How TO - Curtain Menu

Learn how to create a curtain navigation menu.

Click on the buttons below to see how it works:

Create a Curtain Menu

Step 1) Add HTML:

Example

<div id="myNav" class="overlay">


<a href="javascript:void(0)" class="closebtn" onclick="closeNav()">×</a>


<div class="overlay-content">
    <a href="#">About</a>
    <a href="#">Services</a>
    <a href="#">Clients</a>
    <a href="#">Contact</a>
</div>

</div>


<span onclick="openNav()">open</span>

Step 2) Add CSS:

Example

/* The Overlay (background) */
.overlay {
/* Height & width depends on how you want to reveal the overlay (see JS below) */
height: 100%;
width: 0;
position: fixed; /* Stay in place */
z-index: 1; /* Sit on top */
left: 0;
  top: 0;
background-color: rgb(0,0,0); /* Black fallback color */
  background-color: rgba(0,0,0, 0.9); /* Black w/opacity */
overflow-x: hidden; /* Disable horizontal scroll */
transition: 0.5s; /* 0.5 second transition effect to slide in or slide down the overlay (height or width, depending on reveal) */
}

/* Position the content inside the overlay */
.overlay-content {
position: relative;
  top: 25%; /* 25% from the top */
width: 100%; /* 100% width */
  text-align: center; /* Centered text/links */
margin-top: 30px; /* 30px top margin to avoid conflict with the close button on smaller screens */
}

/* The navigation links inside the overlay */
.overlay a {
  padding: 8px;
text-decoration: none;
font-size: 36px;
color: #818181;
display: block; /* Display block instead of inline */
transition: 0.3s; /* Transition effects on hover (color) */
}

/* When you mouse over the navigation links, change their color */
.overlay a:hover, .overlay a:focus {
  color: #f1f1f1;
}

/* Position the close button (top right corner) */
.overlay .closebtn {
position: absolute;
top: 20px;
right: 45px;
font-size: 60px;
}

/* When the height of the screen is less than 450 pixels, change the font-size of the links and position the close button again, so they don't overlap */
@media screen and (max-height: 450px) {
.overlay a {font-size: 20px}
.overlay .closebtn {
    font-size: 40px;
    top: 15px;
    right: 35px;
  }
}

Step 3) Add JavaScript:

The example below slides in the overlay navigation menu from left to right (0 to 100% width), when it is triggered:

Slide in from the side

/* Open when someone clicks on the span element */
function openNav() {
document.getElementById("myNav").style.width = "100%";
}

/* Close when someone clicks on the "x" symbol inside the overlay */
function closeNav() {
document.getElementById("myNav").style.width = "0%";
}

Try it Yourself »

The example below slides in the overlay navigation menu downwards from the top (0 to 100% height).

Note: In this example, note that the CSS is slightly different from the one above (default height is now 0, width is 100% and overflow-y is hidden (disable vertical scroll, except for small screens)):

Slide down from the top

/* Open */
function openNav() {
document.getElementById("myNav").style.height = "100%";
}

/* Close */
function closeNav() {
document.getElementById("myNav").style.height = "0%";
}

Try it Yourself »

This example opens the navigation menu without animation:

Open the menu without animation

/* Open */
function openNav() {
document.getElementById("myNav").style.display = "block";
}

/* Close */
function closeNav() {
document.getElementById("myNav").style.display = "none";
}

Try it Yourself »

Tip: Go to our CSS Navbar Tutorial to learn more about navigation bars.

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