The administration menu module provides a dropdown menu arranged for one- or two-click access to most administrative tasks and other common destinations (to users with the proper permissions). Administration menu also displays the number of anonymous and authenticated users, and allows modules to add their own custom menu items. Integration with the menu varies from module to module; the contributed module Devel, for instance, makes strong use of the administration menu module to provide quick access to development tools.

The administration menu settings page allows you to modify some elements of the menu's behavior and appearance. Since the appearance of the menu is dependent on your site theme, substantial customizations require modifications to your site's theme and CSS files. See the advanced module README.txt file for more information on theme and CSS customizations.

The menu items displayed in the administration menu depend upon the actual permissions of the viewer. First, the administration menu is only displayed to users in roles with the Access administration menu (admin_menu module) permission. Second, a user must be a member of a role with the Access administration pages (system module) permission to view administrative links. And, third, only currently permitted links are displayed; for example, if a user is not a member of a role with the permissions Administer permissions (user module) and Administer users (user module), the User management menu item is not displayed.