<page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/"
      type="topic"
      id="header-bar-menus">

  <info>
    <link type="guide" xref="patterns" group="header-bar-menus"/>   
    <credit type="author">
      <name>Allan Day</name>
      <email>aday@gnome.org</email>
    </credit>
    <include href="legal.xml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"/>
  </info>

<title>Header bar menus</title>

<media type="image" mime="image/svg" src="figures/patterns/header-bar-menu.svg"/>

<p><link xref="header-bars">Header bars</link> can include a menu which contains actions and options for the current view. These menus are located at the far right side of the header bar.</p>

<p>While the most frequently used actions for a view should be placed directly in the header bar, a header bar menu provides access to lesser-used actions. This ensures that the header bar isn’t overwhelmed with less interesting or useful controls.</p>

<p>In this way, the header bar menus help to create focused views that guide the user towards the most interesting and useful functionality.</p>

<section id="when-to-use">
<title>When to use</title>

<p>Use a header bar menu to present additional actions or options for the current view. They are best used when those actions or options are not used the majority of the time - if there is a set of actions which deserve more prominence in the view, an <link xref="action-bars">action bar</link> might be a better choice.</p>

<p>Header bar menus are not a good choice for performing actions on selected content: when content hasn’t been selected, the menu will contain unhelpful insensitive menu items, and when content has been selected, possible actions will not be advertised. <link xref="selection-mode">Selection mode</link> or <link xref="popovers">popovers</link> are a better choice for this situation.</p>

</section>

<section id="guidance">
<title>Guidance</title>

<list>
<item><p>Header bar menus should only contain actions for the current view or window - this differentiates their content from application menus.</p></item>
<item><p>Follow the <link xref="menus">standard guidelines for menus</link>.</p></item>
<item><p>A header bar menu is contained within a <link xref="popovers">popover</link>. As such, a header bar menu can include a variety of controls, such as groups of buttons.</p></item>
<item><p>Header bar menus shouldn’t include a close menu item, since this action is already provided by the header bar. It can also be ambiguous as to what a close menu item refers to.</p></item>
</list>

</section>

</page>
