[How To] Replacing the Atahualpa header image with a 'sliding door' image menu

jack96161 · #1 Aug 5, 2009, 05:07 PM

I posted a site I'm doing with the default Atahualpa header image(s) replaced by a 'sliding image menu' and several people have asked how it was done. To see what I'm talking about see http://www.whiteravencenter.org

The 'sliding door image' effect is described at http://www.phatfusion.net/imagemenu/ along with the files my solution was originally developed from. Also, Wayne Connor used this technique in another Wordpress theme -http://mac-host.com/slidingdoor/ and I learned some more from his support forum, especially http://www.mac-host.com/support/view...php?f=10&t=124

How I used it in Atahualpa

First, you need to obtain the image menu HTML, CSS, and image directory, plus the mootools.js file and load them into your .../themes/atahualpa/ directory in a folder imagemenu/ You can get these from the sites mentioned above, or I have a zipped file that contains a complete imagemenu/ directory similar to what I'm using - you can download at http://highsierradesign.com/library/imagemenu.zip
It's password protected - use: username: monami and password: 4monami
Just unzip and install the folder under altahualpa/ - the imagemenu/images/ directory contains the initial images I used - which you will replace with your own...

Now for Atahualpa itself -

To establish links to the imagemenu specific CSS and mootools, use the Atahualpa administration, go to ATO->Add HTML/CSS Inserts->HTML Inserts: Header and add:

HTML Code:

<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" href="http://www.yourdomain.com/wp-content/themes/atahualpa/imagemenu/imageMenu.css">
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.yourdomain.com/wp-content/themes/atahualpa/imagemenu//mootools.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.yourdomain.com//wp-content/themes/atahualpa/imagemenu/imageMenu.js"></script>

[be sure to replace 'yourdomain' with, well, your domain!]

Then, to de-activate the default %image and replace it with the imagemenu, go to ATO->Style & edit HEADER AREA->Configure Header Area and replace the current header specification with:

HTML Code:

%logo <div id="imageMenu">
<ul>
<!-- THESE ARE THE LINKS YOU GO TO WHEN YOU CLICK ON A SLIDING DOOR IMAGE-->
<!-- change the href to look like this: <a href="yourlink.com">     -->
<li class="bk1"><a href="http://www.yourdomain.com/yourpage.html">Methods</a></li>
<li class="bk2"><a href="<?php bloginfo('url'); ?>/?cat=2">Services</a></li>
<li class="bk3"><a href="<?php bloginfo('url'); ?>/?cat=1">Workshops</a></li>
<li class="bk4"><a href="<?php bloginfo('url'); ?>/?cat=2">Testimonials</a></li>
<li class="bk5"><a href="<?php bloginfo('url'); ?>/?cat=2">Gallery</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
		
<script type="text/javascript">
window.addEvent('domready', function(){
var myMenu = new ImageMenu($$('#imageMenu a'),{openWidth:275, border:2, onOpen:function(e,i){location=(e);}});
			});
</script>

This will place the %logo at the top of the page followed by the sliding door imagemenu, using the images named in each <li... statement and clicking on that image when it expands will take the user to the link specified. Notice you can hard-code the links, or align them with categories, etc. You can use more or less sliding panels as you wish. The CSS in ...atahualpa/imagemenu/imageMenu.css controls the formatting of the image menu - modify as appropriate.

Finally, to finish cleaning up the header, set:

Show Blog Title? No
-and-
Show Blog Tagline? No

That's it - easier to do than describe. It could be done differently, like integrating the imagemenu images in the Atahualpa img/ directory or integrating the imageMenu.css directly into Atahualpa so it could be edited with the Wordpress editor, etc., but for now, I like having all the imagemenu stuff separate and in one place, making it easier to upgrade. Note that none of the core Atahualpa files have been altered manually, so these changes should survive updates automatically.

Hope this makes sense - If anyone has trouble getting this to work - drop me an email.

Jack