Dev should provide the option or at least the CSS instead of a forum member. Thanks for helping the OP. Devs need to realise they’re not the arbiters of design!
I’m definitely not the arbiter of design. Far from it. But I do have to decide which features are in my product, which means making decisions about what I think works for the tool. Maybe my ideas of how my tool works are not the same as yours, but that is the beauty of having so many options out there in the RapidWeaver Community!
As far as providing custom coding – that is not something I provide as a part of support. I gladly offer detailed support for my products, create many tutorials, documentation, and answer many support tickets both related to my products and general RapidWeaver questions as well, and more… but custom coding for each individual user isn’t something I do. It would be unfair to expect me to create coding solutions for each individual’s project. In addition to the original custom code I’d also feel obligated to make sure future updates didn’t break each user’s custom code bits I’d written as well as to update them to make sure they continue to work. Me being just one person means that is not a possibility.
And I can’t just do it for select individuals either – then I’m put in the awkward position of treating one customer differently than another, which isn’t right.
So perhaps my tools aren’t a fit for you, or someone else, but they fit a great deal of users’ needs, and I’m always improving them and adding features that I think will help users further.
As for other community members providing custom coding solutions, like @DLH has done here – I think that is extremely kind. They’re helping out their fellow designers in any way they can. They can be selective in their offering of help though, unlike myself if I were in that position, and can pick and choose who to help, and when.
Hope that helps to better explain where I’m coming from.
As for the parent indicator on the parent items that have drop down menus – I think it is a necessity, IMHO to help your visitors better discover all of the great content you’ve created. Heck, if it works for a site as big as Amazon, for instance, I think it is a good idea for smaller sites, too.
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When it comes to navigation, it’s vital that the user doesn’t get any surprises. If five items in a menu link to a new page and one instigates a drop down, it’s vital that it’s clear that this one item is different to the others. This is pretty much a standard menu “rule” across the internet now.
I’m not a fan of use of Font Awesome “angle” icons or triangle icon to denote a menu item that doesn’t link to a page, I prefer either the thinner chevon or even an arrow, but putting personal preferences aside you really should have someway of visually differentiating a parent to a drop down from a traditional page link. IMO.
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Hey Adam, let me be very clear: I love Foundry and think your support is awesome. So definitely a great fit for me. This Nav Bar thing is just a minor thing we do not fully agree on. And yes Amazon does it but also on the Amazon site I think the little arrows make it look messy. I love minimalism. Take Apple.com: No arrows. Anyway, again, I think your work is great and have no complaints. Jim
I agree, but it has to be esthetically pleasing - which is a very relative concept!
Thank you so very much! Now for my N00b question: where do I stick this code? 
They also don’t have drop down menus hidden behind those navigation items… 
If they did have drop down items then that would be bad design as they’d be making discoverability poor.
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Yep, it is relative. But what isn’t relative is accepted norms. Having something (icon etc.) on menu items that activates a dropdown is now a norm, so it’s best to conform. But, at the end of the day, it’s your call.
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If you’re really sure that’s what you want after all the very experienced website designers and developers telling you it’s a bad approach…
Put the code into the CSS area of the code section on the right side. Make sure it’s pasted as plain text.
Usability vs. “esthetically pleasing”
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You can put custom CSS in either the page’s CSS area in the right-hand inspector or in the site wide Code’s CSS area. Where you put it depends on if you want it to apply to one page or all pages.
With this affecting the navigation, you’ll want it in the site-wide CSS area. In the left-hand inspector, under Code in the CSS area.
I know that, but the point is that they worked around having dropdown menus for the reason - I am guessing - that does not look clean. But in stead of a dropdown Apple gives you a new horizontal menu. So they DO use “mother menu items”, but NOT drop downs. Again, not a biggie, but for the cleanliness of my site I wish it were an option to drop those areas.
Thank you very much!
Hi Doug, yes, I am sure! 
Thank you for your advise. I really appreciate it.
Yes, I agree, they did it a different way, with fully discoverable sub-menus. What you’re wanting to do though by having a non-discoverable, hidden sub-menu and removing the sub-menu indicator is the problem that I and others here are warning you against. We can only offer our expertise and experience from our time working in web design. You have to be the one that decides which way to go. Personally I’d go the path of not removing that drop down indicator…
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I really appreciate your input and recognize that I one day I will discover that it was not smart and will turn this decision around, but for now I think it looks cleaner without the arrows AND is not confusing at all: when clicking on it a drop down menu appears: I don’t think this will have any negative effects on my web visitors.
Probably not. Apple probably spends more time and money doing usability studies and testing then many other companies are worth.
Most of the usability studies I’ve seen from industry experts like Nielsen Norman group all indicate that a separate sub-menu system is much easier to navigate then the drop-down menu.
And even more difficult, multiple levels of drop-downs.
I’m sure that Apple’s usability team participate a lot to determined the best possible design for the navigation they are using.
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I am sure you are right, but usability and clean design should not be mutually exclusive concepts. Apple does really well on both, which goes for their website as well as their products. Many websites (and products) prioritize one over the other. Not that I am at Apple’s level whatsoever, but I aspire to be. And I know, in the end it is a matter of taste, but those little arrows hurt my eyes just looking at them.
Then remove dropdown menu items altogether, and place independent fully discoverable sub-menuly on each page that has sub pages.
They don’t have to be, but if the average user can’t easily navigate and find what they are looking for then they won’t be on the site long enough to notice how clean and lovely it is.
That’s why usability always should outweigh aesthetics.
What all the experienced web designers are saying is if you want to use a dropdown menu then mark it so that any first time user will know that there is more. If you don’t like the look then use a sub-menu system.
In the end, it’s your choice and your site.
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Of course it is my choice and my site but I appreciate your, and other experts’, input a lot. Even if I do not agree with every detail, I learn from it. For instance, I do not agree that usability should always outweigh esthetics. I think it should go hand in hand. But I do agree with you that I should “remove dropdown menu items altogether, and place independent fully discoverable sub-menuly on each page that has sub pages” and will now look for a way to do so. Solid advice. Thank you.
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