Drop-down similar to DGrin but multi-column

[FormerLurker]

I am sure there is a simple answer to this question but I've been searching and can't seem to find it. Apologies in advance if I should have been using different search terms to find this.

I am trying to create, as part of a navbar, drop-down menus that have exactly the same responsiveness/functionality as the "Forum Tools" function here at DGrin. Specifically, I want to create a drop-down menu that "appears" slowly when the title is clicked and would like to have a single line at the top of the menu that does NOT link to anything (like how "Forum Tools" says "Forum Tools").

In a slight twist, though, I want to have the menu itself be multi-column (look at www.staples.com - what pops up when you mouseover one of the groups on the left).

I have tried plagiarizing from these and other sites but I think I am missing something. I'm going to keep playing around but if anyone happens to know of a tutorial that would start me going, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

[J Allen]

Try STU NICHOLLS (http://www.stunicholls.com/menu/jquery-horizontal-slide3.html), look through all his menus, he has a "donate button"....and after giving a donation, he will send you all the info and files on the menu bar of your choice.

[FormerLurker]

Thanks for the link to Stu Nichols. Just before I saw your reply I found a tutorial that I was able to tweak to do nearly everything I want:

http://www.dynamicdrive.com/dynamicindex1/dropmenuindex.htm

The only thing I haven't been able to figure out yet is how to create an entry that is plain text (not a link). I'm assuming that what I need to do is send some kind of unique code/identifier to the script where the link would ordinarily be, have the script check for the code, and if the code is present, not allow a hyperlink. I'm trying to work through this myself looking through their support forum posts but if anyone is familiar with this script and knows of a quick fix, I'd be all ears.

Again, thanks for the help!

[Allen]

Thanks for the link to Stu Nichols. Just before I saw your reply I found a tutorial that I was able to tweak to do nearly everything I want:

http://www.dynamicdrive.com/dynamicindex1/dropmenuindex.htm

The only thing I haven't been able to figure out yet is how to create an entry that is plain text (not a link). I'm assuming that what I need to do is send some kind of unique code/identifier to the script where the link would ordinarily be, have the script check for the code, and if the code is present, not allow a hyperlink. I'm trying to work through this myself looking through their support forum posts but if anyone is familiar with this script and knows of a quick fix, I'd be all ears.

Again, thanks for the help!
Use a # for the link. Any text can be added behind the #.

<a href="#">Non clickable</a>

<a href="#whatever">Non clickable</a>

[FormerLurker]

Thanks, Allen. I had actually tried that initially but the browser kept insisting it wanted to open a new window with a reload of the current page. I found a new window target buried in the script. Once I removed that, voila! Thanks! :D

The script doesn't seem to let me style non-links (or, more accurately '#' links) with a different CSS class, which I need, so that is my next project.