MenuItemTest.java - AWT Menu Item Test Program

Java Swing Tutorials - Herong's Tutorial Examples

∟MenuItemTest.java - AWT Menu Item Test Program

This section provides a tutorial example on how to use the java.awt.MenuItem class to create menu items and add them to different menus, sub menus, or the menu bar. Sub menus and menu items added to a menu will be listed vertically when the menu is selected.

Here is an example program I wrote to test the java.awt.MenuItem class:

/* MenuItemTest.java
 * Copyright (c) 1997-2024 HerongYang.com. All Rights Reserved.
 */
import java.awt.Frame;
import java.awt.MenuBar;
import java.awt.Menu;
import java.awt.MenuItem;
public class MenuItemTest {
   Frame myFrame = null;
   public static void main(String[] a) {
      (new MenuItemTest()).test();
   }
   private void test() {
      myFrame = new Frame("Menu Item Test");
      myFrame.setBounds(50,50,250,150);

      MenuBar myMenuBar = new MenuBar();
      Menu myMenu = getFileMenu();
      myMenuBar.add(myMenu);
      myMenu = getColorMenu();
      myMenuBar.add(myMenu);
      myMenu = getOptionMenu();
      myMenuBar.add(myMenu);

      myFrame.setMenuBar(myMenuBar);
      myFrame.setVisible(true);
   }
   private Menu getFileMenu() {
      Menu myMenu = new Menu("File");
      MenuItem myItem = new MenuItem("Open");
      myMenu.add(myItem);
      myItem = new MenuItem("Close");
      myItem.setEnabled(false);
      myMenu.add(myItem);
      myMenu.addSeparator();
      myItem = new MenuItem("Exit");
      myMenu.add(myItem);
      return myMenu;
   }
   private Menu getColorMenu() {
      Menu myMenu = new Menu("Color");
      MenuItem myItem = new MenuItem("Red");
      myMenu.add(myItem);
      myItem = new MenuItem("Green");
      myMenu.add(myItem);
      myItem = new MenuItem("Blue");
      myMenu.add(myItem);
      return myMenu;
   }
   private Menu getOptionMenu() {
      Menu myMenu = new Menu("Option");
      Menu mySubMenu = getOnOffMenu("Sound");
      myMenu.add(mySubMenu);
      mySubMenu = getOnOffMenu("Auto save");
      mySubMenu.setEnabled(false);
      myMenu.add(mySubMenu);
      return myMenu;
   }
   private Menu getOnOffMenu(String title) {
      Menu myMenu = new Menu(title);
      MenuItem myItem = new MenuItem("On");
      myMenu.add(myItem);
      myItem = new MenuItem("Off");
      myMenu.add(myItem);
      return myMenu;
   }
}

If you run this example, you will see the frame window shows up with the menu bar like this:

Interesting notes about this tutorial example:

A menu item can be disabled by calling the set setEnabled(false) function. A disabled menu item will be listed in gray and not be clickable. The "Close" menu item is disabled in this example.
A menu can also be disabled by calling the set setEnabled(false) function. A disabled menu will be listed in gray and not be clickable. The "Auto save" menu item is disabled in this example.