How to make Bootstrap dropdown menu always function like mobile version?

Question

I am trying to make a vertical navigation bar look similar to an outline using Bootstrap, like:

about
projects (dropdown menu)
- project 1
- project 2
- project 3
other

I have the vertical navigation bar working, thanks to (http://www.jonathanbriehl.com/2014/01/17/vertical-menu-for-bootstrap-3/).

However, it's the dropdown menu that I am trying to change. Rather than having the dropdown menu "pop out", I want clicking on the "projects" to expand and show the next level of the outline with the project numbers.

It already does this for small, mobile screens; the dropdown menu expands within the menu with an indentation. I want it to do the same for larger screens.

Please note that I am not trying to have the whole navigation menu always collapsed, but the dropdown menu to expand and not pop out.

I am comfortable with basic Bootstrap, and will eventually be customizing the CSS. I think what I want to do requires customizing the Javascript. I only want to change the dropdown of the navbar, not the entire navbar.

This is the relevant HTML code:

    <div class="row">
      <div class="col-sm-3">
        <div class="sidebar-nav">

          <div class="navbar navbar-default" role="navigation">
            <div class="navbar-header">
              <button type="button" class="navbar-toggle" data-toggle="collapse" data-target=".sidebar-navbar-collapse">
                <span class="sr-only">Toggle navigation</span>
                <span class="icon-bar"></span>
                <span class="icon-bar"></span>
                <span class="icon-bar"></span>
              </button>
              <span class="visible-xs navbar-brand">small screen nav</span>
            </div>
            <div class="navbar-collapse collapse sidebar-navbar-collapse">
              <ul class="nav navbar-nav">
                <li class="active"><a href="#">About</a></li>
                <li><a href="#">Projects</a></li>
                <li class="dropdown">
                  <a href="#" class="dropdown-toggle" data-toggle="dropdown">Dropdown<b class="caret"></b></a>
                  <ul class="dropdown-menu">
                    <li><a href="#">Internships</a></li>
                    <li><a href="#">Coursework</a></li>
                    <li><a href="#">Resume</a></li>
                  </ul>
                </li>
                <li><a href="#">Resume</a></li>
                <li><a href="#">Contact</a></li>
              </ul>
            </div><!--/.nav-collapse -->
          </div>
        </div>
      </div>
      <div class="col-sm-9">
        Main content goes here
      </div>
    </div>

Thanks. (I would post photos but I'm a new user and am very much a beginner so it's hard to find questions that I can answer).

Please take a look at this page : [link][1] [1]: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/23597897/twitter-bootstrap-how-to-achieve-an-always-collapsed-navbar-dropdown-menu — Danko, Sep 05 '15 at 21:08
Is there a reason you don't want to just use a sidebar menu but that keeps the standard Bootstrap mobile? — vanburen, Sep 05 '15 at 21:48
I'm not sure what you mean @vanburenx . I like the way Bootstrap collapses the vertical navbar I have created, so I want to keep that. I want the dropdown feature to function like it does in Bootstrap mobile in the large-screen setting as well. — cgt, Sep 05 '15 at 21:51
Now that i see the example you're basing this on it makes sense, wasn't sure about the end result initially. — vanburen, Sep 05 '15 at 21:55
Possible duplicate of [How to make a Bootstrap 3 dropdown menu open by default when it is inside a collapsed navbar](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/25261254/how-to-make-a-bootstrap-3-dropdown-menu-open-by-default-when-it-is-inside-a-coll) — Alex78191, Jun 10 '17 at 15:08

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 05 '15 at 21:54

I think this is what you're trying to accomplish.

.navbar-default .navbar-nav li {
  display: inline;
  float: none;
}
@media (min-width: 768px) {
  .navbar.navbar-default {
    background: transparent;
    border: none;
    border-right: 1px solid #f5f5f5;
  }
  .navbar-default .navbar-nav .open .dropdown-menu {
    position: static;
    float: none;
    width: auto;
    margin-top: 0;
    background-color: transparent;
    border: 0;
    -webkit-box-shadow: none;
    box-shadow: none;
  }
  .navbar-default .navbar-nav .open .dropdown-menu .dropdown-header,
  .navbar-default .navbar-nav .open .dropdown-menu>li>a {
    padding: 5px 15px 5px 25px;
  }
  .navbar-default .navbar-nav .open .dropdown-menu>li>a {
    line-height: 20px;
  }
  .navbar-default .navbar-nav .open .dropdown-menu>li>a:focus,
  .navbar-default .navbar-nav .open .dropdown-menu>li>a:hover {
    background-image: none;
  }
}

<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.11.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.5/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
<link href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.5/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet" />
<div class="container">
  <div class="row">
    <div class="col-xs-12">
      <h1>Header</h1>

    </div>
  </div>
  <div class="row">
    <div class="col-sm-4">
      <div class="sidebar-nav">
        <div class="navbar navbar-default" role="navigation">
          <div class="navbar-header">
            <button type="button" class="navbar-toggle" data-toggle="collapse" data-target=".sidebar-navbar-collapse"> <span class="sr-only">Toggle navigation</span>
              <span class="icon-bar"></span>
              <span class="icon-bar"></span>
              <span class="icon-bar"></span>

            </button> <span class="visible-xs navbar-brand">Sidebar menu</span>

          </div>
          <div class="navbar-collapse collapse sidebar-navbar-collapse">
            <ul class="nav navbar-nav">
              <li class="active"><a href="#">Menu Item 1 with a really long name that may or may not wrap</a>

              </li>
              <li><a href="#">Menu Item 2</a>

              </li>
              <li class="dropdown"> <a href="#" class="dropdown-toggle" data-toggle="dropdown">Dropdown <b class="caret"></b></a>

                <ul class="dropdown-menu">
                  <li><a href="#">Action</a>

                  </li>
                  <li><a href="#">Another action</a>

                  </li>
                  <li><a href="#">Something else here</a>

                  </li>
                  <li class="divider"></li>
                  <li class="dropdown-header">Nav header</li>
                  <li><a href="#">Separated link</a>

                  </li>
                  <li><a href="#">One more separated link</a>

                  </li>
                </ul>
              </li>
              <li><a href="#">Menu Item 4</a>

              </li>
              <li><a href="#">Reviews <span class="badge">1,118</span></a>

              </li>
            </ul>
          </div>
          <!--/.nav-collapse -->
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
    <div class="col-sm-8">
      <p>This is a demo for the article orignally posted on my <a href="http://www.jonathanbriehl.com/2014/01/17/vertical-menu-for-bootstrap-3/" target="_blank">blog</a>. Enjoy.</p>
      <p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed dui ante, dictum vitae eros ut, consectetur placerat mi. Nam malesuada ante et malesuada scelerisque. Donec id lorem eu mi laoreet dictum. Vivamus luctus vel diam sed mollis. Integer vitae
        justo egestas, viverra nunc id, malesuada turpis. Pellentesque mattis est id interdum rutrum. Praesent luctus mi eget sapien ultrices pellentesque. Aliquam est urna, accumsan vel tempor sit amet, malesuada ut sapien.</p>
      <p>Maecenas ac consequat orci. Aliquam dignissim, erat accumsan tempus venenatis, est lacus adipiscing sapien, non sagittis ligula est nec neque. Fusce malesuada velit vitae velit dapibus tincidunt. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et
        netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Sed dui massa, semper non vulputate ut, ornare et ante. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Vivamus mauris arcu, posuere at porttitor et, consequat in
        orci. Pellentesque et sem semper, adipiscing libero sit amet, suscipit purus. Nulla tincidunt, ante sed eleifend viverra, arcu dui commodo diam, sit amet commodo purus ante et nibh. Fusce interdum tortor eu lectus suscipit posuere ac ac enim.
        Curabitur vel nisl sed metus tristique malesuada a nec tellus. Fusce nisl lectus, pharetra a lacus adipiscing, accumsan viverra dui. Sed bibendum arcu a accumsan malesuada.</p>
      <p>Proin faucibus sed mauris vel pretium. Morbi ultrices sem quam, nec elementum nisl placerat vel. In ut sapien ut orci malesuada dapibus ac in sem. Quisque consectetur nisl nec pulvinar consequat. Ut mi dui, pellentesque quis aliquam et, posuere
        id dolor. In pharetra risus ut felis sodales condimentum. Cras eleifend elit sit amet nisi sagittis, vitae sollicitudin sapien viverra. Fusce ac mattis diam, ornare molestie nibh. Ut non auctor justo, vel consequat justo. Etiam volutpat orci nec
        ligula suscipit, non sollicitudin ipsum ullamcorper.</p>
      <p>Donec tempor elit in ultrices faucibus. Praesent ut tincidunt arcu. Praesent ac venenatis nunc. Duis non tempor sem, in bibendum neque. Integer nec ante sed nisi commodo pulvinar. Nam vulputate lectus id eleifend facilisis. Interdum et malesuada
        fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Ut arcu leo, rhoncus ac felis et, suscipit tincidunt urna. Sed auctor justo mauris, ut eleifend mauris volutpat a. Suspendisse non egestas ipsum. Phasellus est libero, semper a dui congue, accumsan ultrices
        nibh. Sed convallis purus at neque scelerisque, nec vulputate sem interdum. Vivamus tempor faucibus ante, sit amet eleifend quam feugiat non. Ut id velit in diam volutpat vehicula ac vitae ante. Suspendisse aliquet accumsan ipsum.</p>
      <p>Phasellus laoreet rhoncus fermentum. Aenean scelerisque urna in lorem pellentesque, in consequat velit placerat. Praesent id suscipit magna, quis dignissim elit. Vestibulum at sem pharetra, tempus enim a, adipiscing lacus. Aliquam erat volutpat.
        Nullam lorem risus, ultricies a purus a, pretium condimentum est. Vestibulum pulvinar euismod est nec pharetra. Praesent vitae viverra ipsum. Nullam auctor nibh nec fermentum tincidunt. Mauris ullamcorper risus felis, nec fringilla justo lacinia
        vel. Nam sollicitudin venenatis lectus hendrerit luctus. Vestibulum in lectus sit amet risus placerat fermentum eu vitae nisl. Cras massa nulla, accumsan at diam in, varius auctor massa. Vivamus bibendum, nulla id viverra convallis, sem sapien
        eleifend erat, quis consequat neque ipsum vel est.</p>
      <p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed dui ante, dictum vitae eros ut, consectetur placerat mi. Nam malesuada ante et malesuada scelerisque. Donec id lorem eu mi laoreet dictum. Vivamus luctus vel diam sed mollis. Integer vitae
        justo egestas, viverra nunc id, malesuada turpis. Pellentesque mattis est id interdum rutrum. Praesent luctus mi eget sapien ultrices pellentesque. Aliquam est urna, accumsan vel tempor sit amet, malesuada ut sapien.</p>
      <p>Maecenas ac consequat orci. Aliquam dignissim, erat accumsan tempus venenatis, est lacus adipiscing sapien, non sagittis ligula est nec neque. Fusce malesuada velit vitae velit dapibus tincidunt. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et
        netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Sed dui massa, semper non vulputate ut, ornare et ante. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Vivamus mauris arcu, posuere at porttitor et, consequat in
        orci. Pellentesque et sem semper, adipiscing libero sit amet, suscipit purus. Nulla tincidunt, ante sed eleifend viverra, arcu dui commodo diam, sit amet commodo purus ante et nibh. Fusce interdum tortor eu lectus suscipit posuere ac ac enim.
        Curabitur vel nisl sed metus tristique malesuada a nec tellus. Fusce nisl lectus, pharetra a lacus adipiscing, accumsan viverra dui. Sed bibendum arcu a accumsan malesuada.</p>
      <p>Proin faucibus sed mauris vel pretium. Morbi ultrices sem quam, nec elementum nisl placerat vel. In ut sapien ut orci malesuada dapibus ac in sem. Quisque consectetur nisl nec pulvinar consequat. Ut mi dui, pellentesque quis aliquam et, posuere
        id dolor. In pharetra risus ut felis sodales condimentum. Cras eleifend elit sit amet nisi sagittis, vitae sollicitudin sapien viverra. Fusce ac mattis diam, ornare molestie nibh. Ut non auctor justo, vel consequat justo. Etiam volutpat orci nec
        ligula suscipit, non sollicitudin ipsum ullamcorper.</p>
      <p>Donec tempor elit in ultrices faucibus. Praesent ut tincidunt arcu. Praesent ac venenatis nunc. Duis non tempor sem, in bibendum neque. Integer nec ante sed nisi commodo pulvinar. Nam vulputate lectus id eleifend facilisis. Interdum et malesuada
        fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Ut arcu leo, rhoncus ac felis et, suscipit tincidunt urna. Sed auctor justo mauris, ut eleifend mauris volutpat a. Suspendisse non egestas ipsum. Phasellus est libero, semper a dui congue, accumsan ultrices
        nibh. Sed convallis purus at neque scelerisque, nec vulputate sem interdum. Vivamus tempor faucibus ante, sit amet eleifend quam feugiat non. Ut id velit in diam volutpat vehicula ac vitae ante. Suspendisse aliquet accumsan ipsum.</p>
      <p>Phasellus laoreet rhoncus fermentum. Aenean scelerisque urna in lorem pellentesque, in consequat velit placerat. Praesent id suscipit magna, quis dignissim elit. Vestibulum at sem pharetra, tempus enim a, adipiscing lacus. Aliquam erat volutpat.
        Nullam lorem risus, ultricies a purus a, pretium condimentum est. Vestibulum pulvinar euismod est nec pharetra. Praesent vitae viverra ipsum. Nullam auctor nibh nec fermentum tincidunt. Mauris ullamcorper risus felis, nec fringilla justo lacinia
        vel. Nam sollicitudin venenatis lectus hendrerit luctus. Vestibulum in lectus sit amet risus placerat fermentum eu vitae nisl. Cras massa nulla, accumsan at diam in, varius auctor massa. Vivamus bibendum, nulla id viverra convallis, sem sapien
        eleifend erat, quis consequat neque ipsum vel est.</p>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>
<!-- /.container -->

Thanks @vanburenx ! I wasn't aware of all of the classes involved - I assume they are overriding the default Bootstrap? And the "position: static" changes the pop-out feature? — cgt, Sep 05 '15 at 22:06
Those are actually the classes that are utilized for the menu when the viewport is under 768px, so you're just using those classes across viewports now for the dropdown instead of only on mobile. — vanburen, Sep 05 '15 at 22:08

How to make Bootstrap dropdown menu always function like mobile version?

1 Answers1