For information about accessing menus in SlickEdit Core and associated options, see Menus.
Menus in SlickEdit Core are easily customized using a Menu Editor that allows you to add, delete, or change menu entries. Modifications made through this UI will be preserved when you upgrade to a newer version of SlickEdit Core.
SlickEdit Core menus are controlled by Slick-C macro files. You can customize menus by editing the corresponding Slick-C files. However any such modifications will be lost when you upgrade to a newer version of SlickEdit Core. Only modifications made through the Menu Editor will be preserved.
If you plan to customize your menu items, be sure to back up your configuration directory before installing any updates or new versions of SlickEdit Core, as they will overwrite your changes.
To access the Menu Editor dialog, click Macro → Menus from the main menu (or use the open_menu command). The following buttons are available:
Open - Opens the menu specified in the combo box for editing with the Menu Editor. If the menu specified does not already exist, it is created.
New - Creates a new menu with a unique name for editing with the Menu Editor. The Menu Editor allows you to change the name of the menu.
Delete - Deletes the specified menu from the combo box.
Show - Runs the menu by displaying it as a pop-up. Use this button during macro recording to create a command which runs a menu by displaying it as a pop-up. If you bind the command to a left or right button mouse event, the menu will be displayed at the cursor position.
The menu editor can only be used to edit SlickEdit Core menus, like the context menu in the editor window. Some of the menus visible in the Menu Editor are not used by SlickEdit Core. They appear in the list due to the shared heritage with our standalone editor, SlickEdit.
Use the Menu Editor to create a new menu resource. From the main menu, click Macro → Menus (or use the open_menu command), then click New on the Open Menu dialog. The Menu Editor is displayed. See Menu Editor Dialog for more information.
To create a command which runs a menu by displaying it as a pop-up, after creating a menu, while macro recording, click the Show button on the Open Menu dialog box. If you bind the recorded command to a left or right mouse button event, the menu will be displayed at the cursor position. You DO NOT need to specify key bindings for menu items because the Menu Editor automatically determines the key bindings for you. To choose between short and long key names, from the main menu click Window → SlickEdit Preferences → Appearance → Advanced, then change the option Short key names.
See the Slick-CŪ Macro Programming Guide for information on creating forms with menu bars or advanced information.
To select a menu for editing, from the main menu click Macro → Menus (or use the open_menu command). Select the menu to edit from the list, then click Open. The Menu Editor will be displayed. See Menu Editor Dialog for a list of the available options.
The Menu Item Alias dialog box allows you to define aliases (which are similar commands) for the command that is being executed. This dialog box can be accessed by clicking the Alias button on the Menu Editor. Enter each alias command on a separate line. If one of the alias commands are bound to a key, that key name will be displayed to the right of the menu item. For example, the e and edit commands are absolutely identically in function except that the e command requires fewer characters to type. The gui_open command is identical to the edit command except that it prompts the user with a dialog box, whereas the edit command prompts for files on the command line. These two examples illustrate the best reasons for using aliases.
SlickEdit Core has attributes to enable or disable predefines which you can specify for any command. When these predefined auto-enabling attributes are not enough, you need to implement a callback which determines the enable or disable state of the command. See the Slick-CŪ Macro Programming Guide for information on enabling and disabling menu items with your own callback.
The Auto Enable Properties dialog box is used for these settings, and can be accessed from the main menu by clicking Macro → Menus. When the Open Menu dialog box is displayed, click New to display the Menu Editor. Click the Auto Enable button, and the Auto Enable Properties dialog is displayed.
For descriptions of the options on this dialog, see Auto Enable Properties Dialog .