The menu item configuration page is used for both adding new menu items and editing existing menu items.
This page can be broken up into two distinct concepts:
- Static Settings
- Dynamic Settings
Static Settings
This classification of item settings are a collection of fields that are always there (unless hidden by access control settings).
These represent the core functionality of any given menu item, they are:
- Name
- Parent Item
- Weight
- Active Path
- Item Type
- When to Expand
The Name field defines text used when presenting the item on the menu, with some exceptions. The exceptions are dynamic item tyoes, such as Menu and Menu Item.
The Parent Item represents the parent of this menu item and therefore making this menu item a child of that parent. This field is auto-populated when re-ording the tree structure on the Menu Configuration Page.
The Weight represents where the menu item is positioned under the parent item, in a top-down level. This functions the same way as Drupal core uses weights. The only different is that this module does not limit the weights to a predefined set, such as from -15 to 15.
The Active Path represents the URL path in which the menu item is considered active. Themes often highlight active items, making them standout from the rest of the menu items. When this field is undefined, the active path is auto-detected. For simplicity purposes, this field is hidden from users without the "Change Workbench Menu Item Active Path" permission. This field supports a placeholder link called <Top> which is auto-translated into the URL path of the menu itself (Think of this as referring to the top-level of the menu).
The Item Type defines the specific classification in which this menu item belongs to. This is a very important concept as it defines how the menu item is generated, how it interacts with the system, and what dynamic settings are available.
The When to Expand field defines when any child menu items are displayed or not displayed. Auto-expand expands children when their parent item's active path is in the URL path.
Dynamic Settings
Each menu item type provides a different collection of fields.
Fields Provided by Menu Item Type: Node
A node item type provides a link to a specific node. When displayed, this menu item replaces the node id with the url alias of the node.
The Node ID field accepts the numeric node id that uniquely identifies a Drupal node. If JavaScript is enabled, typing in anything will trigger a jquery search through node titles, in case the node id is not known. This JavaScript search does not search through node ids.
The Never Suppress field is a checkbox that defines whether or not the fields active path status should be suppressed if it ever contains a url fragment. Url fragments are urls that include the character: #.
Fields Provided by Menu Item Type: Link
A link item type provides a generic link to somewhere. This can be an external, absolute, link or an internal, relative, link.
The URL field represents the link the URL path in which the link points to. It is strongly recommended to not use this to point to nodes, instead ise the Node item type. This field supports a placeholder link called <Top> which is auto-translated into the URL path of the menu itself (Think of this as referring to the top-level of the menu).
The Never Suppress field is a checkbox that defines whether or not the fields active path status should be suppressed if it ever contains a url fragment. Url fragments are urls that include the character: #.
Fields Provided by Menu Item Type: Label
A label item type is, for all intents and purposes, a placeholder. It adds to the menu structure, a non-linkable menu item.
The Disabled field is a checkbox that defines whether or not the field should be considered disabled. This is for theming purposes and allows for the link to be in the disabled state.
The Clickable field is a checkbox that defines whether or not the field should be clickable (a link). Clickable links are links that go nowhere, but allow for expanding or collapsing a menu item that has child items.
Fields Provided by Menu Item Type: File
A file item type provides a link to a specific, usually downloadable, file. This can be an external, absolute, link or an internal, relative, link to a file.
The File Type field is a select list offering different choices between the type of file being linked to. This is for assistance purposes. If unsure, select either Generic File or External File.
The Never Suppress field is a checkbox that defines whether or not the fields active path status should be suppressed if it ever contains a url fragment. Url fragments are urls that include the character: #.
Fields Provided by Menu Item Type: Top
A top item type provides a simple link that points to the menu path. There is no limitation on the number of top items allowed in any given menu. Top menu items cannot have their active path changed because their active path is the menu path.
Fields Provided by Menu Item Type: Menu
A menu item type is a reference, or alias, to another menu. This is an advanced feature that allows for presenting the entire structure of another menu within this menu. This allows for presenting the same content of another menu while updates only need to be made to the original menu and not its references.
The Menu field accepts the numeric menu id that uniquely identifies a workbench menu. This is not referring to the access id.
Fields Provided by Menu Item Type: Menu Item
A menu item item is a reference, or alias, to an item on another menu. This is an advanced feature that functions in the same manner to that of a menu item type, with the exception that this only references a single menu item. Deletion of the referenced menu item will result in this item to be broken, or dangling.
The Menu Item field accepts the numeric menu item id that uniquely identifies a workbench menu item.