Version 8.4.0 of the Advanced Sidebar Menu plugin is now available and ready for general use. This version focused on expanding the accordion functionality to include support for opening and closing sections by clicking on links.
Accordion Links As Open/Close
For a while now, our top requested accordion feature was the ability to allow some levels of links function as openers/closers for their section. Some menu structures prefer to have parent links function the same as their corresponding icons instead of opening their URL.
We took a run at a few variations of what this would look like, in order to come up with a UX that is really great. We’re sure you are going to love it!
As you can see from the above screenshot, there is a new “Use links for open/close” settings in the widget’s accordion options. Checking this box opens another “Levels of links to use for open/close” section where you may select the applicable levels.
For the first time, the widgets now support selecting from a list of checkbox levels instead of a single level or level combination dropdown. This architectural marvel allows ultimate flexibility when configuring levels. Choose one level, three levels, all levels, or whatever combination and the functionality targets only what you select.
The documentation has been updated to cover these new options in detail.
Widget Re-organization
As the options for accordions grew, so did the options in the right column of all 3 widgets. When only the default options are selected, both the right and left columns looked pretty even, but with all options expanded, the right column was getting too long.
The version reorganized the sections within the widget settings to make the left and right columns more even, thus providing a shorter overall widget. Shown below is the new pages widget with all the options expanded.
Miscellaneous
- All levels of
<ul>now include adata-levelattribute for targeting with CSS or JavaScript. - Version 8.5.0 of the basic version is now the minimum requirement.
- Introduce a new
Utilsclass for shared global functionality. - Introduce a new
Nav_Menu_Walkerfor the navigation widget. - Support array widget settings.