For more information about the commands in the pop-up menu for a title bar icon, see "Icon Pop-up Menus" later in this chapter.
This section describes the conventions for drop-down menus commonly used in applications. While these menus are not required for all applications, apply these guidelines when including these menus in your software's interface.
The File menu provides an interface for the primary operations that apply to a file. Your application should include commands such as Open, Save, Send To, and Print. These commands are often also included on the pop-up menu of the icon displayed in the title bar of the window.
Note
For more information about the commands in the pop-up menu for a title bar icon, see "Icon Pop-up Menus" later in this chapter.
If your application supports an Exit command, place this command at the bottom of the File menu preceded by a menu separator. When the user chooses the Exit command, close any open windows and files, and stop any further processing. If the object remains active even when its window is closed — for example, like a folder or printer — then include the Close command instead of Exit.
Include general purpose editing commands on the Edit menu. These commands include the Cut, Copy, and Paste transfer commands, OLE object commands, and the following commands (if they are supported).
Note
For more information about transfer commands, see Chapter 5, "General Interaction Techniques."
Command |
Function |
Undo |
Reverses last action. |
Repeat |
Repeats last action. |
Find and Replace |
Searches for and substitutes text. |
Delete |
Removes the current selection. |
Duplicate |
Creates a copy of the current selection. |
Include these commands on this menu and on the pop-up menu of the selected object.
Put commands on the View menu that change the user's view of data in the window. Include commands on this menu that affect the view and not the data itself — for example, Zoom or Outline. Also include commands for controlling the display of particular interface elements in the view — for example, Show Ruler. Also place these commands on the pop-up menu of the window or pane.
Use the Window menu in multiple document interface-style (MDI) applications for commands associated with managing the windows within an MDI workspace. Also include these commands on the pop-up menu of the parent MDI window.
Note
For more information about the design of MDI software, see Chapter 9, "Window Management."
Use the Help menu for commands that provide access to Help information. Include a Help Topics command; this command provides access to the Help Topics browser, which displays topics included in your application's Help file. Alternatively, you can provide individual commands that access specific pages of the Help Topics browser, such as Contents, Index, and Find Topic. You can also include other user assistance commands on this drop-down menu.
Note
For more information about the Help Topics browser and support for user assistance, see Chapter 12, "User Assistance."
If you provide access to copyright and version information for your application, include an About application name command on this menu. When the user chooses this command, display a window containing the application's name, version number, copyright information, and any other informational properties related to the application. Display this information in a dialog box or alternatively as a copyright page of the property sheet of the application's main executable file. Do not use an ellipsis at the end of this command, because the resulting window does not require the user to provide any further parameters.