Menu

Create application menus, context menus, and menu items with full keyboard shortcut support.

Overview

The Electron.Menu API provides comprehensive control over application menus and context menus. It supports native platform menus with custom menu items, submenus, keyboard shortcuts, and role-based menu items.

Key Methods

Application Menu

SetApplicationMenu(MenuItem[])

Parameters:

• menuItems - Array of MenuItem objects defining the application menu

Description: Sets the application menu for the entire application.

Context Menus

SetContextMenu(BrowserWindow, MenuItem[])

Parameters:

• browserWindow - The browser window to attach the context menu to
• menuItems - Array of MenuItem objects defining the context menu

Description: Sets a context menu for a specific browser window.

ContextMenuPopup(BrowserWindow)

Parameters:

• browserWindow - The browser window to show the context menu for

Description: Shows the context menu for the specified browser window.

Properties

MenuItems

Type: IReadOnlyCollection

Description: Gets a read-only collection of all current application menu items.

ContextMenuItems

Type: IReadOnlyDictionary<int, ReadOnlyCollection>

Description: Gets a read-only dictionary of all current context menu items, keyed by browser window ID.

Usage Examples

Application Menu

// Create application menu
var menuItems = new[]
{
    new MenuItem
    {
        Label = "File",
        Submenu = new[]
        {
            new MenuItem { Label = "New", Click = () => CreateNewDocument() },
            new MenuItem { Label = "Open", Click = () => OpenDocument() },
            new MenuItem { Type = MenuType.Separator },
            new MenuItem { Label = "Exit", Click = () => Electron.App.Quit() }
        }
    },
    new MenuItem
    {
        Label = "Edit",
        Submenu = new[]
        {
            new MenuItem { Role = MenuRole.Undo },
            new MenuItem { Role = MenuRole.Redo },
            new MenuItem { Type = MenuType.Separator },
            new MenuItem { Role = MenuRole.Cut },
            new MenuItem { Role = MenuRole.Copy },
            new MenuItem { Role = MenuRole.Paste }
        }
    },
    new MenuItem
    {
        Label = "View",
        Submenu = new[]
        {
            new MenuItem { Role = MenuRole.Reload },
            new MenuItem { Role = MenuRole.ForceReload },
            new MenuItem { Role = MenuRole.ToggleDevTools },
            new MenuItem { Type = MenuType.Separator },
            new MenuItem { Role = MenuRole.ResetZoom },
            new MenuItem { Role = MenuRole.ZoomIn },
            new MenuItem { Role = MenuRole.ZoomOut }
        }
    },
    new MenuItem
    {
        Label = "Window",
        Submenu = new[]
        {
            new MenuItem { Role = MenuRole.Minimize },
            new MenuItem { Role = MenuRole.Close }
        }
    }
};

// Set application menu
Electron.Menu.SetApplicationMenu(menuItems);

Context Menu

// Create context menu for specific window
var contextMenuItems = new[]
{
    new MenuItem { Label = "Copy", Click = () => CopySelectedText() },
    new MenuItem { Label = "Paste", Click = () => PasteText() },
    new MenuItem { Type = MenuType.Separator },
    new MenuItem { Label = "Inspect Element", Click = () => InspectElement() }
};

// Set context menu for window
Electron.Menu.SetContextMenu(mainWindow, contextMenuItems);

// Show context menu programmatically
Electron.Menu.ContextMenuPopup(mainWindow);

Menu with Keyboard Shortcuts

// Create menu with keyboard shortcuts
var menuItems = new[]
{
    new MenuItem
    {
        Label = "File",
        Submenu = new[]
        {
            new MenuItem
            {
                Label = "New",
                Accelerator = "CmdOrCtrl+N",
                Click = () => CreateNewDocument()
            },
            new MenuItem
            {
                Label = "Open",
                Accelerator = "CmdOrCtrl+O",
                Click = () => OpenDocument()
            },
            new MenuItem
            {
                Label = "Save",
                Accelerator = "CmdOrCtrl+S",
                Click = () => SaveDocument()
            }
        }
    }
};

Electron.Menu.SetApplicationMenu(menuItems);

Dynamic Menu Updates

// Update menu items dynamically
var fileMenu = Electron.Menu.MenuItems.FirstOrDefault(m => m.Label == "File");
if (fileMenu?.Submenu != null)
{
    var saveItem = fileMenu.Submenu.FirstOrDefault(m => m.Label == "Save");
    if (saveItem != null)
    {
        saveItem.Enabled = HasUnsavedChanges;
    }
}

Platform-Specific Menus

// macOS specific menu items
if (RuntimeInformation.IsOSPlatform(OSPlatform.OSX))
{
    var macMenuItems = new[]
    {
        new MenuItem
        {
            Label = "MyApp",
            Submenu = new[]
            {
                new MenuItem { Role = MenuRole.About },
                new MenuItem { Type = MenuType.Separator },
                new MenuItem { Role = MenuRole.Services },
                new MenuItem { Type = MenuType.Separator },
                new MenuItem { Role = MenuRole.Hide },
                new MenuItem { Role = MenuRole.HideOthers },
                new MenuItem { Role = MenuRole.Unhide },
                new MenuItem { Type = MenuType.Separator },
                new MenuItem { Role = MenuRole.Quit }
            }
        }
    };

    // Insert before File menu
    var allMenus = new List<MenuItem>(macMenuItems);
    allMenus.AddRange(menuItems);
    Electron.Menu.SetApplicationMenu(allMenus.ToArray());
}

Related APIs

• Electron.WindowManager - Windows for context menus
• Electron.App - Application lifecycle events
• Electron.GlobalShortcut - Global keyboard shortcuts

Additional Resources

• Electron Menu Documentation - Official Electron menu API