Drac's Stylized AJAX Forum Category & Node Tabs 1.11.0

What it does​

A busy board can have dozens of categories on one long page. This add-on lets you group them into tabs on the forum index. Members click a tab and that tab's forums slide in with an animation - loaded by AJAX, so there is no page reload. You decide which categories, forums and sub-forums live under which tab, with an icon for each.

Features​

• You build the tabs - Admin CP -> Drac's Addons -> AJAX Forum Tabs -> Manage tabs: create a tab, give it a title and a FontAwesome icon, and tick any categories, forums or sub-forums from anywhere on the board. Ticking a category includes everything inside it. Switch a tab on or off, and drag the tabs into the order you want.
• Automatic "Other" tab - anything you did not assign to a tab is gathered into an "Other" tab, so nothing disappears from the index. Optional.
• Remembers the last tab - members return to the tab they were on (optional, and each member can turn it off in their preferences).
• Every member chooses - "Use forum tabs navigation" is a checkbox in Account Preferences. Members who switch tabs off can be shown a one-time "try the tabs?" prompt (you can turn that prompt off), and an admin button can reset everyone's choice at once.
• Guests - by default only logged-in members see the tabs; one option shows them to guests too. Forum permissions are always respected, so nobody sees a forum they cannot open.
• Tab switch animation - Fade, Slide up, Slide down, Scale (zoom), Flip (3D), Blur, Rise, or None.
• Hover effect - Default, Lift, Glow, Background fill, Underline, Scale, or None.
• Active-tab marker - sliding underline, pill background, top line, or none.
• Make it match your style - accent colour, tab text, active text, active background, bar background (colours or gradients), border colour, corner radius, font size and animation speed. Any value can be a theme variable such as var(--xf-paletteColor3) so it follows each style automatically. There is also a custom CSS box for anything else.
• Clean tab content - the tab's own title already names the section, so the redundant category heading inside the tab is hidden.

What's new​

• 1.11.0 (Nov 2026) - this add-on can now be bought on its own for $5.00 with its own license key, or as part of the six-add-on set with the universal key.
• 1.10.x (Oct 2026) - all settings now live under one Drac's Addons menu in the Admin CP, with a single License key page.
• 1.9.x (Oct 2026) - updated license system, and a support form at Drac's Shop for license holders.
• 1.8.2 (Sep 2026) - category headings inside a tab are hidden; the tab title already says what the section is.
• 1.7.0 (Sep 2026) - option to turn the "try the tabs?" prompt off, and an admin button that resets every member's tab choice (with a confirmation page).

Requirements​

XenForo 2.3 or newer. Works on the standard forum index; the tabs follow your forum permissions.

Price and license​

• This add-on on its own: $5.00 - you get this add-on and its own license key, which unlocks this add-on only.
• All six Drac's Shop add-ons: $20.00 - you get every add-on and one universal license key that unlocks all of them. That is $10 less than buying the six one by one ($30.00).
• Lifetime updates and support with every order - one payment, no subscription.
• One license key covers one forum domain.

Buy it here: Drac's Shop - after paying you land on a receipt page with your download link(s) and your license key.


How the license works

• Enter your key in the Admin CP under Drac's Addons -> License key. That one page holds every Drac key: the first box is the universal key (the six-add-on set); each installed add-on also has its own box, here named "Key for Drac's Stylized AJAX Forum Category Tabs only".
• If both boxes are filled in, the add-on's own key is the one it uses. A one-add-on key only unlocks the add-on it was bought for.
• Each add-on checks its key with the license server once a day, and again whenever the key or your forum's address changes. It sends only the key, your forum's domain name and the add-on's name - no member data and no forum content.
• If the license server cannot be reached, an add-on that was already licensed keeps working for 7 days.
• Without a valid key an add-on stays off and your forum behaves like stock XenForo; the add-on's settings page and the License key page tell you why.

Install​

1. Buy it at Drac's Shop and download the zip from your receipt page.
2. Admin CP -> Add-ons -> Install/upgrade from archive and upload the zip (do not unzip it).
3. Admin CP -> Drac's Addons -> License key and paste your key.
4. Find it under Drac's Addons -> AJAX Forum Tabs: Manage tabs to build your tabs and Settings for the look and behavior.

Upgrading from an earlier version works the same way: upload the new zip over the old one. Back up your forum before installing or upgrading any add-on.

Support​

License holders can ask for help with the form at https://moonbloodgarden.com/vexcor/support - you will need your license key. Questions before you buy are welcome in this thread.

All the Drac's Shop add-ons live together under one Drac's Addons menu in the Admin CP: the first one you install creates the menu and the last one you uninstall removes it.