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Motif and CDE 2.1 Style Guide Reference

Tear-Off Menu (Menu Type) Tear-Off Choice (Choice Type)

Reference

Description

A tear-off menu is a menu that has been torn off using the tear-off choice within it.

A tear-off choice is a kind of action choice that, when activated, tears off the control containing the choice.

Figure 68. Tear-Off Menu.




View figure.
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View figure.

When to Use

Recommended
Allow the user to tear off a menu when the user is likely to want to make a number of choices from a pull-down menu.

Recommended
By default, allow a user to tear off a menu when the user will frequently access the menu.

Recommended
Allow the user to configure any pop-up or cascaded menu, other than an option menu, to be torn off.

Guidelines

Required
Make a tear-off choice the first choice in a menu.

Required
When a menu is torn off, the resulting tear-off menu should contain the same choices, in the same order and with the same availability, as the pull-down menu.

Required
A torn-off menu should not contain the tear-off choice from which it was created.

Required
When the user tears off a pull-down menu, or a menu cascaded from one, ensure that the presence, order, availability, and function of the items in the tear-off menu remain identical to those in the corresponding menu.

Required
When the user tears off a menu popped up over a multiple-element selection (or a menu cascaded from one), ensure that the presence, order, availability, and function of the menu items remain consistent with whatever is currently selected in the same scope. Also, ensure that they remain identical to the corresponding menu newly popped up over (or cascaded from) a multiple-element selection.

Required
When the user tears off a menu popped up on an object that is unselected, or is the only one selected, ensure that the presence, order, availability, and function of the menu items remain consistent with that object. Also, ensure that they remain identical to the corresponding menu newly popped up over (or cascaded from) the object if it was unselected or the only one selected.

Required
When the user tears off a menu popped up in the background (or a menu cascaded from one), ensure that the presence, order, availability, and function of the menu items remain consistent with the state of the selection scope as a whole. Also, ensure that they remain identical to the corresponding menu newly popped up over (or cascaded from) the background.

Required
When the user tears off a menu popped up on an element that is not selectable or that does not include a selection scope (or a menu cascaded from one), ensure that the presence, availability, and function of the menu items remain consistent with the state of the element. Also, ensure that they remain identical to the corresponding menu newly popped up over (or cascaded from) the element.

Required
Allow a user to display and interact in the usual way with a menu, even when it corresponds to a currently displayed tear-off menu.

Required
The displaying of a menu should have no effect on the display of its corresponding tear-off menu.

Required
When a menu is torn off and a corresponding torn-off menu already exists, remove the existing torn-off menu.

Recommended
The title of a torn-off menu should unambiguously reflect the identity or category of the elements to which it applies.

Recommended
When a cascaded menu is torn off, include the label of the cascading choice in the title of the torn-off menu.

Required
Always display a tear-off menu in an ordinary modeless secondary window whose parent is the window with the tear-off choice.

Required
When the user activates a tear-off choice in a menu, tear off the menu, deactivate the original menu's menu system, and display the resulting tear-off menu in a secondary window at or near the location of the original menu.

Required
When the user drags a tear-off choice in a menu while holding the TRANSFER button, tear off the menu and deactivate its menu system. When the drag is completed, place the menu in a secondary window so that its title is at the location of the drop.

Required
When the user tears off a menu, move the input focus to the tear-off menu, if an explicit focus policy is in use at the workspace level.

Recommended
Allow the user to move and resize the torn-off menu.

Required
Allow the user to remove a tear-off menu's window by providing the Close choice in its window menu.

Required
When focus is on a torn-off menu and the user presses Cancel or Escape, remove the torn-off menu.

Required
Redisplay a tear-off menu when the user moves focus back to a window that had an applicable tear-off menu that was automatically removed.

Optional
If a displayed tear-off menu is not applicable to the window that has focus, remove it.

Recommended
To display a tear-off choice in a menu, use a dashed line graphic or other graphic that symbolizes a perforation.

Essential Related Topics

For more information, see the Action (Choice Type), Input Focus, Menu (Control), Pop-Up Menu (Menu Type), Pull-Down Menu (Menu Type), and Secondary Window reference pages.

Supplemental Related Topics

For more information, see the Drag-and-Drop Transfer, Selection, and Spring-Loaded (Control Type) reference pages.

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