Strange repetition in menu items

Product Support

AI-generated summary

The discussion Strange repetition in menu items revolves around Paul_King experiencing duplicate items in the topics menu on their Discourse forum instance. Moin suggests checking if the issue persists in safe mode, and Paul_King confirms that the duplicates do not appear in safe mode.

Moin deduces that the links are added by a plugin or theme component and recommends disabling them one by one to identify the cause. Paul_King tries disabling plugins, but the issue remains. However, when Paul_King disables themes via safe mode, the duplicates disappear.

Moin advises Paul_King to check the theme components, and Paul_King discovers that removing the ‘Nav Links Component’ resolves the issue. Moin reveals that the ‘Nav Links Component’ is actually the renamed Custom Top Navigation Links component, and suggests that Paul_King check their staff action logs to determine when the component was added.

1

For some reason, my forum instance is showing duplicate items in the topics menu

Duplicate Topic Menu Items
Duplicate Topic Menu Items2254×530 57.4 KB

I don’t see the same issue on this Discourse Meta instance, so presume whatever is going on is not an intended feature - and it would be good to sort it out.

Could it be an issue specific to the beta software version I am running?

I am running Discourse version 3.4.0 beta 2 + 1019

Any help much appreciated!

2

Do the additional links also show up in safe mode?

3

Hi @Moin - no, they don’t occur for me in safe mode.

4

Then the links are added by a plugin or theme component. You can use safe mode to disable only one of the two (e.g. only themes) to find out where to look more closely.

My first thought was Custom Top Navigation Links which by default adds those links. Do you use that component?

5

I dont have the Custom Top Navigation Links plugin, but just tried disabling all the plugins I do have that can be disabled (the ‘BBCode’ plugin has no disable option) - but no resulting change seen to the topics menu when I clear cache & reopen my forum

All but one of the plugins I have are maintained by Discourse themselves

The image shows a list of installed plugins for a Discourse forum, including Adplugin, Automation, Bbcode, Custom Wizard, Data Explorer, Footnote, and Spoiler Alert, with options to enable or disable each plugin and access settings. (Captioned by AI)
The image shows a list of installed plugins for a Discourse forum, including Adplugin, Automation, Bbcode, Custom Wizard, Data Explorer, Footnote, and Spoiler Alert, with options to enable or disable each plugin and access settings. (Captioned by AI)1437×1468 182 KB
’’

6

So you had to disable plugins in safe mode to remove the links?

Screenshot_20241212_233127_Firefox
Screenshot_20241212_233127_Firefox1440×739 180 KB

Were they still there when you disabled themes?

Screenshot_20241212_233250_Firefox
Screenshot_20241212_233250_Firefox2090×628 183 KB

7

Hi - it looks like it is only themes that need to be disabled via safe mode to get rid of the menu duplicates

8

Then check which components are added to your theme. When looking at the theme at /admin/customize/themes/, you should be able to find the list of components.

Screenshot_20241213_000221_Firefox
Screenshot_20241213_000221_Firefox1235×453 138 KB

9

Thanks @Moin
I only had three theme components available in my case - one of which is ‘Nav Links Component’ which when removed seems to solve the problem!

I don’t know where this component came from, but presume it was not there as part of Discourse default ‘Light’ or ‘Dark’ themes?

10

And when you click the about link, which is shown at the top, you will be taken to

The component was renamed in summer.

The default light theme does not install any components. I think you could check your staff action logs to find out when the component was added.