The jumbled menu in SMF is something that should be addressed ASAP. The top level menu on my forum, for example, looks like this...
Home * Forum * Help * Arcade * Search * Admin * Moderate * Profile * My Messages * Quiz * Calendar * Prediction League * Gallery * Members * Chat * Logout
And every mod I install makes it more jumbled and illogical. SMF should come up with a system where mods can add themselves to a list of items that belong in the menu, but on the admin side the menu items can be arranged in a more logical manner, using CSS to create a flowing and logical layout of their own choosing.
I should be able to create a top level menu, and assign any of them to any of the functions available in SMF, or to any of the mods that have registerd themselves to be available. And those menus should be able to be stacked. For instance, using the menu above as an example...
Home
Forum
My Messages
Discussion
Calendar
Members
Chat
Search
Games
Arcade
Quiz
Prediction League
Downloads & Media
Gallery
Music
Pictures
Video
Other 3rd Level Stuff
Admin
Admin Center
Moderate
My Settings
New Users Menu
Message To Admin
Delete My Account
Guests Menu
Things
I
Want
Guests
To
See
Help
Logout
These things should be able to be arranged in a GUI environment, assigned whatever functionality the Admin wants, and of course adhere to forum security settings. With the above, my top level menu now looks like this...
Home * Forum * Games * Downloads & Media * Admin * New Users Menu * Guests Menu * Help * Logout
I know that some forums have done this, but it involves writing code that the vast majority of people will never write. As it is now, it's a jumbled mess that gets more jumbled with every new mod that creates a top level menu.
I like this idea and I think would benefit a lot of users who have many mods installed.
mee too... i think is line best website and best for present
I have been planning on making a mod to do this for some time. It is the next mod I will be making and you will hopefully be seeing it in a few weeks.
100% support this =]
In the immortal words of "Larry The cable guy".... Get r done. :)
i like the idea.
with permission control which item will be shown.
This may be a feature, may not. SMF 2.0 is feature frozen at the moment, but still would be nice to see! But it would sort of defeat the object of having the menu in the Sources as opposed to themes. But I suppose then it isn't theme specific. Look at me, rambling on!
Also, the option to have an icon for each menu item would be good!
Well, 2.0's menu system does have submenus, and menus can have child menus - so it's not as if this is a million miles away to do.
The key issue actually isn't the UI, the problem is in the storage of it.
Right now it's stored in Subs.php in code. Changing this means altering Subs.php programmatically or otherwise pushing it into the DB somehow/where.
I have already started making this mod btw. Will be released to charter members once I have most the stuff done so I can work out what it is missing. There is something I can't put my finger on. Also it will be fairly powerful so you can add different link categories for say footer links or links grabbed from SSI.php. Also, you can have as many child links as you like, works the same as forum boards.
Sounds awesome, Robbo_ !
Curious - how are you storing the menu links?
Database. The array in Subs.php will probably be used to show the default links or something.
You will see it once I get a chance to finish it off ;)
This is a screen I took of it a while ago...
(http://dev.eninja.com.au/cl_screen1.jpg)
Oh, that looks awesome :)
The custom field is the main problem I have with it. I don't know if I should just let them use PHP or something like the SMF email stuff where you add stuff like {something here}. I could also make a custom language type thing for it. My main problem is this cutsom field, so feedback about it would be awesome.... (the main reason this will be released to charter members first is because I want to know what to do with the custom stuff.
PHP would be more flexible but I can see both performance issues and "hlp i borke ym fourm" (sorry) support posts.
Stuff like the newsletter would be preferable in that respect.
Mod WIP released.
http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=352408.0