Admin Menu Marker

=== Admin Menu Marker === Contributors: redrice Tags: admin menu, dashboard, menu color, productivity, accessibility Requires at least: 6.4 Tested up to: 7.0 Requires PHP: 7.4 Stable tag: 2.0.2 License: GPLv2 or later License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

Highlight admin menu items with colors, pinned shortcuts, search, quick navigation and activity panels.

== Description ==

Admin Menu Marker helps you find frequently used entries in a crowded WordPress admin menu.

The plugin automatically detects the main menu items visible to the current administrator. Each menu item can be assigned its own color and one of three display styles:

• Full colored background
• Colored left border
• Small colored dot
• Optional Pinned section for frequently needed menu items
• Recently used menu items stored per WordPress user
• Optional custom Dashicon for every detected admin menu item
• Frequently used menu items with local per-user counts
• Individual reset controls for local menu activity data
• Optional live search field for the admin menu
• Optional Ctrl/Cmd + K quick navigation palette

The plugin does not send data to external services. Optional recent and frequent menu features store menu identifiers, labels, admin URLs and usage counts in the current user's WordPress user metadata.

== Installation ==

1. Upload the plugin ZIP through Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
2. Activate Admin Menu Marker.
3. Open Settings > Admin Menu Marker.
4. Select menu items, colors and marker styles.
5. To create a shortcut, select the checkbox in the Pin column.
6. Save the settings. Pinned items appear at the top of the admin menu and remain in their original positions.

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= Does it work with plugin menu entries? =

Yes. The settings page reads the main admin menu entries that are actually registered in the current WordPress installation.

= How do I pin a menu item? =

Open Settings > Admin Menu Marker, select the checkbox in the Pin column for the desired menu item and save the settings. The item then appears in a separate Pinned section at the top of the admin menu. Its original menu entry is not moved or removed.

= Can every menu item use a different style? =

Yes. Each menu item has its own color and marker style.

= Does the plugin change WordPress files? =

No. It only stores its settings in the WordPress options table and adds CSS in the admin area.

= What data is stored? =

Marker settings are stored in the WordPress options table. When the optional recent or frequent menu features are enabled, menu identifiers, labels, local admin URLs, timestamps and usage counts are stored in WordPress user metadata. No data is transmitted to an external service.

= Is data removed when the plugin is deleted? =

Yes. The uninstall routine removes plugin options and the user metadata created by the recent and frequent menu features.

== Screenshots ==

1. Overview with colored menu markers and the settings page.
2. Settings table with automatically detected menu entries, colors, marker styles and icons.
3. Pinned menu items displayed in a dedicated section at the top of the admin menu.
4. Live admin menu search filtering entries while typing.
5. Ctrl/Cmd + K quick navigation with keyboard controls.
6. Recently used and frequently used menu sections.

== Changelog ==

= 2.0.2 =

• Renamed the visible Favorites section to Pinned for clearer terminology.
• Added an explanation of how the Pin checkbox works directly above the settings table.
• Clarified that pinned items remain available in their original menu positions.
• Expanded installation, FAQ and screenshot documentation for pinning.
• Updated German translations for all new guidance.

= 2.0.1 =

• Hardened validation of stored admin URLs.
• Filtered stale recent and frequent entries when menu items are no longer available.
• Added stricter handling for invalid activity reset requests.
• Improved privacy and data-removal documentation.
• Added translator comments and completed repository metadata checks.

= 2.0.0 =

• Added optional Dashicon overrides for individual admin menu items.
• Icon choices use WordPress core assets and require no external files.
• Custom icons are inherited by pinned items, recent items, frequent items and quick navigation.

= 1.9.0 =

• Added reset controls for recently used and frequently used data.
• Added a combined reset action for all menu activity data.
• Added secure nonce and capability checks for activity resets.
• Added confirmation and success notices on the settings page.

= 1.8.0 =

• Added an optional frequently used panel with per-user usage counts.
• Fixed saving of the recently used option introduced in 1.7.0.
• Unified activity tracking so one click request updates recent and frequent data.
• Added full cleanup of activity user metadata during uninstall.

= 1.7.0 =

• Added an optional recently used panel.
• Recent items are stored locally in WordPress user metadata.
• Added secure AJAX tracking with a nonce and capability check.
• Limited the visible recent list to five entries.

= 1.6.0 =

• Added optional quick navigation with Ctrl/Cmd + K.
• Added keyboard navigation with arrow keys, Enter and Escape.
• Pinned menu items no longer need to be color-marked.
• Added German translations for quick navigation.

= 1.5.1 =

• Fixed UTF-8 encoding in the compiled German translation file.
• German umlauts and the ellipsis character now display correctly.
• Normalized text files to UTF-8 without BOM.

= 1.5.0 =

• Added an optional live search field above the WordPress admin menu.
• Added instant client-side filtering of main menu entries.
• Added Escape and clear-button support.
• Added a separate general settings section.

= 1.4.0 =

• Added per-menu pinning.
• Added a compact pinned-items panel at the top of the WordPress admin menu.
• Original menu entries remain in their normal positions.
• Added support for the collapsed WordPress admin menu.

= 1.3.1 =

• Fixed automatic menu detection by reading the actual WordPress menu ID field.
• Fixed sorting of detected menu entries.
• Added a safe fallback ID for unusual custom menu entries.

= 1.3.0 =

• Added full background, colored border and colored dot marker styles.
• Added a live preview for every menu item.
• Improved responsive settings layout.
• Added multisite cleanup during uninstall.

= 1.2.0 =

• Added automatic text contrast for bright marker colors.
• Added live color previews.
• Added German translation files.

= 1.1.0 =

• Added automatic detection of visible admin menu entries.
• Added repository-ready plugin structure.

= 1.0.0 =

• Initial version.