Custom Drop-Down Menu Colors

A new client posed a challenge to me for an element on his new website we were designing. He wanted a drop-down menu that changed background colors for each menu item to correspond with the background color of each page it linked to. Basically a different color for each menu item.

I wanted to share the code here for people who don't want to have to take the time to edit the files or don't know how to.

I have used the script written by Angus at Twin Helix for the drop-down menus in the past and knew this was probably my best option for customization. However, with little experience in actually fully customizing this script - I was a little apprehensive. But, I love a challenge!

You can see an example of the menu in action here: R.E. Peters Company

Basically, I removed all the style effects for the background colors in Angus' code, and applied a class to each <li>to achieve the effect.

style.css:

/*MENU*/
	
#topnav {
width:545px;
padding: 0;
position: relative; 
z-index: 999
}



.we_are_sub, .we_are_sub a.highlighted:hover, .we_are_sub a:focus, .we_are_sub a:hover {
	background-image:url(/images/nav_menu/we_are.gif);
	background-repeat:repeat-y;
	color:#7e122d;
	font-weight:bold;
}


.we_do_sub, .we_do_sub a.highlighted:hover, .we_do_sub a:focus, .we_do_sub a:hover {
	background-image:url(/images/nav_menu/we_do.gif);
	background-repeat:repeat-y;
	color:#7e122d;
	font-weight:bold;
}
.we_help_sub, .we_help_sub a.highlighted:hover, .we_help_sub a:focus, .we_help_sub a:hover {
	background-image:url(/images/nav_menu/we_help.gif);
	background-repeat:repeat-y;
	color:#7e122d;
	font-weight:bold;
}
.news_sub, .news_sub a.highlighted:hover, .news_sub a:focus, .news_sub a:hover {
	background-image:url(/images/nav_menu/news.gif);
	background-repeat:repeat-y;
	color:#7e122d;
	font-weight:bold;
}
.contact_sub a:active, .contact_sub a:link {
	background-image:url(/images/nav_menu/contact.gif);
	background-repeat:repeat-y;
	color:#362f2d;
	
}

.contact_sub, .contact_sub a.highlighted:hover, .contact_sub a:focus, .contact_sub a:hover {
	background-image:url(/images/nav_menu/contact.gif);
	background-repeat:repeat-y;
	color:#7e122d;
	font-weight:bold;
}

Code (markup):

listmenu_h.css

/* HORIZONTAL FREESTYLE MENU LAYOUT */


/* All <ul> tags in the menu including the first level */
.menulist, .menulist  ul {
	margin: 0;
	padding: 0;
	list-style: none;
	font-weight:300;
	
}

/* Submenus (<ul> tags) are hidden and absolutely positioned downwards from their parent */
.menulist ul {
 display: none;
 position: absolute;
 width: 109px;
}

/* Second and third etc. level submenus - position across from parent instead */
.menulist ul ul {
 top: -1px; margin-top: 0;
 left: 105px; 
}

/*
 All menu items (<li> tags). 'float: left' lines them up horizontally, and they are
 positioned relatively to correctly offset submenus. Also, they have overlapping borders.
*/
.menulist li {
	float: left;
	display: block;
	position: relative;
	line-height: 20px;
	font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
	font-size: 12px;
	font-weight: bold;  
}
.menulist li ul {
	top: 25px;
}

.menulist li ul li ul {
 top: 0px;
}
.menulist li ul li a {
	font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
	font-size: 11px;
	font-weight: normal;
	background: none!important;
	line-height: normal!important;
	padding: 5px!important;
 }

/* Items in submenus - override float/border/margin from above, restoring default vertical style */
.menulist ul li {
 float: none;
 margin: 0;
 
}
.menulist ul>li:last-child {
 margin-bottom: 1px; /* Mozilla fix */
}

/* Links inside the menu */
.menulist a {
 display: block;
 color: #594519;
 text-decoration: none;
 padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px
 
}


/*Only style submenu indicators within submenus. */
.menulist a .subind {
 display: none;
}
.menulist ul a .subind {
 display: block;
 float: right;
}


/* 'Escaped Comment' hack for horizontal menubar width in IE5/Mac */
.menulist a {
 float: left;
}
.menulist ul a {
 float: none;
}

.menulist a {
 float: none;
}



/*
 HACKS: IE/Win:
 A small height on <li> and <a> tags and floating prevents gaps in menu.
 * html affects <=IE6 and *:first-child+html affects IE7.
 You may want to move these to browser-specific style sheets.
*/
*:first-child+html .menulist ul li {
 float: left;
 width: 100%;
}

* html .menulist ul li {
 float: left;
 height: 1%;
}
* html .menulist ul a {
 height: 1%;
}
/* End Hacks */

Code (markup):

I'm attaching the style.css and listmenu_h.css for your review - this isn't the complete code you need in order to use the twinhelix menu - make sure you download it from www.twinhelix.com.

I hope this post helps someone looking for this type of customization!

 

Great work. Will use this sooner or later.