JavaScript Menu Settings - Global Properties

The following is a list of Global Properties that can be declared to change certain characteristics of how the menu operates.

The Global Properties will change the way ALL menus and menu items within a menu system works. All properties are type Boolean (true or false).

Each of the properties must be set using a logic value. Logic values that can be used for these properties are true, false, 1 (one) or 0 (zero)

It is advisable to place these properties in the menu_data.js file toward the top of the file before any menus and menu items have been declared, this helps to remove any confusion or conflicts that may occur.

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Boolean horizontalMenuDelay

By default, the menu includes an opening delay of 150 milliseconds when opening sub menus from a parent menu that is of Vertical in orientation.

The delay is used to ensure that the correct sub menu is retained even if the mouse pointer strays away from the current selected menu.

This feature is normally only relevant for Vertical menus because it is difficult to stray onto another menu item when opening sub menus from a Horizontal menu. This is why, by default, there is no delay when opening a sub menu from a Horizontal parent menu.

The horizontalMenuDelay property allows you to specify that you would like Horizontal parent menus to include a menu opening delay

Valid syntax is horizontalMenuDelay = true;

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Boolean closeAllOnClick

closeAllOnClick allows the menu to close itself when the user has clicked on a menu item.

By default, the action of the menu after a click event is to keep the menu visible. When using the menu in an application scenario, it is often desirable to have the menu hide itself after a mouse click event has occurred. This is where you will need to specify the closeAllOnClick Global Property

Valid syntax is closeAllOnClick = true;

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Boolean retainClickValue

Menus that are opened using a click event as opposed to mouse over event have two type of actions.

The most common type of click menu is one that opens a sub menu 'on click' but all sibling sub menus are opened on 'mouse over' until either a selection is made or the mouse pointer moves away from focus.

This type of menu is used on almost all desktop applications and is probably the style of click menu you'll want to use. To declare this type of click menu you will need specify retainClickValue as true because the menu, by default, will require a click for every menu that requires a click to open it.

Valid syntax is retainClickValue = true;

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Boolean noSubImageSpacing

noSubImageSpacing will remove any white space between the last character and the menu items sub image.

In order to keep the menu looking uniform, white space is added to ensure that sub images are aligned correctly to the left or right depending on orientation.

Some users prefer to remove this white space allowing the sub image to sit next to the end of the text. This can be achieved using the noSubImageSpacing Global Property.

Valid syntax is noSubImageSpacing = true;

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Boolean buildAllMenus

In order to keep the performance of the menu system at its best, menus are not built at runtime by default unless they are required to do so.

This means that menus are only built once they are opened. This can cause problems on certain web browsers and it sometimes helps to build all of the menus at run time. Although this does reduce the performance of the menu it does mean that no additional processing will be needed to open a menu and will also reduce the possibility of problems occurring on lesser quality web browsers.

Users of Internet Explorer for the Apple Macintosh may have problems with dynamically built menus; therefore it may be advisable to include this property for this browser. The following line of code can be used for just this browser: if(mac)buildAllMenus = true;

Valid syntax is buildAllMenus = true;

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Boolean _CFix

_CFix was introduced to fix a problem with Macromedia Contribute.

If you are a Macromedia Contribute user and are having trouble editing pages that use the menu, try adding _CFix = true; to the top of your menu_data file.

Also, your could take a look at http://www.macromedia.com/support/contribute/ts/documents/iframe.htm

Valid syntax is _CFix = true;

It is advisable to place this property in the menu_data.js file toward the top of the file before any menus and menu items have been declared

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Boolean ignoreCollisions

ignoreCollisions will remove any collision detection for both popup() and normal menus

Valid syntax is ignoreCollisions = true;

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