Context Menus

Context Menus

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In Figure 3-6, I've right-clicked on the Recycle Bin icon to display its context menu, which is a list of special actions or commands that affect only that object. The idea is that the options available for any given object in Windows depend upon the context , the set of circumstances under which you're operating. The "Empty Recycle Bin" option is shown here, since it is relevant to the context of the Recycle Bin, but since the Recycle Bin is currently empty here, the option is grayed out (disabled). Nearly all objects in Windows have their own context menus, almost always accessible with the right mouse button. See "Windows Explorer" in Chapter 4 for details on customizing the context menus for your files, folders, and certain Desktop items, and Chapter 8 for details on the way Windows stores file type information.

Figure 3-8. Right-click nearly any object to display its context menu, a list of actions that can be performed with the selected object

When a file or other object is selected (highlighted), press Shift-F10 to display the context menu. If you have a special Windows keyboard, there is a special key for this purpose, usually located to the right of the spacebar. The most frequently used item in most context menus is Properties, which can be more quickly accessed by pressing Alt-Enter. Other shortcuts for context menu items include Del, F2, Ctrl-X, Ctrl-C, and Ctrl-V for Delete, Rename, Cut, Copy, and Paste, respectively.

Notes

• The bold item (usually, but not always, at the top of any given context menu) is the default action, carried out when you double-click.

• Most new keyboards also include a context key (which looks like a menu with a pointer on it) that will open the context menu of any selected item.

Any program or command line on the system can be made into a new "verb" on a context menu using View Options File Types Edit from any folder or Explorer window. (To create new verbs directly in the Registry, see O'Reilly's Windows XP Annoyances , by David Karp. Note that customizing the context menu for HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell lets you create verbs for all files; normally they'll apply to particular file types, based in turn on file extensions; objectsdrive, folder, unknown, etc.; or URL prefixes http , ftp , etc.)

• Context menus exist for all major interface elementsfiles, folders (including system folders like My Computer, Network Neighborhood, Recycle Bin, and My Briefcase), the Desktop, the Taskbar, the System Tray, and so onbut they often also exist for elements within an application window or dialog. If you're ever stuck, try right-clicking on a user -interface element and see if anything helpful pops up.

• Individual buttons or other user interface elements often have a context menu consisting of the single entry "What's This?", which gives a short description of what that element is used for. In other cases, the context menu is more extensive . For example, right-clicking on the files on your Desktop (or even on an empty area of the Desktop) provides access to the features that would otherwise be unavailable due to the absence of a standard menu. Of particular use is the New entry, which allows you to create a new Folder, Shortcut, or empty file.

• Right-clicking on the titlebar or the Taskbar button for an open application displays the context menu for the window, commonly known as the Control menu, also accessible by clicking on the upper-left icon (see "Windows", later in this chapter). Right-clicking in the body of the window gives you the context menu for the application or the selected element within the application, if one exists. Note that this is different from the context menu that you get by clicking on the program's shortcut icon when it is not running.

• See "Send To," later in this chapter, for details on the Send To command found in the context menu for files and folders.