Title: Getting started – Split Menus
Last modified: September 4, 2017

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# Getting started – Split Menus

 *  Plugin Author [Matt Keys](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mattkeys/)
 * (@mattkeys)
 * [8 years, 9 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/getting-started-with-wp-nav-plus/)
 * _NOTE:_ This documentation is also included in the /documentation/ folder with
   your plugin download, and is easier to read in that format.
 * **SPLIT MENUS**
 * Many website designs call for a submenu, often right below the primary navigation
   in the header, or in a sidebar on interior pages. These submenu’s are designed
   to show the children of the currently active menu item. WP Nav Plus makes it 
   super simple to build out these types of menus, known as “split menus.”
 * This can be accomplished in one of two ways:
 * _Easy Method (Widget)_
 * The easiest way to get up and running quickly with WP Nav Plus is to make use
   of the widget. In this section I will show you how to implement a basic split
   menu using the WP Nav Plus widget.
    1. Login to your WordPress Admin page (usually [http://yourdomain.com/wp-admin](http://yourdomain.com/wp-admin))
    2. Navigate to the Widgets screen (Under “Appearance”)
    3. Notice the new widget called “WP Nav Plus” (pictured below)<br />
        ⌊WP Nav Plus
       Inactive Widget⌉
    4. Click and drag this widget into the desired sidebar placement (pictured below).
       NOTE: My sidebar is called “Primary Sidebar”, your sidebar may be named differently.
       Please see your theme documentation for additional details about your sidebars.
       <br />
        ⌊WP Nav Menu Split Menu⌉
    5. Congratulations, your widget has been successfully installed! Configure the 
       Menu Name, Start Depth, and Depth as needed to reach your desired output.
 * _Advanced Method (Function)_
 * The documentation above has focused on using the WP Nav Plus widget as the easiest
   way to get started with WP Nav Plus. However for advanced users who want more
   control over the output of their menu, WP Nav Plus can be used with the built
   in WordPress [wp_nav_menu function](http://codex.wordpress.org/Function_Reference/wp_nav_menu)
 * WP Nav Plus adds two arguments to the wp_nav_menu function for use with split
   menus.
    - _option: _**start_depth**
    - _type: _int
    - _default: _false
    - _desctiption: _Use this to specify the number of levels “deep” in a nested
      menu that you wish to start your output from. A setting of 1 will ignore all
      top level menu items, only showing the nested children menu items associated
      with the currently active page (if any).
 *  - _option: _**default_category**
    - _type: _int
    - _default: _false
    - _desctiption: _When the active page being viewed is a post that is not in 
      the menu structure, it will automatically look for the post index page in 
      your menu to associate the current page with. The default_category option 
      can be used to specify a “fallback” if not post index page is located. Accepts
      category ID.
 * _Basic Example:_
 *     ```
       wp_nav_menu(
       	array(
       		'theme_location' => 'my_menu',
       		'start_depth' => 1,
       		'depth' => 1
       	)
       );
       ```
   
 * The above example would create a menu which does not display any top-level menu
   items, but does show the children menu items from the active page.
    -  This topic was modified 8 years, 9 months ago by [Matt Keys](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mattkeys/).
    -  This topic was modified 8 years, 9 months ago by [Matt Keys](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mattkeys/).
    -  This topic was modified 8 years, 9 months ago by [Matt Keys](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mattkeys/).

The topic ‘Getting started – Split Menus’ is closed to new replies.

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 * 0 replies
 * 1 participant
 * Last reply from: [Matt Keys](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mattkeys/)
 * Last activity: [8 years, 9 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/getting-started-with-wp-nav-plus/)
 * Status: not a support question