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Popup Menus


Description

The common Popup Menu contents are described as follows. Note that you should only include those functions actually supported by your application. The illustration on this reference page shows a Popup Menu.

Properties
Must display a properties DialogBox that the user can use to set the properties of the component. If the Menu is popped up over a selection, it can display the properties of the selection. If the Menu is popped up over an unselected item, it can display the properties of that item. If the Menu is popped up over the background, it should display the properties of the collection, except over a part of the background considered to be in the selection. This action should have the mnemonic S.
Undo Alt+Backspace
Must reverse the most recently executed action. To provide a visual cue to the user, the Undo selection title should be dynamically modified to indicate what is being undone. For example, if the most recently executed action was a paste, the action name would be Undo paste. This action should have the mnemonic U. This action should have the same accelerator as the corresponding entry in the Edit Menu.
Primary Move Alt+Shift+Delete
Must move the contents of the primary selection to the component. This action must only be used in an editable component. If the action uses an accelerator, it should be , [X], or both. In addition, if the keyboard has a [Cut] key, this action should support [Cut] as an accelerator. If more than one format can be moved from the primary selection, Primary Copy can cascade a Menu of possible transfer formats, in which case it should not have an accelerator.
Primary Copy Alt+Ctrl+Insert
Must copy the contents of the primary selection to the component. This action must only be used in an editable component. If the action uses an accelerator, it should be , [C], or both. In addition, if the keyboard has a [Copy] key, this action should support [Copy] as an accelerator. If more than one format can be copied from the primary selection, Primary Copy can cascade a Menu of possible transfer formats, in which case it should not have an accelerator.
Primary Link
Must place a link to the primary selection in the component. This action must only be used in an editable component. If the link can be viewed in more than one way, Primary Link can cascade a Menu of possible viewing representations.
Cut
Must cut elements to the clipboard and can mark them for use in a subsequent Paste Link operation. If the Menu is popped up in a selection, the entire selection must be cut. If the Menu is popped up over an unselected element, just that element should be cut. If the Menu is popped up in the background, the entire collection can be cut. This action should have the mnemonic T.
Copy
Must copy elements to the clipboard and can mark them for use in a subsequent Paste Link operation. If the Menu is popped up in a selection, the entire selection must be copied. If the Menu is popped up over an unselected element, just that element should be copied. If the Menu is popped up in the background, the entire collection can be copied. This action should have the mnemonic C.
Copy Link
Must copy a link of elements to the clipboard and can mark them for use in a subsequent Paste Link operation. If the Menu is popped up in a selection, a link to the entire selection must be copied. If the Menu is popped up over an unselected element, a link to just that element should be copied. If the Menu is popped up in the background, a link to the entire collection can be copied. This action should have the mnemonic K.
Paste Shift+Insert
Must paste the contents of the clipboard to the component. This action must only be used in an editable component. This action should have the mnemonic P. This action should have the same accelerator as the corresponding entry in the Edit Menu.
Paste Link
Must paste a link of the contents of the clipboard to the component. This action must only be used in an editable component. This action should have the mnemonic L.
Clear
Must remove a selected portion of data from the client area without copying it to the clipboard. If the Menu is popped up in a selection, it must delete the selection. If the Menu is popped up over an unselected element, it should delete that element. If the Menu is popped up over the background, except over a part of the background considered to be in the selection, it can delete all the elements. The remaining data is not compressed to fill the space that was occupied by the cleared data. This action should have the mnemonic E.
Delete
Must remove a selected portion of data from the client area without copying it to the clipboard. If the Menu is popped up in a selection, it must delete the selection. If the Menu is popped up over an unselected element, it should delete that element. If the Menu is popped up over the background, except over a part of the background considered to be in the selection, it can delete all the elements. This action should have the mnemonic D.
Select All Ctrl+/
Must make the primary selection consist of all the elements in the collection with the Popup Menu. If the action uses an accelerator, it should be [/].
Deselect All Ctrl+\
Must deselect the current selection in the collection with the Popup Menu. If the action uses an accelerator, it should be [\].
Select Pasted
Must make the primary selection consist of the last element or elements pasted into the collection with the Popup Menu.
Reselect Alt+Insert
Must make the primary selection consist of the last selected element or elements in the component with the Popup Menu. The action must be available only in components that do not support persistent selections and only when the current selection is empty. If the action uses an accelerator, it should be .
Promote Alt+Insert
Must promote the current selection to the primary selection. This action must only be available in components that support persistent selections. If the action uses an accelerator, it should be .

Appropriate words, such as Selection or words denoting the type of a single element of the collection as a whole, should be added to a Label to specify which elements are affected. For example, if a Popup Menu contains the entry Copy Selection, the current selection is copied to the clipboard regardless of where in the collection the Menu is popped up.

A Popup Menu item should only have an accelerator if the result of typing the accelerator would be equivalent to popping up the Menu by typing , and then selecting the Menu item. If Cut Selection is included in a Popup Menu, it should use the same accelerators as Cut in the Edit Menu. If Copy Selection is included in a Popup Menu, it should use the same accelerators as Copy in the Edit Menu.

Illustration

Related Information

See Application Design Principles for more information on Popup Menus and for general information about Menu design.