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Version: 4.x

menu-item-alias

Description​

The Menu Item Alias menu type is used to create a link from one Menu Item to another Menu Item. This link can be to another Menu's, Menu Item or within the same Menu.

How To Access​

To create a new Menu Item Alias:

  • Select Menus → [name of the menu] from the Administrator menu (for example, Menus → Main Menu). Then...
    • Select the New button in the Toolbar. Then...
    • Select the Menu Item Type Select button. Help-4x-Menu-Item-Type-Select-Button-en.png
    • In the modal dialog select the System Links item to open a list and then select the Menu Item Alias item.

To edit an existing Menu Item Alias:

  • Select its Title in the Menus: Items list.

Screenshot​

Help-4x-Menus-Menu-Item-Alias-screen-en.png

Form Fields​

  • Menu Title: The title that will display for this menu item.
  • Alias. The internal name of the item. Normally, you can leave this blank and Joomla will fill in a default value Title in lower case and with dashes instead of spaces. Learn more.

Left Panel

  • Menu Item Type. The Menu Item Type selected when this menu item was created. This can be one of the core menu item types or a menu item type provided by an installed extension.
  • Menu Item. Select a Menu Item name to point Alias Menu Item name at. The drop down list is sectioned by Menu Names, with a list of Menu Item names under each Menu Name.
  • Link. The system-generated link for this menu item. This field cannot be changed and is for information only.
  • Use Redirection. The Template Style field is not used if this options is set to Yes.
  • Target Window. Select from the drop-down list.
  • Template Style. Select from the drop-down list.

Right Panel

  • Menu. Shows which menu the link will appear in.
  • Parent Item. The parent menu item for this menu item. Used to determine whether a Menu Item is a top-level item or a submenu item. Select 'Menu Item Root' (the default value) if this is a top-level Menu Item. Otherwise, select the Menu Item that is this item's parent.
  • Ordering. You can change the order of an item within a list as follows:
    • If the list Filter Options include a Position filter select the desired Position. This will limit the list to items that are assigned to that Position.
    • Select the Ordering icon Help30-Ordering-colheader-icon.png in the Table heading to make it the active ordering item. The ordering icons in each row will change from light grey to dark grey and the pointer will change to a drag arrow on hover.
    • Select one of the Ordering icons Help30-Ordering-colheader-grab-bar-icon.png and drag it up or down to change the position of that row in the list. The items will display in the new order within the Position.
  • Status. The published status of the item.
  • Start Publishing. Date and time to start publishing. Use this field if you want to enter content ahead of time and then have it published automatically at a future time.
  • Finish Publishing. Date and time to finish publishing. Use this field if you want to have content automatically changed to Unpublished state at a future time (for example, when it is no longer applicable).
  • Default Page. If Yes, this menu item is the default or home page for the site. There must be exactly one menu item set as the default page. You can change the default page in two ways:
    1. Click on the Home column of the desired menu item in the Menus: Items screen.
    2. Open the menu item for the new default page and change the Default Page setting to Yes.
  • Language. Item language.
  • Note. This is normally for the site administrator's use (for example, to document information about this item) and does not show in the Frontend of the site.

Common Options​

See Menus: Edit/New Item for help on fields common to all Menu Item types located in the following Tabs:

  • Link Type
  • Page Display
  • Metadata
  • Associations
  • Module Assignment

Quick Tips​

  • Leave the alias field empty if the menu item alias and the menu item linked to by the alias have the same parent.
  • A Main Menu Item Alias could link to an Article Menu's 'Some Menu Type' Menu Item. By using Module Assignments, a possible use would be to replace the Main Menu with the Article Menu when the Alias Menu Item is clicked. A return to Main Menu when another Alias Menu Item is clicked pointed back to a Menu Item in the Main Menu.

Toolbar​

At the top of the page you will see the toolbar shown in the Screenshot above. The functions are:

  • Save. Saves the item and stays in the current screen.
  • Save & Close. Saves the item and closes the current screen.
  • Save & New. Saves the item and keeps the editing screen open and ready to create another item.
  • Cancel. Closes the current screen and returns to the previous screen without saving any modifications you may have made. Or
  • Close. Closes the current screen and returns to the previous screen without saving any modifications you may have made. This toolbar icon is not shown if you are creating a new item.
  • Help. Opens this help screen.