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Joomla 1.7 Drop Down Menus are not Working

And I thought I was going crazy.  I searched all the forums but no one really complained that their Joomla 1.7 drop down menus were not working properly.  My Joomla 1.7 drop down menus were non existent!  The child menus were always showing off to the right side, or even at one point they were overlapping each other.   I reinstalled my Joomla 1.7 three more times to make sure it wasn’t because I screwed up the installation.  Until finally I found the solution.  Simple as always.  It’s because the Joomla 1.7 default Beez_20 template does not handle drop down menus correctly.

Problem: See screenshot below.  Drop Down menus are not displaying properly in Joomla 1.7 Beez_20 template

Joomla 1.7 Beez20 Drop down Menu Not Working
Joomla 1.7 Beez20 Drop down Menu Not Working

Solution: Switch to a new Joomla template.  IE Install a new Joomla 1.7 Template.

Joomla 1.7 Drop Down Menus are Working
Joomla 1.7 Drop Down Menus are Working

You can install any Joomla 1.7 template and the drop down menus should work.    I found my free Joomla template at ThemeGoat.   This template is called jMint and can be downloaded here.

Steps to get your “Top” menu drop down to work:

  • Download new Free Joomla 1.7 Template
  • Install Joomla 1,7 Template in Template Manager
  • Activate Joomla 1.7 Template in Template Manager
  • Find new Module Positions in Template Manager
  • Modify “Top” menu position to the new template module position in Module Manager

In Detail:

1.  Download Free Joomla Template

  • Go to the link to download the template from ThemeGoat
  • Download the template and DO NOT unzip it.

2.  Install Joomla 1.7 Template in Extensions Manager

Extension Manager - Install free Joomla Template -Mint
Extension Manager - Install free Joomla Template -Mint
  • Login to your Joomla 1.7 administrator backend
  • Click on Extensions, Extension Manager, Install
  • Select the ZIP file from step 1
  • Click on ‘Upload & Install’

 

3.  Activate Joomla 1.7 Template in Template Manager

Template Manager - Activate Free Joomla 1.7 Template
Template Manager - Activate Free Joomla 1.7 Template
  • Click on Extensions, Template Manager, Styles
  • Use the checkbox to select the template just installed
  • Click on the ‘Star’ – Make Default

 

 

 

 4.  Find the new module positions in Template Manager

  • Find the module positions for this new template installed on your Joomla 1.7 website
  • Click here to find out how to see What are the new Module Positions
  • Found out the new menu position is “menuload’

5.  Modify “Top” menu position to the new template module position in Module Manager

Module Manager - Top Menu Change Module Position
Module Manager - Top Menu Change Module Position
  • Click  on Extensions, Module Manager
  • Find and edit your “Top” menu
  • Fill in the following values:
        • Position = Menuload
  • Click on ‘Save & Close’

 

 

Now you can refresh your Joomla 1.7 website and see your drop down menus are working.

Thanks,

Elaine

10 thoughts on “Joomla 1.7 Drop Down Menus are not Working

  1. This method does not work in J1.7 (There is no Top only Topmenu in J1.7)
    Have also tried Hagen Grafs beginners guide method which also does not show top menu. The template view shows a menu bar but when viewed as template in Firefox/localhost/jupgrade/ there is only a black line
    Website shown uses J1.5 as I am trying to develop an upgrade.

    1. Hi Bob,
      I am using Joomla 1.7 and it works for Joomla 1.7. I am referring to the Top menu, the menu along the top that is shown when you install the sample data. Each template is different, so you will need to find the module positions that suits your needs.
      Thanks for your visit,
      elaine

  2. Thanks a lot, Elaine. It works great! Anyhow, I would like to know where to change the color of background and the menu box (green).

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