WordPress custom taxonomy link not highlighted under custom admin menu

Question

I have registered a custom taxonomy for my custom post type:

$labels = array(
    ...labels here...
);

$args = array(
    'label'             => __('Categories', $this->text_domain),
    'labels'            => $labels,
    'public'            => true,
    'show_ui'           => true,
    'show_in_nav_menus' => true,
    'show_admin_column' => true,
    'hierarchical'      => true,
    'query_var'         => true,
    'rewrite'           => array('slug' => 'virtual-product-category'),
);

register_taxonomy('virtual_product_cat', array('virtual_product'), $args);

Works as expected - I can pick a custom category for my custom post.

Then I added it to a custom menu:

add_submenu_page(
    'virtual',
    __('Virtual Product Categories', $this->text_domain),
    __('Categories', $this->text_domain),
    'edit_products',
    'edit-tags.php?post_type=virtual_product&taxonomy=virtual_product_cat'
);

It shows up:

When I click on it (the "Categories" link), taxonomy editing page loads fine, however, parent menu is displayed collapsed and the child ("Categories") is not highlighted:

Custom post type (linke "Virtual Products"), on the other hand, works as expected (see the first picture).

I could do some hacks / workarounds, play with JS/CSS to make it highlighted but I think I am missing something here..

So, how do I make custom taxonomy menu link under custom menu work properly?

Thanks!

Answer 1

@sPaul what you referenced in your answer works for custom post types but not for taxonomies. There isn't a 'menu_position' arg for custom taxonomies. What you had done in your question will work fine to create the link under your menu:

add_submenu_page(
    'virtual',
    __('Virtual Product Categories', $this->text_domain),
    __('Categories', $this->text_domain),
    'edit_products',
    'edit-tags.php?post_type=virtual_product&taxonomy=virtual_product_cat'
);

But to get it to show the correct styles you'll need to add some JS to add / remove classes. Here's how (modified from https://wordpress.stackexchange.com/a/225228/80088):

add_action( 'admin_head-edit-tags.php', 'modify_menu_highlight_wpse_43839' );

function modify_menu_highlight_wpse_43839()
{
    if( 'virtual_product_cat' == $_GET['taxonomy'] )
    {       
        ?>
        <script type="text/javascript">
            jQuery(document).ready( function($) 
            {
                $("#menu-posts, #menu-posts a")
                    .removeClass('wp-has-current-submenu')
                    .removeClass('wp-menu-open')
                    .addClass('wp-not-current-submenu'); 
                $("#toplevel_page_ virtual, #toplevel_page_ virtual > a")
                    .addClass('wp-has-current-submenu');
            });     
        </script>
        <?php
    }
}

Answer 2

I was looking for the same thing, but I did not want the to use the Custom Post Type as the main menu.

I eventually found this link on the WP.org support forum http://wordpress.org/support/topic/moving-taxonomy-ui-to-another-main-menu

Code outlined below.

function recipe_tax_menu_correction($parent_file) {
    global $current_screen;
    $taxonomy = $current_screen->taxonomy;
    if ($taxonomy == 'ingredient' || $taxonomy == 'cuisine' || $taxonomy == 'course' || $taxonomy == 'skill_level')
        $parent_file = 'recipe_box_options';
    return $parent_file;
}
add_action('parent_file', 'recipe_tax_menu_correction');

Answer 3

Ok, for all folks who run into the same issue..

What you are doing is:

1. Creating a custom menu using add_menu_page
2. Creating a custom post type / taxonomy
3. Trying to push your custom taxonomy edit link under your new menu

Do this instead:

1. Do not create any menu manually (!)
2. When adding custom post type, do not set 'show_in_menu' argument - this will create a menu for you. You can control where it appears by setting a 'menu_position' under the same args array.
3. Use this newly created menu for all other custom pages that you want to add. When calling add_submenu_page, use 'edit.php?post_type=%%post_type_name%%' as a parent slug (the first param).

Simply - don't do the other way around :)

Thanks to Obmerk Kronen and stink who tried to help. Appreciate this.

Answer 4

You could use this as a template or just use this taxonomy generator like I did.

// Register Custom Taxonomy
function Stack_Overflow()  {

$labels = array(
    'name'                       => _x( 'Question', 'Taxonomy General Name', 'stack_overflow' ),
    'singular_name'              => _x( 'Question', 'Taxonomy Singular Name', 'stack_overflow' ),
    'menu_name'                  => __( 'Stack Overflow', 'stack_overflow' ),
    'all_items'                  => __( 'All Questions', 'stack_overflow' ),
    'parent_item'                => __( 'Language', 'stack_overflow' ),
    'parent_item_colon'          => __( 'Framework', 'stack_overflow' ),
    'new_item_name'              => __( 'New Question', 'stack_overflow' ),
    'add_new_item'               => __( 'Ask Question', 'stack_overflow' ),
    'edit_item'                  => __( 'Edit Question', 'stack_overflow' ),
    'update_item'                => __( 'Edit Question', 'stack_overflow' ),
    'separate_items_with_commas' => __( '', 'stack_overflow' ),
    'search_items'               => __( 'Search Questions', 'stack_overflow' ),
    'add_or_remove_items'        => __( 'Add or Remove Questions', 'stack_overflow' ),
    'choose_from_most_used'      => __( 'Choose from the most popular languages', 'stack_overflow' ),
);
$rewrite = array(
    'slug'                       => 'questions',
    'with_front'                 => true,
    'hierarchical'               => true,
);
$args = array(
    'labels'                     => $labels,
    'hierarchical'               => true,
    'public'                     => true,
    'show_ui'                    => true,
    'show_admin_column'          => true,
    'show_in_nav_menus'          => true,
    'show_tagcloud'              => true,
    'query_var'                  => 'question',
    'rewrite'                    => $rewrite,
    'update_count_callback'      => 'display_edit_count',
);
register_taxonomy( 'stakoverflow', 'page', $args );

}

// Hook into the 'init' action
add_action( 'init', 'Stack Overflow', 0 );