FIX: Visual C++ Cascaded Menus Ignore Mouse Click (216335)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Enterprise Edition 5.0
  • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Enterprise Edition 6.0
  • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Professional Edition 5.0
  • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Professional Edition 6.0
  • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Learning Edition 6.0
This article was previously published under Q216335

SYMPTOMS

When a cascading menu is clicked in Microsoft Developer Studio, nothing happens. If the mouse remains over the menu item, the pop-up menu might appear after a period of time.

CAUSE

The delay for displaying cascading menus can be increased in the registry. Unlike other applications, Developer Studio does not override that delay when the mouse is clicked on the pop-up menu.

For example, if the delay for showing the cascaded menu is set to 10 seconds, then the cascaded menu will not show until the 10 seconds have elapsed. Clicking on it will not cause the pop-up menu to appear faster.

RESOLUTION

There are several ways to work around or fix this problem:
  • Use the shortcut keys for the menu items. This will cause the pop-up menu to appear immediately.
  • Press the RIGHT-ARROW key after selecting the cascading menu item. This method also overrides the delay.
  • The delay can also be modified directly using RegEdit.Exe. The registry key that controls this setting can be found at the following location:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\[MenuShowDelay]

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-wide problems that may require you to reinstall Windows to correct them. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use this tool at your own risk.

Microsoft STRONGLY recommends saving the current registry settings before starting this procedure. For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

103280 Using an Emergency Repair Disk Created by Windows NT

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a bug in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

This problem was corrected in Microsoft Visual C++ .NET.

MORE INFORMATION

A popular Microsoft download that changes this key through the control panel is called Tweak UI. This tool is unsupported. It can be downloaded from the following web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/contents/wutoys/nttweakui/default.asp

To modify the menu delay with this tool, follow these steps:
  1. In the Control panel, double-click TweakUI.
  2. On the Mouse tab of the Tweak UI utility, you can specify the Menu Speed.
  3. Change the speed to a faster value.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:12/11/2003
Keywords:kbBug kbDevStudio kbfix kbide kbNoUpdate kbRegistry KB216335
©2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.