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I am using X3 to tell about my travels. Some long trips have to be split up in sections, like 1. Eastcoast, 2. Westcoast, 3. Trekking etc. When I click on one  section, I have to go back to the main menu to find the next section. I would like to have a kind of sub-menu on the page, so it is possible to go directly to another section. Any suggestions, pls?

Well, that is an interesting question. I guess I could say there are some existing features, and perhaps some future features I can think of.

"sub-menu on page"
First of all, I see what you are asking for with "sub-menu on page". However, this is not a feature that exists in X3, and to be honest, I don't quite see how it can be implemented functionally. After all, it would have to display at the top, close to the existing global menu anyway.

Breadcrumbs * Coming soon to X3
One feature which might contribute, is a "breadcrumbs" menu ... Basically a tiny menu at top of page : "Home > Trips > Eastcoast". This is not exactly what you are asking, but many visitors like to use breadcrumb menus to navigate "back" to the parent page (Trips), where they can locate the sub sections.

Pagenav * Exists already in X3
Are you aware of the "pagenav" in X3, which allows the visitor to navigate directly between sibling pages? This is very useful, although it is not obvious to all visitors. This concept could perhaps be extended to create more visible links on sides of screen.


Mega Menu * Exists already
There are already two mega-menu options which allow you to emphasize grouped sections. Many (perhaps most) visitors will know the page they already clicked, and can easily click the "next" section in the group. After all, the topbar menu is also "fixed", which means it sticks to top of screen also when visitor scrolls down the page. The visitor doesn't really "have to go back to the main menu", as the menu is already there, attached to top of screen. This should normally make it relatively comfortable for the visitor to navigate efficiently within sections of a group.

Carousel menu

List menu


Footer "group pages" * might be a good idea.
Another idea might be to show a section of links to ALL pages in the group (except current page), at the bottom of the page. This would be like a "related posts" section, except it would display links (with preview images) to all sibling pages of the current page.

Hello Karl,
Thank you for your detailed answer. My comments:
1. In the Menu I am using the List View showing each Folder. As I have so many folders it will be too confusing - and not look nice - to show the child pages (sub sections).
2. Breadcrumbs: Sounds like a very good idea, which might also be a good answer to my needs
3. I do not understand what you mean by Pagenav in connection with Menu in List mode? Could you give a link to your  https://demo.photo.gallery/galleries/nature/ showing this feature?
4. I do not understand either what you mean by the two Mega menus. In my Settings > Menu I have 4 possibilities of which I have chosen List. You mention here also that "the topbar menu is also fixed". It is not fixed on my website, and I have not been able to find a setting to fix it to the top of the screen, when scrolling down.
5. And the Footer group pages might definitely be a good idea.

Apart from these minor questions I would like to say that the X3 is a fabulous programme with an excellent support. 

sopax wrote:1. In the Menu I am using the List View showing each Folder. As I have so many folders it will be too confusing - and not look nice - to show the child pages (sub sections).

Sure. I just wanted to point out that the menu is not too far away, and has some options.

sopax wrote:2. Breadcrumbs: Sounds like a very good idea, which might also be a good answer to my needs

Yes, probably.

sopax wrote:3. I do not understand what you mean by Pagenav in connection with Menu in List mode? Could you give a link to your https://demo.photo.gallery/galleries/nature/ showing this feature?

Sorry, I didn't mean that this (pagenav) has anything to do with the menu in any way whatsoever. My only point was that the PAGENAV feature in X3, is a useful way for visitors to navigate between sibling pages within a category.

In the link https://demo.photo.gallery/galleries/nature/, you will see the arrow buttons on left and right of screen, which allows you to navigate to the next or previous page in the current category/group, without going "back" in any way. I assume you have this feature enabled for your pages also?

sopax wrote:4. I do not understand either what you mean by the two Mega menus. In my Settings > Menu I have 4 possibilities of which I have chosen List.

I just wanted to emphasize that there are two mega menu options for the main menu, which helps "group" pages visually.

sopax wrote:You mention here also that "the topbar menu is also fixed". It is not fixed on my website, and I have not been able to find a setting to fix it to the top of the screen, when scrolling down.

The topbar is by default fixed on scroll UP, because visitors are used to this behavior on modern devices like ipads and smartphones. Scroll down often means that the visitor is viewing page content, while scroll up means that the visitor wants to go back or navigate, thus the menu interface will display. This is how browsers work on touch devices where the screen size is limited ... The browser interface will show on scroll-up, and hide on scroll-down.

* Scroll UP event displays the main menu, making it instantly available to visitor:


If you want to persistently set the menu to FIXED position, go to Settings > Style > Layout, and choose "Fixed" instead of "Fixed on scroll up":

sopax wrote:5. And the Footer group pages might definitely be a good idea.

Yes. I have noted it down as a future page-plugin option.

sopax wrote:Apart from these minor questions I would like to say that the X3 is a fabulous programme with an excellent support.

Thnx  :heart_eyes:

Thanks Karl. Everything is clear except the PAGENAV, which might be a good idea. Does that work with the list view? And where can I find this setting?

Sorry - I do have this PAGENAV on my website - I just never noticed it. On a 27" iMac monitor it quite far from the points of attention. With your creativity it might be possible to come up with a more prominent solution?

sopax wrote:Sorry - I do have this PAGENAV on my website - I just never noticed it. On a 27" iMac monitor it quite far from the points of attention. With your creativity it might be possible to come up with a more prominent solution?

Noted. For reference, it is a core focus in the design of X3 to limit the amount of "clutter" interface elements floating around on screen. On a large screen like yours, obviously there is more "elbow room" without affecting the design, but on smaller screens it's crucial to keep UI elements minimal. We also have to consider what "layout" is used for the given page, for example "wide" or "narrow".

There certainly is room to improve the design of the pagenav, as an option, and perhaps progressively across screen sizes. Thanks!