add a +/- button to collapse categories/subcategories?

I have a question about my categories list above...

I want to add a +/- style box next to each category and subcategory and sub-sub-category and so-on so I can maximize/minimize them instead of the incredibly ugly and useless "|_".

Currently, if you click on a category to display the subcategories, you can't click on the same category and have the category minimize so you can neatly browse the other categories above/below... instead, you have to scroll all the way down (in the case of my website its not so bad, but still bad enough to warrant a complaint) to click on the next category and the category you were just browsing will minimize and display the next category. Its cumbersome and very primitive feeling. I mean it really feels like a 1995 solution to a 2012 problem.

Also, the "|_" that is prefixed before all sub-categories is VERY ugly and VERY irritating to my eyes. It is a blatant and obvious turn off to the aesthetic of my website. I would like to change this out for a small .jpg bullet.

Also, there is a stupid -> placed after every category that has subcategories in it, and I'd like to just get rid of these arrows altogether. Is this possible?

PLEASE HELP!

You can see my website at http://www.wellroundedwoodturning.com

You can remove or replace those characters you find so horribly offensive in Admin - Configuration - Layout Settings.

I'm not sure if there's a mod that collapses a category listing, but there are a lot of mods which concentrate on the Categories sidebox. Try searching the Free Software Add Ons for categories.

The specific function you are looking for (expanding and collapsing a category list in the menu by clicking) is called "accordion" and requires javascript added to the sidebox. There may be one in Free Addons, or you might be able to adapt one from the web if you are proficient in js and PHP.

CSS flyout menus will show/hide all of the detail without clicking.

stevesh:

You can remove or replace those characters you find so horribly offensive in Admin - Configuration - Layout Settings.

I'm not sure if there's a mod that collapses a category listing, but there are a lot of mods which concentrate on the Categories sidebox. Try searching the Free Software Add Ons for categories.

HELL YEAH! Thank you so much for this. Instantly improved the look of my categories box. I know its a small thing, but the |_ really is ugly (at least to me).

I found one add-on for the accordion thing for Zen-Cart at http://www.jsweb.co.uk/zen-cart-modules/new-jsweb-cool-mods/accordion-menu-sidebox-for-zen-cart but I'm not 100% sure if this addon is what I'm looking for, and that seems like an excessively expensive piece of software.

Screw it, I guess this is as good as things are going to get!

Thanks again guys, and if anyone else happens to know of a QUICK AND EASY way to add accordion style buttons to my categories list (NOT THE WHOLE SIDEBOX ITSELF), I would be very very grateful!

You can only do the accordion feature with javascript code. You would need to write it yourself or find someone to do it, and I doubt anybody is going to do it for free.
If you want to be able to see all subcategories of a category without reloading the page, CSS hover flyout menus can do it. There are at least two that work well, CSS Flyout Menu and Categories Dressing with its ch_categories option and a few CSS rules added from its support thread.