CrackBar replaces the NavBar and fixed NavBar found in PageLines 2.2.
Get cracked out on over 20 different colored themes with both basic, and transparent versions. If that doesn’t excite you, you can go full manual with 16 different color options to get just the look you want.
Features
Unlimited Customizations Use one of 20 different colored presets, or get freaky with 16 different color control options giving you unlimited customization potential.
Big Crack Dropdowns Want to display a big dropdown menu? With Crackbar you can instantly have a HUGE dropdown menu that you can use to put anything you want in from custom text to shortcodes.
Big Crack Shortcodes 2 new shortcodes that you can use inside of the big dropdowns. For example, to have a simple link, use [ba-link url="" target=""]Link[/ba-link]. To introduce a simple line break, try out [ba-spacer].
Hover Dropdown Bootstrap has made it clear they will not change the navbar to accommodate hover, instead of a click, but Crackbar makes it easy by providing this option built right in. With one click, you can override that “click to dropdown” and turn it into a, “hover to dropdown” like folks expect.
Fixed Bottom with Drop-Up Menus New in 1.6.6 is the ability to select whether the Fixed Crackbar should be fixed to top, or bottom! If fixed to the bottom, new drop-up menus will be used.
Support
Please do not leave a review as a support question; they are for reviews. I am not notified of these reviews, and I have no way to respond to you. Please do not email me for support, because you will not receive a reply.
Support PageLines Development A majority of funds from Store purchases go to the developer of the extension.
Note PageLines Framework version 2 or better is required to use this extension.
Note PageLines Framework version 2 or better is required to use this extension.
Finally, hover menus that work!
Jan 16, 2013 by Tim Elfelt
Many props to the developer for presenting a solution to hover menus. Bootstrap has made it abundantly clear that they will not support an option for menus that dropdown on hover, which is what most of my clients expect. Nick has gone above and beyond the call of duty by adding this hack to his product. I look forward to seeing what else he can come up with
Summary in the style of eBay reviews: A+++++++++++++ fast shipper, would use again
how to install??
Jan 15, 2013 by Max
How do I install it? I have no idea what to look for.
Lack of support
Dec 09, 2012 by Richard Brown
This is the second plugin I have purchased from this developer - and the second mistake I've made setting up my webpage. Seriously - if you write a programme such as Crackbar or Tabber then the majority of people who are going to buy it are people like me who are 'computer illiterate' and are going to need some form of support. Crackbar does what it says but don't expect much if any support. The developer does not provide email support and although there is a 'contact button' on the plugin (the same goes for Tabber) page all emails are returned and refused by the recipient. I have written a number of questions in the last couple of weeks and received either no answer or nothing of use. I find it amazing that despite numerous comments from people saying that they can't load the plugin the only answer from the developer is 'this is a section not a plugin'. Really how much time and difficulty would it be to have simple instructions on the the page on how to install it !? Yes I know it's an extension and yes the instructions are on the Pagelines forum and docs but THIS is the page people go to to buy the product as THIS is where the details are so THIS is where there should be clear instructions on how to install it.
http://somatx.com.hk
Response: First of all, thanks for your review. Yes I have written both extensions and have provided support to hundreds of happy users…through the comment system. I don’t see a comment from you below, so I’m under the assumption you do not need assistance. Nowhere on this page, does is it say that I provide support through email, and if you were told this, I apologise, but it\'s not correct.
Secondly, I release these extensions with the assumption that the user knows how to install them. It installs just like any other section, and I recommend checking out the PageLines Docs on that. However, if you need help, just post a question in the comments below and I will assist you!
If you have an issue with the section, I’m happy and eager to help if you leave a comment below like everyone else.
Candidly,
Nick
5 Stars
Oct 28, 2012 by Mike Zielonka
Crackbar is amazing! I love options the Crackbar delivers options galore!
http://iammike.co
Support for store products is hosted on the PageLines Forums. The comments below are for Pre-Sales questions only.
153 comments
Hi Nick,
The crackbar is fantastic but for one issue. People have been complaining that they can't use the drop downs on touchscreens. So many of our clients use ipads and iphones to do business. Have I missed something. Help!
Hey nick when I view my site on a smartphone the fixed crackbar shows twice, one on top of the other can you help me?
Forgive me for my stupidity. But is there an option to ONLY have the fixed navbar at the top and remove the standard?
nicklauscombs.com
@nicklauscombs With Crackbar you can use it just like the Navbar, so it works for standard nav, and Fixed Nav (and working in fixed bottom with dropups as we speak).
@nphaskins ive removed the other navs in drag & drop section leaving only crack bar and checked fixed nav in the crack bar options but it is showing two bars of navigation (one fixed and one normal). if that makes sense. you can see it on my site i listed above. anyway to have only the fixed?
Hi - What line in the CSS/LESS file is controlling the drop shadow/border on Crackbar? I'm trying to remove the background entirely but for the life of me can't make the shadow/border disappear. Every line I think I find the line that controls it, nothing seems to change.
Hi, I love the dropdowns, especially the map on the Crackbar demo & I'm trying do the same to create big dropdowns on a fixed Crackbar at the top of a site: http://branching-out.co.uk/ without success.
I've tried every possible thing to get the dropdowns to work to no avail.
Are there any step by step instructions anywhere that a dummy like me can follow? - it's probably something really obvious I'm missing!
Thanks!
Any idea why putting this in my child theme's style.less with !important; on everything doesn't work but putting it in PageLines' Custom CSS/LESS, even without !important; does work?
@Clifford P its !important because it's a user setting and instead of spending 6 hours trying to be specific with the selectors I decided to use important. It was either that or JS. The "user set" option, is to be used with the color control options, as the color controls set 90% of things automatically. If you need to override something you already set, put it as a <style> tag in the header scripts area.
@nphaskins I don't think that answers my question: Why would any CSS/LESS code work if in PageLines Custom Code area but not in the active child theme's style.less file?
Hi Nick. I have Crackbar at http://crescentridgehomeowners.com/ . A few issues:
1) multiple items are highlighted as if they're active.
2) when you go to a page other than the homepage, the drop-downs don't work, just the top-level menu items.
Thanks.
@Clifford P Cliff you have JS errors on your site. You can see this with inspector. /ui-front/js/directory-post.js is the culprit.
@nphaskins I was getting a 404 not found error on that script. I commented out the enqueue and no change, which makes sense I think since a 404 would mean no JS is loaded so it shouldn't conflict anyways. Any follow-up ideas? Thanks.
@nphaskins Thanks for looking through all this with me. Can you tell me how you know it's BP doing it - is there some script or something you see in the inspector? If yes, maybe then I can track it down. Thanks.
@Clifford P ya for some reason buddypress is applying .current-page-item , and .current-menu-item to every nav item, which isn't normal. I don't have a lot of experience with buddypress because it's so bloated. Wordpress auto assigns these classes so I imagine it has something to do with the way buddypress handles menus.
@nphaskins Ok, http://crescentridge.staging.wpengine.com/ with NO plugins active (not even BP or PL Sections) displays Crackbar even though there's supposed to be no caching on staging servers. Ug. This sucks (not crackbar, crackbar's cool).
@nphaskins Any known issues or do you know of others that had a BP issue with Nav/Crack Bars?
@Clifford P ya that would be a good guess (buddypress), especially if it's happening with Navbar too.
@nphaskins With everything deactivated except PL sections, BuddyPress / PL BP / BP Template Pack, it still happens. http://crescentridge.staging.wpengine.com/ has this setup (i.e. all but those deactivated).
I renamed the plugins folder to deactivate everything, re-activated stuff, cleared cache and still happening - but the issue of the drop-downs going away is now not happening.
But I see all this: http://screencast.com/t/zCVknueO4kC
I've had a few headaches with BP for PL. Could BP be the issue? I have the latest BP and Crackbar.
However, all this a:active stuff happens even with Navbar, not just Crackbar: http://screencast.com/t/IVvYuzb4
Could there be something "stuck" in the database to look for?
maybe its one of the 40 different plugins you have activated? http://screencast.com/t/Y9q8SDLW9
@Clifford P Ya there's got to be a plugin interfering. Every one of those items has an active class and that's not normal behavior. Since I can't replicate it, it's another plugin or section interfering. Does this happen with all plugins and sections deactivated?
Hi Nick
I have a problem with the Custom Crack Palette. I have choosed "User Set" and picked my colors. The problem is tha I want to have the same color in "Menu Hover" and "Menu Active". The "Menu Hover" works fine but the "Menu Active" doesn't.
The page is on http://enterny.cag.se and selected color is #7e97a0
Hi Nick! I am using the "Image - Light Noise" option on your crackbar. Looks great on my site, but on iphone and android, the menu appears with a white background and white text... which means nobody can read any of the menu options. Some help please?
just tested this here locally and I'm unable to replicate that issue. I'm wondering if it just perhaps failed to download the background image.
@nphaskins oh, duh! Works like a charm now! Thank you sooo much Nick! Your crackbar is awesome!
@luckyladypaper try refreshing the store with the "refresh store" button on the bottom right of the screen, after clicking into the "Store" tab at PageLines-->Store in WP Admin.
@nphaskins ok awesome thank you soooo much! How do I get 1.6.5? The store is still showing 1.6.4
@luckyladypaper Oooookey dokey. First, thanks for your patience. Found another bugaroo and just deployed an update. Crackbar is now at 1.6.5. This should fix things for you once and for all, but you may need to clear your browsers cache.
@nphaskins ok thanks! So I went into the pagelines store, upgraded to the new version, deactivated, then activated and I still have the same problem on iphone. Do I need to do something differently to re-install?
@luckyladypaper No I was referring to the way I had programmed it. For some reason I used .PNG instead of .png. It looks like you still have the old version. http://screencast.com/t/R4lZbfxJlY
I would try deleting the section then re-installing. The update will fix this, as it's .png now.
@nphaskins so is the issue with my background image? What should I use instead of .png? It doesn't seem like the update you deployed fixed the issue.
@luckyladypaper the only thing I can think of, is that the pattern was programmed in with .PNG. I've changed this to .png but am not sure if this will fix the issue. I've deployed an update so lemme know if this resolves it for you.
Hi Nick, I'm trying to style the Big Crack Dropdowns using your Bad Ass Shortcuts. Is this possible, 'cos I cannot get lists to show anything and Buttons are very nasty?
Hmmm, maps. Currently you can only add a map via a real world postal address(?) and the place marker sits top left. Consequently, the average site visitor will not see the pin. The pin needs to be centre stage. Or, am I suffering operator error tonight?
Better, if possible, to paste in the customised iFrame code like:
<iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=213146974090339295605.0004d320a518b2cec9604&msa=0&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=52.079506,-1.219482&spn=2.363252,4.669189&z=7&output=embed"></iframe><br /><small>View <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=213146974090339295605.0004d320a518b2cec9604&msa=0&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=52.079506,-1.219482&spn=2.363252,4.669189&z=7&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">Areas</a> in a larger map</small>
This lets you leverage Google to display a customised map with your own uploaded (to Google) images, videos and polygons added.
@flidget ya those dang dropdowns...uggh! See the dropdowns have styling for anchor links, and any anchor link you put in is going to inherit that styling. I'll take a look again and see if I can't put in better failsafes. The shortcodes, they are just hit and miss with the styling.
For the buttons, you'll need to use manual markup, but it's possible. So, instead of using <a href="#" class="btn btn-info">ths</a>, try using instead, this
<button href="#" class="btn btn-info">whateve</button>
Hope this helps.
Nick
Thanks Nick, your a star. Seems like a good time to burden you with some ideas for Crackbar shortcodes. :-)
* It would be great to be able to display a personal Google Map - I have one with a Polygon defined showing area coverage. https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=213146974090339295605.0004d320a518b2cec9604&msa=0
* Buttons are going to be really useful.
* Un-ordered lists would be my favourite, would I be able to float an image left or right of the list - vertical real estate could be maximise with this sort of feature?
* Being able to dump in some HTML with embedded CSS from Dreamweaver is an ultimate shortcode catch-all.
@flidget Awesome! Well you can use the pagelines shortcode for Google Maps and it works just great. This is actually visible on http://crackbar.nichola.us
Pure HTML, unfortunately is not possible. It saves these options to the database, so all HTML is basically filtered out. :(
Will keep you posted!
Nick
I was afraid you were going to type that reply. All I get displayed is the text string "whatever" in the Big Crack Dropdown. Interestingly, if I save and then move off the Pagelines>Site Options page to say Posts and then go back - the Content Box just has the text "whatever" in it, all the code around it has gone. Something looks to be stripping it out, like the Visual/Text views in a post.
@flidget well poop, seems you're right. OK, umm...let me think about how best to approach this. I may end up making a set of Crackbar specific shortcodes. I'll keep you posted, but you wont' have to wait more than a couple days or so. Will take a look at this tomorrow or late this evening.
Er, confused it's late here in the UK. Can you dumb it down - what should I type in the Content box for a button? Also - how do you manage to answer so quickly, it's spooky it's so fast - good though! Not complaining. :-)
@flidget hahaha no worries, just happen to be working this evening. lol. Yup so paste this into that area, that should work for you;
<button href="#" class="btn btn-info">whatever</button>
In other words, you wont be able to use the colors in the shortcodes. You'll be limited to the colors found in PageLines. You can see the other available colors/types at http://demo.pagelines.me/tools
@nphaskins Naw, even worse. This just displays the text Blog <button href="#" class="ba-button pink">Blog</button>
