[Contents] [Index] [Next] [Previous]

MenuBar


Description

A MenuBar is a basic group that organizes the most common features of an application. The MenuBar must be a horizontal bar at the top edge of the application just below the title area of the window frame. The MenuBar contains a list of Menu topics in CascadeButtons with Pulldown Menus connected to them. A MenuBar must contain only CascadeButtons, because other buttons inhibit Menu browsing. Each Menu topic should have a single-letter mnemonic indicated by underlining.

The following Pulldown Menus provide general functions common to most applications. Remember that these Menu guidelines, like all the guidelines in this OSF/Motif Style Guide, apply only in a left-to-right language environment in an English-language locale. You need to make the appropriate changes for other locales.

File
The File Menu should contain components for performing actions on the files, such as opening, saving, closing, and printing. It should also contain components for performing actions on the application as a whole, such as quitting. If the Label File is not appropriate to the context of your application, you can choose a different, more appropriate Label. The File Menu should have a mnemonic of F.
Selected
The Selected Menu should contain components for performing actions on the objects represented by the current selection of the application, such as opening or printing a selected item. This Menu is often similar to the File Menu, except that it acts on the objects denoted by the current selection. For example, in a directory browser, Open in the File Menu could (using a DialogBox) prompt the user for the name of a directory to open for browsing, while Open in the Selected Menu opens the file whose icon is currently selected in the browser. The Selected Menu should not contain editing functions normally found in the Edit Menu. The Selected Menu should have a mnemonic of S.
Edit
The Edit Menu should contain components for performing actions on the current data of the application, such as an undo action or making global substitutions in a block of text. It should also include components for interacting with the system clipboard, such as cut, copy, and paste. The Edit Menu should have a mnemonic of E.
View
The View Menu should contain components for changing the user's view on the data. Components in the View Menu should not actually change the data. The exact contents of the View Menu are application specific but can include components that change the appearance of the data, the amount of data that is displayed, or the order in which the data is displayed. The View Menu should have a mnemonic of V.
Options
The Options Menu should contain components for a user to customize the application. The exact contents of the Options Menu are application specific. The Options Menu should have a mnemonic of O.
Help
The Help Menu should contain components that provide user help facilities. The components in the Help Menu usually bring up a DialogBox with help information. Every application should have a Help Menu. The Help Menu should have a mnemonic of H.

While we recommend that you include the common Menus in the MenuBar of your application, your choice of Menu titles and items depends on the nature of your application. If your application requires it, you should design more relevant titles and selections, but do not change the meanings of items used in the common Menus. If any of the common Menus are present, they must be arranged in the following order with respect to each other, ranging from left to right across the MenuBar in a left-to-right language environment:

File Menu
Selected Menu
Edit Menu
View Menu
Options Menu
Help Menu

You can omit any of these Menus if they are not relevant to the application. You can also intersperse other, application-specific, Menus among these Menus. However, if a File Menu is present, it must be the first Menu and must be placed at the far left of the MenuBar. If a Help Menu is present, it must be the last Menu and must be placed at the far right of the MenuBar.

The recommended contents of the File, Edit, and Help Menus are described on their own reference pages. The contents of the View and Options Menus are application specific and are not specified here. Each of these common Menus can contain a TearOffButton.

Illustration

Navigation

The MenuBar follows the navigation model described in Navigation.

Other Operations

The following text describes the operations of this component:

<Help>
Must provide any available help for the current CascadeButton.

Related Information

For information about the suggested contents of these Menus, see the reference pages for File Menu, Edit Menu, and Help Menu.