Choose context menu when users invoke commands from a specific object, text selection, canvas item, table row, file, or map mark using right click, long press, context-menu key, or Shift+F10.
Choose context menu when users invoke commands from a specific object, text selection, canvas item, table row, file, or map mark using right click, long press, context-menu key, or Shift+F10.
Practice the judgment: Imagine this situation: Right click on one row opens commands for a previously selected row. Write the person's goal, choose one of these patterns, and show the state that helps the person continue. Use the decision rules and source trail below to explain your choice.
Review the underlying principle →| Dimension | Context menu | Action menu | Menu button | Popover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UI or UX | UI + UX - Location-invoked contextual command menu | UI + UX - Contextual command list for a resource or selection | UI + UX - Button-controlled popup menu of actions or links | UI + UX - Small anchored contextual overlay |
| UI guidance | Render a context menu as a compact command menu anchored to the object, selection, pointer position, or focused item that invoked it, with clear item labels, disabled reasons, separators, and destructive separation. | Render a compact menu of verb-led actions scoped to one resource, row, card, selected set, or page object, with clear section headings, object-aware labels, disabled reasons, and separated dangerous commands. | Render a named button trigger, visible opened state, controlled popup, menu items, active item styling, disabled item state, separator or section grouping, and a safe way to distinguish destructive commands. | Render a popover as a compact surface visually tied to the trigger, field, selection, or object that opened it, with a clear title or labelled content when the body is more than a short sentence. |
| UX guidance | Use a context menu when users need fast object-specific commands from a secondary invocation path such as right click, long press, context-menu key, or Shift+F10. | Make the current object or selection count explicit, update actions when scope changes, and route destructive or privacy-sensitive commands into confirmation, undo, restore, or review instead of running silently. | Make dismissal, activation, focus return, unavailable actions, and high-risk command handoff predictable so the menu behaves like a command chooser rather than a hidden form. | Make opening, light dismissal, Escape, outside click, anchor scrolling, focus order, and focus return predictable so the surface feels contextual rather than interruptive. |
| Good UI | A file row opens a context menu at the selected row with Open, Rename, Duplicate, Download, Archive, and Delete separated at the end. | A Customer actions menu has Manage customer, Data requests, and Account risk sections, with Edit customer, Merge customer, Request data export, and Delete customer separated at the end. | A table row has a Report actions button that opens a compact menu with Open, Rename, Duplicate, Archive, and an unavailable Export item. | A Due date button in a task row opens a small popover beside the field with Today, Tomorrow, Friday, a custom date field, and a visible close control. |
| Bad UI | Right clicking a row opens a menu beside the toolbar and still shows actions for the previously selected row. | Safe, risky, disabled, external, and value-selection items share the same style and role. | A primary Save action is hidden behind More while lower-priority icons remain visible. | Escape closes the layer but focus disappears or jumps to the top of the page. |
| Good UX | Right click on Forecast.xlsx opens commands for that file, Arrow keys move through items, Escape closes the menu, and focus returns to the file row. | A user opens Customer actions, chooses Duplicate customer, and receives status that names the customer and keeps focus anchored to the action context. | A user opens Report actions, arrows to Duplicate report, activates it, and focus returns to the Report actions trigger with a status update. | Opening the due-date popover moves focus to the first date option, choosing Tomorrow updates the field, closes the layer, and returns focus to the Due date trigger. |
| Bad UX | The menu opens for a stale selected object instead of the object under the pointer. | A user activates a menu item that looks like a command but navigates away and loses unsaved context. | A user tabs into a menu and lands in a text input because the menu contains unrelated form controls. | The user scrolls and the popover stays in the old position, so it appears to describe the wrong field. |
| Best fit | Objects or selections have secondary commands that experienced users expect near the target. | A resource, row, card, selected set, or local page object has several contextual commands. | A local object or toolbar has three to eight secondary commands. | A local control needs brief explanatory content or light editing while page context remains visible. |
| Avoid when | The command is primary, urgent, safety-critical, or required for task completion. | Only one or two commands are needed and visible buttons would be faster. | The job is choosing a form value, selecting several values, or browsing a long list. | The content is essential instruction that must remain visible for task completion. |
| Required state | Resting object or selection state before invocation. | Closed trigger or contextual entry point with resource scope. | Closed trigger state with visible or accessible name. | Closed trigger state with visible label, icon name, or field relationship. |
| Accessibility burden | Support keyboard invocation through the context-menu key or Shift+F10 where the platform expects it. | Give the trigger or menu an accessible name that includes the resource or selected-set scope. | Use an actual button for the trigger when possible. | Use a real button or equivalent control as the trigger whenever possible. |
| Common misuse | Making right click or long press the only way to discover important commands. | Letting a bulk action menu run single-object commands against multiple selected items. | Using a menu button for long value selection that should be a select, listbox, combobox, or multi-select. | Using a popover as a hidden modal, drawer, sheet, command menu, or full workflow. |