I would love to see an option to remove the scroll bars.

The option should sit like most other options, with a global switch for the admin, and an admin option to allow users/groups to turn it on and off.

One of the greatest problems I'm facing at the moment, is being torn between a clean user interface, and the productivity of your most excellent module. At least with the option of removing the scrollbars, we can design an interface look that incorporates the supernav module, rather than having it look like a tacked on interface.

Anyway, hope this is possible and is considered worthy as an option.

Comments

chrisshattuck’s picture

chrisshattuck commented

Thank you for the thought, MW,

So, the reason I forced the display of the scrollbar is so that, as the navigation gets expanded below the bottom of the screen, it doesn't just pop up out of the blue. My thinking is that it might be better to remain consistent, then to display sometimes but not others. I've had it both ways in other navigation and personally prefer the consistency.

Do you think the latter option would be better, to have it pop up when it's needed, and stay hidden other times? Is there another option?

Thanks!
Chris

MWLimburg’s picture

MWLimburg commented

Not having a scrollbar does reduce the options for interaction, but the frame does scroll up and down with a mousewheel and the user has the option to close menu options, maximise their browser, etc.

Potential option could be an autoscroll up/down if the mouse sits at the bottom of the frame, but that could be impossible or way too time/resource consuming .. heh ..

Come to think about it, the ability for the "header" of the menu to be "sticky" so the menu flows under it .. that would also link into what I've been thinking, that the end goal is more about having "the option" to making the frame look less like something bolted on, and more in sync with the theme.

The concept is a fantastic one, and to be able to sync it into the look and workflow of a site would be a great boon ... even if this would be an optional feature, to ensure the scrollbars are there by default.

MWLimburg’s picture

MWLimburg commented

A picture is worth a thousand words.

This link shows a quick mockup of what I am considering possible ...

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/6750/smartdrupalfrontendfi5.png

chrisshattuck’s picture

chrisshattuck commented
Status: Active » Closed (works as designed)

MW,

I see what you mean, and unfortunately I'm taking a bit of a different approach with this module that is, as far as I can think through it, a bit incompatible with what you're requesting.

One of the ideas behind the Super Nav is moving the administration of the site outside of the main theme. The reason for this is that by moving administrative tasks outside of the theme, themers can have an easier time creating designs that do not have to conform to both exensive administrative menus, navigation and tools, and the usually less-populated view a typical user would see.

Another idea is to save processing time and and save the navigation state by not having to refresh the navigation with each page reload. If it was embedded in the main page, it would have to re-load each time.

After seeing the image (very useful to explain your thinking), I realized that yours is not an issue of the scrollbar, but rather a conceptual difference.

As one user put it, it's probably best to look at Super Nav as a 'remote control', rather than an embedded utility. There are some modules out there that, while they don't offer the same kinds of tools, can improve navigability and reduce page loads (see towards the bottom of the description on the Super Nav project page for a list).

I'm going to mark the request as "by design" for now, because I think the request is probably incompatible with the concepts behind Super Nav, but if you have any other ideas, feel free to post them.

Thanks!
Chris

MWLimburg’s picture

MWLimburg commented

Very well said, and makes perfect sense. The remote control concept is very apt.

Perhaps when my code workload lowers a little (HAH!) then I could look at striping out the menu environment itself and maybe see how it could be a block or added in via a theme. I *could* take the current codeset and tweak the hell out of it so it aligns with a specific theme but I seriously think the very conceptual differences you defined would make the effort difficult and *conceptually* ugly.

I'll continue to chew on my ideas for this one for now :)

chrisshattuck’s picture

chrisshattuck commented

Hi MW,

I've uploaded an update that adds some a couple small features for better visual integration:

1. There is a 'minimize' icon, which will hide the nav and display a thin bar instead.
2. The scrollbars now only show up when the content is long enough to warrant them.

I agree with you, that the main issues your having stem from the module's goals. If you want something that integrates with the theme, DHTML menu works pretty good. With a little themeing / css, you could get it looking somewhat similar to Super Nav, and could probably draw some from the Super Nav code to get the bookmarks / history features.

Good luck, please feel free to post any additional thoughts.

Thanks!
Chris