Menuitem

Menuitem is an item within a menu in a graphical user interface. It represents a selectable command or action and may also serve as a parent to a submenu. Menu items are organized under menus and can appear in menu bars, context menus, or pull-down menus.

Common properties include label or text, optional icon, enabled or disabled state, and an indicator for checkable items. Some items may be checked or part of a radio group to reflect a current setting. Separators may be used to group items. Many toolkits support keyboard accelerators or mnemonics associated with menu items.

Interaction: When activated via mouse or keyboard, the menu item triggers its action; if it opens a submenu, selecting the item reveals further items. In a menu bar, focus order and navigation with arrow keys is standard; pressing Escape closes the menu.

Accessibility and standards: For web contexts, menu roles and ARIA attributes define behavior: role="menuitem", role="menuitemcheckbox", or role="menuitemradio", aria-disabled, aria-expanded, aria-haspopup. Native toolkits expose actions through platform accessibility APIs.

Implementation notes: The legacy HTML menuitem element is deprecated; modern web uses controls such as button elements or custom components with role="menu" and role="menuitem" inside. Many UI toolkits implement their own accessible menuitem components.

Variants: Menu items may be normal commands, checkable items, radio items, or separators. They may display icons, indicate state, or host submenus.