Config File Menu

Generate your entire Perspective navigation from one configuration file — YAML or JSON drives nested menus, icons, breadcrumbs, and page titles that stay in sync on every publish.

Author: EdenOaks Consulting
Maintainer: Matt McPheeters

One session property, configFileMenu.contentSource, drives the docked menu, the top-bar breadcrumbs, and the page title.

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What it does

Config File Menu turns your Perspective navigation into data you can generate and maintain outside Designer. Define labels, icons, routes, nested sections, and optional role visibility once in configFileMenu.contentSource; the docked side menu, top-bar breadcrumbs, and sample page titles are built from that same definition at runtime.

Advantages of configuration-file menu generation:

• Single source of truth — One parameter drives the dock, breadcrumbs, and titles; no per-link embeds to keep aligned.
• Fast iteration — Add sites, reorder sections, or change icons by editing text, then publish.
• Version-control friendly — Store menu structure in git alongside your project, or generate it from templates and scripts.
• Portable authoring — Start from sample YAML/JSON, convert between formats in Settings, or produce config from external tooling.
• No runtime dependencies — No database, custom modules, or Python libraries required.

Highlights

Capability	Detail
Config-driven menu	Edit configFileMenu.contentSource — YAML-lite or JSON
Deep nesting	Multi-level children with icons at every level
Smart breadcrumbs	Top bar resolves paths from the same menu config
Responsive docks	Push/cover modes, pin, hamburger open/close
Settings hub	In-session preferences, YAML→JSON converter, built-in help
Host integration	Advanced Stylesheet ships with library import (Ignition 8.3+)
Site + sample packages	Site zip for production; sample zip for evaluation

Quick start

1. Download config-file-menu-library.zip plus one child zip from the latest release.
2. Import config-file-menu-library.zip first.
3. Choose a child:
   • Import config-file-menu-sample.zip to learn with a working reference project.
   • Import config-file-menu-site.zip to start a blank production site.
4. Set Session Properties theme to light or dark.
5. For the sample, launch /cfm/dashboard.

For zip-first customization, see DEPLOYMENT.md.

Full installation, host-project merge steps, and troubleshooting: Config_File_Menu/README.md

Menu configuration example

menu:
  items:
    - label: Dashboard
      icon: material/home
      target: /cfm/dashboard

    - label: Areas
      icon: material/account_tree
      target: /cfm/areas
      children:
        - label: Area 01
          icon: material/location_city
          target: /cfm/areas/area-01
          children:
            - label: Line 01
              icon: material/precision_manufacturing
              target: /cfm/areas/area-01/line-01

Set contentSourceType to yaml or json. Every target needs a matching route in page-config/config.json. Samples: menuSampleConfig.yaml · menuSampleConfig.json

Security note: Menu visibility by role is a convenience only. Always enforce access control on destination Perspective pages, views, or actions.

Screenshots

Dock behavior — hamburger open/close, expanding a nested section, breadcrumbs updating on navigation, pin, push/cover, and click-outside close.

Nested menu and breadcrumbs — multi-level tree with icons at every level; the top-bar trail and page title resolve from the same config.

Tag → Menu generator — browse a tag path and generate a menu branch to paste into contentSource, one of five Settings tabs.

Light and dark — the same page under both session themes.

Requirements

Ignition	8.3.0+ (Perspective 3.3+)
Modules	Perspective
Database / tags	None
Maker Edition	Compatible where Perspective is available

Integration paths

Evaluate the sample — Import library + sample, set theme to light, explore reference routes and Diagnostics.

Deploy a site — Import library + site zip; customize in the zip before import (DEPLOYMENT.md).

Add to an existing project — Import views, merge shared docks and page routes, confirm Advanced Stylesheet is enabled, set Session Properties theme to light/dark or your custom gateway theme, configure configFileMenu.contentSource.

See DESIGNER_IMPORT_CHECKLIST.md before publishing to production.

Repository layout

Path	Purpose
Config_File_Menu/	Perspective project source (library manifest in working tree)
dist/	Local build output — zips are built here, then published to Releases

Import zips are attached to each release, not committed to the repository:

Release asset	Purpose
config-file-menu-library.zip	Inheritable library import (views, docks, Advanced Stylesheet) — import first
config-file-menu-site.zip	Site deployment child (empty menu, editable logos)
config-file-menu-sample.zip	Sample child (reference routes + menu config)

To build them yourself: python Config_File_Menu/scripts/build-inheritance-zips.py

License & attribution

Config File Menu is original work by EdenOaks Consulting, maintained by Matt McPheeters, and licensed under MIT.

Inspired by Artek Responsive Navigation (concept only; no Artek source included). Includes an adapted Diagnostics Dashboard by Travis Cox. Details: ATTRIBUTION.md.

Documentation index

Document	Contents
Deployment	Zip-first site deployment, logos, Settings tools
Overview	Short introduction for Exchange downloaders
Technical README	Configuration, docks, theming, troubleshooting
Import checklist	Pre-publish verification
Changelog	Release history