---
title: "Selecting elements in a nested menu"
slug: "nested-menus"
description: "Master nested menus with step-by-step tooltips that guide users through clicks, ensuring a seamless navigation experience."
updated: 2026-11-09T16:31:51Z
published: 2026-11-09T16:31:51Z
canonical: "help.userflow.com/nested-menus"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.userflow.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Selecting elements in a nested menu

A nested menu opens more options when the user hovers over an item, like **Sales > Create new > Create invoice**. To guide users through one, use one tooltip step for each level of the menu, with triggers that move forward when the next level appears and back if it closes.

![A nested menu with Sales, Create new and Create invoice levels](https://cdn.us.document360.io/9697557a-eb5d-476f-9b09-062b0f7bdcbd/Images/Documentation/nested-menu-example.png)

## How do I guide users through a nested menu?

Add one tooltip step for each menu item the user hovers over or clicks. In this example the user hovers over **Sales**, then **Create new**, then clicks **Create invoice**, so the flow has three tooltip steps.

- **Move forward when the next level appears.** Every step except the last has a step trigger with an **Element is present** condition for the next level's menu item. For example, step 1 has a trigger that goes to step 2 when "Create new" is present.
- **Go back if the menu closes.** If the user hovers off the menu, the next level disappears. So every step except the first also has a trigger that goes back to the previous step when its own menu item is no longer present. For example, step 2 goes back to step 1 when "Create new" is not present, and the user is asked to hover over "Sales" again.
- **Finish on the click.** The last step moves on when its menu item is clicked. Here, step 3 goes to step 4 when "Create invoice" is clicked.

To add triggers, see [Step triggers in Flow builder basics](/userflow/docs/flow-builder-basics#step-triggers).

![The three tooltip steps and their triggers in the Flow builder](https://cdn.us.document360.io/9697557a-eb5d-476f-9b09-062b0f7bdcbd/Images/Documentation/flow-builder.png)

### The same setup, step by step

- **Step 1:** tooltip on "Sales"
  - Trigger: if "Create new" is present, go to step 2
- **Step 2:** tooltip on "Create new"
  - Trigger: if "Create invoice" is present, go to step 3
  - Trigger: if "Create new" is not present, go back to step 1
- **Step 3:** tooltip on "Create invoice"
  - When the tooltip target is clicked, go to step 4
  - Trigger: if "Create invoice" is not present, go back to step 2

## Does this work for menus with two levels, or more than three?

Yes. Use one step per level. For example, to guide users to **Sales > Customers**:

- **Step 1:** tooltip on "Sales"
  - Trigger: if "Customers" is present, go to step 2
- **Step 2:** tooltip on "Customers"
  - When the tooltip target is clicked, go to step 3
  - Trigger: if "Customers" is not present, go back to step 1

If Userflow can't find a menu item, see [Element not found](/userflow/docs/element-not-found).

## Related articles

- [Selecting elements](/userflow/docs/tooltip-element-selection)
- [Selecting elements in a dropdown menu](/userflow/docs/dropdowns)
- [Flow builder basics](/userflow/docs/flow-builder-basics)