Inserting menu items in a descendant menu – PB Docs 2017

Modifying the
ShiftToRight property

When defining a descendant menu, you might want to insert menu
items in the middle of the menu bar or in the middle of a drop-down or
cascading menu. To do this, you set the ShiftToRight property in a
menu item’s Properties view on the General property page.

If the ancestor menu has no menu items with ShiftToRight set,
you can add a new menu item to the end of the descendant menu. To add
new menu items elsewhere in the menu, set the ShiftToRight property
for the descendant menu items that will follow the new menu
item.

The ShiftToRight property is used for menu items on the menu bar
(where items need to shift right if a new item is inserted) and for
menu items in a drop-down or cascading menu (where items might need to
shift down if a new item is inserted). The property name is
ShiftToRight, but it means shift down in drop-down or cascading
menus.

Where you set the ShiftToRight
property

You set the ShiftToRight property in an ancestor menu only if
you know that you will always want a group of menu items to shift
right (or down) when you inherit from the menu and add a new menu
item. For example, if you have File, Edit, Window, and Help menus on
the menu bar, set the ShiftToRight property for the Window and Help
menu items if you are going to inherit from this menu, because Window
and Help are usually the last items on a menu bar.

Where you can insert menu
items in a descendant menu

In a descendant menu, a group of menu items can be one of four
types. Each type has an insertion rule.

The Example with no ShiftToRight in
ancestor and the Example with
ShiftToRight in ancestor demonstrate some of these
rules.

How to insert menu items in a descendant
menu

If you can insert a menu item in a descendant menu, the Insert
Menu Item option on the Insert menu and the pop-up menu is enabled.
The Insert Menu Item is enabled if ShiftToRight is set in the selected
item that will follow the item you are inserting and all menu items
following it.

To insert a menu item in a descendant, you use the same method
you use to insert an item in a new menu, whether the menu item is on
the menu bar or on a drop-down or cascading menu. For information
about inserting menu items, see Working with
menu items.

The following examples illustrate where you can insert menu
items in a descendant menu and demonstrate the rules that govern where
you can insert them.

Example with no
ShiftToRight in ancestor

Suppose you have a menu with File, Edit, Window, and Help items
on the menu bar. The menu is inherited from an ancestor frame menu
with no items set as ShiftToRight in the ancestor.

Here is how you might add some new menu items. Since
ShiftToRight is not set anywhere at first, you can add a menu item
only to the end.

Select any item in the menu bar and select Insert>Menu Item
At End.

Name the new menu item New1 and press Enter.

The New1 menu item is added to the right of the Help
menu.

Now add a new Menu item before the New1 menu item. You can do
this without setting ShiftToRight on New1, because New1 is a new menu
item in the inherited menu.

Select Insert Menu Item from the pop-up menu for New1.

Name the new menu item New2 and press Enter.

Now add a new Menu item before the Help menu item. You cannot do
this unless you set ShiftToRight on the Help menu item, the New2 Menu
item, and the New1 menu item, because Help is an inherited menu item
without ShiftToRight set in the ancestor menu. For Help to shift
right, New2 and New1 must also be able to shift right.

Select the Help menu item and in the Properties view, select the
ShiftToRight property, and then do the same for New1 and New2.

Now you can add a new menu item before the Help menu
item.

Select the Help menu item, then select Insert New Item from the
pop-up menu, name the new item New3, and then press Enter.

If you want to add a new Menu item before the New3 menu item,
you can do it without setting ShiftToRight on New3, because New3 is a
new menu item and ShiftToRight is set in all items that follow.

However, if you want to add a new menu item before the Window
menu item, you cannot do this by working only in the descendant menu
because the Window menu item is an ancestor menu item and ShiftToRight
is not set in the ancestor. To be able to do this, you must set Window
as ShiftToRight in the ancestor.

Example with ShiftToRight
in ancestor

In this example, the inherited menu has the same four menu bar
items, but ShiftToRight has been set in the Window and Help menu items
in the ancestor menu. Suppose you want to insert a new menu item
before the Help menu item and the Window menu item.

Select the Help menu item and display the pop-up menu.

The Insert Menu Item option is disabled because the Help item is
not the first item in a group of ancestor menu items (Window and Help)
with ShiftToRight set in the ancestor.

Select the Window menu item and display the pop-up menu.

The Insert Menu Item option is enabled because the Window item
is the first item in a group of ancestor menu items with ShiftToRight
set in the ancestor.

Select Insert Menu Item At End from the pop-up menu to insert a
new menu item after Help, name it New1, and press Enter.

The New1 item’s ShiftToRight property is set
automatically.

Now the Window, Help, and New1 items are set ShiftToRight. You
can insert a new item before Window and New1, but not before Help.
This is because the Window and Help menu items are a group for which
ShiftToRight is set in the ancestor.

You cannot insert a new item before the Edit menu item because
Edit is in a group (File and Edit) that are inherited items with no
ShiftToRight set in the ancestor.

Select the Edit menu item, select ShiftToRight in the Properties
view, and then add a new menu item.

You could also have set the ShiftToRight property in the
ancestor menu, but it is easier to work just in the descendant.