Controlling Menus Programmatically in ASP.NET and VB

This tutorial shows how we can use two Menu controls to display the SiteMap in a hierarchical structure. The second menu's display will depend upon the selection of the first menu. VB version.

We need to create a Web.sitemap:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> <siteMap> <siteMapNode title="Home"> <siteMapNode title="Products"> <siteMapNode title="Hardware" url="Default.aspx?node=hardware"> <siteMapNode title="Monitors"/> <siteMapNode title="Speakers"/> <siteMapNode title="Input Devices"/> <siteMapNode title="Printers"/> <siteMapNode title="Hard Drives"/> </siteMapNode> <siteMapNode title="Software" url="Default.aspx?node=software"> <siteMapNode title="Operating Systems"/> <siteMapNode title="Email"/> <siteMapNode title="Internet"/> <siteMapNode title="Word Processor"/> <siteMapNode title="Database"/> </siteMapNode> <siteMapNode title="How-Tos" url="Default.aspx?node=howtos"> <siteMapNode title="How To Program"/> <siteMapNode title="How To Debug"/> <siteMapNode title="How To Test"/> </siteMapNode> </siteMapNode> <siteMapNode title="Services"> <siteMapNode title="Consultation" url="Default.aspx?node=consultation"> <siteMapNode title="Processes"/> <siteMapNode title="Management"/> <siteMapNode title="Recruiting"/> </siteMapNode> <siteMapNode title="Development" url="Default.aspx?node=development"> <siteMapNode title="Web Apps"/> <siteMapNode title="Enterprise Apps"/> <siteMapNode title="Database"/> </siteMapNode> </siteMapNode> <siteMapNode title="Support"> <siteMapNode title="Downloads" url="Default.aspx?node=downloads"> <siteMapNode title="Audio Drivers"/> <siteMapNode title="Network Adapter Drivers"/> <siteMapNode title="Printer Drivers"/> <siteMapNode title="Graphics Drivers"/> </siteMapNode> <siteMapNode title="Manuals" url="Default.aspx?node=manuals"> <siteMapNode title="Applications"/> <siteMapNode title="Troubleshooting"/> <siteMapNode title="Installation"/> <siteMapNode title="Internet"/> </siteMapNode> </siteMapNode> </siteMapNode> </siteMap>

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There are two SiteMapDataSources; one for the first menu, and one for the second menu. The second SiteMapDataSource has the StartingNodeUrl set to
Default.aspx?node=hardware
The ASPX code:

<form id="form1" runat="server"> <div> <asp:Menu ID="Menu1" runat="server" DataSourceID="SiteMapDataSource1" MaximumDynamicDisplayLevels="0" OnMenuItemClick="Menu1_MenuItemClick" Orientation="Horizontal"> <DataBindings> <asp:MenuItemBinding DataMember="SiteMapNode" TextField="Title" /> </DataBindings> </asp:Menu> <asp:SiteMapDataSource ID="SiteMapDataSource1" runat="server" ShowStartingNode="False" /> <br /> <asp:Menu ID="Menu2" runat="server" DataSourceID="SiteMapDataSource2" Orientation="Horizontal"> </asp:Menu> <asp:SiteMapDataSource ID="SiteMapDataSource2" runat="server" ShowStartingNode="False" StartingNodeOffset="-1" StartingNodeUrl="Default.aspx?node=hardware" /> <br /> <br /> </div> </form>

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The VB code for the Click event for the first menu should look something like this:

Protected Sub Menu1_MenuItemClick(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As MenuEventArgs) Select Case e.Item.Value Case "Products" SiteMapDataSource2.StartingNodeUrl = "Default.aspx?node=hardware" Return Case "Services" SiteMapDataSource2.StartingNodeUrl = "Default.aspx?node=consultation" Return Case "Support" SiteMapDataSource2.StartingNodeUrl = "Default.aspx?node=downloads" Return End Select End Sub

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