Menus (Options lists)

• Options menu:

  • Opened from:

    • A dedicated button — action button 2 in full touch.

    • Softkey — left soft key in touch and type and non-touch.

  • Options menu items affect the entire view.

  • Consider each option which is below the fold (i.e., the user has to scroll for it) as hidden. Usually the Options menu can display 4 items above the fold cross platforms.

  • Options menu items are list items with text only.

  • Tail of the list points to the Options icon (full touch).

  • Closed by selecting an item from the list, or by tapping outside the list.

  • When the Options menu list is open, the entire background is dimmed, including the header bar.

  • Uses LCDUI Canvas' HeaderBar component and the related Options list.

• Context menu:

  • Only available in touch phones.

    • Accessed by long pressing on an item.

    • Opens a pop-up list.

  • In non-touch phones, also items for performing an action to a single item should be available in the Options menu on top of the list. Note that currently there is no ready-made ContextMenu implementation for non-touch.

  • Consider each option which is below the fold (i.e., the user has to scroll for it) as hidden. Usually the context menu can display 4 items above the fold cross platforms.

  • Context menu items are list items with text only.

  • "Tail" of the list points to the item (full touch) .

  • Closed by selecting an item from the list or by tapping outside the list.

  • When the context list is open, the background is dimmed, except for the header bar. This is because LWUIT cannot overwrite the canvas header bar.

  • Based on a LWUIT Dialog.

Context menus should not be the only means of activating an action, because they are less discoverable than on-screen buttons or the Options list, and they may not be found by the user. Therefore, it is recommended that the actions in the context menu are also made available in the next state down in the navigation hierarchy (e.g., in the normal Options list). Because of this duplication, using the context menu is considered a shortcut for going to the next screen and performing the operation there.