if (current_custom_link_ID == 1061) {
       echo something;
}

Generally speaking, I would like to track the name of the active (current) custom menu link to output it in the content area.

In the WordPress documentation I found nothing suitable, neither with wp_nav_menu () or similar functions.

I am grateful for every note.
Thanx

Getting the currently active menu link is possible by filtering wp_nav_menu_objects, which is the easiest place to check which item is the current menu item, because WordPress already added the classes for you. The below code (Untested) should get the currently active menu item and add it as a new global variable to use where you need:

add_filter( 'wp_nav_menu_objects', 'wpse16243_wp_nav_menu_objects' );
function wpse16243_wp_nav_menu_objects( $sorted_menu_items )
{
    foreach ( $sorted_menu_items as $menu_item ) {
        if ( $menu_item->current ) {
            $GLOBALS['wpse16243_title'] = $menu_item->title;
            break;
        }
    }
    return $sorted_menu_items;
}

You can now use this new global variable in your content, for example:

if ( isset( $GLOBALS['wpse16243_title'] ) ) {
    return $GLOBALS['wpse16243_title'];
}

Of course, this only works if you display the menu before you display the title. If you need it earlier (maybe in the <title> element?), you should first render the menu and then display it later.

~ Steven

Knowing how menus are organized will let you get a lot of particular information without the need to call wp_nav_menu(). As graphicscove pointed out, the specific HTML like classes and ids are not part of the stored menu items, they come from calling the function, so naturally calling the function is the easiest way to extract that sort of information.

thanks for your help and quick response

mathes