Common Pop-up Menus

The pop-up menus included in any application depend on the objects and context supplied by that application. The following sections describe common pop-up menus for Windows-based applications.

The Window Pop-up Menu

The window pop-up menu is the pop-up menu associated with a window — do not confuse it with the Window drop-down menu found in MDI applications. The window pop-up menu replaces the Windows 3.1 Control menu, also referred to as the System menu. For example, a typical primary window includes Close, Restore, Move, Size, Minimize, and Maximize.

You can also include other commands on the window's menu that apply to the window or the view within the window. For example, an application can append a Split command to the menu to facilitate splitting the window into panes. Similarly, you can add commands that affect the view, such as Outline, commands that add, remove, or filter elements from the view, such as Show Ruler, or commands that open certain subordinate or special views in secondary windows, such as Show Color Palette.

A secondary window also includes a pop-up menu. Usually, because the range of operations are more limited than in a primary window, a secondary window's pop-up menu includes only Move and Close commands, or just Move. Palette windows can also include an Always on Top command that sets the window to always be on top of its parent window and secondary windows of its parent window.

The user displays a window's pop-up menu by clicking mouse button 2 anywhere in the title bar area, excluding the title bar icon. Clicking on the title bar icon with button 2 displays the pop-up menu for the object represented by the icon. To avoid confusing users, if you do not provide a pop-up menu for the title bar icon, do not display the pop-up for the window when the user clicks with button 2 on the title bar icon.

Note
For compatibility with previous versions of Windows, the system also supports clicking button 1 on the icon in the title bar to access the pop-up menu of a window. However, do not document this as the primary method for accessing the pop-up menu for the window. Document only the button 2 technique.

For the pen, performing barrel-tapping or the equivalent pop-up menu gesture on these areas displays the menu. Pressing ALT+SPACEBAR also displays the menu. The pop-up for the window can also be accessed from the keyboard by the user pressing the ALT key and then using the arrow keys to navigate beyond the first or last entry in the menu bar. In MDI applications, the pop-up menu for a child window can also be accessed this way or directly using ALT+HYPHEN.

Icon Pop-up Menus

Pop-up menus displayed for icons include operations of the objects represented by those icons. Accessing the pop-up menu of an application or document icon follows the standard conventions for pop-up menus, such as displaying the menus with a mouse button 2 click.

An icon's container application supplies the pop-up menu for the icon. For example, pop-up menus for icons placed in standard folders or on the desktop are automatically provided by the system. However, your application supplies the pop-up menus for OLE embedded or linked objects placed in it — that is, placed in the document or data files your application supports.

Note
For more information about supporting pop-up menus for OLE objects, see Chapter 11, "Working with OLE Embedded and OLE Linked Objects."

The container populates the pop-up menu for an icon with commands the container supplies for its content, such as transfer commands and those registered by the object's type. For example, an application can register a New command that automatically generates a new data file of the type supported by the application.

Note
For more information about registering commands, see Chapter 10, "Integrating with the System."

The pop-up menu of an application's icon, for example, the Microsoft WordPad executable file, should include the commands listed in Table 7.1.

Table 7.1 Application File Icon Pop-up Menu Commands

An icon representing a document or data file typically includes the following common menu items for the pop-up menu for its icon.

Table 7.2 Document or Data File Icon Pop-up Menu Commands

With the exception of the Open and Print commands, the system automatically provides these commands for icons when they appear in system containers, such as the desktop or folders. If your application supplies its own containers for files, you need to supply these commands.

For the Open and Print commands to appear on the menu, your application must register these commands in the system registry. You can also register additional or replacement commands. For example, you can optionally register a Quick View command that displays the content of the file without running the application and a What's This? command that displays descriptive information for your data file types.

Note
For more information about registering commands and the Quick View command, see Chapter 10, "Integrating with the System." For more information about the What's This? command, see Chapter 12, "User Assistance."

The icon in the title bar of a window represents the same object as the icon the user opens. As a result, the application associated with the icon also includes a pop-up menu with appropriate commands for the title bar's icon. When the icon of an application appears in the title bar, include the same commands on its pop-up menu as are included for the icon that the user opens, unless a particular command cannot be applied when the application's window is open. In addition, replace the Open command with Close.

Similarly, when the icon of the data or document file appears in the title bar, you also use the same commands as found on its file icon, with the following exceptions: replace the Open command with a Close command and add Save if the edits in the document require explicit saving to file.

For an MDI application, supply a pop-up menu for the application icon in the parent window, following the conventions for application title bar icons. Also consider including the following commands where they apply.

Note
For more information about the design of MDI-style applications, see Chapter 9, "Window Management."

Table 7.3 Optional MDI Parent Window Title Bar Icon Pop-up Menu Commands

In addition, supply an appropriate pop-up menu for the title bar icon that appears in the child window's title bar. You can follow the same conventions for non-MDI data files.