class Menu extends Doctrine_Record { public function setTableDefinition() { $this->setTableName('menu'); // add this your table definition to set the table as NestedSet tree implementation // $implName is 'NestedSet' or 'AdjacencyList' or 'MaterializedPath' // $options is an assoc array of options, see implementation docs for options $this->option('treeImpl', $implName); $this->option('treeOptions', $options); // you do not need to add any columns specific to the nested set implementation, these are added for you $this->hasColumn("name","string",30); } // this __toString() function is used to get the name for the path, see node::getPath() public function __toString() { return $this->get('name'); } }