top menu items, a new drop-down menu will appear below the top menu item you mouse over. (Specific to FHA website)

The left menu also appears on almost every page of the FHA website. Here is what it looks like:

This menu is called an accordion menu, because if you click on a line ending in a PLUS (+) sign, more menu selections appear below the line with the plus sign in it. THis is called expanding the menu. When you expand an accordion menu, the plus sign turns into a MINUS (-) sign. If you click a line containing a minus sign, the expanded menu will contract and disappear. If you click a different line with a plus sign, the new menu will expand and the previous expanded menu will disappear. 

An accordion menus is used because it uses space on a web page very efficiently. (Specific to FHA website)