contextmenus

Context menus, also called contextual menus, are pop-up menus that appear in response to a user action such as a right-click, long-press, or keyboard shortcut. They present actions that are relevant to the item or area under the cursor, offering quick access to operations like copy, paste, rename, open, delete, or properties. Because the available actions depend on context, the contents of a context menu are usually dynamic and may change when the user selects a different element.

A typical context menu is hierarchical, with separators to group items, enabled or disabled states for items, and optional submenus or checkable items. Some implementations support keyboard navigation and accessibility features, allowing users to open the menu with a keyboard, traverse items with arrow keys, activate with Enter, and dismiss with Escape.

Implementation varies by platform. In web applications, the menu is often rendered by client-side code in response to a contextmenu event, positioned near the cursor and constrained to the viewport. On desktop operating systems, the system or app-defined menus follow platform conventions for appearance and item ordering. On touch devices, long-press usually triggers the menu, and the design should avoid obstructing critical content.

Accessibility considerations include ensuring proper focus management, using appropriate ARIA roles, and providing descriptive labels for screen readers. Context menus should be discoverable, and alternative, always-visible options may be offered to accommodate users who cannot use pointer-based interactions.

Overall, context menus provide fast, context-sensitive access to actions, but should be used sparingly, follow platform conventions, and be reachable by all users.