UI Automation Support for the MenuItem Control Type
This topic provides information about Microsoft UI Automation support for the MenuItem control type.
A menu control allows hierarchal organization of elements associated with commands and event handlers. In a typical Microsoft Windows application, a menu bar contains several menu items (such as File, Edit, and Window), and each menu item displays a menu. A menu contains a collection of menu items (such as New, Open, and Close), which can be expanded to display additional menu items or perform a specific action when clicked.
The following sections define the required UI Automation tree structure, properties, control patterns, and events for the MenuItem control type. The UI Automation requirements apply to all menu item controls, whether Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Microsoft Win32, or Windows Forms.
This topic contains the following sections.
- Required UI Automation Tree Structure
- Required UI Automation Properties
- Required UI Automation Control Patterns
- Required UI Automation Events
- Legacy Issues
- Related Topics
Required UI Automation Tree Structure
The following table depicts the control view and the content view of the UI Automation tree that pertains to menu item controls and describes what can be contained in each view. For more information about the UI Automation tree, see UI Automation Tree Overview.
| Control View | Content View |
|---|---|
|
|
The control view of the menu item control has the UI Automation tree structure shown above. Note that the menu item for Help on the menu bar has been added to better illustrate the structure.
For the content view, Menu is absent from the UI Automation tree because it does not convey meaningful information to the end user.
Required UI Automation Properties
The following table lists the UI Automation properties whose value or definition is especially relevant to the MenuItem control type. For more information about UI Automation properties, see UI Automation Properties for Clients.
| UI Automation Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| UIA_AutomationIdPropertyId | See notes. | The value of this property needs to be unique across all controls in an application. |
| UIA_BoundingRectanglePropertyId | See notes. | The outermost rectangle that contains the whole control. |
| UIA_ClickablePointPropertyId | See notes. | Supported if there is a bounding rectangle. If not every point within the bounding rectangle is clickable, and you perform specialized hit testing, override and provide a clickable point. |
| UIA_ControlTypePropertyId | MenuItem | This value is the same for all UI frameworks. |
| UIA_IsContentElementPropertyId | TRUE | The menu item control is always included in the content view of the UI Automation tree. |
| UIA_IsControlElementPropertyId | TRUE | The menu item control is always included in the control view of the UI Automation tree. |
| UIA_IsKeyboardFocusablePropertyId | See notes. | If the control can receive keyboard focus, it must support this property. |
| UIA_LabeledByPropertyId | NULL | No label. |
| UIA_LocalizedControlTypePropertyId | See notes. | Localized string corresponding to the MenuItem control type. The default value is "menu item" for en-US or English (United States). |
| UIA_NamePropertyId | "Help" | The menu item control is included in the content view of the UI Automation tree and is self labeled with a name. |
Required UI Automation Control Patterns
The following table lists the UI Automation control patterns required to be supported by menu item controls. For more information on control patterns, see UI Automation Control Patterns Overview.
| Control Pattern/Pattern Property | Support/Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| IExpandCollapseProvider | Depends | If the control can be expanded or collapsed, implement IExpandCollapseProvider. |
| IInvokeProvider | Depends | If the control executes a single action or command, implement IInvokeProvider. |
| ISelectionItemProvider | Depends | If the control is used to select from a list of options among menu items, implement ISelectionItemProvider. |
| IToggleProvider | Depends | If the control represents an option that can be turned on or off, implement IToggleProvider. |
Required UI Automation Events
The following table lists the UI Automation events that menu item controls are required to support. For more information on events, see UI Automation Events Overview.
| UI Automation Event | Notes |
|---|---|
| UIA_AutomationFocusChangedEventId | None |
| UIA_BoundingRectanglePropertyId property-changed event. | None |
| UIA_ExpandCollapseExpandCollapseStatePropertyId property-changed event. | If the control supports the ExpandCollapse control pattern, it must support this event. |
| UIA_Invoke_InvokedEventId | If the control supports the Invoke control pattern, it must support this event. |
| UIA_IsEnabledPropertyId property-changed event. | If the control supports the IsEnabled property, it must support this event. |
| UIA_IsOffscreenPropertyId property-changed event. | If the control supports the IsOffscreen property, it must support this event. |
| UIA_SelectionItem_ElementAddedToSelectionEventId | If the control supports the SelectionItem control pattern, it must support this event. |
| UIA_SelectionItem_ElementRemovedFromSelectionEventId | If the control supports the SelectionItem control pattern, it must support this event. |
| UIA_SelectionItem_ElementSelectedEventId | If the control supports the SelectionItem control pattern, it must support this event. |
| UIA_StructureChangedEventId | None |
| UIA_ToggleToggleStatePropertyId property-changed event. | If the control supports the Toggle control pattern, it must support this event. |
Legacy Issues
For Win32 menu items, the Toggle control pattern is supported only when a menu item is checked and it is possible to programmatically determine whether support for the Toggle control pattern is required. Because a Win32 menu item does not expose whether it can be checked, the Invoke control pattern is supported when the menu item is not checked. The Invoke control pattern is always supported, even for menu items that are only required to support the Toggle control pattern. This is so clients do not become confused when a menu item that was supporting the Invoke control pattern (when the menu item was unchecked) no longer supports that pattern when it becomes checked.