Using images in Spry menus

Question

Can someone please point me to instructions on how to incorporate button images in horizontal Spry menus?

Answer 1

Here's the working model for the menu I created using images for the main menu tabs: http://mmfc.org/HomePage_CleanUp/index_working.html. And here is the style sheet: http://mmfc.org/HomePage_CleanUp/SpryAssets/working.css.
I have one remaining problem, and hope someone can help.
There are three states/images for the main menu tabs: normal state, hover state (when the cursor is over the tab), and visible state (when a submenu is open and the cursor is over a submenu item).
In OS10.6.4/Safari, it works correctly:
Normal state
Hover state
Visible state
In Windows XP/IE 6, the 3rd state works incorrectly -- the hover state doesn't get replaced by the visible state:
In OS10.6.4/Opera and OS10.6.4/Firefox, it also works incorrectly -- but this time the hover state gets replaced by the hover color, not the visible state image:
For reference, I've copied the CSS below.
@charset "UTF-8";
/* SpryMenuBarHorizontal.css - Revision: Spry Preview Release 1.4 */
/* Copyright (c) 2006. Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. */
LAYOUT INFORMATION: describes box model, positioning, z-order
/* The outermost container of the Menu Bar, an auto width box with no margin or padding */
ul.MenuBarHorizontal {
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
list-style-type: none;
font-size: 100%;
cursor: default;
float: right;
/* Set the active Menu Bar with this class, currently setting z-index to accomodate IE rendering bug: http://therealcrisp.xs4all.nl/meuk/IE-zindexbug.html */
ul.MenuBarActive {
z-index: 1000;
/* Menu item containers, position children relative to this container and are a fixed width */
ul.MenuBarHorizontal li {
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
list-style-type: none;
font-size: 100%;
position: relative;
text-align: left;
cursor: pointer;
width: auto;
float: left;
/* Submenus should appear below their parent (top: 0) with a higher z-index, but they are initially off the left side of the screen (-1000em) */
ul.MenuBarHorizontal ul {
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
list-style-type: none;
font-size: 100%;
z-index: 1020;
cursor: default;
width: auto;
position: absolute;
left: -1000em;
background-color: #FDE9BB;
/* Submenu that is showing with class designation MenuBarSubmenuVisible, we set left to auto so it comes onto the screen below its parent menu item */
ul.MenuBarHorizontal ul.MenuBarSubmenuVisible {
left: auto;
/* Menu item containers are variable width according to submenu item text */
ul.MenuBarHorizontal ul li {
width: auto;
/* Submenus should appear slightly overlapping to the right (95%) and up (-5%) */
ul.MenuBarHorizontal ul ul {
position: absolute;
margin: -5% 0 0 95%;
/* Submenu that is showing with class designation MenuBarSubmenuVisible, we set left to 0 so it comes onto the screen */
ul.MenuBarHorizontal ul.MenuBarSubmenuVisible ul.MenuBarSubmenuVisible {
left: auto;
top: 0;
DESIGN INFORMATION: describes color scheme, borders, fonts
/* No borders on all sides */
/* ul.MenuBarHorizontal ul
border: 1px solid #666666;
/* Menu items are a light colored block with no padding and no text decoration */
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a {
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-weight: bold;
white-space: nowrap;
text-decoration: none;
display: block;
cursor: pointer;
color: #000000;
padding-right: 0px;
padding-left: 0px;
padding-top: 0px;
padding-bottom: 0px;
font-size: 11px;
/* For setting the background color of the spry menu you need to edit the background in the CSS pane. Click on the spry menu bar and then open up the CSS pane. Window > CSS Styles. There's a few CSS items that set the background by default. The "a" item sets the background for the items that don't have a dropdown and the MenuBarItemSubmenu sets the background for the items that have a dropdown. You can set the background to an image just like you would any other element in your HTML. */
/* The following selectors define images for the (orange) normal state of tabs */
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a #AboutUs {
background-image: url(../img/DropDownMenu_aboutus.gif);
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a #Missions {
background-image: url(../img/DropDownMenu_missions.gif);
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a #Help {
background-image: url(../img/DropDownMenu_help.gif);
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a #NewsAndEvents {
background-image: url(../img/DropDownMenu_newsandevents.gif);
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a #Media {
background-image: url(../img/DropDownMenu_media.gif);
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a #PatientStories {
background-image: url(../img/DropDownMenu_patientstories.gif);
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a #ContactUs {
background-image: url(../img/DropDownMenu_contactus.gif);
/* The following selectors define images for the (bright) active state of tabs.*/
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarItemSubmenuHover #AboutUs, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarItemHover #AboutUs, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarSubmenuVisible #AboutUs {
background-image: url(../img/DropDownMenu_aboutus_vis.gif);
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarItemSubmenuHover #Missions, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarItemHover #Missions, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarSubmenuVisible #Missions {
background-image: url(../img/DropDownMenu_missions_vis.gif);
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarItemSubmenuHover #Help, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarItemHover #Help, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarSubmenuVisible #Help {
background-image: url(../img/DropDownMenu_help_vis.gif);
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarItemSubmenuHover #NewsAndEvents, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarItemHover #NewsAndEvents, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarSubmenuVisible #NewsAndEvents {
background-image: url(../img/DropDownMenu_newsandevents_vis.gif);
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarItemSubmenuHover #Media, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarItemHover #Media, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarSubmenuVisible #Media {
background-image: url(../img/DropDownMenu_media_vis.gif);
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarItemSubmenuHover #PatientStories, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarItemHover #PatientStories, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarSubmenuVisible #PatientStories {
background-image: url(../img/DropDownMenu_patientstories_vis.gif);
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarItemSubmenuHover #ContactUs, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarItemHover #ContactUs, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarSubmenuVisible #ContactUs {
background-image: url(../img/DropDownMenu_contactus_vis.gif);
/* The following selectors define images for the (red) hover state of tabs.*/
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a:hover #AboutUs, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a:focus #AboutUs {
background-image: url(../img/DropDownMenu_aboutus_hover.gif);
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a:hover #Missions, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a:focus #Missions {
background-image: url(../img/DropDownMenu_missions_hover.gif);
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a:hover #Help, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a:focus #Help {
background-image: url(../img/DropDownMenu_help_hover.gif);
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a:hover #NewsAndEvents, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a:focus #NewsAndEvents {
background-image: url(../img/DropDownMenu_newsandevents_hover.gif);
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a:hover #Media, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a:focus #Media {
background-image: url(../img/DropDownMenu_media_hover.gif);
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a:hover #PatientStories, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a:focus #PatientStories {
background-image: url(../img/DropDownMenu_patientstories_hover.gif);
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a:hover #ContactUs, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a:focus #ContactUs {
background-image: url(../img/DropDownMenu_contactus_hover.gif);
/* Menu items that have mouse over or focus have a dark background and white text */
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a:hover, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a:focus {
background-color: #bf2e1a;
color: #FFFFFF;
/* Menu items that are open with submenus are set to MenuBarItemHover with a dark background and white text */
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarItemHover, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarItemSubmenuHover, ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarSubmenuVisible {
background-color: #bf2e1a;
color: #FFFFFF;
/* Sets width of submenus and makes text non-wrapping  */
ul.MenuBarHorizontal ul li {
display: block;
float: none;
width: 12em;
white-space: nowrap;
SUBMENU INDICATION: styles if there is a submenu under a given menu item
/* Menu items that have a submenu have the class designation MenuBarItemSubmenu and are set to use a background image positioned on the far left (95%) and centered vertically (50%) */
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarItemSubmenu {
/* background-image: url(SpryMenuBarDown.gif); */
background-repeat: no-repeat;
background-position: 95% 50%;
/* Menu items that have a submenu have the class designation MenuBarItemSubmenu and are set to use a background image positioned on the far left (95%) and centered vertically (50%) */
ul.MenuBarHorizontal ul a.MenuBarItemSubmenu {
/* background-image: url(SpryMenuBarRight.gif); */
background-repeat: no-repeat;
background-position: 95% 50%;
/* Menu items that are open with submenus have the class designation MenuBarItemSubmenuHover and are set to use a "hover" background image positioned on the far left (95%) and centered vertically (50%) */
ul.MenuBarHorizontal a.MenuBarItemSubmenuHover {
/* background-image: url(SpryMenuBarDownHover.gif); */
background-repeat: no-repeat;
background-position: 95% 50%;
/* Menu items that are open with submenus have the class designation MenuBarItemSubmenuHover and are set to use a "hover" background image positioned on the far left (95%) and centered vertically (50%) */
ul.MenuBarHorizontal ul a.MenuBarItemSubmenuHover {
/* background-image: url(SpryMenuBarRightHover.gif); */
background-repeat: no-repeat;
background-position: 95% 50%;
BROWSER HACKS: the hacks below should not be changed unless you are an expert
/* HACK FOR IE: to make sure the sub menus show above form controls, we underlay each submenu with an iframe */
ul.MenuBarHorizontal iframe {
position: absolute;
z-index: 1010;
/* HACK FOR IE: to stabilize appearance of menu items; the slash in float is to keep IE 5.0 from parsing */
@media screen, projection {
ul.MenuBarHorizontal li.MenuBarItemIE {
display: inline;
/* f\loat: left;
background: #FFF; */