Hide links pointing to category/overview pages when empty

In case it isn't *just* me...

Here's a non-hacky way to hide these menu items, below. Issues may arise if admin_menu's external javascript doesn't load up before this is called-- my understanding is that $(document).ready() doesn't check external scripts-- but so far works fine for me.

** Note that hook_footer() is deprecated in Drupal 7. Not sure, but you might want to use hook_page_alter() as an alternative in D7.

Module code:

/**
 * Implementation of hook_footer().
 */
function mymodule_footer($main = 0) {
  if (user_access('access administration menu')) {
    return '<script type="text/javascript">
      $(document).ready(
        function() {
          $("#admin-menu > ul > li").each(
            function(index) {
              var found = $(this).find("ul");
              if ( found.length == 0 && !$(this).is(".admin-menu-action")) {
                 $(this).remove();
              }
            }
          );
        }
      ); 
      </script>';
  }
}

... or just insert near the bottom of page.tpl.php:

<?php if (user_access('access administration menu')): ?>
<script type="text/javascript">
$(document).ready(
  function() {
    $("#admin-menu > ul > li").each(
      function(index) {
        var found = $(this).find("ul");
        if ( found.length == 0 && !$(this).is(".admin-menu-action")) {
           $(this).remove();
        }
      }
    );
  }
);
</script>
<?php endif; ?>