PullDownMenu

A PullDownMenu appears directly below its MenuItem on the MenuBar. This section
explains how to expose a PullDownMenu, how to make a selection, and how to 
dismiss the menu without making a selection.


Methods to expose a PullDownMenu

Method1: (Mouse Drag)
Press and hold down the first mouse button on a MenuBar MenuItem. You can move 
the mouse along the MenuBar exposing each PullDownMenu in turn as long as you 
keep the button pressed and the MenuBar MenuItem title is not desensitized. As 
mentioned in the section on the MenuItem, a desensitized MenuItem cannot be
selected. Hence, you cannot pull down a menu from a desensitized MenuItem on 
the MenuBar. 

An opportunity for Method mix and match occurs when the PullDownMenu contains a 
PullAsideMenu: use Method1 to expose the PullAsideMenu then release the button 
when the cursor is in the PullAsideMenu's MenuItem (not in the PullAsideMenu).
Then, the PullAsideMenu stays up and you can use any method to manipulate it.

Method2: (Mouse Click)
Press and release the first mouse button on the PullDownMenu's MenuItem on the 
MenuBar. The menu will appear and stay there for subsequent manipulation.

Method3: (Mnemonic)
You can also use the keyboard to expose a PullDownMenu. Each MenuItem on the 
MenuBar has one character underlined. This character is called the mnemonic for
that MenuItem. For example, the File PullDownMenu has the F underlined. You 
use the Alt key with a mnemonic to expose the PullDownMenu. For example, to
expose the File menu, press and hold the Alt key on the keyboard, then hit the 
F key.

Method4: (Arrow Keys)
You may use the arrow keys to expose a PullDownMenu, but only after using 
Method2 or Method3 to expose one of the PullDownMenus first. After one is 
exposed, you can use the right and left arrow keys on the keyboard to expose a 
PullDownMenu adjacent to the one currently exposed.

Note that you will encounter a slight alteration in behavior when the first 
MenuItem in a PullDownMenu is actually a PullAsideMenu: the right arrow key will
expose the PullAsideMenu instead of exposing the PullDownMenu to the right.
However, if you press the right arrow key again, you will expose the next 
PullDownMenu (as long as the PullAsideMenu's first MenuItem is not another
PullAsideMenu!).


Methods to make a selection from a PullDownMenu

Method1: (Mouse Drag)
After you expose a PullDownMenu via Method1, continue to hold the button down 
and drag the mouse down along the length of the PullDownMenu. As you move the 
mouse up and down, the MenuItem beneath the cursor bubbles up slightly in 3D 
fashion. If you release the button when this happens, you activate the MenuItem
beneath the cursor. 

If you expose a PullDownMenu with any other Method, you may still use Method1 to
make a selection, but you must switch to Method1 by mousing down and holding the
first mouse button inside the PullDownMenu. 

Method2: (Mouse Click)
After you expose a PullDownMenu with any Method except for Method1, click the 
first mouse button with the cursor on the desired MenuItem.

Method3: (Mnemonic)
Once a PullDownMenu is exposed with Method2, Method3, or Method4 (above), you 
may activate a MenuItem by typing its mnemonic. Unlike exposing the 
PullDownMenu with a mnemonic, a selection by mnemonic does not use the Alt key; 
just use the mnemonic itself.

Method4: (Arrow Keys)
Once a PullDownMenu is exposed with Method2, Method3, or Method4, you may use 
the arrow keys (Up and Down) to move the selection bubble up and down within 
that menu. When you have bubbled the MenuItem you want, press the Return key 
to make the selection.

Method5: (Accelerator)
A key sequence appears to the right of a MenuItem's title if a MenuItem has an 
accelerator. Usually, accelerators utilize the Ctrl key. To activate the 
MenuItem, type out the accelerator key sequence. For example, Sun MTPScan ships 
with an accelerator sequence of Ctrl-Q for the Quit MenuItem in the File 
PullDownMenu. To quit the application, hit the Q key while holding down the 
Ctrl key.


Methods to dismiss a PullDownMenu without making a selection:

Method1: (Mouse Drag)
If you expose a PullDownMenu with Method1 and decide not to make a selection, 
move the cursor outside the PullDownMenu and release the button. Since the 
cursor is not on a MenuItem, no selection is made.

Method2: (Mouse Click)
If you expose a PullDownMenu with Method2, Method3, or Method4 and want to 
dismiss the menu without making a selection, move the cursor outside the 
PullDownMenu and click the button. Since the cursor is not on a MenuItem, no 
selection is made.

MethodESC: (Escape Key)
If you expose a PullDownMenu with Method2, Method3, or Method4 and want to 
dismiss the menu without making a selection, press the ESC key and the menu 
will disappear.

See also: MenuBar, MenuItem, PullAsideMenu
