# Managing menu items

{% embed url="<https://vimeo.com/516059829>" %}

Menu items can be added to the *Main navigation* and *Footer menu* in two main ways.

## Managing from the Structure - Menus page

To add menu items, view and edit existing menus, hover over *Structure* in the *Admin menu* then click on *Menus*. This will take you to a page displaying all the *Menus* that exist on a site.

<figure><img src="https://1079433754-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-Lyh9JMywljz0CN8oT8o%2Fuploads%2FsILaqCRLM6TOP6PKAXZO%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=d2883efd-d253-413f-8ab6-80bc0ca4b2ca" alt=""><figcaption><p>Editing the primary navigation menu</p></figcaption></figure>

Depending on your level of access, you can delete an entire menu from this page. Clicking on the *Edit menu* button for any menu listed will take you to a page where menu items can be:

1. Added - by clicking the **+Add link** button at the top left.
2. Deleted - by clicking the dropdown next to a menu item's *Edit* button.
3. Enabled/Disabled - using the checkboxes.
4. Reordered - by dragging and dropping using the cross handles to the left of each menu item.

<figure><img src="https://1079433754-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-Lyh9JMywljz0CN8oT8o%2Fuploads%2FhuYmfFnbnoTVy8tehNJg%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=be1a8e34-8405-4ff8-ab51-f89c889470f1" alt=""><figcaption><p>Image showing menu items can be added, deleted, enabled/disabled and reordered.</p></figcaption></figure>

Adding a menu item via this method is covered in [**Exercise 10.1**](https://salsa-digital.gitbook.io/govcms-content-administration/unit-10-managing-site-navigations-and-breadcrumbs/managing-menu-items/exercise-10-1-add-an-item-to-a-menu).

**Note** Disabling a menu item does not delete the page. You can still access the page by going directly to the URL of the menu.

## Adding a menu item from the *Content* edit form

Menu items can be generated while creating or editing *content*. For example, while creating a new *Page*. This provides a quick way to generate a new menu item. In the example below, a new menu item will be added to the *Primary navigation* menu.

To add a menu item from the *Menu settings* area on a *content* page:

1. Click to expand the *Menu settings* area on the right hand side of the page.
2. Click on *Provide a menu link*.
3. Add a *Menu title link*.
4. Optionally add a *Description*.
5. Select the *Parent link* - which menu to add the link to.
6. Optionally choose a *Weight*.

<figure><img src="https://1079433754-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-Lyh9JMywljz0CN8oT8o%2Fuploads%2FwGK5RHlg64lI2pKrUqeI%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=8f670bf3-1ae1-4728-898e-4416dfa12687" alt=""><figcaption><p>Image showing the menu section on the edit page</p></figcaption></figure>

The *Weight* number determines the ordering of the new menu item in the chosen menu. Managing ordering is easier to manage from the *Menu* page. As such, you may wish to leave the *Weight* value at the default value of 0 while creating the page, then manage the ordering in the *Structure* - *Menu* page.

## Restrictions for adding content to the site navigation

When creating or managing content you will notice that some *content types* have an option to be added to a *Menu*, while others do not.

As shown above, a menu item can be created while creating or editing a *Page*. The *Menu settings* area is not available in the *Alert* content editing form as shown in the screenshot below.

<figure><img src="https://1079433754-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-Lyh9JMywljz0CN8oT8o%2Fuploads%2FB1jrHgsoB1oj3onMwYqU%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=fcca986c-f337-4d89-ab8f-dba7c067551f" alt=""><figcaption><p>Menu settings not available whilst editing Alert content type</p></figcaption></figure>

The site builder usually only activates the Menu Settings option for content **that is not listed on the site in any way and can only be found via a navigation menu**. The Page content type is a good example of content that has to be manually added to the main navigation or another menu.

**Dynamic content** such as **Events** and **Alerts** do not usually need a link in the main navigation menu, as this content is displayed in the corresponding listing pages.

In some cases, the relevancy of content may expire over time (e.g. Event content types), so having a link from a menu brings an extra content management burden to remove the link after the content expires such as in the cases of **Events** and **Alerts**.