The Menu Data Form

The Menu Data form is used to create and manage an application's menus and buttons. The sublist lets you select already defined buttons for use in the menus. Unlike in the Menu Item Data form, you can also create new menu items and set their master attributes.


In the Menu Data form you can


Sublists

Selection Assignment


Fields and functions in the header form

Menue Name name of a menu or button area
Object Title the objects's title
Maximum Length a menu's maximum visible length
Comments comments on a menu record

Reconfigure updates the copy of the menu or button area in main memory
Delete deletes the menu or button area definition from the database
Mask Assignment Shows a menu or button area's usage in masks

Menue Name

Name of a menu or button area.

attribute master attribute for menu (T_MENU)
type, entry string, entry optional
max. no. of characters 20
selection tool no
multilingual field no

The name uniquely identifies the menu or button area. You'll want to use consistent naming conventions, to differentiate between menus and button areas.


Special Menu names

TOP
the application's top menu bar

TOP@MAS
the dynamic Edit menu in the top menu bar

WINDOW
the dynamic Windows menu in the top menu bar

VIEWBAR
a dynamic View menu to show and hide toolbars

VIEWWIN
a dynamic View menu to show or hide dockable windows (Browser, Messages windows).

More information: -> Top menu bars, -> Dynamic pull-down menus


Special button area names

TOP_BUT
the application's main toolbar

More information: -> Toolbars

Title

The menu or button area's title

attribute master attribute for menu (T_MENU)
type, entry string, entry optional
max. no. of characters 40
selection tool no
multilingual field no

The title is used in error messages.

For toolbars, the title is automatically displayed in the dynamic view menu VIEWBAR, and also in the toolbar's title bar, when it is positioned freely on the desktop.

Maximum Length

A menu's maximum visible length

attribute master attribute for menu (T_MENU)
type, entry Integer, entry required, > 0
max. no. of characters 5
selection tool no
multilingual field no

Although you must enter a value for button areas, this field only affects how menus are displayed.

More information: -> Menu display options

Comments

Comments on the menu or button area record

attribute master attribute for menu (T_MENU)
type, entry string, entry optional
max. no. of characters 252
selection tool no
multilingual field no

Reconfigure

Updates the copy of the menu or button area in main memory

A new or modified menu or button area (its menu attributes, item assignments) must first be copied into main memory, before changes are visible in the user interface.


Menu components

When you create a menu component in local memory, DataView automatically updates all the menus in main memory to which the component belongs (even indirectly). Parent objects which are already in main memory need not be updated.

Delete

Deletes the menu or button area definition from the database.


Deleting from the database (menus and button areas):

The menu can only be deleted from the database under these conditions:

Attention! The menu definition is immediately and permanently deleted from the database. It cannot be recovered from the trash.

Mask Assignment

Opens the Mask Assignment form and displays the how the menu or button area is used in the corresponding masks.