a couple kids and i made this js menu and it works in all browsers except internet explorer. the drop menu appears but its about 40 pixels down instead of right below the button. i dont know how to fix it. i'm guessing we need to add an 'if (browser.isIE)' in there somewhere but i'm not sure where. help would be appreciated? code is below:

function Browser() {

var ua, s, i;

this.isIE = false; // for IE
this.isOP = false; // for Opera
this.isNS = false; // for Netscape
this.version = null;

ua = navigator.userAgent;

s = "Opera";
if ((i = ua.indexOf(s)) >= 0) {
this.isOP = true;
this.version = parseFloat(ua.substr(i + s.length));
return;
}

s = "Netscape6/";
if ((i = ua.indexOf(s)) >= 0) {
this.isNS = true;
this.version = parseFloat(ua.substr(i + s.length));
return;
}

// Treat any other "Gecko" browser as Netscape 6.1.

s = "Gecko";
if ((i = ua.indexOf(s)) >= 0) {
this.isNS = true;
this.version = 6.1;
return;
}

s = "MSIE";
if ((i = ua.indexOf(s))) {
this.isIE = true;
this.version = parseFloat(ua.substr(i + s.length));
return;
}
}

var browser = new Browser();

//----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Code for handling the menu bar and active button.
//----------------------------------------------------------------------------

var activeButton = null;

/* [MODIFIED] This code commented out, not needed for activate/deactivate
on mouseover.

// Capture mouse clicks on the page so any active button can be
// deactivated.

if (browser.isIE)
document.onmousedown = pageMousedown;
else
document.addEventListener("mousedown", pageMousedown, true);

function pageMousedown(event) {

var el;

// If there is no active button, exit.

if (activeButton == null)
return;

// Find the element that was clicked on.

if (browser.isIE)
el = window.event.srcElement;
else
el = (event.target.tagName ? event.target : event.target.parentNode);

// If the active button was clicked on, exit.

if (el == activeButton)
return;

// If the element is not part of a menu, reset and clear the active
// button.

if (getContainerWith(el, "DIV", "menu") == null) {
resetButton(activeButton);
activeButton = null;
}
}

[END MODIFIED] */

function buttonClick(event, menuId) {

var button;

// Get the target button element.

if (browser.isIE)
button = window.event.srcElement;
else
button = event.currentTarget;

// Blur focus from the link to remove that annoying outline.

button.blur();

// Associate the named menu to this button if not already done.
// Additionally, initialize menu display.

if (button.menu == null) {
button.menu = document.getElementById(menuId);
if (button.menu.isInitialized == null)
menuInit(button.menu);
}

// [MODIFIED] Added for activate/deactivate on mouseover.

// Set mouseout event handler for the button, if not already done.

if (button.onmouseout == null)
button.onmouseout = buttonOrMenuMouseout;

// Exit if this button is the currently active one.

if (button == activeButton)
return false;

// [END MODIFIED]

// Reset the currently active button, if any.

if (activeButton != null)
resetButton(activeButton);

// Activate this button, unless it was the currently active one.

if (button != activeButton) {
depressButton(button);
activeButton = button;
}
else
activeButton = null;

return false;
}

function buttonMouseover(event, menuId) {

var button;

// [MODIFIED] Added for activate/deactivate on mouseover.

// Activates this button's menu if no other is currently active.

if (activeButton == null) {
buttonClick(event, menuId);
return;
}

// [END MODIFIED]

// Find the target button element.

if (browser.isIE)
button = window.event.srcElement;
else
button = event.currentTarget;

// If any other button menu is active, make this one active instead.

if (activeButton != null && activeButton != button)
buttonClick(event, menuId);
}

function depressButton(button) {

var x, y;

// Update the button's style class to make it look like it's
// depressed.

button.className += " menuButtonActive";

// [MODIFIED] Added for activate/deactivate on mouseover.

// Set mouseout event handler for the button, if not already done.

if (button.onmouseout == null)
button.onmouseout = buttonOrMenuMouseout;
if (button.menu.onmouseout == null)
button.menu.onmouseout = buttonOrMenuMouseout;

// [END MODIFIED]

// Position the associated drop down menu under the button and
// show it.

x = getPageOffsetLeft(button);
y = getPageOffsetTop(button) + button.offsetHeight;

// For IE, adjust position.

if (browser.isIE) {
x += button.offsetParent.clientLeft;
y += button.offsetParent.clientTop;
}

button.menu.style.left = x + "px";
button.menu.style.top = y + "px";
button.menu.style.visibility = "visible";

// For IE; size, position and show the menu's IFRAME as well.

if (button.menu.iframeEl != null)
{
button.menu.iframeEl.style.left = button.menu.style.left;
button.menu.iframeEl.style.top = button.menu.style.top;
button.menu.iframeEl.style.width = button.menu.offsetWidth + "px";
button.menu.iframeEl.style.height = button.menu.offsetHeight + "px";
button.menu.iframeEl.style.display = "";
}
}

function resetButton(button) {

// Restore the button's style class.

removeClassName(button, "menuButtonActive");

// Hide the button's menu, first closing any sub menus.

if (button.menu != null) {
closeSubMenu(button.menu);
button.menu.style.visibility = "hidden";

// For IE, hide menu's IFRAME as well.

if (button.menu.iframeEl != null)
button.menu.iframeEl.style.display = "none";
}
}

//----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Code to handle the menus and sub menus.
//----------------------------------------------------------------------------

function menuMouseover(event) {

var menu;

// Find the target menu element.

if (browser.isIE)
menu = getContainerWith(window.event.srcElement, "DIV", "menu");
else
menu = event.currentTarget;

// Close any active sub menu.

if (menu.activeItem != null)
closeSubMenu(menu);
}

function menuItemMouseover(event, menuId) {

var item, menu, x, y;

// Find the target item element and its parent menu element.

if (browser.isIE)
item = getContainerWith(window.event.srcElement, "A", "menuItem");
else
item = event.currentTarget;
menu = getContainerWith(item, "DIV", "menu");

// Close any active sub menu and mark this one as active.

if (menu.activeItem != null)
closeSubMenu(menu);
menu.activeItem = item;

// Highlight the item element.

item.className += " menuItemHighlight";

// Initialize the sub menu, if not already done.

if (item.subMenu == null) {
item.subMenu = document.getElementById(menuId);
if (item.subMenu.isInitialized == null)
menuInit(item.subMenu);
}

// [MODIFIED] Added for activate/deactivate on mouseover.

// Set mouseout event handler for the sub menu, if not already done.

if (item.subMenu.onmouseout == null)
item.subMenu.onmouseout = buttonOrMenuMouseout;

// [END MODIFIED]

// Get position for submenu based on the menu item.

x = getPageOffsetLeft(item) + item.offsetWidth;
y = getPageOffsetTop(item);

// Adjust position to fit in view.

var maxX, maxY;

if (browser.isIE) {
maxX = Math.max(document.documentElement.scrollLeft, document.body.scrollLeft) +
(document.documentElement.clientWidth != 0 ? document.documentElement.clientWidth : document.body.clientWidth);
maxY = Math.max(document.documentElement.scrollTop, document.body.scrollTop) +
(document.documentElement.clientHeight != 0 ? document.documentElement.clientHeight : document.body.clientHeight);
}
if (browser.isOP) {
maxX = document.documentElement.scrollLeft + window.innerWidth;
maxY = document.documentElement.scrollTop + window.innerHeight;
}
if (browser.isNS) {
maxX = window.scrollX + window.innerWidth;
maxY = window.scrollY + window.innerHeight;
}
maxX -= item.subMenu.offsetWidth;
maxY -= item.subMenu.offsetHeight;

if (x > maxX)
x = Math.max(0, x - item.offsetWidth - item.subMenu.offsetWidth
+ (menu.offsetWidth - item.offsetWidth));
y = Math.max(0, Math.min(y, maxY));

// Position and show the sub menu.

item.subMenu.style.left = x + "px";
item.subMenu.style.top = y + "px";
item.subMenu.style.visibility = "visible";

// For IE; size, position and display the menu's IFRAME as well.

if (item.subMenu.iframeEl != null)
{
item.subMenu.iframeEl.style.left = item.subMenu.style.left;
item.subMenu.iframeEl.style.top = item.subMenu.style.top;
item.subMenu.iframeEl.style.width = item.subMenu.offsetWidth + "px";
item.subMenu.iframeEl.style.height = item.subMenu.offsetHeight + "px";
item.subMenu.iframeEl.style.display = "";
}

// Stop the event from bubbling.

if (browser.isIE)
window.event.cancelBubble = true;
else
event.stopPropagation();
}

function closeSubMenu(menu) {

if (menu == null || menu.activeItem == null)
return;

// Recursively close any sub menus.

if (menu.activeItem.subMenu != null) {
closeSubMenu(menu.activeItem.subMenu);
menu.activeItem.subMenu.style.visibility = "hidden";

// For IE, hide the sub menu's IFRAME as well.

if (menu.activeItem.subMenu.iframeEl != null)
menu.activeItem.subMenu.iframeEl.style.display = "none";

menu.activeItem.subMenu = null;
}

// Deactivate the active menu item.

removeClassName(menu.activeItem, "menuItemHighlight");
menu.activeItem = null;
}

// [MODIFIED] Added for activate/deactivate on mouseover. Handler for mouseout
// event on buttons and menus.

function buttonOrMenuMouseout(event) {

var el;

// If there is no active button, exit.

if (activeButton == null)
return;

// Find the element the mouse is moving to.

if (browser.isIE)
el = window.event.toElement;
else if (event.relatedTarget != null)
el = (event.relatedTarget.tagName ? event.relatedTarget : event.relatedTarget.parentNode);

// If the element is not part of a menu, reset the active button.

if (getContainerWith(el, "DIV", "menu") == null) {
resetButton(activeButton);
activeButton = null;
}
}

// [END MODIFIED]

//----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Code to initialize menus.
//----------------------------------------------------------------------------

function menuInit(menu) {

var itemList, spanList;
var textEl, arrowEl;
var itemWidth;
var w, dw;
var i, j;

// For IE, replace arrow characters.

if (browser.isIE) {
menu.style.lineHeight = "2.5ex";
spanList = menu.getElementsByTagName("SPAN");
for (i = 0; i < spanList.length; i++)
if (hasClassName(spanList[i], "menuItemArrow")) {
spanList[i].style.fontFamily = "webdings";
spanList[i].firstChild.nodeValue = "4";
}
}

// Find the width of a menu item.

itemList = menu.getElementsByTagName("A");
if (itemList.length > 0)
itemWidth = itemList[0].offsetWidth;
else
return;

// For items with arrows, add padding to item text to make the
// arrows flush right.

for (i = 0; i < itemList.length; i++) {
spanList = itemList[i].getElementsByTagName("SPAN");
textEl = null;
arrowEl = null;
for (j = 0; j < spanList.length; j++) {
if (hasClassName(spanList[j], "menuItemText"))
textEl = spanList[j];
if (hasClassName(spanList[j], "menuItemArrow"))
arrowEl = spanList[j];
}
if (textEl != null && arrowEl != null) {
textEl.style.paddingRight = (itemWidth
- (textEl.offsetWidth + arrowEl.offsetWidth)) + "px";
// For Opera, remove the negative right margin to fix a display bug.
if (browser.isOP)
arrowEl.style.marginRight = "0px";
}
}

// Fix IE hover problem by setting an explicit width on first item of
// the menu.

if (browser.isIE) {
w = itemList[0].offsetWidth;
itemList[0].style.width = w + "px";
dw = itemList[0].offsetWidth - w;
w -= dw;
itemList[0].style.width = w + "px";
}

// Fix the IE display problem (SELECT elements and other windowed controls
// overlaying the menu) by adding an IFRAME under the menu.

if (browser.isIE) {
var iframeEl = document.createElement("IFRAME");
iframeEl.frameBorder = 0;
iframeEl.src = "javascript:;";
iframeEl.style.display = "none";
iframeEl.style.position = "absolute";
iframeEl.style.filter = "progidXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(style=0,o pacity=0)";
menu.iframeEl = menu.parentNode.insertBefore(iframeEl, menu);
}

// Mark menu as initialized.

menu.isInitialized = true;
}

//----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// General utility functions.
//----------------------------------------------------------------------------

function getContainerWith(node, tagName, className) {

// Starting with the given node, find the nearest containing element
// with the specified tag name and style class.

while (node != null) {
if (node.tagName != null && node.tagName == tagName &&
hasClassName(node, className))
return node;
node = node.parentNode;
}

return node;
}

function hasClassName(el, name) {

var i, list;

// Return true if the given element currently has the given class
// name.

list = el.className.split(" ");
for (i = 0; i < list.length; i++)
if (list[i] == name)
return true;

return false;
}

function removeClassName(el, name) {

var i, curList, newList;

if (el.className == null)
return;

// Remove the given class name from the element's className property.

newList = new Array();
curList = el.className.split(" ");
for (i = 0; i < curList.length; i++)
if (curList[i] != name)
newList.push(curList[i]);
el.className = newList.join(" ");
}

function getPageOffsetLeft(el) {

var x;

// Return the x coordinate of an element relative to the page.

x = el.offsetLeft;
if (el.offsetParent != null)
x += getPageOffsetLeft(el.offsetParent);

return x;
}

function getPageOffsetTop(el) {

var y;

// Return the x coordinate of an element relative to the page.

y = el.offsetTop;
if (el.offsetParent != null)
y += getPageOffsetTop(el.offsetParent);

return y;
}

If you and a couple of pals wrote this then I would (and all else would) assume that you know how it works.

This itself leads me to beleive that you nicked it from someplace. (but perhaps you didnt), because if(browser.isIE) is actually in the code itself, plus you never gave us an entry method so we dont know how to kick it off.

 if (browser.isIE) {
w = itemList[0].offsetWidth;
itemList[0].style.width = w + "px";
dw = itemList[0].offsetWidth - w;
w -= dw;
itemList[0].style.width = w + "px";
}

// Fix the IE display problem (SELECT elements and other windowed controls
// overlaying the menu) by adding an IFRAME under the menu.

if (browser.isIE) {
var iframeEl = document.createElement("IFRAME");
iframeEl.frameBorder = 0;
iframeEl.src = "javascript:;";
iframeEl.style.display = "none";
iframeEl.style.position = "absolute";
iframeEl.style.filter = "progidXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(style=0,op acity=0)";
menu.iframeEl = menu.parentNode.insertBefore(iframeEl, menu);
}

looks like some fiddling here would work

Probably written for IE5 and your scratching your head in 6.

Ibbo

this (in red) is missing

s = "MSIE";
if ((i = ua.indexOf(s))  >= 0) {
this.isIE = true;
this.version = parseFloat(ua.substr(i + s.length));
return;
}