Advanced Techniques
Many of the techniques listed below are available from the program's help file, the DHTML Menu forum, or from examples on the Sothink site. However, it can be difficult to find specific information when you need it, so we thought it might be helpful to consolidate some of the information on this site. Click on one of the links below for an explanation of the technique.
Closing Submenus onClick
Flash
Users of Dreamweaver CS4 may ignore these instructions. When you insert a Flash object using Dreamweaver CS4, the program generates valid code that allows a DHTML menu to display correctly.
Unless you are using Dreamweaver CS4, it can be difficult to add Flash content to a Web page and have the page code remain valid. An excellent solution is a free JavaScript file called SWFObject. You can download SWFObject here.
Flash objects normally appear above all other objects on a page, and they will cover a DHTML submenu. The link below will explain how to display a submenu over a Flash object.
Floating Menus
A floating menu remains visible as the
page is scrolled. This site uses a floating menu; as you scroll down the page, the menu should follow. Sothink DHTML Menu
makes it easy to create horizontal or vertical floating menus. Go to
Global Settings - Menu Type, select Float, and specify the X and Y
coordinates for the menu. There are a couple of advanced techniques
you may want to consider if you use a floating menu. You can change
the vertical position of the menu as a page is scrolled, you can center
a horizontal floating menu, and you can anchor a vertical floating menu in a table cell or DIV.
Resetting The Vertical Menu Position
GreyBox: Covering All Items On An Underlying Page With A GreyBox Modal Window
Nine out of ten web developers agree that GreyBox is the best Lightbox implementation. I made that up, but GreyBox is an excellent Lightbox implementation. It allows you to display websites, images, and other content; it's very small (only 22KB); it's easy to setup; it's styled in CSS so you can customize it to your taste; it doesn't conflict with pop-up blockers; and it's free. GreyBox creates a modal popup window - the popup window maintains focus until closed and everything under the popup window should be grayed out. However, when using GreyBox you may find that some items on the underlying page - items such as a DHTML Menu - are not grayed out. Here is the solution to that problem:
How To Cover All Items On An Underlying Page With A GreyBox Modal Window
Open A Link In A New Window
We won't argue with those who believe that a link should never be opened in a new window, but there are some developers who prefer to open an external link in a new window. Since the old standard, target = "_blank" has been deprecated, many developers prefer to use a JavaScript to open a link in a new window. You can use a JavaScript link in DHTML Menu and even change the window settings.
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