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Edit Menu


Description

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

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. Your application should be able to undo all of the actions in the Edit Menu. This action must have the mnemonic U.
Cut Shift+Del
Must remove the selected portion of data from the client area to the clipboard. This action must choose the component to act on by following the rules in Operation Targets for operations that act on selections. This action must have the mnemonic T.
Copy Ctrl+Ins
Must copy the selected portion of data to the clipboard without removing the original data from the client area. This action must choose the component to act on by following the rules in Operation Targets for operations that act on selections. This action must have the mnemonic C.
Copy Link
Must copy a link of the selected portion of data to the clipboard without removing the original data from the client area. This action must choose the component to act on by following the rules in Operation Targets for operations that act on selections. This action must have the mnemonic K.
Paste Shift+Ins
Must paste the contents of the clipboard into a client area. This action must choose the component to act on by following the rules in Operation Targets for operations that do not act on selections. This action must have the mnemonic P.
Paste Link
Must paste a link of the data represented by the contents of the clipboard into a client area. This action must choose the component to act on by following the rules in Operation Targets for operations that do not act on selections. This action must have the mnemonic L.
Clear
Must remove a selected portion of data from the client area without copying it to the clipboard. The remaining data is not compressed to fill the space that was occupied by the cleared data. This action must choose the component to act on by following the rules in Operation Targets for operations that act on selections. This action must have the mnemonic E.
Delete
Must remove a selected portion of data from the client area without copying it to the clipboard. This action must choose the component to act on by following the rules in Operation Targets for operations that act on selections. This action must have the mnemonic D.
Select All Ctrl+/
Must make the primary selection consist of all the elements in a component of the client area. This action must choose the component to act on by following the rules in Operation Targets for operations that do not act on selections. If the action uses an accelerator, it should be [/].
Deselect All Ctrl+\
Must remove from the primary selection all the elements in a component of the client area. This action must choose the component to act on by following the rules in Operation Targets for operations that do not act on selections. 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 a component of the client area. This action must choose the component to act on by following the rules in Operation Targets for operations that do not act on selections.
Reselect Alt+Insert
Must make the primary selection consist of the last selected element or elements in a component of the client area. This action must choose the component to act on by following the rules in Operation Targets for operations that do not act on selections. 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 to the primary selection the current selection of a component of the client area. This action must choose the component to act on by following the rules in Operation Targets for operations that act on selections. This action must only be available for components that support persistent selections. If the action uses an accelerator, it should be .

You should include Menu items in the order described. If you add new Menu items, you should insert them near similar elements.

If you use accelerators for Undo, Cut, Copy, and Paste, you must use either one or both of the models presented in the following two tables.

Edit Menu Accelerators, Model 1
Edit Menu Item Accelerator
Undo <Alt> <BackSpace>
Cut <Shift> <Delete>
Copy <Ctrl> <Insert>
Paste <Shift> <Insert>
Edit Menu Accelerators, Model 2
Edit Menu Item Accelerator
Undo <Ctrl> <Z>
Cut <Ctrl> <X>
Copy <Ctrl> <C>
Paste <Ctrl> <V>

In addition, if your keyboard has [Undo], [Cut], [Copy], and [Paste] keys, these should be supported as accelerators for the corresponding Menu items as well.

Illustration

Related Information

See Application Design Principles for more information on the MenuBar system and for general information about Menu design.