UIMenuController Class Reference

Inherits from	NSObject
Conforms to	NSObject (NSObject)
Framework	/System/Library/Frameworks/UIKit.framework
Availability	Available in iOS 3.0 and later.
Declared in	UIMenuController.h
Related sample code	CopyPasteTile Table View Animations and Gestures Touches

Overview

The singleton UIMenuController instance presents the menu interface for the Cut, Copy, Paste, Select, Select All, and Delete commands.

This menu is referred to as the editing menu. When you make this menu visible, UIMenuController positions it relative to a target rectangle on the screen; this rectangle usually defines a selection. The menu appears above the target rectangle or, if there is not enough space for it, below it. The menu’s pointer is placed at the center of the top or bottom of the target rectangle, as appropriate. Be sure to set the tracking rectangle before you make the menu visible. You are also responsible for detecting, tracking, and displaying selections.

The UIResponderStandardEditActions informal protocol declares methods that are invoked when the user taps a menu command. The canPerformAction:withSender: method of UIResponder is also related to the editing menu. A responder implements this method to enable and disable commands of the editing menu just before the menu is displayed. You can force this updating of menu commands’ enabled state by calling the update method.

Tasks

Getting the Menu Controller Instance

Showing and Hiding the Menu

Positioning the Menu

Updating the Menu

Customizing Menu Items

Properties

arrowDirection

The direction the arrow of the editing menu is pointing.

@property UIMenuControllerArrowDirection arrowDirection

Discussion

You can set the direction editing-menu arrow points by assigning a UIMenuControllerArrowDirection enum constant to this property. The default behavior (UIMenuControllerArrowDefault) is to point up or down at the object of focus based on its location on the screen.

Availability

Available in iOS 3.2 and later.

Declared In

UIMenuController.h

menuFrame

Returns the frame of the editing menu. (read-only)

@property(nonatomic, readonly) CGRect menuFrame

Discussion

The property value is the bounding rectangle of the menu in screen coordinates. The property has a value of CGRectZero if the menu is not visible. You can use this property to adjust any user-interface objects away from the menu after displaying the menu.

Availability

Available in iOS 3.0 and later.

Declared In

UIMenuController.h

menuItems

The custom menu items for the editing menu.

@property(copy) NSArray *menuItems

Discussion

The default value is nil (no custom menu items). Each menu item is an instance of the UIMenuItem class. You may create your own menu items, each with its own title and action selector, and add them to the editing menu through this property. Custom items appear in the menu after any system menu items.

Availability

Available in iOS 3.2 and later.

Related Sample Code

Table View Animations and Gestures

Declared In

UIMenuController.h

menuVisible

The visibility of the editing menu.

@property(nonatomic, getter=isMenuVisible) BOOL menuVisible

Discussion

Setting this property displays or hides the menu immediately, without animation. For animating the showing or hiding of the menu, use the setMenuVisible:animated: method. Before showing the menu, be sure to position it relative to the selection.

Availability

Available in iOS 3.0 and later.

Declared In

UIMenuController.h

Class Methods

sharedMenuController

Returns the menu controller.

+ (UIMenuController *)sharedMenuController

Return Value

The shared NSMenuController instance.

Availability

Available in iOS 3.0 and later.

Related Sample Code

Declared In

UIMenuController.h

Instance Methods

setMenuVisible:animated:

Shows or hides the editing menu, optionally animating the action.

- (void)setMenuVisible:(BOOL)menuVisible animated:(BOOL)animated

Parameters

menuVisible: YES if the menu should be shown, NO if it should be hidden.
animated: YES if the showing or hiding of the menu should be animated, otherwise NO.

Discussion

Before showing the menu, be sure to position it relative to the selection. See setTargetRect:inView: for details. If you do not set the target rect before displaying the menu, it appears at screen coordinates (0.0, 0.0).

Availability

Available in iOS 3.0 and later.

Related Sample Code

Declared In

UIMenuController.h

setTargetRect:inView:

Sets the area in a view above or below which the editing menu is positioned.

- (void)setTargetRect:(CGRect)targetRect inView:(UIView *)targetView

Parameters

targetRect: A rectangle that defines the area that is to be the target of the menu commands.
targetView: The view in which targetRect appears.

Discussion

This target rectangle (targetRect) is usually the bounding rectangle of a selection. UIMenuController positions the editing menu above this rectangle; if there is not enough space for the menu there, it positions it below the rectangle. The menu’s pointer is placed at the center of the top or bottom of the target rectangle as appropriate. Note that if you make the width or height of the target rectangle zero, UIMenuController treats the target area as a line or point for positioning (for example, an insertion caret or a single point).

Once it is set, the target rectangle does not track the view; if the view moves (such as would happen in a scroll view), you must update the target rectangle accordingly.

Availability

Available in iOS 3.0 and later.

Related Sample Code

Declared In

UIMenuController.h

update

Updates the enabled state of menu commands

- (void)update

Discussion

By default, UIMenuController calls this method just before the editing menu is made visible and when touches occur in the menu. As a result, a responder object in the application enables or disables menu commands depending on the context; for example, if the pasteboard holds no data of a compatible type, the Paste command would be disabled. You can call this method to force an update of the editing menu. You may also override this method to add any custom behavior.

Availability

Available in iOS 3.0 and later.

Declared In

UIMenuController.h

Constants

UIMenuControllerArrowDirection

The direction the arrow of the editing menu is pointing.

typedef enum {
   UIMenuControllerArrowDefault,
   UIMenuControllerArrowUp,
   UIMenuControllerArrowDown,
   UIMenuControllerArrowLeft,
   UIMenuControllerArrowRight,
} UIMenuControllerArrowDirection;