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Menus
Menus
This section describes changes to applications' menu style and contents in
system 7.0. Applications can include several standard menu items that relate
to new features of system 7.0. This section also presents the reserved list of
keyboard equivalents for menu commands.
File Menu
Applications that support high-level database access, as described in the
Data Access Manager, need to include the Open Query command in the
File menu. This command opens a query document that establishes
communication with a target database.
Edit Menu
If your application implements the capabilities of the Edition Manager,
include its commands in the Edit menu, separated from the standard commands
by a gray line. The commands are
• Create Publisher
• Subscribe To
• Publisher/Subscriber Options (context-sensitive toggle
command)
• Show/Hide Borders (optional context-sensitive toggle command)
• Stop All Editions (optional command)
The Figure below shows a sample Edit menu that includes the required
commands.
A sample Edit menu
If you find that you need all of the available space in the Edit menu for your
application's commands, another way to accommodate the
Edition Manager commands is by implementing a hierarchical menu.
Include a Publishing command in the Edit menu as the title of the sub-menu.
Use the standard indicator for a hierarchical menu, as shown in the Figure
below, which also shows the submenu with the Edition Manager commands.
Because hierarchical menus increase the complexity of your application, it's
best to only use this approach when you have no other alternative.
A sample hierarchical menu with Edition Manager commands
The user interface issues, as well as the technical implementation of
information related to the Edition Manager capabilities, are described in
the Edition Manager.
Font Menu
System 7.0 includes TrueType fonts. If you decide to incorporate basic
support for TrueType fonts into your application, remove the 127-point size
limit for bitmapped fonts. Provide support for all font sizes in your
application. Continue to outline font sizes in the menu for those sizes that
appear in the user's System file. Use plain type for font sizes that are not in
the System file. If a TrueType font is present, outline all sizes of that font that
you display in the menu. Provide a way for users to choose whatever font size
they desire. When the user chooses a font size, place a checkmark next to the
active font size.
One method that you can use to support TrueType fonts is to add an Other
command to the end of the Size menu (or the end of the Font menu, if that's
where your application allows users to choose font sizes). When the user
chooses Other, display a dialog box that allows the user to choose any available
font size. You can include a text box in which users can type the font size they
want. If the user enters a font size that's not currently on the menu, add it to
the list of choices. If the user is adding a TrueType font size, outline the size
when you add it to the menu. If the user is working with a bitmapped font, show
the new size in plain type. Provide a real-time display area to update the font
size as the user changes it. The Figure below displays a sample pull-down Size
menu and font size dialog box. See the
Font Manager for more information on TrueType fonts.
A sample pull-down Size menu and font size dialog box
Help Menu
System 7.0 includes on-line help for system software. The user can access
Apple's Balloon Help from the Help menu. If you provide help information for
your application, move the help commands that you provide to the Help menu.
It's a good idea to include the name of your application next to your help
command so that the user can easily distinguish the type of help to choose. For
example, you might include a command called TeachText Help in the Help
menu. The Figure below shows the Help menu.
The Help menu
You can also use the Help Manager to implement Balloon Help for your
application. See the Help Manager for more information and implementation
details.
Keyboard Equivalents
In the past, several keyboard equivalents were reserved by Apple for common
commands. The two Tables below show the standard Macintosh keyboard
equivalents.
Table Apple reserved keyboard equivalents for all systems
Menu Keys Command Menu Keys Command
File -N New Edit -Z Undo
File -O OpenöEdit -X Cut
File -W Close Edit -C Copy
File -S Save Edit -V Paste
File -P PrintïEdit -A Select All
File -Q Quit
The Table below shows several keyboard equivalents that are reserved for use
with worldwide versions of system software, localized keyboards, and keyboard
layouts. These keyboard equivalents have actions that do not correspond
directly to menu commands, so there is no menu column with command names
in the Table below.
Table Additional reserved keyboard equivalents for worldwide systems
Keys Action
-Space bar Rotate through enabled script systems
-Option-Space bar Rotate through keyboard layouts within a
script
-modifier key-Space bar Apple reserved
See the section on keyboard equivalents in the section en titled,
Worldwide Software Overview for more discussion of handling keyboard
equivalents in other script systems.
These key combinations are reserved across all applications. Even if your
application does not support one of these menu commands, it should not use
these keyboard equivalents for another function. This guideline is for the
user's benefit. Reserving these key combinations provides guaranteed,
predictable behavior across all applications.
Creating a situation where Command-O means open 99 percent of the time and
ostracize 1 percent of the time would do two things. First, users would not
consider using Command-O for the latter function because it is used by all
other applications to mean open. Second, changing the meaning of Command-O
in your application would weaken the user's perception of the consistency of
the interface.
Some applications use other common keyboard equivalents, as shown in the
Table below.
These keyboard equivalents are secondary to the standard keyboard
equivalents listed above. If your product does not support one of these
functions, then use these equivalents as you wish.
Table Other common keyboard equivalents
Menu Keys Command Menu Keys Command
File -F Find Style -B Bold
File -G Find Again Style -I Italic
Style -T Plain Text Style -U Underline
You should not assign keyboard equivalents for infrequently used menu
commands. Doing so only burdens your users and constrains your application.
Only add keyboard equivalents for the commands your users employ most
frequently.
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