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Motif and CDE 2.1 Style Guide Reference

Options (Menu)

Reference

Description

Options is a cascading choice that appears as a menu-bar item. It provides access to other menu items that enable a user to customize an application.

When to Use

Recommended
Provide an Options menu-bar item in each window that allows the user to tailor the appearance or behavior of the application.

Guidelines

Required
Provide choices in the Options menu that are specific to the application overall, not just to a particular view.

Required
Changes resulting from choices made in the Options menu do not change the underlying data being viewed.

Recommended
Provide choices in the Options menu that display dialogs through which the user can set default application options, such as whether New and Open opens a new window or replaces the contents of the current window.

Recommended
Provide choices in the Options menu (or in a dialog displayed via the Options menu) through which the user can set a level of expertise. Allow these settings to control the choices that appear in menus and the degree of explanation and assistance that the application provides.

Required
Do not use choices in the Options menu to set properties of objects or elements; use a Properties choice instead.

Essential Related Topics

For more information, see the Menu Guidelines and Object reference pages.

Supplemental Related Topics

For more information, see the Help (Menu/Action Choice) reference page.

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