Customizing Context Menus

Introduction

Many widgets in the main application window have customizable context menus. Each customizable context menu uses ContextMenuAction objects that define a unique ID for the action and optional placement using an additional "buddy" action. The menu actions are customized in a ContextMenu.

Since each context menu may have different actions, debugging support is provided through the message log. Call the ContextMenu::setSettingLogActions() method to enable or disable logging of the actions.

Warning:

Context menu logging is provided for debugging purposes only and is therefore only available in debug mode. Enabling the logging will do nothing in a release mode version of the application.

Calling Sequence

When the user right-clicks on a widget containing a customizable context menu, the following calling sequence is invoked:

1. The SessionItem::getContextMenuActions() method is called to get the default list of ContextMenuActions for that session item. This may include actions for additional session items, if the context areas of multiple session items are to be combined.
2. The ContextMenu is created.
3. If ContextMenu::hasSettingLogActions() and ContextMenu::getSettingLogActions() both return true, the default actions are recorded in the message log.
4. The DesktopServices::signalAboutToShowContextMenu() signal is emitted with the ContextMenu value indicating that the menu is about to be displayed. This gives attached objects a chance to add actions to the default list or to remove actions from the list. Custom actions can also be created based on the current state of the session item(s) or the point on which the user clicked to invoke the menu.
5. A custom widget signal may be emitted indicating that the user clicked in that particular widget. This provides the capability for objects to attach to a particular session item signal instead of the DesktopServices::signalAboutToShowContextMenu() signal. Available session item signals include the following:
   • DockWindow::signalAboutToShowContextMenu()
   • PlotWidget::signalAboutToShowContextMenu()
   • View::signalAboutToShowContextMenu()
6. If the user clicked on a session item in the session explorer, the SessionExplorer::signalAboutToShowSessionItemContextMenu() signal is emitted. The context menu will contain the session item(s) that are currently selected in the session explorer. If only one session item is selected, the menu contains the actions returned by SessionItem::getContextMenuActions() for that item. If multiple session items are selected in the session explorer, the menu initially contains no actions. Objects that are attached to the DesktopServices::signalAboutToShowContextMenu() signal may also need to attach to the SessionExplorer::signalAboutToShowSessionItemContextMenu() signal if they are interested in the selected item(s) in the session explorer.
7. After all slot methods connected to each signal are called, if ContextMenu::hasSettingLogActions() and ContextMenu::getSettingLogActions() both return true, the actions that will be used in the menu is recorded in the message log. These actions are the raw ContextMenuAction object and not the final QAction list that is displayed in the menu so that the placement and removal of the actions is displayed.
8. A list of QActions that will be displayed in the menu is generated from all ContextMenuAction objects. First, all actions are ordered according to the buddy action in each ContextMenuAction. After all actions have been ordered, actions are removed.
9. The context menu is displayed to the user with the generated list of QActions.

Default Context Menu Actions

Each action that may be added to a default context menu is listed in the sections below according to the class that defines the action. Each action ID is provided for objects to remove them as necessary. The ID values in the tables do not represent the string value to pass into the ContextMenu methods to add and remove actions, but rather a corresponding #define that can be used in place of the ID string. All action #defines are located in the ContextMenuActions.h file.

Each of the ID names is prefixed with APP_ to prevent collisions with other action IDs defined in plug-ins. When creating context menu actions in a plug-in, be sure to use a similar approach of prefixing the ID string with a namespace identifier to avoid ID collisions with other plug-ins.

Animation Controller

Action	ID
Pause	APP_ANIMATIONCONTROLLER_PAUSE_ACTION()
Play	APP_ANIMATIONCONTROLLER_PLAY_ACTION()
Change direction	APP_ANIMATIONCONTROLLER_CHANGE_DIRECTION_ACTION()
Step backward	APP_ANIMATIONCONTROLLER_STEP_BACKWARD_ACTION()
Step forward	APP_ANIMATIONCONTROLLER_STEP_FORWARD_ACTION()
Stop	APP_ANIMATIONCONTROLLER_STOP_ACTION()
Separator	APP_ANIMATIONCONTROLLER_BUMPER_SEPARATOR_ACTION()
Bumpers Enabled	APP_ANIMATIONCONTROLLER_ENABLE_BUMPERS_ACTION()
Left Bumper to Current Frame	APP_ANIMATIONCONTROLLER_SET_LEFT_BUMPER_ACTION()
Right Bumper to Current Frame	APP_ANIMATIONCONTROLLER_SET_RIGHT_BUMPER_ACTION()
Adjust Bumpers...	APP_ANIMATIONCONTROLLER_ADJUST_BUMPERS_ACTION()
Reset Bumpers	APP_ANIMATIONCONTROLLER_RESET_BUMPERS_ACTION()
Separator	APP_ANIMATIONCONTROLLER_STORE_BUMPERS_SEPARATOR_ACTION()
Store Bumpers	APP_ANIMATIONCONTROLLER_STORE_BUMPERS_ACTION()
Restore Bumpers	APP_ANIMATIONCONTROLLER_RESTORE_BUMPERS_ACTION()
Separator	APP_ANIMATIONCONTROLLER_DROP_FRAMES_SEPARATOR_ACTION()
Can Drop Frames	APP_ANIMATIONCONTROLLER_DROP_FRAMES_ACTION()

Animation Services

Action	ID
Activate	APP_ANIMATIONSERVICES_ACTIVATE_ACTION()
Delete	APP_ANIMATIONSERVICES_DELETE_ACTION()
Separator	APP_ANIMATIONSERVICES_SEPARATOR_ACTION()

Application Window

Action	ID
Copy snapshot	APP_APPLICATIONWINDOW_COPY_SNAPSHOT_ACTION()
Separator	APP_APPLICATIONWINDOW_COPY_SNAPSHOT_SEPARATOR_ACTION()
Copy snapshot	APP_APPLICATIONWINDOW_COPY_SNAPSHOT_SIZED_ACTION()
Delete Data Element	APP_APPLICATIONWINDOW_DATAELEMENT_DELETE_ACTION()
Edit Classification	APP_APPLICATIONWINDOW_EDIT_CLASSIFICATION_ACTION()
Export	APP_APPLICATIONWINDOW_EXPORT_ACTION()
Link	APP_APPLICATIONWINDOW_LINK_ACTION()
Separator	APP_APPLICATIONWINDOW_LINK_SEPARATOR_ACTION()
Properties	APP_APPLICATIONWINDOW_PROPERTIES_ACTION()
Unlink	APP_APPLICATIONWINDOW_UNLINK_ACTION()

Cartesian Plot

In addition to the actions listed below, the context menu for a CartesianPlot also includes all PlotView actions.

Action	ID
Custom zoom	APP_CARTESIANPLOT_CUSTOM_ZOOM_ACTION()
Gridlines menu	APP_CARTESIANPLOT_GRIDLINES_MENU_ACTION()

Dock Window

Action	ID
Dock	APP_DOCKWINDOW_DOCK_ACTION()
Hide	APP_DOCKWINDOW_HIDE_ACTION()
Show	APP_DOCKWINDOW_SHOW_ACTION()
Undock	APP_DOCKWINDOW_UNDOCK_ACTION()

Graphic Layer

Action	ID
Delete	APP_GRAPHICLAYER_OBJECT_DELETE_ACTION()
Separator	APP_GRAPHICLAYER_OBJECT_DELETE_SEPARATOR_ACTION()

Histogram Plot

In addition to the actions listed below, the context menu for a HistogramPlot also includes all CartesianPlot actions.

Action	ID
Auto Zoom	APP_HISTOGRAMPLOT_AUTO_ZOOM_ACTION()
Axis Scale menu	APP_HISTOGRAMPLOT_AXIS_SCALE_MENU_ACTION()
Bad Values	APP_HISTOGRAMPLOT_BAD_VALUES_ACTION()
Displayed Band menu	APP_HISTOGRAMPLOT_BAND_MENU_ACTION()
Color Map menu	APP_HISTOGRAMPLOT_COLOR_MAP_MENU_ACTION()
Complex Data menu	APP_HISTOGRAMPLOT_COMPLEX_DATA_MENU_ACTION()
Displayed Element menu	APP_HISTOGRAMPLOT_ELEMENT_MENU_ACTION()
Separator	APP_HISTOGRAMPLOT_END_SEPARATOR_ACTION()
Pass Area menu	APP_HISTOGRAMPLOT_PASS_AREA_MENU_ACTION()
Separator	APP_HISTOGRAMPLOT_RASTER_MENUS_SEPARATOR_ACTION()
Separator	APP_HISTOGRAMPLOT_RASTER_SEPARATOR_ACTION()
Refresh Statistics	APP_HISTOGRAMPLOT_REFRESH_STATISTICS_ACTION()
Set Spatial Sampling	APP_HISTOGRAMPLOT_SAMPLING_ACTION()
Save	APP_HISTOGRAMPLOT_SAVE_ACTION()
Statistics	APP_HISTOGRAMPLOT_STATISTICS_ACTION()
Stretch Favorites menu	APP_HISTOGRAMPLOT_STRETCH_FAVORITES_MENU_ACTION()
Stretch Reset menu	APP_HISTOGRAMPLOT_STRETCH_RESET_MENU_ACTION()
Stretch Type menu	APP_HISTOGRAMPLOT_STRETCH_TYPE_MENU_ACTION()
Synchronize Auto Zoom	APP_HISTOGRAMPLOT_SYNCHRONIZE_AUTO_ZOOM_ACTION()
Separator	APP_HISTOGRAMPLOT_THRESHOLD_SEPARATOR_ACTION()
Stretch/Threshold Units menu	APP_HISTOGRAMPLOT_UNITS_MENU_ACTION()

Layer

Action	ID
Displayed	APP_LAYER_DISPLAYED_ACTION()

Plot Set

Action	ID
Activate Plot	APP_PLOTSET_ACTIVATE_ACTION()
Delete	APP_PLOTSET_DELETE_ACTION()
Separator	APP_PLOTSET_SEPARATOR_ACTION()

Plot View

Action	ID
Mouse mode menu	APP_PLOTVIEW_MOUSE_MODE_MENU_ACTION()
Separator	APP_PLOTVIEW_MOUSE_MODE_SEPARATOR_ACTION()
Rescale axes	APP_PLOTVIEW_RESCALE_AXES_ACTION()
Separator	APP_PLOTVIEW_RESCALE_AXES_SEPARATOR_ACTION()

Plot Widget

In addition to the actions listed below, the context menu for a PlotWidget widget also includes all plot view actions for the specific plot view displayed in the plot widget. See the specific plot view documentation for the list of the plot view's actions.

Action	ID
Legend	APP_PLOTWIDGET_LEGEND_ACTION()
Separator	APP_PLOTWIDGET_LEGEND_SEPARATOR_ACTION()
Print	APP_PLOTWIDGET_PRINT_ACTION()
Separator	APP_PLOTWIDGET_PRINT_SEPARATOR_ACTION()
Toolbars menu	APP_PLOTWIDGET_TOOLBARS_MENU_ACTION()

Polar Plot

In addition to the actions listed below, the context menu for a PolarPlot also includes all PlotView actions.

Action	ID
Gridlines menu	APP_POLARPLOT_GRIDLINES_MENU_ACTION()

Product View

Action	ID
Activate	APP_PRODUCTVIEW_LAYER_ACTIVATE_ACTION()
Activate	APP_PRODUCTVIEW_PROPERTIES_SEPARATOR_ACTION()

Raster Layer

In addition to the actions listed below, the context menu for a RasterLayer also includes all Layer actions.

Action	ID
Calculate Statistics on Subset	APP_LAYER_CALCULATE_SUBSET_STATISTICS_ACTION()
Display as menu	APP_RASTERLAYER_DISPLAY_AS_MENU_ACTION()
Display mode menu	APP_RASTERLAYER_DISPLAY_MODE_MENU_ACTION()
Separator	APP_RASTERLAYER_SEPARATOR_ACTION()
Image stretch menu	APP_RASTERLAYER_STRETCH_MENU_ACTION()

Session Explorer

In addition to the actions listed below, the context menu for the session explorer also includes all DockWindow actions.

Action	ID
Collapse All	APP_SESSIONEXPLORER_COLLAPSE_ALL_ACTION()
Copy name to clipboard	APP_SESSIONEXPLORER_COPY_NAME_TO_CLIPBOARD_ACTION()
Expand All	APP_SESSIONEXPLORER_EXPAND_ALL_ACTION()
Rename	APP_SESSIONEXPLORER_RENAME_ACTION()
Separator	APP_SESSIONEXPLORER_SEPARATOR_ACTION()

Spatial Data View

Action	ID
Axis	APP_SPATIALDATAVIEW_AXIS_ACTION()
Background Color	APP_SPATIALDATAVIEW_BACKGROUND_COLOR_ACTION()
Crosshair	APP_SPATIALDATAVIEW_CROSSHAIR_ACTION()
Separator	APP_SPATIALDATAVIEW_CROSSHAIR_SEPARATOR_ACTION()
Hide Layers	APP_SPATIALDATAVIEW_HIDE_LAYERS_ACTION()
Select Layers of Type	APP_SPATIALDATAVIEW_SELECT_LAYERS_OF_TYPE_ACTION()
Activate	APP_SPATIALDATAVIEW_LAYER_ACTIVATE_ACTION()
Separator	APP_SPATIALDATAVIEW_LAYER_ACTIVATE_SEPARATOR_ACTION()
Convert	APP_SPATIALDATAVIEW_LAYER_CONVERT_ACTION()
Copy	APP_SPATIALDATAVIEW_LAYER_COPY_ACTION()
Delete	APP_SPATIALDATAVIEW_LAYER_DELETE_ACTION()
Separator	APP_SPATIALDATAVIEW_LAYER_DELETE_SEPARATOR_ACTION()
Layer menu	APP_SPATIALDATAVIEW_LAYER_MENU_ACTION()
Separator	APP_SPATIALDATAVIEW_LAYER_SEPARATOR_ACTION()
Measurements Properties	APP_SPATIALDATAVIEW_MEASUREMENTS_PROPERTIES_ACTION()
New Layer menu	APP_SPATIALDATAVIEW_NEW_LAYER_MENU_ACTION()
Origin	APP_SPATIALDATAVIEW_ORIGIN_ACTION()
Origin Location menu	APP_SPATIALDATAVIEW_ORIGIN_MENU_ACTION()
Separator	APP_SPATIALDATAVIEW_ORIGIN_SEPARATOR_ACTION()
Separator	APP_SPATIALDATAVIEW_PROPERTIES_SEPARATOR_ACTION()
Show Layers	APP_SPATIALDATAVIEW_SHOW_LAYERS_ACTION()
Smooth	APP_SPATIALDATAVIEW_SMOOTH_ACTION()

Threshold Layer

In addition to the actions listed below, the context menu for a ThresholdLayer also includes all Layer actions.

Action	ID
Calculate Statistics on Subset	APP_LAYER_CALCULATE_SUBSET_STATISTICS_ACTION()

Toolbar

Action	ID
Hide	APP_TOOLBAR_HIDE_ACTION()
Show	APP_TOOLBAR_SHOW_ACTION()

Workspace Window

Action	ID
Activate	APP_WORKSPACEWINDOW_ACTIVATE_ACTION()