AutoConnect stores the established WiFi connection in the flash memory of the ESP8266/ESP32 module and equips the class to access the credentials from the sketch. You can read, write or erase the credentials using this class individually. It's [**AutoConnectCredential**](#autoconnectcredential) class which provides the access method to the saved credentials in the flash.[^1]
AutoConnect stores the credentials of the established WiFi connection in the flash memory of the ESP8266/ESP32 module and equips the class to access the credentials from the sketch. You can read, write, or erase the credentials using this class individually. It's the [**AutoConnectCredential**](#autoconnectcredential), which provides the way of access to the credentials stored in flash.[^1]
[^1]:An example using AutoConnectCredential is provided as [an example](https://github.com/Hieromon/AutoConnect/blob/master/examples/Credential/Credential.ino) of a library sketch to delete saved credentials.
## The feature of menu attaching using AutoConnect
AutoConnect generates a menu dynamically depending on the instantiated [AutoConnectAux](acintro.md#how-it-works) at the Sketch executing time. Usually, it is a collection of [AutoConnectElement](acelements.md). In addition to this, you can generate a menu from only AutoConnectAux, without AutoConnectElements.<br>In other words, you can easily create a built-in menu featuring the WiFi connection facility embedding the legacy web pages.
In this section, it presents numerous ways to customize the AutoConnect menu with your Sketch. AutoConnect dynamically materializes menu items at the Sketch run time with joined [AutoConnectAux](acintro.md#how-it-works) as a sourced configuration. Typically, it has [AutoConnectElements](acintro.md#how-it-works) for page rendering in its composition but can configure a Web page as a menu item without having AutoConnectElements. In other words, the AutoConnect Menu component allows you to easily embed a navigation menu with WiFi connection expansion in your Sketch, which has legacy pages for ESP8266WebServer or WebServer of ESP32.
## Basic mechanism of menu generation
## The basic mechanism for menu generation
the Sketch can display the [AutoConnect menu](menu.md) by following three patterns depending on AutoConnect-API usage.
Sketch can equip the [AutoConnect menu](menu.md) by using three patterns according to the appropriate usage of the [AutoConnect API](api.md).
<iclass="fa fa-desktop"></i> **Basic menu**
: It is the most basic menu for only connecting WiFi. Sketch can automatically display this menu with the basic call sequence of the AutoConnect API which invokes [AutoConnect::begin](api.md#begin) and [AutoConnect::handleClient](api.md#handleclient).
: It is the most basic menu for a WiFi connection only. Sketch can automatically display it using the typical calling sequence of the [AutoConnect API](api.md) with [AutoConnect::begin](api.md#begin) and [AutoConnect::handleClient](api.md#handleClient).
<iclass="fa fa-desktop"></i> **Extra menu with custom Web pages which is consisted by [AutoConnectElements](acelements.md)**
: It is an extended menu that appears when the Sketch consists of the custom Web pages with [AutoConnectAux](acintro.md#how-it-works) and AutoConnectElements. Refer to section [*Custom Web pages section*](acintro.md#custom-web-pages-in-autoconnect-menu).
<iclass="fa fa-desktop"></i> **Extra menu which contains legacy pages**
: It is for the legacy sketches using the **on** handler of ESP8266WebServer/WebServer(for ESP32) class natively and looks the same as the extra menu as above.
: It provides an item for including a legacy page in the AutoConnect menu that natively uses the page request handler attached by the [ESP8266WebServer::on](https://github.com/esp8266/Arduino/tree/master/libraries/ESP8266WebServer#client-request-handlers) function. (Similarly, WebServer::on for ESP32)
The mechanism to generate the AutoConnect menu is simple. It will insert the item as `<li>` tag generated from the [**title**](apiaux.md#autoconnectaux) and [**uri**](apiaux.md#autoconnectaux) member variable of the AutoConnectAux object to the menu list of AutoConnect's built-in HTML. Therefore, the legacy sketches can invoke the web pages from the AutoConnect menu with just declaration the title and URI to AutoConnectAux.
The mechanism by which AutoConnect dynamically generates the menu is simple. The member variables [**title**](apiaux.md#title) and [**uri**](apiaux.md#uri) of AutoConnectAux will be transferred into **<li>** HTML tag as they are. Then all **<li>** elements are included in the form that makes up the menu.
Therefore, the Sketch can register the legacy web pages to the menu by simply declaring the [title](apiaux.md#autoconnectaux) and [URI](apiaux.md#autoconnectaux) with AutoConnectAux and binding it to AutoConnect.
## Place the item for the legacy sketches on the menu
@ -25,16 +26,23 @@ The AutoConnect library package contains an example sketch for ESP8266WebServer
### <iclass="fa fa-edit"></i> Slightly changes to adapt FSBrowser to AutoConnect menu
The changes I made to adapt the FSBrowser to the AutoConnect menu are slight as follows:
1. Add AutoConnect declaration.
2. Add the menu item named "**Edit**" and "**List**" of AutoConnectAux as each page.
3. Replace the instance of ESP8266WebServer to AutoConnect.
4. Change the menu title to FSBrowser using [AutoConnectConfig::title](apiconfig.md#title).
5. Join the legacy pages to AutoConnect declared at step #1 using [AutoConnect::join](api.md#join).<br>Joining multiple at one time with the [list initialization](https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/language/list_initialization) for [std::vector](https://ja.cppreference.com/w/cpp/container/vector/vector).
6. According to the basic procedure of AutoConnect.<br>Establish a connection with [AutoConnect::begin](api.md#begin) and perform [AutoConnect::handleClient](api.md#handleclient) in **loop()**.
2. Add AutoConnectConfig declaration to replace the menu title to `FSBRowser`.
3. Set the menu title using [AutoConnectConfig::title](apiconfig.md#title).
4. Replace the destination of the not found handler (404 handler) from ESP8266WebServer to AutoConnect. [^1]<sup><sub>**IMPORTANT**</sub></sup>
5. Add AutoConnectAux using [AutoConnect::append](api.md#append) and combine an item for **Edit**.
6. Add AutoConnectAux using [AutoConnect::append](api.md#append) and combine an item for **List**.
7. Establish a WiFi connection using [AutoConnect::begin](api.md#begin) and execute [AutoConnect::handleClient](api.md#handleclient) in the **loop**, as in the case of handling the basic menu.
[^1]: Missing this step, AutoConnect cannot handle the menu. Refs: [404 handler](advancedusage.md#404-handler)
### <iclass="fa fa-code"></i> FSBrowser with embedded AutoConnect
<iclass="fa fa-code"></i> **Modification for FSBrowser** <small>(a part of sketch code)</small>
Modification for FSBrowser as follows:<small>(Excerpt of the sketch code)</small>
Hieromon Ikasamo
5 years ago
