Menu Class

Definition

public ref class Menu abstract : System::ComponentModel::Component

[System.ComponentModel.Browsable(false)]
[System.ComponentModel.ListBindable(false)]
[System.Obsolete("`Menu` is provided for binary compatibility with .NET Framework and is not intended to be used directly from your code. Use `ToolStripDropDown` and `ToolStripDropDownMenu` instead.", false, DiagnosticId="WFDEV006", UrlFormat="https://aka.ms/winforms-warnings/{0}")]
public abstract class Menu : System.ComponentModel.Component

[System.ComponentModel.ListBindable(false)]
public abstract class Menu : System.ComponentModel.Component

[<System.ComponentModel.Browsable(false)>]
[<System.ComponentModel.ListBindable(false)>]
[<System.Obsolete("`Menu` is provided for binary compatibility with .NET Framework and is not intended to be used directly from your code. Use `ToolStripDropDown` and `ToolStripDropDownMenu` instead.", false, DiagnosticId="WFDEV006", UrlFormat="https://aka.ms/winforms-warnings/{0}")>]
type Menu = class
    inherit Component

[<System.ComponentModel.ListBindable(false)>]
type Menu = class
    inherit Component

Public MustInherit Class Menu
Inherits Component

Inheritance

Object

MarshalByRefObject

Component

Menu

Derived

System.Windows.Forms.ContextMenu

System.Windows.Forms.MainMenu

System.Windows.Forms.MenuItem

Attributes

BrowsableAttribute ListBindableAttribute ObsoleteAttribute

Examples

The following code example uses the derived class, MenuItem, to create a menu structure for a form. The example code adds a MenuItem to represent the top-level menu item, adds a submenu item to it for selecting a font size, and then adds two submenu items to that menu item that represent large and small font choices in an application. The example requires that there is a MainMenu object named mainMenu1 and four MenuItem objects named menuItem1, menuItem2, menuItem3, and menuItem4.

public:
   void CreateMyMenu()
   {
      // Set the caption for the top-level menu item.
      menuItem1->Text = "Edit";
      // Set the caption for the first submenu.
      menuItem2->Text = "Font Size";
      // Set the caption for menuItem2's first submenu.
      menuItem3->Text = "Small";
      // Set the checked property to true since this is the default value.
      menuItem3->Checked = true;
      // Define a shortcut key combination for the menu item.
      menuItem3->Shortcut = Shortcut::CtrlS;
      // Set the caption of the second sub menu item of menuItem2.
      menuItem4->Text = "Large";
      // Define a shortcut key combination for the menu item.
      menuItem4->Shortcut = Shortcut::CtrlL;
      // Set the index of the menu item so it is placed below the first submenu item.
      menuItem4->Index = 1;
      // Add menuItem3 and menuItem4 to menuItem2's list of menu items.
      menuItem2->MenuItems->Add( menuItem3 );
      menuItem2->MenuItems->Add( menuItem4 );
      // Add menuItem2 to menuItem1's list of menu items.
      menuItem1->MenuItems->Add( menuItem2 );
      // Add menuItem1 to the MainMenu for displaying.
      mainMenu1->MenuItems->Add( menuItem1 );
   }

public void CreateMyMenu()
    {
    // Set the caption for the top-level menu item.
    menuItem1.Text = "Edit";
    // Set the caption for the first submenu.
    menuItem2.Text = "Font Size";
    // Set the caption for menuItem2's first submenu.
    menuItem3.Text = "Small";
    // Set the checked property to true since this is the default value.
    menuItem3.Checked = true;
    // Define a shortcut key combination for the menu item.
    menuItem3.Shortcut = Shortcut.CtrlS;
    // Set the caption of the second sub menu item of menuItem2.
    menuItem4.Text = "Large";
    // Define a shortcut key combination for the menu item.
    menuItem4.Shortcut = Shortcut.CtrlL;
    // Set the index of the menu item so it is placed below the first submenu item.
    menuItem4.Index = 1;
    // Add menuItem3 and menuItem4 to menuItem2's list of menu items.
    menuItem2.MenuItems.Add(menuItem3);
    menuItem2.MenuItems.Add(menuItem4);
    // Add menuItem2 to menuItem1's list of menu items.
    menuItem1.MenuItems.Add(menuItem2);
    // Add menuItem1 to the MainMenu for displaying.
    mainMenu1.MenuItems.Add(menuItem1);
    }

Public Sub CreateMyMenu()
    ' Set the caption for the top-level menu item.
    menuItem1.Text = "Edit"
    ' Set the caption for the first submenu.
    menuItem2.Text = "Font Size"
    ' Set the caption for menuItem2's first submenu.
    menuItem3.Text = "Small"
    ' Set the checked property to true since this is the default value.
    menuItem3.Checked = True
    ' Define a shortcut key combination for the menu item.
    menuItem3.Shortcut = Shortcut.CtrlS
    ' Set the caption of the second sub menu item of menuItem2.
    menuItem4.Text = "Large"
    ' Define a shortcut key combination for the menu item.
    menuItem4.Shortcut = Shortcut.CtrlL
    ' Set the index of the menu item so it is placed below the first submenu item.
    menuItem4.Index = 1
    ' Add menuItem3 and menuItem4 to menuItem2's list of menu items.
    menuItem2.MenuItems.Add(menuItem3)
    menuItem2.MenuItems.Add(menuItem4)
    ' Add menuItem2 to menuItem1's list of menu items.
    menuItem1.MenuItems.Add(menuItem2)
    ' Add menuItem1 to the MainMenu for displaying.
    mainMenu1.MenuItems.Add(menuItem1)
End Sub

Remarks

This class is not available in .NET Core 3.1 and later versions. Use ToolStripDropDown and ToolStripDropDownMenu instead.

This class is the base class for the MainMenu, MenuItem, and ContextMenu classes. You cannot create an instance of this class. The menus for an application consist of MenuItem objects. These can contain other MenuItem objects, representing submenu items. The MenuItem objects can be stored in a MainMenu for display as an entire menu structure for a form or a ContextMenu that is used to display shortcut menus. This class provides functionality that is common for all the menu classes.

Unlike many base classes, the Menu class uses its derived classes to define many of its properties. If you are using your menu in a multiple-document interface (MDI) application, you can use the MdiListItem property to specify a MenuItem that displays a list of open MDI child forms in your application. The MenuItems property contains a list of MenuItem objects stored in the menu class. For a MainMenu or ContextMenu, this property contains all the MenuItem objects that are displayed. For a MenuItem, the MenuItems property represents the submenu items associated with it.

In addition to the properties that are provided for all the derived menu classes, the Menu class also provides methods, such as CloneMenu and MergeMenu, that enable you to create new menus from existing menus, and also merge two menu structures together.

The Menu class also defines the nested class Menu.MenuItemCollection. This class defines the collection of MenuItem objects used by the MenuItems property. You can use the methods of the Menu.MenuItemCollection class to add and remove menu items from a MainMenu, ContextMenu, or MenuItem.

See also

• MainMenu
• ContextMenu
• MenuItem