Key Features
Extensive Keyboard Support
RadMenu v3.0 delivers the convenience of desktop applications to the web with full support for:
- Shortcuts
- Access Keys
- Arrow-key Navigation
Semantic rendering for 70% less markup
Telerik RadMenu now implements a highly efficient semantic rendering, which uses list items and CSS instead of tables. As a result the HTML output is reduced by up to 70%, which dramatically improves performance. Furthermore there is no CPU-freeze effect associated with with client-side generated controls.
Content Template Support
The content of each
MenuItem is now defined through Content Templates. They can accommodate both HTML elements and ASP.NET WebControls. A Template can be populated both in Visual Studio® .NET design mode and manually with the code. Databinding inside templates is also supported.
Search engine friendly
Although it is JavaScript-based, RadMenu completely follows the principles of Search Engine Optimization. The control's innovative rendering generates semantic lists and standard <a> tags, which are properly recognized and highly valued by search engines. As a result, all content accessible through this control will be automatically indexed and ranked with no extra effort required on the side of the developer.
XHTML 1.1 and Accessibility Compliance
RadMenu now provides complete XHTML 1.1 compliance. There are, however, 2 exceptions (Width and Height attributes), which are intended to solve Internet Explorer compatibility issues.
RadMenu satisfies the requirements of "Section 508" for software accessibility. The component is also "Level AAA" content compliant (in accordance with the W3C Web Accessibility Guidelines 1.0).
Screen Boundaries Detection
RadMenu groups now open in the opposite direction, if the window boundaries are to be crossed.
Static (Pinned) Menus
A new functionality of RadMenu v3.0 allows you to pin down a menu so that it does not scroll with the content of the browser window, but rather retains its absolute position.
Overlays Flash, ActiveX, windowed objects
A common limitation of many menu components is their inability to work over Flash, ActiveX, windowed objects (select boxes), and other 3-rd party components. This imposes great limitation in terms site design and page content. In RadMenu all those problems are eliminated. (Supported on Internet Explorer 5.5+ only!)
Extensive Client-Side API
RadMenu v3.0 introduces a comprehensive client-side API, which enables you to manage the menu structure on-the-fly and control virtually all properties defined in the server-side RadMenu and MenuItem classes.
Image Preloading and Caching
RadMenu v3.0 employs a new JavasScripts-based mechanism to preload and cache all required images, so that they can be used instantly on request. The the preloading script is extracted in an external file, which is in turn also cached automatically by the browser.
Functionality
Easier grouping of items
The RadMenu hierarchy structure has been significantly simplified so that each menu item can now have its own collection of child items. This eliminates the need of forming menu groups so the MenuGroup class has been removed.
Easily switch orientation (vertical/horizontal) and expand direction (down, up, left, right)
The flexibility of RadMenu gives you full control of the appearance of your menus - choose from virtually all existing styles of menus - vertical, horizontal, mixed and set the direction of menu groups to fit the feel of your designs and the flow of information.
Support for context (right-click) menus
Harness the full potential of RadMenu - use it everywhere in your solutions where a pop-up menu would help users access information more conveniently. Go beyond the conventional navigation - use it for context help within your system, or set dynamic links in the body text of your pages. Whatever your use of RadMenu might be, its flexibility and scalability guarantee to easily accommodate it.
Extensive design-time support
The design-time functionality of RadMenu has been significantly enhanced to include:
- Applying skins in design time
- New Builder dialog
- Easily switch between RadMenu skins - the AutoFormat command in RadMenu Smart tag automatically detects the preset skins
- Design-time support for declarative data sources
- Hierarchical binding to flat data sources
Automatic PostBack function
Thanks to the new "AutoPostBack" attribute developers may set all items of the menu to PostBack regardless of other settings.
Support for scrollable menus
Too much information for 15"? With RadMenu, you'll never have to worry if your menu expands embarrassingly beyond the screen of users. RadMenu automatically sizes your menus and creates a scroll for your users to access all information without confusion and frustration. Both Horizontal and Vertical scrolling are supported.
ASP.NET 2.0 Features
Enhanced support for ASP.NET 2.0 declarative datasources
AccessDataSource, SqlDataSource, and ObjectDataSource are now supported.
Populating the control
Data Binding
RadMenu is fully compatible and supports native .NET connectivity with various sources - DataSets, DataTables and even XML documents.
Using Server-side API
Add / Remove / Disable items
RadMenu features a flexible API for dynamic add, remove or disable items at runtime. Adding items at runtime is quite simple: just create a new instance of the RadMenuItem and add it to the corresponding Items collection with the AddItem() method. Similarly, to remove an item, use the Remove() method. To disable an item, simply set the Enabled boolean property of the menu item to False.
Using Client-side API
Appearance
Consistent set of skins, switchable with a single property
RadControls suite is now shipped with a consistent set of skins that allow you to easily build slick interfaces with the look-and-feel of Windows XP, Office, Visual Studio, etc. The skin of every control can be easily switched using a single property. (
See live demo.)
