Using the <i class="emphasis">MenuItem</i> Class

Using the MenuItem Class

The actual menus and menu items in a menu system are supported by the MenuItem class—these are the objects that you handle Click events for in a menu system. Here's the hierarchy of this class:

Object
   MarshalByRefObject
      Component
         Menu
            MenuItem

You can see the notable public properties of objects of the MenuItem class in Table 9.3, the notable methods in Table 9.4, and the notable events in Table 9.5.

Table 9.3: Noteworthy public properties of *MenuItem* objects.
Property	Means
Break	Gets/sets whether the item is displayed on a new line (for menu items added to a MainMenu object) or in a new column (for items or submenu items displayed in a ContextMenu).
Checked	Gets/sets if a checkmark should appear next to a menu item.
DefaultItem	Gets/sets if the menu item is the default menu item.
Enabled	Gets/sets if the menu item is enabled.
Index	Gets/sets the position of the menu item in its parent menu.
IsParent	Gets if the menu item contains child menu items.
MdiList	Gets/sets if the menu item will be automatically filled with a list of Multiple Document Interface (MDI) child windows that are displayed in the associated form.
MdiListItem	Gets the menu item used to display a list of Multiple Document Interface (MDI) child forms.
MenuItems	Gets the collection of menu item objects for the menu.
MergeOrder	Gets/sets the relative position of the menu item when it is merged with another menu.
MergeType	Gets/sets the behavior of this menu item when its menu is merged with another menu.
Mnemonic	Gets the mnemonic character for this menu item.
OwnerDraw	Gets/sets whether you will draw this item in code or not.
Parent	Returns the menu that contains this menu item.
RadioCheck	Gets/sets whether the menu item, if checked, displays a radio-button (instead of a checkmark).
Shortcut	Gets/sets the shortcut key for the menu item.
ShowShortcut	Gets/sets whether a shortcut key for the menu item is displayed next to the menu item.
Text	Gets/sets the caption of the menu item.
Visible	Gets/sets whether the menu item is visible.

Table 9.4: Noteworthy public methods of *MenuItem* objects.
Method	Means
CloneMenu	Creates a copy of a menu item.
GetContextMenu	Gets the ContextMenu that contains this menu.
GetMainMenu	Gets the MainMenu that contains this menu.
MergeMenu	Merges this menu item with another menu item.
PerformClick	Creates a Click event for the menu item.
PerformSelect	Creates a Select event for this menu item.

Table 9.5: Noteworthy public events of *MenuItem* objects.
Event	Means
Click	Occurs when the menu item is clicked or selected using a shortcut key or access key for the menu item.
DrawItem	Occurs when the OwnerDraw property of a menu item is set to True and the menu item should be drawn.
MeasureItem	Occurs when Visual Basic wants to know the size of a menu item before drawing it (usually happens before the DrawItem event).
Popup	Occurs before a menu item's list of menu items is displayed.
Select	Occurs when the user moves the cursor over a menu item.