LiveWire is a three-level animated menu system designed for use horizontally (for example, in a top or bottom navigation frame). The 'first level' consists of menu captions, similar to the standard OS-style menubar. When the mouse moves over a caption, a column of Items slides into view (the 'second level'). Moving the mouse over an item causes a row of Subitems to appear (the 'third level'). Textual menu captions can be optionally replaced with JPEG or GIF images.
Any caption, item or subitem can act as a link to a URL or JavaScript method. LiveWire's support for the hand cursor ensures that users will always know when something is a link that can be clicked, even if moving over that text also causes items/subitems to appear.
LiveWire also contains an optional 'statusbar' area where related messages can be displayed as the mouse moves over menu items. The fonts and colors for all text in all states can be selected, along with a number of design and behavioral options such as animation speed, vertical & horizontal spacing, and the character(s) used as the separator between subitems. LiveWire takes its name from the lines with dual scrolling 'markers' that follow the mouse's movements in the applet, but these features (and all others) are fully customizable or can be switched off individually.
LiveWire (Java Edition)