Advanced Sidebar Menu Pro – Usage

Go Pro!

To use this plugin you must first install the Advanced Sidebar Menu plugin which may be downloaded for free here:

Advanced Sidebar Menu

Once you purchase the pro version you will receive a download link for the pro plugin. You may also download the pro plugin any time by going to the Account section of this site. Upload the pro plugin using the standard WordPress plugin installer and activate both the PRO and free plugins.

Here are some step by step instructions.

To customize the link title or exclude the page.

When editing a page look for this meta box in the sidebar.

Change the text to whatever you would like then save your page like normal. When this page’s link displays in the widget it will automatically get your custom text.

If you check the box to exclude the page, it will be removed from all Advanced Sidebar Menus.

Each page contains a meta box which lets you control the page's title in the menu as well as exclude the page from all menus.

PRO Version Widgets

Post Type – If you have any hierarchical custom post types registered there will be an option to select which post type you would like displayed in the widget. Defaults to Pages. If you have not registered any custom post types, this option will not display.
Apply current page styles to top level item (when applicable) – If this option is selected the styles selected for “Current item” will also apply to the top level item when viewing the highest level parent page.
Apply current page parent styles to top level page (when applicable) – If this option is selected the styles selected for “Current item parent” will also apply to the top level parent when viewing a page with the Parent set to the top level parent.
Display current page’s parents only – If this option is selected the widget will not display 1st level child pages which are not related to the current page. For instance if you have a top level page with more than one child page and you are viewing a child page or a grandchild page. Only the child page which is the current page, parent page, or grandparent page will display. The other 1st level child pages will not display.
Display siblings when there are no grandchildren – Works in conjunction with “Display current page’s parents only” to allow displaying of the first level child page’s sibling when the current page is a first level child page and there are no pages under it. Useful for situations where some pages have grandchildren and others do not. Prevents situations where the menu only includes the current page. This option has no effect if “Display siblings when on a child page” is checked.
Display siblings when on a child page – Works in conjunction with “Display current page’s parents only” to allow displaying of the first level child page’s sibling when the current page is a first level child page. When you are on any page which is a first level child, all other pages on this level will display. Useful for displaying all child pages until you enter lower levels like grandchild pages.
Maximum level of child pages to display – This option allows you to select how many levels down you would like the menu to go. For instance, if you select 2 as the level it will show the top level parent page ( if selected to show ) the child pages and up to 1 level of grandchild pages. Even when you are on a grandchild page, the menu will not display the current page’s children.
Display widget on every page – This option allows you to select a top level page to use when generating the menu. Any page on your site which displays this sidebar will display the widget with the same menu as all other pages. This is useful for adding menus to locations such as a homepage or post page. For more control, there are many WordPress plugins available in the community which allow setting which widgets or sidebars appear on which pages. If you have this option checked, the widget will honor any widget/sidebar location settings created with other WordPress plugins.
Top level parent Page to use for this widget – Works in conjunction with “Display widget on every page” to allow selecting which page is the top level page for the menu.
Enable accordion menu – This option turns on the accordion functionality for this menu. It allows click to expand menu levels.
Accordion icons style – This option allows you to select the style of icons used for clicking to expand and close the menu levels.
Accordion icons color – This option allows you to select the color of the icons.
Keep all accordion sections closed until clicked – This option allows keeping all menus closed until clicking instead of opening to current section.
Include highest level parent in accordion (when applicable) – This option allows including the parent page in the open/close ability of the accordion (Can optionally be used in conjunction with Accordion Close All Sections to create a click to open menu).
Bullet style – This option allows you to select from the 7 styles of bullets for your menu. You can also choose none to have no bullets.
Use block styling – This option styles the widget with block styling (see examples below). You can also choose to show borders and the color of the borders.

Clicking “Click to show styles” will open the following section which allows you style the different levels of your menu

The available style sections are:

Highest Level Parent – top level page which only displays if “Include Parent Page” is checked in basic widget options
Child – 1 level of sub-pages under the Parent Page
Grandchild – 2nd level of pages which are under the child pages
Current Item – the page you are currently viewing.
Current Item Parent – the parent of the page you are currently viewing

The available options are:

Color – the link’s text color
Background Color – the link’s background color
Font Weight – if the link’s text should be bold, or light etc.
Font Size – the link’s text size

Category Widget

Taxonomy – If you have any hierarchical taxonomies registered there will be an option to select which taxonomy you would like displayed in the widget (a common use for this is to display WooCommerce Product Categories). Defaults to Categories. If you have not registered any custom taxonomies, this option will not display.
Order By – Order the categories by Name, Count (number of posts in category), or Slug
Order – Ascending or Descending
Display assigned posts – If this option is selected posts which are assigned to the selected levels of categories will display in the menu. You may select any of these levels to display:
1. – None – (Display no posts, this is default).
2. Under all categories (Display assigned posts under every level).
3. Under highest level parents (Display assigned posts under the highest level parents only).
4. Under highest level parents and children (Display assigned posts under the highest level parents and the first level of children).
5. Under children and grandchildren (Display assigned posts under the child categories and all levels of grandchild categories).
6. Under grandchildren (Display assigned posts under all levels of grandchild categories only).
Post Type – Works in conjunction with “Display assigned posts” to allow selecting another post type which is assigned to categories or the taxonomy selected in the widget. Note: the list of available post types changes based on which taxonomy you have selected and may require hitting save on the widget to update.
Number of Posts to display – Works in conjunction with “Display assigned posts” to allow limiting the number of posts which will show up under each category. You may also select –All– to display up to 100 posts.
Apply current category styles to Parent Category (when applicable)– If this option is selected the styles selected for “Current item” will also apply to the top level parent when viewing the top level category.
Apply current category parent styles to Parent Category (when applicable)– If this option is selected the styles selected for “Current item parent” will also apply to the top level parent category when viewing a category with the Parent set to the top level parent.
Display widget on every page – This option allows you to select a top level category to use when generating the menu. Any page on your site which displays this sidebar will display the widget with the same menu as all other pages. This is useful for adding menus to locations such as a homepage or shop page. For more control, there are many WordPress plugins available in the community which allow setting which widgets or sidebars appear on which pages. If you have this option checked, the widget will honor any widget/sidebar location settings created with other WordPress plugins.
Top level parent Category to use for this widget – Works in conjunction with “Display widget on every page” to allow selecting of the top level category to use when displaying the menu. You may also select “All” to display all top level categories.
Enable Accordion Menu – This option turns on the accordion functionality for this menu. It allows click to expand menu levels.
Accordion Icons Style – This option allows you to select the style of icons used for clicking to expand and close the menu levels.
Accordion Icons Color – This option allows you to select the color of the icons.
Keep all accordion sections closed until clicked – This option allows keeping all menus closed until clicking instead of opening to current section.
Include highest level parent in accordion (when applicable) – This option allows including the parent category in the open/close ability of the accordion (Can optionally be used in conjunction with Accordion Close All Sections to create a click to open menu).
Bullet Style – This option allows you to select from the 7 styles of bullets for your menu. You can also choose none to have no bullets.
Use Block Styling – This option styles the widget with block styling (see examples below). You can also choose to show borders and the color of the borders

Clicking “Click to show styles” will open the following section which allows you style the different levels of your menu

The available style sections are:

Highest Level Parent – top level category which only displays if “Include Parent Category” is checked in basic widget options
Child – 1 level of sub-categories under the Parent Category
Grandchild – 2nd level of categories which are under the child categories
Current Item – the category you are currently viewing.
Current Item Parent – the parent of the category you are currently viewing

The available options are:

Color – the link’s text color
Background Color – the link’s background color
Font Weight – if the link’s text should be bold, or light etc.
Font Size – the link’s text size

Navigation Menu Widget Options:

Apply current page styles to top level item (when applicable) – If this option is selected the styles selected for “Current item” will also apply to the top level item when viewing the highest level parent page.
Apply current page parent styles to top level page (when applicable) – If this option is selected the styles selected for “Current item parent” will also apply to the top level parent when viewing a page with the Parent set to the top level parent.
Enable accordion menu – This option turns on the accordion functionality for this menu. It allows click to expand menu levels.
Accordion icons style – This option allows you to select the style of icons used for clicking to expand and close the menu levels.
Accordion icons color – This option allows you to select the color of the icons.
Keep all accordion sections closed until clicked – This option allows keeping all menus closed until clicking instead of opening to current section.
Bullet style – This option allows you to select from the 7 styles of bullets for your menu. You can also choose none to have no bullets.
Use block styling – This option styles the widget with block styling (see examples below). You can also choose to show borders and the color of the borders.
Display the current items parents only – If this option is selected the widget will not display items which are not related to the page you are viewing. For instance if you have a top level item with more than one child page and you are viewing a child page or a grandchild page. Only the child page which is the current page, parent page, or grandparent page will display. The other menu items will not display.
Display top level siblings. – Works in conjunction with “Display the current items parents only” to allow displaying the top level menu items when viewing a top level menu item which has no children. Useful for situations where some menu items have children and others do not. Prevents situations where the menu only displays the current item.
Display top level items when not viewing a menu item – Works in conjunction with “Display the current items parents only” to allow display the top level menu items when viewing a page that is not part of the menu. Allows displaying the menu on every page with limited items while still showing the child items when viewing a page which is part of the menu.