Switching between menuSubItems in shinyDashboard

Question

I'm trying to set up a shiny app using shinydashboard, and for the most part, having good luck. However, I'm running into a quirk with sidebar behavior that I think is avoidable, but haven't found how yet.

Below is a small example that reproduces the problem I'm having. Basically, there are two sidebarMenus - Menu One and Menu Two, each with two menuSubItems. Switching subitems within a menu item works fine. So, if I wanted to switch from subItemOne to subItemTwo, no problems. I can do that all day.

I can also switch to subItems across menus, such that jumping from subItemOne to subItemThree, that's fine. The problem lies in trying to switch back. If subItemOne is selected, and I try to go to subItemThree and back to subItemOne, I can't do it. I have to go to subItemTwo, then I can open SubItemOne.

Is there a way to correct this setup such that I could jump directly from subItemOne to subItemThree (or two and four) and back again?

library('shiny')
library('shinydashboard')
# Sidebar #############################
sidebar <- dashboardSidebar(
  width = 290,

  sidebarMenu(
    menuItem('Menu One', tabName = 'menuOne', icon = icon('line-chart'), 
        collapsible = 
            menuSubItem('Sub-Item One', tabName = 'subItemOne'),
            menuSubItem('Sub-Item Two', tabName = 'subItemTwo')
            )
  ),

  sidebarMenu(
    menuItem('Menu Two', tabName = 'menuTwo', icon = icon('users'), 
             collapsible = 
               menuSubItem('Sub-Item Three', tabName = 'subItemThree'),
             menuSubItem('Sub-Item Four', tabName = 'subItemFour')
    )
  )

)
# Body #############################
body <- dashboardBody(

  tabItems(
    tabItem(tabName = 'subItemOne',
            h2('Selected Sub-Item One')
    ),
    tabItem(tabName = 'subItemTwo',
            h2('Selected Sub-Item Two')
    ),
    tabItem(tabName = 'subItemThree',
            h2('Selected Sub-Item Three')
    ),
    tabItem(tabName = 'subItemFour',
            h2('Selected Sub-Item Four')
    )
  )
)
# UI #############################
ui <- dashboardPage(
  dashboardHeader(title = 'Test', titleWidth = 290),
  sidebar,
  body
)
# Server #############################
server <- function(input, output){

}

shinyApp(ui, server)

Answer 1

The problem is that the tab items stay active and clicking on an active tab item doesn't update the UI. This can be fixed with some Javascript.

library('shiny')
library('shinydashboard')
# Sidebar #############################
sidebar <- dashboardSidebar(
  tags$head(
    tags$script(
      HTML(
        "
        $(document).ready(function(){
          // Bind classes to menu items, easiet to fill in manually
          var ids = ['subItemOne','subItemTwo','subItemThree','subItemFour'];
          for(i=0; i<ids.length; i++){
            $('a[data-value='+ids[i]+']').addClass('my_subitem_class');
          }

          // Register click handeler
          $('.my_subitem_class').on('click',function(){
            // Unactive menuSubItems
            $('.my_subitem_class').parent().removeClass('active');
          })
        })
        "
      )
    )
  ),
  width = 290,

  sidebarMenu(
    menuItem('Menu One', tabName = 'menuOne', icon = icon('line-chart'),
             collapsible = 
               menuSubItem('Sub-Item One', tabName = 'subItemOne'),
             menuSubItem('Sub-Item Two', tabName = 'subItemTwo')
    )
  ),

  sidebarMenu(
    menuItem('Menu Two', tabName = 'menuTwo', icon = icon('users'), 
             collapsible = 
               menuSubItem('Sub-Item Three', tabName = 'subItemThree'),
             menuSubItem('Sub-Item Four', tabName = 'subItemFour')
    )
  )

)
# Body #############################
body <- dashboardBody(

  tabItems(
    tabItem(tabName = 'subItemOne',
            h2('Selected Sub-Item One')
    ),
    tabItem(tabName = 'subItemTwo',
            h2('Selected Sub-Item Two')
    ),
    tabItem(tabName = 'subItemThree',
            h2('Selected Sub-Item Three')
    ),
    tabItem(tabName = 'subItemFour',
            h2('Selected Sub-Item Four')
    )
  )
)
# UI #############################
ui <- dashboardPage(
  dashboardHeader(title = 'Test', titleWidth = 290),
  sidebar,
  body
)
# Server #############################
server <- function(input, output){

}

shinyApp(ui, server)