MENU Resource Overview - Windows Win32 API

Overview

The MENU resource defines a menu template that can be compiled into a binary resource and loaded by an application at runtime. Menus are described using a simple text‑based syntax in a .rc file and are typically built with the rc.exe resource compiler.

Contents

Syntax
Example
Remarks

Syntax

The basic grammar for a MENU resource is:

MENU [MENU_ID] [options]
BEGIN
    MENUITEM "Caption", [ID], [options]
    POPUP "SubMenu Caption", [options]
    BEGIN
        MENUITEM "SubItem", [ID], [options]
        ...
    END
    ...
END

Key elements:

MENU_ID – numeric identifier or symbolic constant used with LoadMenu.
MENUITEM – defines a selectable item. Use MF_STRING, MF_DISABLED, etc., as options.
POPUP – defines a submenu container.
BEGIN/END – delimit the scope of the menu or submenu.

Example

A simple menu resource definition:

#define IDR_MAINMENU 101
#define IDM_FILE_NEW 40001
#define IDM_FILE_OPEN 40002
#define IDM_HELP_ABOUT 40003

MENU IDR_MAINMENU
BEGIN
    POPUP "&File"
    BEGIN
        MENUITEM "&New\tCtrl+N", IDM_FILE_NEW, MF_STRING
        MENUITEM "&Open...\tCtrl+O", IDM_FILE_OPEN, MF_STRING
        MENUITEM SEPARATOR
        MENUITEM "E&xit", 0, MF_STRING
    END
    POPUP "&Help"
    BEGIN
        MENUITEM "&About...", IDM_HELP_ABOUT, MF_STRING
    END
END

Remarks

Use the ampersand (&) before a character to designate a mnemonic.
Accelerator keys (e.g., \tCtrl+N) are optional and displayed in the menu.
Menu IDs are passed to the WM_COMMAND message when a user selects an item.
The SEPARATOR keyword inserts a horizontal line.
Resources can be loaded using LoadMenu or attached to a window with SetMenu.