- Qt 6.8
- Qt Quick Controls
- QML Types
- Menu
- Qt 6.8.1 Reference Documentation

# Menu QML Type

Menu popup that can be used as a context menu or popup menu. More...

Import Statement: | `import QtQuick.Controls`
Inherits: | Popup

- List of all members, including inherited members

## Properties

- cascade : bool `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`
- contentData : list<QtObject>
- contentModel : model
- count : int `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`
- currentIndex : int `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`
- delegate : Component `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`
- focus : bool
- icon
  - icon.cache : bool
  - icon.color : color
  - icon.height : int
  - icon.name : string
  - icon.source : url
  - icon.width : int
- overlap : real `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`
- title : string

## Methods

- Action actionAt(int index) `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`
- void addAction(Action action) `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`
- void addItem(Item item)
- void addMenu(Menu menu) `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`
- void dismiss() `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`
- void insertAction(int index, Action action) `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`
- void insertItem(int index, Item item)
- void insertMenu(int index, Menu menu) `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`
- Item itemAt(int index)
- Menu menuAt(int index) `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`
- void moveItem(int from, int to)
- void popup(MenuItem item) `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`
- void popup(Item parent, MenuItem item) `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`
- void popup(point pos, MenuItem item) `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`
- void popup(Item parent, point pos, MenuItem item) `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`
- void popup(real x, real y, MenuItem item) `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`
- void popup(Item parent, real x, real y, MenuItem item) `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`
- void removeAction(Action action) `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`
- void removeItem(Item item) `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`
- void removeMenu(Menu menu) `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`
- Action takeAction(int index) `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`
- MenuItem takeItem(int index) `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`
- Menu takeMenu(int index) `(since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10))`

## Detailed Description

Native macOS menu. | Non-native Material style menu.

Menu has two main use cases:

- Context menus; for example, a menu that is shown after right clicking
- Popup menus; for example, a menu that is shown after clicking a button

When used as a context menu, the recommended way of opening the menu is to call popup(). Unless a position is explicitly specified, the menu is positioned at the mouse cursor on desktop platforms that have a mouse cursor available, and otherwise centered over its parent item.

     MouseArea {
         anchors.fill: parent
         acceptedButtons: Qt.LeftButton | Qt.RightButton
         onClicked: {
             if (mouse.button === Qt.RightButton)
                 contextMenu.popup()
         }
         onPressAndHold: {
             if (mouse.source === Qt.MouseEventNotSynthesized)
                 contextMenu.popup()
         }

         Menu {
             id: contextMenu
             MenuItem { text: "Cut" }
             MenuItem { text: "Copy" }
             MenuItem { text: "Paste" }
         }
     }

When used as a popup menu, it is easiest to specify the position by specifying the desired x and y coordinates using the respective properties, and call open() to open the menu.

     Button {
         id: fileButton
         text: "File"
         onClicked: menu.open()

         Menu {
             id: menu
             y: fileButton.height

             MenuItem {
                 text: "New..."
             }
             MenuItem {
                 text: "Open..."
             }
             MenuItem {
                 text: "Save"
             }
         }
     }

If the button should also close the menu when clicked, use the `Popup.CloseOnPressOutsideParent` flag:

     onClicked: menu.visible = !menu.visible

     Menu {
         // ...
         closePolicy: Popup.CloseOnEscape | Popup.CloseOnPressOutsideParent

Since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10), it is also possible to create sub-menus and declare Action objects inside Menu:

     Menu {
         Action { text: "Cut" }
         Action { text: "Copy" }
         Action { text: "Paste" }

         MenuSeparator { }

         Menu {
             title: "Find/Replace"
             Action { text: "Find Next" }
             Action { text: "Find Previous" }
             Action { text: "Replace" }
         }
     }

Sub-menus are cascading by default on desktop platforms that have a mouse cursor available. Non-cascading menus are shown one menu at a time, and centered over the parent menu.

Typically, menu items are statically declared as children of the menu, but Menu also provides API to add, insert, move and remove items dynamically. The items in a menu can be accessed using itemAt() or contentChildren.

Although MenuItems are most commonly used with Menu, it can contain any type of item.

## Margins

As it is inherited from Popup, Menu supports margins. By default, all of the built-in styles specify `0` for Menu's margins to ensure that the menu is kept within the bounds of the window. To allow a menu to go outside of the window (to animate it moving into view, for example), set the margins property to `-1`.

## Dynamically Generating Menu Items

You can dynamically create menu items with Instantiator or dynamic object creation.

### Using Instantiator

You can dynamically generate menu items with Instantiator. The following code shows how you can implement a "Recent Files" submenu, where the items come from a list of files stored in settings:

     Menu {
         title: qsTr("File")

         Menu {
             id: recentFilesMenu
             title: qsTr("Recent Files")
             enabled: recentFilesInstantiator.count > 0

             Instantiator {
                 id: recentFilesInstantiator
                 model: settings.recentFiles
                 delegate: MenuItem {
                     text: settings.displayableFilePath(modelData)
                     onTriggered: loadFile(modelData)
                 }

                 onObjectAdded: (index, object) => recentFilesMenu.insertItem(index, object)
                 onObjectRemoved: (index, object) => recentFilesMenu.removeItem(object)
             }

             MenuSeparator {}

             MenuItem {
                 text: qsTr("Clear Recent Files")
                 onTriggered: settings.clearRecentFiles()
             }
         }
     }

### Using Dynamic Object Creation

You can also dynamically load a component from a QML file using Qt.createComponent(). Once the component is ready, you can call its createObject() method to create an instance of that component.

     Row {
         anchors.centerIn: parent

         Component {
             id: menuItemComponent

             MenuItem {}
         }

         Button {
             id: button
             text: "Menu"
             onClicked: menu.open()
             Menu {
                 id: menu
             }
         }

         Button {
             text: "Add item"
             onClicked: {
                 onClicked: {
                     let menuItem = menuItemComponent.createObject(
                         menu.contentItem, { text: qsTr("New item") })
                     menu.addItem(menuItem)
                 }
             }
         }
     }

## Menu types

Since Qt 6.8, a menu offers three different implementations, depending on the platform. You can choose which one should be preferred by setting popupType. This will let you control if a menu should be shown as a separate window, as an item inside the parent window, or as a native menu. You can read more about these options here.

The default popupType is decided by the style. The macOS Style, for example, sets it to be `Popup.Native`, while the Imagine Style uses `Popup.Window` (which is the default when the style doesn't set a popup type). If you add customizations to a menu, and want those to be used regardless of the style, you should set the popup type to be `Popup.Window` (or `Popup.Item`) explicitly. Another alternative is to set the `Qt::AA_DontUseNativeMenuWindows` application attribute. This will disable native context menus for the whole application, irrespective of the style.

The default popupType is decided by the style. The macOS Style, for example, sets it to be `Popup.Native`, while the Imagine Style uses `Popup.Window` (which is the default when the style doesn't set a popup type). If you add customizations to a menu, and want those to be used regardless of the style, you should set the popup type to be `Popup.Window` (or `Popup.Item`) explicitly.

Whether a menu will be able to use the preferred type depends on the platform. `Popup.Item` is supported on all platforms, but `Popup.Window` is normally only supported on desktop platforms. Additionally, if the menu is inside a native menubar, the menu will be native as well. And if the menu is a sub-menu inside another menu, the parent (or root) menu will decide the type.

### Limitations when using native menus

When setting popupType to `Popup.Native` there are some limitations and differences compared to using `Popup.Item` and `Popup.Window`.

#### API differences

When using native menus, only a subset of the Menu API is supported on all platforms:

- x
- y
- visible
- opened
- title
- count
- contentData
- contentChildren (visual children will not be visible)
- contentModel
- open()
- popup()
- close()
- opened()
- closed()
- aboutToShow()
- aboutToHide()

In addition, showing a popup (using for example open() or popup() will, on some platforms, be a blocking call. This means that the call will not return before the menu is closed again, which can affect the logic in your application. This is especially important to take into consideration if your application is targeting multiple platforms, and as such, sometimes run on platforms where native menus are not supported. In that case the popupType will fall back to `Popup.Item`, for example, and calls to open() will not be blocking.

Items like MenuItem will still react to clicks in the corresponding native menu item by emitting signals, for example, but will be replaced by their native counterpart.

#### Rendering differences

Native menus are implemented using the available native menu APIs on the platform. Those menus, and all of their contents, will therefore be rendered by the platform, and not by QML. This means that the delegate will not be used for rendering. It will, however, always be instantiated (but hidden), so that functions such as onCompleted() execute regardless of platform and popupType.

#### Supported platforms

Native menus are currently supported on the following platforms:

- Android
- iOS
- Linux (only available as a stand-alone context menu when running with the GTK+ platform theme)
- macOS
- Windows

See also Customizing Menu, MenuItem, Menu Controls, Popup Controls, Dynamic QML Object Creation from JavaScript, Popup type, [QML], and popupType.

## Property Documentation

cascade : bool `[since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]`

This property holds whether the menu cascades its sub-menus.

The default value is platform-specific. Menus are cascading by default on desktop platforms that have a mouse cursor available. Non-cascading menus are shown one menu at a time, and centered over the parent menu.

Note: Changing the value of the property has no effect while the menu is open.

Note: This property is only supported when using a non-native Menu.

This property was introduced in QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10).

See also overlap.

contentData : list<QtObject> `[default]`

This property holds the list of content data.

The list contains all objects that have been declared in QML as children of the menu, and also items that have been dynamically added or inserted using the addItem() and insertItem() methods, respectively.

Note: Unlike `contentChildren`, `contentData` does include non-visual QML objects. It is not re-ordered when items are inserted or moved.

See also Item::data and contentChildren.

contentModel : model `[read-only]`

This property holds the model used to display menu items.

The content model is provided for visualization purposes. It can be assigned as a model to a content item that presents the contents of the menu.

     Menu {
         id: menu
         contentItem: ListView {
             model: menu.contentModel
         }
     }

The model allows menu items to be statically declared as children of the menu.

count : int `[read-only, since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]`

This property holds the number of items.

This property was introduced in QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10).

currentIndex : int `[since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]`

This property holds the index of the currently highlighted item.

Menu items can be highlighted by mouse hover or keyboard navigation.

Note: This property is only supported when using a non-native Menu.

This property was introduced in QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10).

See also MenuItem::highlighted.

delegate : Component `[since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]`

This property holds the component that is used to create items to present actions.

     Menu {
         Action { text: "Cut" }
         Action { text: "Copy" }
         Action { text: "Paste" }
     }

Note: delegates will only be visible when using a non-native Menu.

This property was introduced in QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10).

See also Action.

focus : bool

This property holds whether the popup wants focus.

When the popup actually receives focus, activeFocus will be `true`. For more information, see Keyboard Focus in Qt Quick.

The default value is `true`.

Note: This property is only supported when using a non-native Menu.

See also activeFocus.

icon group
icon.cache : bool
icon.color : color
icon.height : int
icon.name : string
icon.source : url
icon.width : int

This property group was added in QtQuick.Controls 6.5.

Name | Description
--- | ---
name | This property holds the name of the icon to use. The icon will be loaded from the platform theme. If the icon is found in the theme, it will always be used; even if icon.source is also set. If the icon is not found, icon.source will be used instead. For more information on theme icons, see QIcon::fromTheme().
source | This property holds the name of the icon to use. The icon will be loaded as a regular image. If icon.name is set and refers to a valid theme icon, it will always be used instead of this property.
width | This property holds the width of the icon. The icon's width will never exceed this value, though it will shrink when necessary.
height | This property holds the height of the icon. The icon's height will never exceed this value, though it will shrink when necessary.
color | This property holds the color of the icon. The icon is tinted with the specified color, unless the color is set to `"transparent"`.
cache | This property specifies whether the icon should be cached. The default value is true. For more information, see cache. This property was introduced in QtQuick.Controls 2.13.

Note: This property is only supported when using a non-native Menu.

See also AbstractButton::text, AbstractButton::display, and Icons in Qt Quick Controls.

overlap : real `[since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]`

This property holds the amount of pixels by which the menu horizontally overlaps its parent menu.

The property only has effect when the menu is used as a cascading sub-menu.

The default value is style-specific.

Note: Changing the value of the property has no effect while the menu is open.

Note: This property is only supported when using a non-native Menu.

This property was introduced in QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10).

See also cascade.

title : string

This property holds the title for the menu.

The title of a menu is often displayed in the text of a menu item when the menu is a submenu, and in the text of a tool button when it is in a menubar.

## Method Documentation

`[since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]` void popup(Item parent, MenuItem item = null)
`[since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]` void popup(MenuItem item = null)

Opens the menu at the mouse cursor on desktop platforms that have a mouse cursor available, and otherwise centers the menu over its parent item.

The menu can be optionally aligned to a specific menu item. This item will then become current. If no item is specified, currentIndex will be set to `-1`.

This QML method was introduced in QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10).

See also Popup::open().

`[since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]` void popup(Item parent, point pos, MenuItem item = null)
`[since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]` void popup(point pos, MenuItem item = null)

Opens the menu at the specified position pos in the popups coordinate system, that is, a coordinate relative to its parent item.

The menu can be optionally aligned to a specific menu item. This item will then become current. If no item is specified, currentIndex will be set to `-1`.

This QML method was introduced in QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10).

See also Popup::open().

`[since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]` void popup(Item parent, real x, real y, MenuItem item = null)
`[since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]` void popup(real x, real y, MenuItem item = null)

Opens the menu at the specified position x, y in the popups coordinate system, that is, a coordinate relative to its parent item.

The menu can be optionally aligned to a specific menu item. This item will then become current. If no item is specified, currentIndex will be set to `-1`.

This QML method was introduced in QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10).

See also dismiss() and Popup::open().

`[since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]` Action actionAt(int index)

Returns the action at index, or `null` if the index is not valid or there is no action at the specified index.

This method was introduced in QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10).

`[since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]` void addAction(Action action)

Adds action to the end of this menu.

This method was introduced in QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10).

void addItem(Item item)

Adds item to the end of the list of items.

`[since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]` void addMenu(Menu menu)

Adds menu as a sub-menu to the end of this menu.

This method was introduced in QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10).

`[since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]` void dismiss()

Closes all menus in the hierarchy that this menu belongs to.

Note: Unlike close() that only closes a menu and its sub-menus (when using non-native menus), `dismiss()` closes the whole hierarchy of menus, including the parent menus. In practice, `close()` is suitable e.g. for implementing navigation in a hierarchy of menus, and `dismiss()` is the appropriate method for closing the whole hierarchy of menus.

This method was introduced in QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10).

See also popup() and Popup::close().

`[since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]` void insertAction(int index, Action action)

Inserts action at index. The index is within all items in the menu.

This method was introduced in QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10).

void insertItem(int index, Item item)

Inserts item at index.

`[since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]` void insertMenu(int index, Menu menu)

Inserts menu as a sub-menu at index. The index is within all items in the menu.

This method was introduced in QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10).

Item itemAt(int index)

Returns the item at index, or `null` if it does not exist.

`[since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]` Menu menuAt(int index)

Returns the sub-menu at index, or `null` if the index is not valid or there is no sub-menu at the specified index.

This method was introduced in QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10).

void moveItem(int from, int to)

Moves an item from one index to another.

`[since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]` void removeAction(Action action)

Removes and destroys the specified action.

This method was introduced in QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10).

`[since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]` void removeItem(Item item)

Removes and destroys the specified item.

This method was introduced in QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10).

`[since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]` void removeMenu(Menu menu)

Removes and destroys the specified menu.

This method was introduced in QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10).

`[since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]` Action takeAction(int index)

Removes and returns the action at index. The index is within all items in the menu.

Note: The ownership of the action is transferred to the caller.

This method was introduced in QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10).

`[since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]` MenuItem takeItem(int index)

Removes and returns the item at index.

Note: The ownership of the item is transferred to the caller.

This method was introduced in QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10).

`[since QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10)]` Menu takeMenu(int index)

Removes and returns the menu at index. The index is within all items in the menu.

Note: The ownership of the menu is transferred to the caller.

This method was introduced in QtQuick.Controls 2.3 (Qt 5.10).