Megamenu: rail display for page trees, cache tags, editorial promo boxes

- Page-tree entries get a "Page tree display" field (columns | rail |
  rail-compact), emitted as display + cardSize: Markets and Solutions
  show their main pages as a list and the sub-pages as image cards on
  hover. Page-tree items carry image (page media) and teaser (abstract)
  from stage 2. Additive; front ends ignoring display render columns.
- vitec:attach-page-media gains --depth=2 and falls back to the page's
  hero background before the grey placeholder; the 39 sub-solution
  pages got their hero image as page media.
- MegamenuJsonRenderer tags every page carrying the menu with the menu
  tables and tt_content_<uid>, so saving menu records refreshes all
  pages instead of waiting for a full flush.
- Products catalog: drop catalog.news; both promo boxes ("Product
  highlight", "Product news") are the entry's editorial teaser cards.
  ProvideInsightsSpotlight back to its previous state.
- Spec v1.29 and v1.30 (header version corrected), README.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

packages/evo_megamenu_json/Classes/Service/MenuBuilder.php

@@ -136,6 +136,19 @@ final class MenuBuilder
             'columns' => $columns,
         ];
 
+        // Page-tree display (2026-11-02): same columns, two presentations -
+        // `columns` side by side, or `rail`: the columns as a list on the
+        // left, the hovered column's items as image cards on the right
+        // (`cardSize` regular|compact). Additive: a front end that does not
+        // know `display` keeps rendering columns.
+        if ($layout === 'pagetree') {
+            $display = (string)($entry['tree_display'] ?? 'columns');
+            $built['display'] = str_starts_with($display, 'rail') ? 'rail' : 'columns';
+            if ($built['display'] === 'rail') {
+                $built['cardSize'] = $display === 'rail-compact' ? 'compact' : 'regular';
+            }
+        }
+
         // Catalog panels: the teaser cards serve as the featured tiles (left
         // column), the catalog data itself comes from a listener of
         // BuildCatalogEvent - this extension does not know the data source.
@@ -229,10 +242,20 @@ final class MenuBuilder
         foreach ($this->pageRepository->getMenu($rootUid, '*', 'sorting', self::NAV_WHERE) as $child) {
             $items = [];
             foreach ($this->pageRepository->getMenu((int)$child['uid'], '*', 'sorting', self::NAV_WHERE) as $grandchild) {
-                $items[] = [
+                $item = [
                     'title' => (string)(($grandchild['nav_title'] ?? '') !== '' ? $grandchild['nav_title'] : $grandchild['title']),
                     'link' => $this->url('t3://page?uid=' . (int)$grandchild['uid'], $cObj),
                 ];
+                // card data for the `rail` display (2026-11-02), same rules
+                // as the spotlight nav: abstract as teaser, page media image
+                if ($stage >= 2) {
+                    $teaser = trim((string)($grandchild['abstract'] ?? ''));
+                    if ($teaser !== '') {
+                        $item['teaser'] = $teaser;
+                    }
+                    $item['image'] = $this->image('pages', 'media', (int)$grandchild['uid']);
+                }
+                $items[] = $item;
             }
             $column = [
                 'title' => (string)(($child['nav_title'] ?? '') !== '' ? $child['nav_title'] : $child['title']),

packages/evo_megamenu_json/Classes/UserFunc/MegamenuJsonRenderer.php

@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ namespace Evomedien\EvoMegamenuJson\UserFunc;
 use Doctrine\DBAL\ParameterType;
 use Evomedien\EvoMegamenuJson\Service\MenuBuilder;
 use TYPO3\CMS\Core\Attribute\AsAllowedCallable;
+use TYPO3\CMS\Core\Cache\CacheDataCollectorInterface;
+use TYPO3\CMS\Core\Cache\CacheTag;
 use TYPO3\CMS\Core\Database\ConnectionPool;
 use TYPO3\CMS\Core\Database\Query\Restriction\FrontendRestrictionContainer;
 use TYPO3\CMS\Core\Utility\GeneralUtility;
@@ -24,10 +26,24 @@ use TYPO3\CMS\Frontend\ContentObject\ContentObjectRenderer;
  * TYPO3 v14 hands the ContentObjectRenderer in through the setter rather
  * than the constructor; without it $this->cObj stays null and the element
  * path cannot see which record it is rendering.
+ *
+ * Cache (2026-11-02): the menu is part of every cached page, but its records
+ * live on a storage folder - saving them cleared only that folder, and every
+ * page cached before kept the old menu until a full flush. The page is
+ * therefore tagged with the menu tables; the DataHandler flushes the tags
+ * `<table>` and `<table>_<uid>` of every record it writes, so any save in the
+ * menu refreshes all pages carrying it. Data the panels read from the page
+ * tree (pagetree, catalog, spotlight) is not covered and still needs a flush.
  */
 final class MegamenuJsonRenderer
 {
     private const CTYPE = 'evomegamenujson_megamenu';
+    private const RECORD_TABLES = [
+        'tx_evomegamenujson_entry',
+        'tx_evomegamenujson_column',
+        'tx_evomegamenujson_item',
+        'tx_evomegamenujson_teaser',
+    ];
 
     protected ?ContentObjectRenderer $cObj = null;
 
@@ -63,6 +79,7 @@ final class MegamenuJsonRenderer
             }
 
             $menu = GeneralUtility::makeInstance(MenuBuilder::class)->build($uid, $cObj, $row);
+            $this->tagPageCache($cObj, $uid);
 
             return (string)json_encode($menu, JSON_UNESCAPED_SLASHES | JSON_UNESCAPED_UNICODE);
         } catch (\Throwable) {
@@ -71,6 +88,21 @@ final class MegamenuJsonRenderer
         }
     }
 
+    /** Tags the page cache with the menu element and tables (see class comment). */
+    private function tagPageCache(ContentObjectRenderer $cObj, int $contentUid): void
+    {
+        try {
+            $collector = $cObj->getRequest()->getAttribute('frontend.cache.collector');
+            if (!$collector instanceof CacheDataCollectorInterface) {
+                return;
+            }
+            $tags = array_map(static fn(string $table): CacheTag => new CacheTag($table), self::RECORD_TABLES);
+            $collector->addCacheTags(new CacheTag('tt_content_' . $contentUid), ...$tags);
+        } catch (\Throwable) {
+            // without tags the menu still renders, it just ages until a flush
+        }
+    }
+
     /** uid of the first megamenu element on a storage folder, 0 when none. */
     private function firstElementOn(int $pid): int
     {

packages/evo_megamenu_json/Configuration/TCA/tx_evomegamenujson_entry.php

@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ return [
         '1' => [
             'showitem' => '
                 --div--;' . $ll . 'tab.general,
-                    hidden, title, link, layout,
+                    hidden, title, link, layout, tree_display,
                 --div--;' . $ll . 'tab.columns,
                     menu_columns,
                 --div--;' . $ll . 'tab.teasers,
@@ -115,6 +115,22 @@ return [
                 ],
             ],
         ],
+        'tree_display' => [
+            // page-tree panels only: same data, two presentations
+            'displayCond' => 'FIELD:layout:=:pagetree',
+            'label' => $ll . 'tree_display',
+            'description' => $ll . 'tree_display.description',
+            'config' => [
+                'type' => 'select',
+                'renderType' => 'selectSingle',
+                'default' => 'columns',
+                'items' => [
+                    ['label' => $ll . 'tree_display.columns', 'value' => 'columns'],
+                    ['label' => $ll . 'tree_display.rail', 'value' => 'rail'],
+                    ['label' => $ll . 'tree_display.rail-compact', 'value' => 'rail-compact'],
+                ],
+            ],
+        ],
 
         'menu_columns' => [
             'label' => $ll . 'menu_columns',

packages/evo_megamenu_json/README.md

@@ -125,7 +125,15 @@ page, its children as the items. Hidden or nav-hidden pages leave the menu
 with the next cache flush. Curated columns are ignored; teasers and the
 featured slot stay editorial. From stage 2 a child page with media gets its
 first image as `image` on the column - attach images in the page
-properties and the panel turns visual by itself.
+properties and the panel turns visual by itself. From stage 2 the items
+carry `image` (first page media or `null`) and, when set, the page
+`abstract` as `teaser`.
+
+The entry field *Page tree display* picks the presentation and travels as
+`display`: `columns` (default, columns side by side) or `rail` (the columns
+as a list on the left, the hovered column's items as image cards on the
+right) plus `cardSize` (`regular` | `compact`) for `rail`. A front end that
+ignores `display` keeps rendering columns.
 
 ### Layout `spotlight`
 
@@ -163,5 +171,9 @@ The VITEC site package ships `ProvideInsightsSpotlight`, which supplies
   entry.
 * The renderer never throws: a broken menu returns an empty value rather than
   taking the page payload down.
+* Caching: every page carrying the menu is tagged with the menu tables and
+  `tt_content_<uid>` of the menu element, so saving any menu record refreshes
+  all of them. Panels built from the page tree (`pagetree`, `catalog`,
+  `spotlight`) pick up page changes with the next cache flush.
 * Without `friendsoftypo3/headless` the element has no JSON envelope to render
   into — the extension is built for headless installations.

packages/evo_megamenu_json/Resources/Private/Language/locallang_db.xlf

@@ -27,6 +27,11 @@
       <trans-unit id="tx_evomegamenujson_entry.layout.catalog"><source>Catalog (data-driven: categories and items from the site package, teaser cards as featured tiles)</source></trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="tx_evomegamenujson_entry.layout.pagetree"><source>Page tree (data-driven: one column per child of the linked page, its children as items; curated columns are ignored)</source></trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="tx_evomegamenujson_entry.layout.spotlight"><source>Spotlight (data-driven: left-rail nav from the linked page's children plus live visual cards - latest news, next events - supplied by the site package; curated columns are ignored)</source></trans-unit>
+      <trans-unit id="tx_evomegamenujson_entry.tree_display"><source>Page tree display</source></trans-unit>
+      <trans-unit id="tx_evomegamenujson_entry.tree_display.description"><source>Columns: one column per child page with its children as links. List + cards: the child pages as a list on the left, the children of the hovered one as image cards on the right (images from the page media).</source></trans-unit>
+      <trans-unit id="tx_evomegamenujson_entry.tree_display.columns"><source>Columns side by side</source></trans-unit>
+      <trans-unit id="tx_evomegamenujson_entry.tree_display.rail"><source>List on the left, cards on hover</source></trans-unit>
+      <trans-unit id="tx_evomegamenujson_entry.tree_display.rail-compact"><source>List on the left, small cards on hover (for many sub-pages)</source></trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="tx_evomegamenujson_entry.menu_columns"><source>Columns</source></trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="tx_evomegamenujson_entry.menu_columns.description"><source>One column per group. In the teaser layout only the first column is rendered, next to the cards.</source></trans-unit>
       <trans-unit id="tx_evomegamenujson_entry.menu_teasers"><source>Teaser cards</source></trans-unit>

packages/evo_megamenu_json/ext_tables.sql

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ CREATE TABLE tx_evomegamenujson_entry (
 	title varchar(255) DEFAULT '' NOT NULL,
 	link varchar(1024) DEFAULT '' NOT NULL,
 	layout varchar(30) DEFAULT 'columns' NOT NULL,
+	tree_display varchar(30) DEFAULT 'columns' NOT NULL,
 	menu_columns int(11) DEFAULT '0' NOT NULL,
 	menu_teasers int(11) DEFAULT '0' NOT NULL,
 	featured_enable tinyint(1) unsigned DEFAULT '0' NOT NULL,