Menu Commands (C++)

The information below is organized according to the Menu properties that appear in the Properties Window when you select a menu command. These are listed alphabetically although the Properties window also enables you to view these properties by category.

Property	Description
Break	Can be one of these values: - None: No break. This is the default. - Column: For static menus, this value places the menu command on a new line. For pop-up menus, this value places the menu command in a new column with no dividing line between the columns. Setting this property affects the appearance of the menu only at run time, not in the menu editor. - Bar: Same as Column except, for pop-up menus, this value separates the new column from the old column with a vertical line. Setting this property affects the appearance of the menu only at run time, not in the Menu Editor.
Caption	The text that labels the menu command (the menu name). To make one of the letters in the caption of a menu command the mnemonic key, precede it with an ampersand (&).
Checked	If True, the menu command is initially checked. Type: Bool. Default: False.
Enabled	If False, the menu item is disabled.
Grayed	If True, the menu command is initially grayed and inactive. Type: Bool. Default: False.
Help	Aligns menu item to the right. Default: False. For example, the Help menu command is always on the right in all Windows applications. If you set this property on a menu item, that item will appear at the very far right and at the very end of the menu. Applies to top-level items.
ID	A symbol defined in the header file. Type: Symbol, Integer, or Quoted String. You may use any symbol that is commonly available in any of the editors, even though the Properties Window does not provide a drop-down list for you to select from.
Popup	If True, the menu command is a pop-up menu. Type: Bool. Default: True for top-level menus on a menu bar, otherwise False.
Prompt	Contains text to appear in the status bar when this menu command is highlighted. The text is placed in the string table with the same identifier as the menu command. This property is available for any type of project, but the run-time functionality is MFC specific.
Right to Left Justify	Right-justifies the menu command on the menu bar at run time. Type: Bool. Default: False.
Right to Left Order	Allows menu commands to display right to left when the interface is localized to any language that reads right-to-left, such as Hebrew or Arabic.
Separator	If True, the menu command is a separator. Type: Bool. Default: False.

Associate Menu Commands

There are often times you want a menu command and a keyboard combination to issue the same program command. Identical commands are issued by using the Menu Editor to assign the same resource identifier to the menu command and to an entry in your application's accelerator table. You then edit the Caption of the menu command to show the name of the accelerator key.

To associate a menu command with an accelerator key

1. In the Menu Editor, select the menu command you want.

2. In the Properties Window, add the name of the accelerator key to the Caption property:

   • Following the menu caption, type the escape sequence for a tab (\t), so that all the menu's accelerator keys are left aligned.

   • Type the name of the modifier key (Ctrl, Alt, or Shift) followed by a plus sign (+) and the name, letter, or symbol of the additional key.

   For example, to assign Ctrl+O to the Open command on the File menu, you modify the menu command's Caption so that it looks like the following text:

   &Open...\tCtrl+O
   

   The menu command in the Menu Editor is updated to reflect the new caption as you type it.

3. Create the accelerator-table entry in the Accelerator editor and assign it the same identifier as the menu command. Use a key combination that you think will be easy to remember.

Your MFC application can display descriptive text for each of the menu commands a user may select. Display descriptive text by assigning a text string to each menu command using the Prompt property in the Properties window. If you have a string in the string table whose ID is the same as the command, an MFC application will automatically display this string resource in the status bar of the running application when a user hovers over a menu item.

• To associate a menu command with a status bar text string in MFC applications, in the Menu Editor, select the menu command. In the Properties Window, type the associated status bar text in the Prompt box.

In a C++ project, you can assign an access key (a mnemonic that allows the user to select the menu with the keyboard) to your menus and menu commands.

• To assign an access (shortcut) key to a menu command, type an ampersand (&) in front of a letter in the menu name or command name to specify that letter as the corresponding access key.

  For example, "&File" sets Alt+F as the shortcut key for the File menu in applications written for Microsoft Windows.

  The menu item will provide a visible cue that one of the letters has a shortcut key assigned to it. The letter following the ampersand will appear underlined (contingent on the operating system).

Note

Make sure all the access keys on a menu are unique by right-clicking your menu and choosing Check Mnemonics.

Requirements

Win32

See also

Menu Editor