I want to make a path-based breadcrumb with pure css and am considering 'sliding' it when the path is too long.
For example:
path 1 > path 2 > path 3 > .......... > path n
If the breadcrumb is too long to be shown in a single line. Would this be an intuitive breadcrumb to implement?
The drawback of this approach means path 1 and path 2 may be hidden when user moves cursor to path n.
I don't know the particular scenario in question here, but if the breadcrumb is too long to be shown in a single line then there is already too much information for the user to care about and you should consider simplifying what is displayed, not trying to find a way to squeeze more information than necessary into a space that is not big enough to hold it.
By adding sliding functionality, you would be over-complicating a mechanism which is meant only to serve as an aid alongside the primary navigation structure.
One common reason for breadcrumbs to become very long is that the text for the elements is taken from a source that was never designed for breadcrumbs, such as the titles for pages or faceted navigation or the primary navigation itself, including mega dropdowns.
I'd really suggest removing the problem rather than expending effort to incorporate the problem because then - you'll have two problems.
If the effect is implimented correctly without distracting the users too much then this can be done intuitively. There are many examples that you could look at if you google jquery breadcrumbs - just to see the effect.
One that particularly comes to mind is xBreadcrumbs. Look at example 2 when you hover over one of the slightly hidden breadcrumbs.
Demo example 2: http://www.ajaxblender.com/script-sources/xbreadcrumbs/demo/index.html
