page.title=Menu Resource parent.title=Resource Types parent.link=available-resources.html @jd:body

See also

  1. Creating Menus

A menu resource defines an application menu (Options Menu, Context Menu, or Sub Menu) that can be inflated with {@link android.view.MenuInflater}.

file location:
res/menu/filename.xml
The filename will be used as the resource ID.
compiled resource datatype:
Resource pointer to a {@link android.view.Menu} (or subclass) resource.
resource reference:
In Java: R.menu.filename
In XML: @[package:]menu.filename
syntax:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <item android:id="@[+][package:]id/resource_name"
          android:title="string"
          android:titleCondensed="string"
          android:icon="@[package:]drawable/drawable_resource_name"
          android:onClick="method name"
          android:showAsAction=["ifRoom" | "never" | "withText" | "always"]
          android:actionLayout="@[package:]layout/layout_resource_name"
          android:actionViewClass="class name"
          android:alphabeticShortcut="string"
          android:numericShortcut="string"
          android:checkable=["true" | "false"]
          android:visible=["visible" | "invisible" | "gone"]
          android:enabled=["enabled" | "disabled"]
          android:menuCategory=["container" | "system" | "secondary" | "alternative"]
          android:orderInCategory="integer" />
    <group android:id="@[+][package:]id/resource name"
           android:checkableBehavior=["none" | "all" | "single"]
           android:visible=["visible" | "invisible" | "gone"]
           android:enabled=["enabled" | "disabled"]
           android:menuCategory=["container" | "system" | "secondary" | "alternative"]
           android:orderInCategory="integer" >
        <item />
    </group>
    <item >
        <menu>
          <item />
        </menu>
    </item>
</menu>
elements:
Required. This must be the root node. Contains <item> and/or <group> elements.

attributes:

xmlns:android
XML namespace. Required. Defines the XML namespace, which must be "http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android".
<item>
A menu item. May contain a <menu> element (for a Sub Menu). Must be a child of a <menu> or <group> element.

attributes:

android:id
Resource ID. A unique resource ID. To create a new resource ID for this item, use the form: "@+id/name". The plus symbol indicates that this should be created as a new ID.
android:title
String resource. The menu title as a string resource or raw string.
android:titleCondensed
String resource. A condensed title as a string resource or a raw string. This title is used for situations in which the normal title is too long.
android:icon
Drawable resource. An image to be used as the menu item icon.
android:onClick
Method name. The method to call when this menu item is clicked. The method must be declared in the activity as public and accept a {@link android.view.MenuItem} as its only parameter, which indicates the item clicked. This method takes precedence over the standard callback to {@link android.app.Activity#onOptionsItemSelected onOptionsItemSelected()}. See the example at the bottom.

Warning: If you obfuscate your code using ProGuard (or a similar tool), be sure to exclude the method you specify in this attribute from renaming, because it can break the functionality.

Introduced in API Level HONEYCOMB.

android:showAsAction
Keyword. When and how this item should appear as an action item in the Action Bar. A menu item can appear as an action item only when the activity includes an {@link android.app.ActionBar} (introduced in API Level HONEYCOMB). Valid values:
ValueDescription
ifRoomOnly place this item in the Action Bar if there is room for it.
withTextAlso include the title text (defined by {@code android:title}) with the action item. You can include this value along with one of the others as a flag set, by separating them with a pipe {@code |}.
neverNever place this item in the Action Bar.
alwaysAlways place this item in the Action Bar. Avoid using this unless it's critical that the item always appear in the action bar. Setting multiple items to always appear as action items can result in them overlapping with other UI in the action bar.

See Using the Action Bar for more information.

Introduced in API Level HONEYCOMB.

android:actionViewLayout
Layout resource. A layout to use as the action view.

See Using the Action Bar for more information.

Introduced in API Level HONEYCOMB.

android:actionViewClassName
Class name. A fully-qualified class name for the {@link android.view.View} to use as the action view.

See Using the Action Bar for more information.

Warning: If you obfuscate your code using ProGuard (or a similar tool), be sure to exclude the class you specify in this attribute from renaming, because it can break the functionality.

Introduced in API Level HONEYCOMB.

android:alphabeticShortcut
Char. A character for the alphabetic shortcut key.
android:numericShortcut
Integer. A number for the numeric shortcut key.
android:checkable
Boolean. "true" if the item is checkable.
android:checked
Boolean. "true" if the item is checked by default.
android:visible
Boolean. "true" if the item is visible by default.
android:enabled
Boolean. "true" if the item is enabled by default.
android:menuCategory
Keyword. Value corresponding to {@link android.view.Menu} {@code CATEGORY_*} constants, which define the item's priority. Valid values:
ValueDescription
containerFor items that are part of a container.
systemFor items that are provided by the system.
secondaryFor items that are user-supplied secondary (infrequently used) options.
alternativeFor items that are alternative actions on the data that is currently displayed.
android:orderInCategory
Integer. The order of "importance" of the item, within a group.
<group>
A menu group (to create a collection of items that share traits, such as whether they are visible, enabled, or checkable). Contains one or more <item> elements. Must be a child of a <menu> element.

attributes:

android:id
Resource ID. A unique resource ID. To create a new resource ID for this item, use the form: "@+id/name". The plus symbol indicates that this should be created as a new ID.
android:checkableBehavior
Keyword. The type of checkable behavior for the group. Valid values:
ValueDescription
noneNot checkable
allAll items can be checked (use checkboxes)
singleOnly one item can be checked (use radio buttons)
android:visible
Boolean. "true" if the group is visible.
android:enabled
Boolean. "true" if the group is enabled.
android:menuCategory
Keyword. Value corresponding to {@link android.view.Menu} {@code CATEGORY_*} constants, which define the group's priority. Valid values:
ValueDescription
containerFor groups that are part of a container.
systemFor groups that are provided by the system.
secondaryFor groups that are user-supplied secondary (infrequently used) options.
alternativeFor groups that are alternative actions on the data that is currently displayed.
android:orderInCategory
Integer. The default order of the items within the category.
example:
XML file saved at res/menu/example_menu.xml: 
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <item android:id="@+id/item1"
          android:title="@string/item1"
          android:icon="@drawable/group_item1_icon"
          android:showAsAction="ifRoom|withText"/>
    <group android:id="@+id/group">
        <item android:id="@+id/group_item1"
              android:onClick="onGroupItemClick"
              android:title="@string/group_item1"
              android:icon="@drawable/group_item1_icon" />
        <item android:id="@+id/group_item2"
              android:onClick="onGroupItemClick"
              android:title="G@string/group_item2"
              android:icon="@drawable/group_item2_icon" />
    </group>
    <item android:id="@+id/submenu"
          android:title="@string/submenu_title"
          android:showAsAction="ifRoom|withText" >
        <menu>
            <item android:id="@+id/submenu_item1"
                  android:title="@string/submenu_item1" />
        </menu>
    </item>
</menu>

The following application code inflates the menu from the {@link android.app.Activity#onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu)} callback and also declares the on-click callback for two of the items:

public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
    MenuInflater inflater = getMenuInflater();
    inflater.inflate(R.menu.example_menu, menu);
    return true;
}

public void onGroupItemClick(MenuItem item) {
    // One of the group items (using the onClick attribute) was clicked
    // The item parameter passed here indicates which item it is
    // All other menu item clicks are handled by {@link android.app.Activity#onOptionsItemSelected onOptionsItemSelected()}
}

Note: The {@code android:showAsAction} attribute is available only on Android X.X (API Level HONEYCOMB) and greater.