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mm_menu.js and the FireFox Mouse Cursor

23 Oct

UPDATE: I get a lot of requests and questions from people who are using mm_menu.js about how to use it or about some compatibility issue.  Let me be clear that I don’t use or recommend mm_menu.js.  It is old, outdated code and does not follow current best-practices.  If you use mm_menu.js, I would fully expect you to run into browser compatibility glitches and other troubles.  The patch below only fixes the I-Beam problem in FireFox, nothing else.  If you want my recommendation, I use Son of Suckerfish which is a pure CSS menu solution (with the exception of a few lines of javascript for IE6 compatibility).  If you prefer auto-generated code you can use something like the CSS Menu Generator.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:

If you happen to work with a designer that uses DreamWeaver, you’ve probably seen mm_menu.js. It the “engine” file that DreamWeaver includes to make dropdown menus work. One obnoxious thing about this file is that the mouse cursor for FireFox still looks like an I bar instead of the normal hand/pointer icon.

If you’re like me, you have absolutely zero interest in debugging this javascript or any of the machine generated garbage that comes with it. Today is your lucky day because attached to this post is a replacement for mm_menu.js that you can just swap out with the old one and ba-da-bing, FireFox shows the cursor correctly. I read about this somewhere which gave me the idea and probably some of the code too. Unfortunately I forget where that is so I can’t link to the reference source. Anyway, if you care, do a diff on files if you want to see the difference, which is very minor.

Download mm_menu.js Patched for FireFox

 
 

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  1. ravenmage

    November 28, 2006 at 2:31 am

    Hey thanks for providing this update to the .js file. I just finished a site where I had to use DW’s built-in pop up menus and appreciate being able to see a hand cursor instead of an I-beam in Firefox.

     
  2. Erin

    May 18, 2007 at 2:36 pm

    Oh my gosh, this *is* my lucky day! Thanks a million for this file — that could have been an endless headache. Much appreciated!

     
  3. Derek

    January 19, 2008 at 8:29 am

    I picked up a new web client and when I transerred their website to my go daddy account their mm_menu.js stopped working – I have litterally spent hours and hours trying to fix it – I ran across this tutorial and tried uploading your modified mm_menu.js – it fixed the problem – call it dumb luck – but now I may have some hair left

     
  4. telsiz

    March 31, 2008 at 7:00 am

    thanks for your help bıt this .js have’nt solved my problem yet.it is going to make me mad :D

     
  5. coliq

    April 27, 2008 at 4:24 am

    May be u also update with mm_menu patch for IE7.

    check this out:
    http://www.radiantcore.com/blog/archives/16/02/2007/ie7mmmenu

     
  6. greensweater

    June 7, 2008 at 10:34 am

    I had problems with godaddy as well and this patch works perfectly. Also works in IE7. Thank you!!

     
  7. biorezonans

    January 14, 2009 at 4:02 am

    yeah it is a great way to solve menu problems.it works fine with IE7 thanks…

     
  8. Nithyanand

    March 19, 2009 at 3:26 pm

    How do I build multiple independent menus on the same website?

    Basically I have a bunch of topics on the side. I want a new menu to be popped up at each topic. What I got is a single menu, which I can probably nest further. But that is not what I want.

    I can seem to build a new one. Kindly help / advise.

     
  9. miranda

    April 16, 2009 at 8:58 am

    mm_menu.js works in Firefox but not in IE7. Any clues?
    Thx

     
  10. Jason

    April 16, 2009 at 9:45 pm

    Hey Nithyanand, as far as i know the only reason to use mm_menu.js is if dreamweaver is writing the code for you. if you’re trying to do something custom, i would look for some other better menu library. mm_menu.js is really old and not particularly good code in my opinion.

     
  11. Jason

    April 16, 2009 at 9:45 pm

    hey miranda, other people seem to say that it works in IE7, but I haven’t personally tested it. sorry i can’t help more than that, if you figure out the issue, please feel free to post back here.

     
  12. anand

    September 2, 2009 at 7:56 am

    how do i add a child sub menu

     
  13. Anna

    January 12, 2010 at 4:54 pm

    ummm come across a weird one and having to use these stupid mm_menus because I’m tied into a project where the average age of the other people is 60 (not kidding). I can’t change the automatic width (false has no effect) and it’s wrapping text in the menu as a result.
    Any idea appreciated!

     
  14. Jason

    January 12, 2010 at 5:03 pm

    Hi Anna, sorry to hear about that. mm_menus.js is not really meant to be edited. Instead, it goes along with machine-generated code that is created by DreamWeaver. I don’t know if DreamWeaver even used mm_menus.js anymore?

    To make those kinds of edits, it would probably help to have DreamWeaver, or else just bite the bullet and re-write the menu using something better like suckerfish. good luck!