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The Android Open Source Project9066cfe2009-03-03 19:31:44 -08001page.title=Creating Menus
2parent.title=User Interface
3parent.link=index.html
4@jd:body
5
6<div id="qv-wrapper">
7<div id="qv">
8 <h2>Key classes</h2>
9 <ol>
10 <li>{@link android.view.Menu}</li>
11 <li>{@link android.view.ContextMenu}</li>
12 <li>{@link android.view.SubMenu}</li>
13 </ol>
14 <h2>In this document</h2>
15 <ol>
16 <li><a href="#options-menu">Options Menu</a></li>
17 <li><a href="#context-menu">Context Menu</a></li>
18 <li><a href="#submenu">Submenu</a></li>
19 <li><a href="#xml">Define Menus in XML</a></li>
20 <li><a href="#features">Menu Features</a>
21 <ol>
22 <li><a href="#groups">Menu groups</a></li>
23 <li><a href="#checkable">Checkable menu items</a></li>
24 <li><a href="#shortcuts">Shortcut keys</a></li>
25 <li><a href="#intents">Menu item intents</a></li>
26 </ol>
27 </li>
28 </ol>
29</div>
30</div>
31
32<p>Menus are an important part of any application. They provide familiar interfaces
33that reveal application functions and settings. Android offers an easy programming interface
34for developers to provide standardized application menus for various situations.</p>
35
36<p>Android offers three fundamental types of application menus:</p>
37<dl>
38 <dt><strong>Options Menu</strong></dt>
39 <dd>This is the primary set of menu items for an Activity. It is revealed by pressing
40 the device MENU key. Within the Options Menu are two groups of menu items:
41 <dl style="margin-top:1em">
42 <dt><em>Icon Menu</em></dt>
43 <dd>This is the collection of items initially visible at the bottom of the screen
44 at the press of the MENU key. It supports a maximum of six menu items.
45 These are the only menu items that support icons and the only menu items that <em>do not</em> support
46 checkboxes or radio buttons.</dd>
47 <dt><em>Expanded Menu</em></dt>
48 <dd>This is a vertical list of items exposed by the "More" menu item from the Icon Menu.
49 It exists only when the Icon Menu becomes over-loaded and is comprised of the sixth
50 Option Menu item and the rest.</dd>
51 </dl>
52 </dd>
53 <dt><strong>Context Menu</strong></dt>
54 <dd>This is a floating list of menu items that may appear when you perform a long-press on a View
55 (such as a list item). </dd>
56 <dt><strong>Submenu</strong></dt>
57 <dd>This is a floating list of menu items that is revealed by an item in the Options Menu
58 or a Context Menu. A Submenu item cannot support nested Submenus. </dd>
59</dl>
60
61
62<h2 id="options-menu">Options Menu</h2>
63<img align="right" src="{@docRoot}images/options_menu.png" />
64<p>The Options Menu is opened by pressing the device MENU key.
65When opened, the Icon Menu is displayed, which holds the first six menu items.
66If more than six items are added to the Options Menu, then those that can't fit
67in the Icon Menu are revealed in the Expanded Menu, via the "More" menu item. The Expanded Menu
68is automatically added when there are more than six items.</p>
69
70<p>The Options Menu is where you should include basic application functions
71and any necessary navigation items (e.g., to a home screen or application settings).
72You can also add <a href="#submenu">Submenus</a> for organizing topics
73and including extra menu functionality.</p>
74
75<p>When this menu is opened for the first time,
76the Android system will call the Activity <code>{@link android.app.Activity#onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu)
77onCreateOptionsMenu()}</code> callback method. Override this method in your Activity
78and populate the {@link android.view.Menu} object given to you. You can populate the menu by
79inflating a menu resource that was <a href="#xml">defined in XML</a>, or by calling
80<code>{@link android.view.Menu#add(CharSequence) add()}</code>
81for each item you'd like in the menu. This method adds a {@link android.view.MenuItem}, and returns the
82newly created object to you. You can use the returned MenuItem to set additional properties like
83an icon, a keyboard shortcut, an intent, and other settings for the item.</p>
84
85<p>There are multiple <code>{@link android.view.Menu#add(CharSequence) add()}</code> methods.
86Usually, you'll want to use one that accepts an <var>itemId</var> argument.
87This is a unique integer that allows you to identify the item during a callback.</p>
88
Elliott Hughes7f877062009-07-30 17:00:34 -070089<p>When a menu item is selected from the Options Menu, you will receive a callback to the
The Android Open Source Project9066cfe2009-03-03 19:31:44 -080090<code>{@link android.app.Activity#onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem) onOptionsItemSelected()}</code>
91method of your Activity. This callback passes you the
92<code>MenuItem</code> that has been selected. You can identify the item by requesting the
93<var>itemId</var>, with <code>{@link android.view.MenuItem#getItemId() getItemId()}</code>,
94which returns the integer that was assigned with the <code>add()</code> method. Once you identify
95the menu item, you can take the appropriate action.</p>
96
97<p>Here's an example of this procedure, inside an Activity, wherein we create an
98Options Menu and handle item selections:</p>
99
100<pre>
101/* Creates the menu items */
102public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
103 menu.add(0, MENU_NEW_GAME, 0, "New Game");
104 menu.add(0, MENU_QUIT, 0, "Quit");
105 return true;
106}
107
108/* Handles item selections */
109public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
110 switch (item.getItemId()) {
111 case MENU_NEW_GAME:
112 newGame();
113 return true;
114 case MENU_QUIT:
115 quit();
116 return true;
117 }
118 return false;
119}
120</pre>
121
122<p>The <code>add()</code> method used in this sample takes four arguments:
123<var>groupId</var>, <var>itemId</var>, <var>order</var>, and <var>title</var>.
124The <var>groupId</var> allows you to associate this menu item with a group of other items
125(more about <a href="#groups">Menu groups</a>, below) &mdash; in
126this example, we ignore it. <var>itemId</var> is a unique integer that we give the
127MenuItem so that can identify it in the next callback. <var>order</var> allows us to
128define the display order of the item &mdash; by default, they are displayed by the
129order in which we add them. <var>title</var> is, of course, the name that goes on the
130menu item (this can also be a
131<a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/resources/available-resources.html#stringresources">string resource</a>,
132and we recommend you do it that way for easier localization).</p>
133
134<p class="note"><strong>Tip:</strong>
135If you have several menu items that can be grouped together with a title,
136consider organizing them into a <a href="#submenu">Submenu</a>.</p>
137
138<h3>Adding icons</h3>
139<p>Icons can also be added to items that appears in the Icon Menu with
140<code>{@link android.view.MenuItem#setIcon(Drawable) setIcon()}</code>. For example:</p>
141<pre>
142menu.add(0, MENU_QUIT, 0, "Quit")
143 .setIcon(R.drawable.menu_quit_icon);</pre>
144
145<h3>Modifying the menu</h3>
146<p>If you want to sometimes re-write the Options Menu as it is opened, override the
147<code>{@link android.app.Activity#onPrepareOptionsMenu(Menu) onPrepareOptionsMenu()}</code> method, which is
148called each time the menu is opened. This will pass you the Menu object, just like the
149<code>onCreateOptionsMenu()</code> callback. This is useful if you'd like to add or remove
150menu options depending on the current state of an application or game.</p>
151
152<p class="note"><strong>Note:</strong>
153When changing items in the menu, it's bad practice to do so based on the currently selected item.
154Keep in mind that, when in touch mode, there will not be a selected (or focused) item. Instead, you
155should use a <a href="#context-menu">Context Menu</a> for such behaviors, when you want to provide
156functionality based on a particular item in the UI.</p>
157
158
159<h2 id="context-menu">Context Menu</h2>
160<p>The Android context menu is similar, in concept, to the menu revealed with a "right-click" on a PC.
161When a view is registered to a context menu,
162performing a "long-press" (press and hold for about two seconds) on the object
163will reveal a floating menu that provides functions relating to that item.
164Context menus can be registered to any View object,
165however, they are most often used for items in a
166{@link android.widget.ListView}, which helpfully indicates the presence of the context menu
167by transforming the background color of the ListView item when pressed.
168(The items in the phone's contact list offer an example of this feature.)
169</p>
170
171<p class="note"><strong>Note:</strong> Context menu items do not support icons or shortcut keys.</p>
172
173<p>To create a context menu, you must override the Activity's context menu callback methods:
174<code>{@link android.app.Activity#onCreateContextMenu(ContextMenu,View,ContextMenuInfo) onCreateContextMenu()}</code> and
175<code>{@link android.app.Activity#onContextItemSelected(MenuItem) onContextItemSelected()}</code>.
176Inside the <code>onCreateContextMenu()</code> callback method, you can add menu items using one of the
177<code>{@link android.view.Menu#add(CharSequence) add()}</code> methods, or by
178inflating a menu resource that was <a href="#xml">defined in XML</a>.
179Then, register a {@link android.view.ContextMenu} for the View, with
180<code>{@link android.app.Activity#registerForContextMenu(View) registerForContextMenu()}</code>.</p>
181
182<p>For example, here is some code that can be used with the
183<a href="{@docRoot}guide/tutorials/notepad/index.html">Notepad application</a>
184to add a context menu for each note in the list:</p>
185<pre>
186public void onCreateContextMenu(ContextMenu menu, View v,
187 ContextMenuInfo menuInfo) {
188 super.onCreateContextMenu(menu, v, menuInfo);
189 menu.add(0, EDIT_ID, 0, "Edit");
190 menu.add(0, DELETE_ID, 0, "Delete");
191}
192
193public boolean onContextItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
194 AdapterContextMenuInfo info = (AdapterContextMenuInfo) item.getMenuInfo();
195 switch (item.getItemId()) {
196 case EDIT_ID:
197 editNote(info.id);
198 return true;
199 case DELETE_ID:
200 deleteNote(info.id);
201 return true;
202 default:
203 return super.onContextItemSelected(item);
204 }
205}
206</pre>
207
208<p>In <code>onCreateContextMenu()</code>, we are given not only the ContextMenu to
209which we will add {@link android.view.MenuItem}s, but also the {@link android.view.View}
210that was selected and a {@link android.view.ContextMenu.ContextMenuInfo ContextMenuInfo} object,
211which provides additional information about the object that was selected.
212In this example, nothing special is done in <code>onCreateContextMenu()</code> &mdash; just
213a couple items are added as usual. In the <code>onContextItemSelected()</code>
214callback, we request the {@link android.widget.AdapterView.AdapterContextMenuInfo AdapterContextMenuInfo}
215from the {@code MenuItem}, which provides information about the currently selected item.
216All we need from
217this is the list ID for the selected item, so whether editing a note or deleting it,
218we find the ID with the {@code AdapterContextMenuInfo.info} field of the object. This ID
Elliott Hughes7f877062009-07-30 17:00:34 -0700219is passed to the <code>editNote()</code> and <code>deleteNote()</code> methods to perform
The Android Open Source Project9066cfe2009-03-03 19:31:44 -0800220the respective action.</p>
221
222<p>Now, to register this context menu for all the items in a {@link android.widget.ListView},
223we pass the entire {@code ListView} to the
224<code>{@link android.app.Activity#registerForContextMenu(View)}</code> method:</p>
225
226<pre>registerForContextMenu(getListView());</pre>
227<p>Remember, you can pass any View object to register a context menu. Here,
228<code>{@link android.app.ListActivity#getListView()}</code> returns the ListView
229object used in the Notepad application's {@link android.app.ListActivity}. As such, each item
230in the list is registered to this context menu.</p>
231
232
233
234<h2 id="submenu">Submenus</h2>
235<p>A sub menu can be added within any menu, except another sub menu.
236These are very useful when your application has a lot of functions that may be
237organized in topics, like the items in a PC application's menu bar (File, Edit, View, etc.).</p>
238
239<p>A sub menu is created by adding it to an existing {@link android.view.Menu}
240with <code>{@link android.view.Menu#addSubMenu(CharSequence) addSubMenu()}</code>.
241This returns a {@link android.view.SubMenu} object (an extension of {@link android.view.Menu}).
242You can then add additional items to this menu, with the normal routine, using
243the <code>{@link android.view.Menu#add(CharSequence) add()}</code> methods. For example:</p>
244
245<pre>
246public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
247 boolean result = super.onCreateOptionsMenu(menu);
248
249 SubMenu fileMenu = menu.addSubMenu("File");
250 SubMenu editMenu = menu.addSubMenu("Edit");
251 fileMenu.add("new");
252 fileMenu.add("open");
253 fileMenu.add("save");
254 editMenu.add("undo");
255 editMenu.add("redo");
256
257 return result;
258}
259</pre>
260<p>Callbacks for items selected in a sub menu are made to the parent menu's callback method.
261For the example above, selections in the sub menu will be handled by the
262<code>onOptionsItemSelected()</code> callback.</p>
263<p>You can also add Submenus when you <a href="#xml">define the parent menu in XML</a>.</p>
264
265
266<h2 id="xml">Define Menus in XML</h2>
267<p>Just like Android UI layouts, you can define application menus in XML, then inflate them
268in your menu's <code>onCreate...()</code> callback method. This makes your application code cleaner and
269separates more interface design into XML, which is easier to visualize.</p>
270
271<p>To start, create a new folder in your project <code>res/</code> directory called <code>menu</code>.
272This is where you should keep all XML files that define your application menus.</p>
273
274<p>In a menu XML layout, there are
275three valid elements: <code>&lt;menu></code>, <code>&lt;group></code> and <code>&lt;item></code>. The
276<code>item</code> and <code>group</code> elements must be children of a <code>menu</code>, but <code>item</code>
277elements may also be the children of a <code>group</code>, and another <code>menu</code> element may be the child
278of an <code>item</code> (to create a Submenu). Of course, the root node of any file
279must be a <code>menu</code> element.</p>
280
281<p>As an example, we'll define the same menu created in the <a href="#options-menu">Options Menu</a> section,
282above. We start with an XML file named <code>options_menu.xml</code> inside the <code>res/menu/</code> folder:</p>
283<pre>
284&lt;menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
285 &lt;item android:id="@+id/new_game"
286 android:title="New Game" />
287 &lt;item android:id="@+id/quit"
288 android:title="Quit" />
289&lt;/menu>
290</pre>
291
292<p>Then, in the <code>onCreateOptionsMenu()</code> method, we inflate this resource using
293<code>{@link android.view.MenuInflater#inflate(int,Menu) MenuInflater.inflate()}</code>:</p>
294<pre>
295public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
296 MenuInflater inflater = getMenuInflater();
297 inflater.inflate(R.menu.options_menu, menu);
298 return true;
299}
300</pre>
301
302<p>The <code>{@link android.app.Activity#getMenuInflater()}</code> method returns the {@link android.view.MenuInflater}
303for our activity's context. We then call <code>{@link android.view.MenuInflater#inflate(int,Menu) inflate()}</code>,
304passing it a pointer to our menu resource and the Menu object given by the callback.</code></p>
305
306<p>While this small sample may seem like more effort, compared to creating the menu items in the
307<code>onCreateOptionsMenu()</code> method, this will save a lot of trouble when dealing with more items
308and it keeps your application code clean.</p>
309
310<p>You can define <a href="#groups">menu groups</a> by wrapping <code>item</code> elements in a <code>group</code>
311element, and create Submenus by nesting another <code>menu</code> inside an <code>item</code>.
312Each element also supports all the necessary attributes to control features like shortcut keys,
313checkboxes, icons, and more. To learn about these attributes and more about the XML syntax, see the Menus
314topic in the <a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/resources/available-resources.html#menus">Available
315Resource Types</a> document.</p>
316
317<h2 id="features">Menu Features</h2>
318<p>Here are some other features that can be applied to most menu items.</p>
319
320<h3 id="groups">Menu groups</h3>
321<p>When adding new items to a menu, you can optionally include each item in a group.
322A menu group is a collection of menu items that can share certain traits, like
323whether they are visible, enabled, or checkable.</p>
324
325<p>A group is defined by an integer (or a resource id, in XML). A menu item is added to the group when it is
326added to the menu, using one of the <code>add()</code> methods that accepts a <var>groupId</var>
327as an argument, such as <code>{@link android.view.Menu#add(int,int,int,int)}</code>.</p>
328
329<p>You can show or hide the entire group with
330<code>{@link android.view.Menu#setGroupVisible(int,boolean) setGroupVisible()}</code>;
331enable or disable the group with
332<code>{@link android.view.Menu#setGroupEnabled(int,boolean) setGroupEnabled()}</code>;
333and set whether the items can be checkable with
334<code>{@link android.view.Menu#setGroupCheckable(int,boolean,boolean) setGroupCheckable()}</code>.
335</p>
336
337<h3 id="checkable">Checkable menu items</h3>
338<img align="right" src="{@docRoot}images/radio_buttons.png" alt="" />
339<p>Any menu item can be used as an interface for turning options on and off. This can
340be indicated with a checkbox for stand-alone options, or radio buttons for groups of
Elliott Hughes7f877062009-07-30 17:00:34 -0700341mutually exclusive options (see the screenshot, to the right).</p>
The Android Open Source Project9066cfe2009-03-03 19:31:44 -0800342
343<p class="note"><strong>Note:</strong> Menu items in the Icon Menu cannot
344display a checkbox or radio button. If you choose to make items in the Icon Menu checkable,
345then you must personally indicate the state by swapping the icon and/or text
346each time the state changes between on and off.</p>
347
348<p>To make a single item checkable, use the <code>{@link android.view.MenuItem#setCheckable(boolean)
349setCheckable()}</code> method, like so:</p>
350<pre>
351menu.add(0, VIBRATE_SETTING_ID, 0, "Vibrate")
352 .setCheckable(true);
353</pre>
354<p>This will display a checkbox with the menu item (unless it's in the Icon Menu). When the item
355is selected, the <code>onOptionsItemSelected()</code> callback is called as usual. It is here that
356you must set the state of the checkbox. You can query the current state of the item with
357<code>{@link android.view.MenuItem#isChecked()}</code> and set the checked state with
358<code>{@link android.view.MenuItem#setChecked(boolean) setChecked()}</code>.
359Here's what this looks like inside the
360<code>onOptionsItemSelected()</code> callback:</p>
361<pre>
362switch (item.getItemId()) {
363case VIBRATE_SETTING_ID:
364 if (item.isChecked()) item.setChecked(false);
365 else item.setChecked(true);
366 return true;
367...
368}
369</pre>
370
371<p>To make a group of mutually exclusive radio button items, simply
372assign the same group ID to each menu item
373and call <code>{@link android.view.Menu#setGroupCheckable(int,boolean,boolean)
374setGroupCheckable()}</code>. In this case, you don't need to call <code>setCheckable()</code>
375on each menu items, because the group as a whole is set checkable. Here's an example of
376two mutually exclusive options in a Submenu:</p>
377<pre>
378SubMenu subMenu = menu.addSubMenu("Color");
379subMenu.add(COLOR_MENU_GROUP, COLOR_RED_ID, 0, "Red");
380subMenu.add(COLOR_MENU_GROUP, COLOR_BLUE_ID, 0, "Blue");
381subMenu.setGroupCheckable(COLOR_MENU_GROUP, true, true);
382</pre>
383<p>In the <code>setGroupCheckable()</code> method, the first argument is the group ID
384that we want to set checkable. The second argument is whether we want the group items
385to be checkable. The last one is whether we want each item to be exclusively checkable
386(if we set this <em>false</em>, then all the items will be checkboxes instead of radio buttons).
387When the group is set to be exclusive (radio buttons), each time a new item is selected,
388all other are automatically de-selected.</p>
389<p>
390
391<p class="note"><strong>Note:</strong>
392Checkable menu items are intended to be used only on a per-session basis and not saved to the device
393(e.g., the <em>Map mode</em> setting in the Maps application is not saved &mdash; screenshot above).
394If there are application settings that you would like to save for the user,
395then you should store the data using <a href="#{@docRoot}guide/topics/data/data-storage.html#pref">Preferences</a>,
396and manage them with a {@link android.preference.PreferenceActivity}.</p>
397
398
399<h3 id="shortcuts">Shortcut keys</h3>
400<p>Quick access shortcut keys using letters and/or numbers can be added to menu items with
401<code>setAlphabeticShortcut(char)</code> (to set char shortcut), <code>setNumericShortcut(int)</code>
402(to set numeric shortcut),
403or <code>setShortcut(char,int)</code> (to set both)</code>. Case is <em>not</em> sensitive.
404
405For example:</p>
406<pre>
407menu.add(0, MENU_QUIT, 0, "Quit")
408 .setAlphabeticShortcut('q');
409</pre>
410<p>Now, when the menu is open (or while holding the MENU key), pressing the "q" key will
411select this item.</p>
412<p>This shortcut key will be displayed as a tip in the menu item, below the menu item name
413(except for items in the Icon Menu).</p>
414<p class="note"><strong>Note:</strong> Shortcuts cannot be added to items in a Context Menu.</p>
415
416
417<h3 id="intents">Menu item intents</h3>
418<p>If you've read the <a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/fundamentals.html">Application
419Fundamentals</a>, then you're at least a little familiar
420with Android Intents. These allow applications to bind with each other, share information,
421and perform user tasks cooperatively. Just like your application might fire an Intent to launch a web browser,
422an email client, or another Activity in your application,
423you can perform such actions from within a menu.
424There are two ways to do this: define an Intent and assign it to a single menu item, or
425define an Intent and allow Android to search the device for activities and dynamically add a
426menu item for each one that meets the Intent criteria.</p>
427
428<p>For more information on creating Intents and providing your application's services to other applications,
429read the <a href="/guide/topics/intents/intents-filters.html">Intents
430and Intent Filters</a> document.</p>
431
432<h4>Set an intent for a single menu item</h4>
433<p>If you want to offer a specific menu item that launches a new Activity, then you
434can specifically define an Intent for the menu item with the
435<code>{@link android.view.MenuItem#setIntent(Intent)
436setIntent()}</code> method.</p>
437
438<p>For example, inside the <code>{@link android.app.Activity#onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu)
439onCreateOptionsMenu()}</code> method, you can define a new menu item with an Intent like this:</p>
440<pre>
441MenuItem menuItem = menu.add(0, PHOTO_PICKER_ID, 0, "Select Photo");
442menuItem.setIntent(new Intent(this, PhotoPicker.class));
443</pre>
444<p>Android will automatically launch the Activity when the item is selected.</p>
445
446<p class="note"><strong>Note:</strong> This will not return a result to your Activity.
447If you wish to be returned a result, then do not use <code>setIntent()</code>.
448Instead, handle the selection as usual in the <code>onOptionsMenuItemSelected()</code>
449or <code>onContextMenuItemSelected()</code> callback and call
450<code>{@link android.app.Activity#startActivityForResult(Intent,int) startActivityForResult()}</code>.
451</p>
452
453<h4>Dynamically add intents</h4>
454
455<p>If there are potentially multiple activities that are relevant to your current
456Activity or selected item, then the application can dynamically add menu items that execute other
457services.</p>
458<p>During menu creation, define an Intent with the category <var>Intent.ALTERNATIVE_CATEGORY</var> and/or
459<var>Intent.SELECTED_ALTERNATIVE</var>, the MIME type currently selected (if any), and any other
460requirements, the same way as you would satisfy an intent filter to open a new
461Activity. Then call
462<code>{@link android.view.Menu#addIntentOptions(int,int,int,ComponentName,Intent[],Intent,int,MenuItem[])
463addIntentOptions()}</code> to have Android search for any services meeting those requirements
464and add them to the menu for you. If there are no applications installed
465that satisfy the Intent, then no additional menu items are added.</p>
466
467<p class="note"><strong>Note:</strong>
468<var>SELECTED_ALTERNATIVE</var> is used to handle the currently selected element on the
469screen. So, it should only be used when creating a Menu in <code>onCreateContextMenu()</code> or
470<code>onPrepareOptionsMenu()</code>, which is called every time the Options Menu is opened.</p>
471
472<p>Here's an example demonstrating how an application would search for
473additional services to display on its menu.</p>
474
475<pre>
476public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu){
477 super.onCreateOptionsMenu(menu);
478
479 // Create an Intent that describes the requirements to fulfill, to be included
480 // in our menu. The offering app must include a category value of Intent.CATEGORY_ALTERNATIVE.
481 Intent intent = new Intent(null, getIntent().getData());
482 intent.addCategory(Intent.CATEGORY_ALTERNATIVE);
483
484 // Search for, and populate the menu with, acceptable offering applications.
485 menu.addIntentOptions(
486 thisClass.INTENT_OPTIONS, // Menu group
487 0, // Unique item ID (none)
488 0, // Order for the items (none)
489 this.getComponentName(), // The current Activity name
490 null, // Specific items to place first (none)
491 intent, // Intent created above that describes our requirements
492 0, // Additional flags to control items (none)
Elliott Hughes7f877062009-07-30 17:00:34 -0700493 null); // Array of MenuItems that correlate to specific items (none)
The Android Open Source Project9066cfe2009-03-03 19:31:44 -0800494
495 return true;
496}</pre>
497
498<p>For each Activity found that provides an Intent Filter matching the Intent defined, a menu
499item will be added, using the <var>android:label</var> value of the intent filter as the text
500for the menu item.
501The <code>{@link android.view.Menu#addIntentOptions(int,int,int,ComponentName,Intent[],Intent,int,MenuItem[]) addIntentOptions()}</code> method will also return the number of menu items added.</p>
502<p>Also be aware that, when <code>addIntentOptions()</code> is called, it will override any and all
503menu items in the menu group specified in the first argument.</p>
504
505<p>If you wish to offer the services of your Activity to other application menus, then you
506only need to define an intent filter as usual. Just be sure to include the <var>ALTERNATIVE</var> and/or
507<var>SELECTED_ALTERNATIVE</var> values in the <var>name</var> attribute of
508a <code>&lt;category></code> element in the intent filter. For example:</p>
509<pre>
510&lt;intent-filter label="Resize Image">
511 ...
512 &lt;category android:name="android.intent.category.ALTERNATIVE" />
513 &lt;category android:name="android.intent.category.SELECTED_ALTERNATIVE" />
514 ...
515&lt;/intent-filter>
516</pre>
517<p>read more about writing intent filters in the
518<a href="/guide/topics/intents/intents-filters.html">Intents and Intent Filters</a> document.</p>
519
520<p>For a sample application using this technique, see the
521<a href="{@docRoot}guide/samples/NotePad/index.html">Note Pad</a>
522sample code.</p>