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+*usr_42.txt* For Vim version 8.1. Last change: 2008 May 05
+
+ VIM USER MANUAL - by Bram Moolenaar
+
+ Add new menus
+
+
+By now you know that Vim is very flexible. This includes the menus used in
+the GUI. You can define your own menu entries to make certain commands easily
+accessible. This is for mouse-happy users only.
+
+|42.1| Introduction
+|42.2| Menu commands
+|42.3| Various
+|42.4| Toolbar and popup menus
+
+ Next chapter: |usr_43.txt| Using filetypes
+ Previous chapter: |usr_41.txt| Write a Vim script
+Table of contents: |usr_toc.txt|
+
+==============================================================================
+*42.1* Introduction
+
+The menus that Vim uses are defined in the file "$VIMRUNTIME/menu.vim". If
+you want to write your own menus, you might first want to look through that
+file.
+ To define a menu item, use the ":menu" command. The basic form of this
+command is as follows: >
+
+ :menu {menu-item} {keys}
+
+The {menu-item} describes where on the menu to put the item. A typical
+{menu-item} is "File.Save", which represents the item "Save" under the
+"File" menu. A dot is used to separate the names. Example: >
+
+ :menu File.Save :update<CR>
+
+The ":update" command writes the file when it was modified.
+ You can add another level: "Edit.Settings.Shiftwidth" defines a submenu
+"Settings" under the "Edit" menu, with an item "Shiftwidth". You could use
+even deeper levels. Don't use this too much, you need to move the mouse quite
+a bit to use such an item.
+ The ":menu" command is very similar to the ":map" command: the left side
+specifies how the item is triggered and the right hand side defines the
+characters that are executed. {keys} are characters, they are used just like
+you would have typed them. Thus in Insert mode, when {keys} is plain text,
+that text is inserted.
+
+
+ACCELERATORS
+
+The ampersand character (&) is used to indicate an accelerator. For instance,
+you can use Alt-F to select "File" and S to select "Save". (The 'winaltkeys'
+option may disable this though!). Therefore, the {menu-item} looks like
+"&File.&Save". The accelerator characters will be underlined in the menu.
+ You must take care that each key is used only once in each menu. Otherwise
+you will not know which of the two will actually be used. Vim doesn't warn
+you for this.
+
+
+PRIORITIES
+
+The actual definition of the File.Save menu item is as follows: >
+
+ :menu 10.340 &File.&Save<Tab>:w :confirm w<CR>
+
+The number 10.340 is called the priority number. It is used by the editor to
+decide where it places the menu item. The first number (10) indicates the
+position on the menu bar. Lower numbered menus are positioned to the left,
+higher numbers to the right.
+ These are the priorities used for the standard menus:
+
+ 10 20 40 50 60 70 9999
+
+ +------------------------------------------------------------+
+ | File Edit Tools Syntax Buffers Window Help |
+ +------------------------------------------------------------+
+
+Notice that the Help menu is given a very high number, to make it appear on
+the far right.
+ The second number (340) determines the location of the item within the
+pull-down menu. Lower numbers go on top, higher number on the bottom. These
+are the priorities in the File menu:
+
+ +-----------------+
+ 10.310 |Open... |
+ 10.320 |Split-Open... |
+ 10.325 |New |
+ 10.330 |Close |
+ 10.335 |---------------- |
+ 10.340 |Save |
+ 10.350 |Save As... |
+ 10.400 |---------------- |
+ 10.410 |Split Diff with |
+ 10.420 |Split Patched By |
+ 10.500 |---------------- |
+ 10.510 |Print |
+ 10.600 |---------------- |
+ 10.610 |Save-Exit |
+ 10.620 |Exit |
+ +-----------------+
+
+Notice that there is room in between the numbers. This is where you can
+insert your own items, if you really want to (it's often better to leave the
+standard menus alone and add a new menu for your own items).
+ When you create a submenu, you can add another ".number" to the priority.
+Thus each name in {menu-item} has its priority number.
+
+
+SPECIAL CHARACTERS
+
+The {menu-item} in this example is "&File.&Save<Tab>:w". This brings up an
+important point: {menu-item} must be one word. If you want to put a dot,
+space or tabs in the name, you either use the <> notation (<Space> and <Tab>,
+for instance) or use the backslash (\) escape. >
+
+ :menu 10.305 &File.&Do\ It\.\.\. :exit<CR>
+
+In this example, the name of the menu item "Do It..." contains a space and the
+command is ":exit<CR>".
+
+The <Tab> character in a menu name is used to separate the part that defines
+the menu name from the part that gives a hint to the user. The part after the
+<Tab> is displayed right aligned in the menu. In the File.Save menu the name
+used is "&File.&Save<Tab>:w". Thus the menu name is "File.Save" and the hint
+is ":w".
+
+
+SEPARATORS
+
+The separator lines, used to group related menu items together, can be defined
+by using a name that starts and ends in a '-'. For example "-sep-". When
+using several separators the names must be different. Otherwise the names
+don't matter.
+ The command from a separator will never be executed, but you have to define
+one anyway. A single colon will do. Example: >
+
+ :amenu 20.510 Edit.-sep3- :
+
+==============================================================================
+*42.2* Menu commands
+
+You can define menu items that exist for only certain modes. This works just
+like the variations on the ":map" command:
+
+ :menu Normal, Visual and Operator-pending mode
+ :nmenu Normal mode
+ :vmenu Visual mode
+ :omenu Operator-pending mode
+ :menu! Insert and Command-line mode
+ :imenu Insert mode
+ :cmenu Command-line mode
+ :tlmenu Terminal mode
+ :amenu All modes (except for Terminal mode)
+
+To avoid that the commands of a menu item are being mapped, use the command
+":noremenu", ":nnoremenu", ":anoremenu", etc.
+
+
+USING :AMENU
+
+The ":amenu" command is a bit different. It assumes that the {keys} you
+give are to be executed in Normal mode. When Vim is in Visual or Insert mode
+when the menu is used, Vim first has to go back to Normal mode. ":amenu"
+inserts a CTRL-C or CTRL-O for you. For example, if you use this command:
+>
+ :amenu 90.100 Mine.Find\ Word *
+
+Then the resulting menu commands will be:
+
+ Normal mode: *
+ Visual mode: CTRL-C *
+ Operator-pending mode: CTRL-C *
+ Insert mode: CTRL-O *
+ Command-line mode: CTRL-C *
+
+When in Command-line mode the CTRL-C will abandon the command typed so far.
+In Visual and Operator-pending mode CTRL-C will stop the mode. The CTRL-O in
+Insert mode will execute the command and then return to Insert mode.
+ CTRL-O only works for one command. If you need to use two or more
+commands, put them in a function and call that function. Example: >
+
+ :amenu Mine.Next\ File :call <SID>NextFile()<CR>
+ :function <SID>NextFile()
+ : next
+ : 1/^Code
+ :endfunction
+
+This menu entry goes to the next file in the argument list with ":next". Then
+it searches for the line that starts with "Code".
+ The <SID> before the function name is the script ID. This makes the
+function local to the current Vim script file. This avoids problems when a
+function with the same name is defined in another script file. See |<SID>|.
+
+
+SILENT MENUS
+
+The menu executes the {keys} as if you typed them. For a ":" command this
+means you will see the command being echoed on the command line. If it's a
+long command, the hit-Enter prompt will appear. That can be very annoying!
+ To avoid this, make the menu silent. This is done with the <silent>
+argument. For example, take the call to NextFile() in the previous example.
+When you use this menu, you will see this on the command line:
+
+ :call <SNR>34_NextFile() ~
+
+To avoid this text on the command line, insert "<silent>" as the first
+argument: >
+
+ :amenu <silent> Mine.Next\ File :call <SID>NextFile()<CR>
+
+Don't use "<silent>" too often. It is not needed for short commands. If you
+make a menu for someone else, being able the see the executed command will
+give him a hint about what he could have typed, instead of using the mouse.
+
+
+LISTING MENUS
+
+When a menu command is used without a {keys} part, it lists the already
+defined menus. You can specify a {menu-item}, or part of it, to list specific
+menus. Example: >
+
+ :amenu
+
+This lists all menus. That's a long list! Better specify the name of a menu
+to get a shorter list: >
+
+ :amenu Edit
+
+This lists only the "Edit" menu items for all modes. To list only one
+specific menu item for Insert mode: >
+
+ :imenu Edit.Undo
+
+Take care that you type exactly the right name. Case matters here. But the
+'&' for accelerators can be omitted. The <Tab> and what comes after it can be
+left out as well.
+
+
+DELETING MENUS
+
+To delete a menu, the same command is used as for listing, but with "menu"
+changed to "unmenu". Thus ":menu" becomes, ":unmenu", ":nmenu" becomes
+":nunmenu", etc. To delete the "Tools.Make" item for Insert mode: >
+
+ :iunmenu Tools.Make
+
+You can delete a whole menu, with all its items, by using the menu name.
+Example: >
+
+ :aunmenu Syntax
+
+This deletes the Syntax menu and all the items in it.
+
+==============================================================================
+*42.3* Various
+
+You can change the appearance of the menus with flags in 'guioptions'. In the
+default value they are all included, except "M". You can remove a flag with a
+command like: >
+
+ :set guioptions-=m
+<
+ m When removed the menubar is not displayed.
+
+ M When added the default menus are not loaded.
+
+ g When removed the inactive menu items are not made grey
+ but are completely removed. (Does not work on all
+ systems.)
+
+ t When removed the tearoff feature is not enabled.
+
+The dotted line at the top of a menu is not a separator line. When you select
+this item, the menu is "teared-off": It is displayed in a separate window.
+This is called a tearoff menu. This is useful when you use the same menu
+often.
+
+For translating menu items, see |:menutrans|.
+
+Since the mouse has to be used to select a menu item, it is a good idea to use
+the ":browse" command for selecting a file. And ":confirm" to get a dialog
+instead of an error message, e.g., when the current buffer contains changes.
+These two can be combined: >
+
+ :amenu File.Open :browse confirm edit<CR>
+
+The ":browse" makes a file browser appear to select the file to edit. The
+":confirm" will pop up a dialog when the current buffer has changes. You can
+then select to save the changes, throw them away or cancel the command.
+ For more complicated items, the confirm() and inputdialog() functions can
+be used. The default menus contain a few examples.
+
+==============================================================================
+*42.4* Toolbar and popup menus
+
+There are two special menus: ToolBar and PopUp. Items that start with these
+names do not appear in the normal menu bar.
+
+
+TOOLBAR
+
+The toolbar appears only when the "T" flag is included in the 'guioptions'
+option.
+ The toolbar uses icons rather than text to represent the command. For
+example, the {menu-item} named "ToolBar.New" causes the "New" icon to appear
+on the toolbar.
+ The Vim editor has 28 built-in icons. You can find a table here:
+|builtin-tools|. Most of them are used in the default toolbar. You can
+redefine what these items do (after the default menus are setup).
+ You can add another bitmap for a toolbar item. Or define a new toolbar
+item with a bitmap. For example, define a new toolbar item with: >
+
+ :tmenu ToolBar.Compile Compile the current file
+ :amenu ToolBar.Compile :!cc %:S -o %:r:S<CR>
+
+Now you need to create the icon. For MS-Windows it must be in bitmap format,
+with the name "Compile.bmp". For Unix XPM format is used, the file name is
+"Compile.xpm". The size must be 18 by 18 pixels. On MS-Windows other sizes
+can be used as well, but it will look ugly.
+ Put the bitmap in the directory "bitmaps" in one of the directories from
+'runtimepath'. E.g., for Unix "~/.vim/bitmaps/Compile.xpm".
+
+You can define tooltips for the items in the toolbar. A tooltip is a short
+text that explains what a toolbar item will do. For example "Open file". It
+appears when the mouse pointer is on the item, without moving for a moment.
+This is very useful if the meaning of the picture isn't that obvious.
+Example: >
+
+ :tmenu ToolBar.Make Run make in the current directory
+<
+ Note:
+ Pay attention to the case used. "Toolbar" and "toolbar" are different
+ from "ToolBar"!
+
+To remove a tooltip, use the |:tunmenu| command.
+
+The 'toolbar' option can be used to display text instead of a bitmap, or both
+text and a bitmap. Most people use just the bitmap, since the text takes
+quite a bit of space.
+
+
+POPUP MENU
+
+The popup menu pops up where the mouse pointer is. On MS-Windows you activate
+it by clicking the right mouse button. Then you can select an item with the
+left mouse button. On Unix the popup menu is used by pressing and holding the
+right mouse button.
+ The popup menu only appears when the 'mousemodel' has been set to "popup"
+or "popup_setpos". The difference between the two is that "popup_setpos"
+moves the cursor to the mouse pointer position. When clicking inside a
+selection, the selection will be used unmodified. When there is a selection
+but you click outside of it, the selection is removed.
+ There is a separate popup menu for each mode. Thus there are never grey
+items like in the normal menus.
+
+What is the meaning of life, the universe and everything? *42*
+Douglas Adams, the only person who knew what this question really was about is
+now dead, unfortunately. So now you might wonder what the meaning of death
+is...
+
+==============================================================================
+
+Next chapter: |usr_43.txt| Using filetypes
+
+Copyright: see |manual-copyright| vim:tw=78:ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl: