Menus in Acquia Source are collections of links or menu items that can be placed in various regions of your site. They can link to internal content, external websites, or special system paths. When adding or editing content in Acquia Source, you can specify the content’s menu item and the menu in which it appears.
Whether working from a default menu or one you create, you can do the following from a menu's Edit screen:
- Add and remove links
- Choose the language of the menu if you have additional languages enabled
- Allow content creators to link new content of different types directly to the menu
- Adjust menu hierarchy by using drag and drop controls
- Enable and disable menu items
The following table lists the pre-configured menus in Acquia Source:
Menu | Purpose | Content | Visibility |
|---|
Main Navigation | Primary site navigation, typically displayed at the top of the page. | Key sections and important pages of your site. | Generally visible on all pages. |
Footer | Secondary navigation at the bottom of pages. | Legal information, support links, and secondary content. | Generally visible on all pages. |
User Account Menu | Links related to user accounts and authentication. | Login, logout, user profile, and account management links. | Visibility often depends on user authentication status. |
Admin Navigation | Links related to administrative functions. | Content management, structure, and configuration. | Only visible to users with administrative permissions. |
Menus support multi-level hierarchical structures:
- Parent items: Top-level links that may contain child links.
- Child items: Sub-links that are displayed when hovering over or clicking a parent item.
- Multiple levels: Menus can have several levels of depth. However, 2-3 levels are recommended for better usability.
Menu hierarchy is managed by using drag and drop controls from the menu’s edit screen.
In Acquia Source, menus can be enhanced with custom fields, adding functionality beyond basic navigation.
Addition of fields to menu items helps you to:
- Enhance visual presentation: Add icons, images, or visual indicators to menu items.
- Support mega menus: Include additional descriptive text or featured content.
- Enable dynamic behavior: Add configuration options for special menu behaviors.
- Improve accessibility: Include additional descriptive text for screen readers.
The following are the examples of menu fields:
Example: Adding an image field to menu items for displaying icons next to menu text.
Implementation: Add an image field to the menu link content entity type and configure the display to show it alongside the link text.
Featured content¶
Example: Adding a reference field to highlight specific content within dropdown menus.
Implementation: Add an entity reference field to point to promoted content items that appear in expanded menu sections.
Custom styling¶
Example: Adding a list field for selecting special styling options.
Implementation: Add a list field with highlight, emphasize, or button-style styling options that applies CSS classes to menu items.