XML List Menu documentation
 
Quick Start

When you receive the product you will receive a .zip file. The zip file will contain the following files

  • ListMenu.mxp (or ListMenu_trial.mxp in case of trial version)
  • listmenu.xml
  • Readme.htm
  • external1.swf / external2.swf / external3.swf

Do the following steps to start using Listmenu;

  1. Unzip the .zip file
  2. Run ListMenu.mxp through Adobe Extension Manager.
    Open Adobe Extension Manager (Download here if you don't have it). Select Flash CS3 from the programs pulldown list. Then select "File" - "Install Extension". Browse to the folder containing the ListMenu.mxp file and select it to install. Go through the steps of installing by confirming.
  3. Open Flash CS3
  4. Open an existing or create a new ActionScript 3.0 .fla file and save it to disk
  5. Copy the listmenu.xml file from unzipped folder location to the folder containing the .fla you'll work with.
  6. In Flash CS3 Open the [Components] panel and drag ListMenu from [Components] list to your .fla canvas
  7. Select the Listmenu component on stage and open [Component Inspector]
  8. In first parameter xmldata put value listmenu.xml

When you test the movie, the list should appear. If you also copy the external1.swf to external3.swf from the unzipped folder to the folder of your .fla, then clicking menu items will also work. Now you can start making changes to the listmenu.xml data by opening it in a editor-software (or simple Notepad). And you can make changes to the component parameters to suit your needs as well as open the Component library item and change it's assets to create the visual you like.
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HELP, FAQ and Forum
The main ListMenu website can be found here
The main ListMenu help section can be found here
The main ListMenu FAQ page can be found here
The main ListMenu FORUM page can be found here
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Component Parameters.
When you place the ListMenu component on stage, you will have a number of parameters you can modify to suit the menu to your needs. Below are detailed explanations about what every parameter does or customizes.
xmldata (String) =
The name of the .xml file. The component in trial and full version will include a sample "listmenu.xml" file which you can use as startpoint or template for your own .xml file

scrollspeed (Number) = 5
The speed, pixels per frame, with which the scroll up and scroll down buttons will move the menu up and down.

maskheight (Number) = 200
The part/area (height) of the menu which will be shown through a mask, in other words the visible height of the menu.

maskwidth (Number) = 175
The "visible width of the menu", used for calculations only! It is used for the horizontal positions of scroll bar and buttons. Notice that the actual mask "width" used in the script is increased, allowing you to use icons and other contents outside the visual button/area without them being cut-off by the menu mask.

itemspacing (Number) = 0
Extra/Additional space in pixels vertically between menu items

itemalpha (Number) = 0.3
Alpha transparency of the menu button part only. Transparency NOT used for item text, nor item bevel outline MovieClip, nor item mouseover animation MovieClip, nor item active animation MovieClip.

manualtextfield (Boolean) = false
If set to true, the menu will ignore the pre-created layers 'textvalue' and 'textvalueshadow' in MovieClip [listmenu item main] and [listmenu item sub] and generate textfields by actionscript. If you choose this method, check the below main* and sub* variables.
!!! Embedding fonts will increase file size !!!

mainembed (Boolean) = false #limited override
If you have set manualtextfield to false, then dynamic fonts will be created in the menuitems. By default it will choose the system device font _sans (see mainfont and subfont) to make sure it will show menu item texts on any computer. If however you choose a different font without "embedding" it in the .swf flash movie, the flash player will assume it's available on the computer playing the movie. To make the flash movie show the font properly on any computer, you can choose to set mainembed to true and include the font in the .swf file to be embedded (-> In the Library, click it's pullout menu and select "New Font" and choose one, give it a name. Then right-click it in Library list and select Linkage Properties, select export for Actionscript and Export in first frame and give it a linkage name and select the font to be used in mainfont and subfont in parameter panel)

mainfont (String) = "_sans" #limited override
If you have set manualtextfield to false then the main menu items will use this font. Make sure you set mainfont to embed the font outlines if needed. If manualtextfield set to false then you'll need to set them manually in the pre-created layers 'textvalue' and 'textvalueshadow' in MovieClip [listmenu item main] and [listmenu item sub]

mainfontsize (Number) = 12 #limited override
If you have set manualtextfield to false then the main menu items will use this fontsize. If manualtextfield set to false then you'll need to set them manually in the pre-created layers 'textvalue' and 'textvalueshadow' in MovieClip [listmenu item main] and [listmenu item sub]

mainfontXoffset (Number) = 0 # override
Horizontal position of the main item text.

mainfontYoffset (Number) = 0 # override
Vertical position of the main item text

mainfontcolor (int) = 0xFFFFFF # override
Color of the main item text

mainfontcolormouseover (int) = 0xFFFF00 # override
Color of the main item text on mouse over

mainicon (String) = "" # override
Optional linkage name of Library item to be added as main item icon.

mainiconXoffset (Number) = -10
Horizontal position of the main item icon.

subembed (Boolean) = false #limited override
If you have set manualtextfield to false. See detailed info for mainembed. The same explanation for main items font embedding applies to sub items font embedding.

subfont (String) = "_sans" #limited override
If you have set manualtextfield to false. See detailed info for mainfont. The same explanation for main items font choice applies to sub items

subfontsize (Number) = 12 #limited override
If you have set manualtextfield to false. See detailed info for mainfontsize. The same explanation for main items font size applies to sub items

subfontXoffset (Number) = 0 # override
Horizontal position of the sub item text.

subfontYoffset (Number) = 0 # override
Vertical position of the sub item text

subfontcolor (int) = 0xFFFFFF # override
Color of the sub item text

subfontcolormouseover (int) = 0xFFFF00 # override
Color of the sub item text on mouse over

subicon (String) = "" # override
Optional linkage name of Library item to be added as sub item icon.

subiconXoffset (Number) = -10
Horizontal position of the sub item icon.

addfontshadow (Boolean) = true
If addfontshadow set to true, all menuitems will have a black shadow letter behind the main letter. If you have set manualtextfield to false, make sure you have the required layer 'textvalueshadow' (containing its same name textfield) in MovieClip [listmenu item main] and [listmenu item sub]. Copy-paste if needed from MovieClip [- manual textvalue layers].

fontshadowXoffset (Number) = 1
If you have set addfontshadow to true, the horizontal offset position/distance of the shadow letter (compared to main letter position)

fontshadowYoffset (Number) = 1
If you have set addfontshadow to true, the vertical offset position/distance of the shadow letter (compared to main letter position)

buttonoutline (Boolean) = true
Use the button outline for menu items. If set to true, scripting will rotate the menu button outline clip [listmenu button _outline] 180 degrees on mouse over and rotate back on mouse out.

framemodel (Boolean) = false
If set to true, then the menu items will open the links as "web pages" (getUrl type) instead of loading them as external .swf movies. Set to true, you can use any type of webpage link (htm, html, asp, php, swf, etc) since the listmenu will assume the link will be opened as in a browser window.
If set to false, then the menu items will load the links as external .swf movies (LoadMovie type)

targetframe (String) = "mainFrame" - # override
If set framemodel to true, the default frame name of where the links will be opened.

loadXpos (Number) = 200
If set framemodel to false, the horizontal positions where loaded links (external .swf movies) will be loaded in relation to listmenu position

loadYpos (Number) = 0
If set framemodel to false, the vertical positions where loaded links (external .swf movies) will be loaded in relation to listmenu position

loadmask (Boolean) = false
If set framemodel to false, if set loadmask to true, the loaded links (external .swf movies) will be loaded under a mask. This way only a certain area will make the loaded movies visible.

loadmaskwidth (Number) = 100
If set framemodel to false, if set loadmask to true, the horizontal width of the mask area where the loaded links (external .swf movies) will be visible

loadmaskheight (Number) = 100
If set framemodel to false, if set loadmask to true, the vertical height of the mask area where the loaded links (external .swf movies) will be visible

dopullout (Boolean) = false
If set to true, then the listmenu will make main categories being pull-out type. The list menu will start automatically with all main menu items pulled-in (showing no sub items). When selecting a main item, the prior selected main item will be pulled-in hiding its sub items.

pulloutmulti (Boolean) = false
If set dopullout to true, if pulloutmulti to true, the list menu will allow more then one main item being pulled-out at the same time.

dolistoptions (Boolean) = true
If set to true, the list menu will add the {listoptions] movieclip above the list with the option to search and show all/main buttons.

searchcasesensitive (Boolean) = false
If set to true, the listoptions search field will search and match only exact upper-/lowercase letters in the list.

flag (String) = "new"
Optional string name you are using to flag certain marked menu item nodes. In the Library you'll find a MovieClip [- listoptions show flag]. If you copy its layer to MovieClip [listoptions] then an additional button is added to the options/search clip with a button which will show only items marked with the flag tag in the list. It can be used for instance as a quick toggle between all and new 'products' in the list.

activecategories (Boolean) = false
If set to true, when searching the listmenu it will check if a main item has been marked active (with the checkbox on the right side of the main menu item. If the item is not actively marked, it will not be searched and its matching sub items will not be included in the search result (list after search)

mainremain (Boolean) = false
If set to true, then the list menu will always show main items. If the list is searched or re-generated e.g. by the "flag"-button, even if the main items do not match they'll still be included in the list.

donextprevious (Boolean) = false
If set to true, below the list menu 'next' and 'previous' buttons will be added to quickly scroll through the list
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activekeyboardarrows (Boolean) = false
If set to true, the keyboard up/down will scroll the menu if in focus and the right/left arrows will function as next/previous item buttons
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Overriding specific properties of xml node entries

Item options
The following tags can be included into xml <menuitem> nodes to override their default values. Possible for both Main and Sub nodes

  • main="true" (only include this to make a menuitem a main item)
  • flag="new" (see flag. Optional flag name, you can choose the flag name "new" in the component Parameter Panel)

  • fontcolor="0x00FF00" (replace value with your own)
  • fontcolormouseover="0xFF00FF" (replace value with your own)
  • fontXoffset="5" (replace value with your own)
  • fontYoffset="5" (replace value with your own)
  • itemicon="icon_cube" (replace value with your own)
  • loadXpos="100" (replace value with your own)
  • loadYpos="100" (replace value with your own)
  • targetframe="bottomFrame" (replace value with your own, only available if framemodel set to true)

Limited item options
The following tags can be included into xml <menuitem> nodes to override their default values in case manualtextfield has been set to false. Not possible when using the 'manual' textfields in the items. Possible for both Main and Sub nodes

  • fonttype="Arial" (replace value with your own)
  • fontsize="24" (replace value with your own)
  • fontembed="false" (true or false)


The following tags can be included into xml <menuitem> nodes to override their default values in case manualtextfield has been set to true. Not possible when using the script generated textfields in the items. Possible for both Main and Sub nodes

  • fontscale="1.3" (replace value with your own)
    (This tag will rescale the textvalue and textvalueshadow text fields in the items with factor "fontscale")

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About List Menu
© 2008 Patrick Jansen Design

List Menu Component is Intellectual Property of Patrick Jansen. You should carefully read the following terms and conditions before using List Menu Component. Your use of files indicates your acceptance of this license agreement and warranty

You are specifically prohibited from charging, or requesting donations, for List Menu Component and from distributing these files (commercial or otherwise) without prior written permission. Unauthorized usage or distribution is prohibited it is in violation of international copyright laws.

Reverse-engineering, decompiling and/or any form of modification or reproduction of List Menu Component is prohibited. You are allowed to use the List Menu TRIAL component to test them out before purchasing the full version. You also may use the List Menu TRIAL component in commercial works, as provided in compiled form of the Trial version. Any other usage of the List Menu effects not described herein can only be performed with specific authorization by Patrick Jansen

Disclaimer of Warranty

THE Patrick Jansen Products (including "List Menu" and "GaDGeTS" and "ASTRO" and "PJ" and "Supreme 4" and "Elite" and "Pixel Font" and "X-mas Mix" components) AND THE ACCOMPANYING FILES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES AS TO PERFORMANCE OR MERCHANTABILITY OR ANY OTHER WARRANTIES WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. Because of the various hardware and software environments into which PATRICK JANSEN PRODUCTS may be put, NO WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE IS OFFERED.

Patrick Jansen Products copyright registrations are available at USA Library of Congress - Copyright Office.
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