Not even a day went by since mentioning the next XWebMenu before I started getting emails. I'm not complaining. =) Since I'm getting some of the same questions, I thought I'd write up a quick FAQ of what you can expect.

Q: When do you plan on releasing the script?
A: The meat and potatoes are finished. There are a few trimmings I want to add and play with before I release it. So in short: when it's done. =)

Q: Will the new version support <insert browser here>?
A: The script works in Firefox 2 & 3, IE7 (and I assume 6; I haven't tested it), Safari 3, [Edit] Chrome, and Opera 9.5.

Q: I didn't like how the previous version forced me to use the one master XML file. I hope this changes in the next version.
A: It does. You can load any XML document. However, fragment documents are no longer supported. If XML is dynamically created, I figure the chances are good that the entire document generated, which leaves fragments a not needed/used feature.

Q: I assume XWebMenu still supports XML. Is the markup the same?
A: No. XML was an afterthought in version 2, and I didn't plan it out. This time around I put some thought into it; there shouldn't be a need to drastically change the markup after version 3.

Q: Will the new version use Ajax?
A: No. The menu system will not monitor and update itself. You can, however, update the menu by loading XML or using JSON.

Speaking of JSON, an API still exists that allows you to create and populate a menu system programmatically. The methods of the API now accept a single object encapsulating "options" (instead of many arguments in the previous version). So you can load a menu system dynamically with JSON, instead of XML, if you wanted to save some bandwidth (and performance).

I've focused primarily on the server for the past few years. I really want to get back into front-end development, so you can plan on seeing more DHTML from me =)