Menus

Menu bars and context menus in Dear ImGui

Menus provide organized navigation and command access in your application. Dear ImGui supports menu bars, popup menus, and context menus.

Menu Bars

Window Menu Bar

Add a menu bar to the current window:

IMGUI_API bool BeginMenuBar();
IMGUI_API void EndMenuBar();

Requires ImGuiWindowFlags_MenuBar flag set on the parent window.

ImGui::Begin("Window", NULL, ImGuiWindowFlags_MenuBar);

if (ImGui::BeginMenuBar()) {
    if (ImGui::BeginMenu("File")) {
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("New")) { /* action */ }
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Open", "Ctrl+O")) { /* action */ }
        ImGui::EndMenu();
    }
    if (ImGui::BeginMenu("Edit")) {
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Undo", "Ctrl+Z")) { /* action */ }
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Redo", "Ctrl+Y")) { /* action */ }
        ImGui::EndMenu();
    }
    ImGui::EndMenuBar();
}

ImGui::End();

Main Menu Bar

Create a full-screen menu bar at the top:

IMGUI_API bool BeginMainMenuBar();
IMGUI_API void EndMainMenuBar();

if (ImGui::BeginMainMenuBar()) {
    if (ImGui::BeginMenu("File")) {
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("New")) { }
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Open", "Ctrl+O")) { }
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Save", "Ctrl+S")) { }
        ImGui::Separator();
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Quit", "Alt+F4")) { }
        ImGui::EndMenu();
    }
    if (ImGui::BeginMenu("Edit")) {
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Undo", "Ctrl+Z")) { }
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Redo", "Ctrl+Y", false, false)) { }  // Disabled
        ImGui::EndMenu();
    }
    ImGui::EndMainMenuBar();
}

Menu Items

BeginMenu() / EndMenu()

Create a sub-menu:

IMGUI_API bool BeginMenu(const char* label, bool enabled = true);
IMGUI_API void EndMenu();

label · const char* · required

Menu label

enabled · bool · default: "true"

Whether the menu can be opened

if (ImGui::BeginMenu("File")) {
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("New")) { }
    
    if (ImGui::BeginMenu("Open Recent")) {
        ImGui::MenuItem("file1.txt");
        ImGui::MenuItem("file2.txt");
        ImGui::MenuItem("file3.txt");
        ImGui::EndMenu();
    }
    
    ImGui::Separator();
    
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Quit")) { }
    
    ImGui::EndMenu();
}

MenuItem()

Create a clickable menu item:

IMGUI_API bool MenuItem(const char* label, const char* shortcut = NULL,
                        bool selected = false, bool enabled = true);
IMGUI_API bool MenuItem(const char* label, const char* shortcut,
                        bool* p_selected, bool enabled = true);

label · const char* · required

Menu item label

shortcut · const char*

Keyboard shortcut text (for display only, not processed)

selected · bool

Display a checkmark if true

enabled · bool · default: "true"

Whether the item can be clicked

Basic Menu Items

if (ImGui::MenuItem("New")) {
    CreateNewFile();
}

if (ImGui::MenuItem("Open", "Ctrl+O")) {
    OpenFileDialog();
}

if (ImGui::MenuItem("Save", "Ctrl+S")) {
    SaveFile();
}

Nested Menus

Create hierarchical menu structures:

if (ImGui::BeginMenu("File")) {
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("New")) { }
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Open", "Ctrl+O")) { }
    
    if (ImGui::BeginMenu("Open Recent")) {
        ImGui::MenuItem("project1.dat");
        ImGui::MenuItem("project2.dat");
        
        if (ImGui::BeginMenu("More..")) {
            ImGui::MenuItem("project3.dat");
            ImGui::MenuItem("project4.dat");
            ImGui::EndMenu();
        }
        ImGui::EndMenu();
    }
    
    ImGui::Separator();
    
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Quit", "Alt+F4")) { }
    
    ImGui::EndMenu();
}

Menu Separators

Add visual separators between menu items:

if (ImGui::BeginMenu("File")) {
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("New")) { }
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Open")) { }
    
    ImGui::Separator();
    
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Save")) { }
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Save As")) { }
    
    ImGui::Separator();
    
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Quit")) { }
    
    ImGui::EndMenu();
}

Context Menus

BeginPopupContextItem()

Context menu for the last item:

IMGUI_API bool BeginPopupContextItem(const char* str_id = NULL, ImGuiPopupFlags popup_flags = 0);

ImGui::Text("Right-click me");
if (ImGui::BeginPopupContextItem()) {
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Copy")) { }
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Paste")) { }
    ImGui::EndPopup();
}

BeginPopupContextWindow()

Context menu for the current window:

IMGUI_API bool BeginPopupContextWindow(const char* str_id = NULL, ImGuiPopupFlags popup_flags = 0);

if (ImGui::BeginPopupContextWindow()) {
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Close")) { }
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Minimize")) { }
    ImGui::EndPopup();
}

BeginPopupContextVoid()

Context menu when clicking in empty space:

IMGUI_API bool BeginPopupContextVoid(const char* str_id = NULL, ImGuiPopupFlags popup_flags = 0);

if (ImGui::BeginPopupContextVoid()) {
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("New Window")) { }
    if (ImGui::MenuItem("Settings")) { }
    ImGui::EndPopup();
}

Complex Menu Contents

Menus can contain any widgets:

if (ImGui::BeginMenu("Options")) {
    static bool enabled = true;
    ImGui::MenuItem("Enabled", "", &enabled);
    
    // Child window for scrollable content
    ImGui::BeginChild("child", ImVec2(0, 60), ImGuiChildFlags_Borders);
    for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
        ImGui::Text("Scrolling Text %d", i);
    ImGui::EndChild();
    
    static float f = 0.5f;
    ImGui::SliderFloat("Value", &f, 0.0f, 1.0f);
    
    static int n = 0;
    ImGui::Combo("Combo", &n, "Yes\0No\0Maybe\0\0");
    
    ImGui::EndMenu();
}

Menu with Colors

Display color swatches in menus:

if (ImGui::BeginMenu("Colors")) {
    float sz = ImGui::GetTextLineHeight();
    
    for (int i = 0; i < ImGuiCol_COUNT; i++) {
        const char* name = ImGui::GetStyleColorName((ImGuiCol)i);
        ImVec2 p = ImGui::GetCursorScreenPos();
        
        // Draw color swatch
        ImGui::GetWindowDrawList()->AddRectFilled(p, 
            ImVec2(p.x + sz, p.y + sz), 
            ImGui::GetColorU32((ImGuiCol)i));
        
        ImGui::Dummy(ImVec2(sz, sz));
        ImGui::SameLine();
        ImGui::MenuItem(name);
    }
    ImGui::EndMenu();
}

Appending to Existing Menus

You can append to menus multiple times:

// First definition
if (ImGui::BeginMenu("Options")) {
    ImGui::MenuItem("Option A");
    ImGui::MenuItem("Option B");
    ImGui::EndMenu();
}

// Later in code - append more items
if (ImGui::BeginMenu("Options")) {
    ImGui::MenuItem("Option C");
    ImGui::MenuItem("Option D");
    ImGui::EndMenu();
}

Complete Example

void ShowMenuDemo() {
    // Main menu bar
    if (ImGui::BeginMainMenuBar()) {
        if (ImGui::BeginMenu("File")) {
            if (ImGui::MenuItem("New", "Ctrl+N")) {
                // Create new file
            }
            if (ImGui::MenuItem("Open", "Ctrl+O")) {
                // Open file dialog
            }
            
            if (ImGui::BeginMenu("Open Recent")) {
                ImGui::MenuItem("document1.txt");
                ImGui::MenuItem("document2.txt");
                ImGui::MenuItem("document3.txt");
                ImGui::EndMenu();
            }
            
            ImGui::Separator();
            
            if (ImGui::MenuItem("Save", "Ctrl+S")) {
                // Save file
            }
            if (ImGui::MenuItem("Save As..")) {
                // Save as dialog
            }
            
            ImGui::Separator();
            
            if (ImGui::MenuItem("Quit", "Alt+F4")) {
                // Quit application
            }
            
            ImGui::EndMenu();
        }
        
        if (ImGui::BeginMenu("Edit")) {
            if (ImGui::MenuItem("Undo", "Ctrl+Z")) { }
            if (ImGui::MenuItem("Redo", "Ctrl+Y")) { }
            
            ImGui::Separator();
            
            if (ImGui::MenuItem("Cut", "Ctrl+X")) { }
            if (ImGui::MenuItem("Copy", "Ctrl+C")) { }
            if (ImGui::MenuItem("Paste", "Ctrl+V")) { }
            
            ImGui::EndMenu();
        }
        
        if (ImGui::BeginMenu("View")) {
            static bool show_grid = true;
            static bool show_ruler = false;
            
            ImGui::MenuItem("Show Grid", NULL, &show_grid);
            ImGui::MenuItem("Show Ruler", NULL, &show_ruler);
            
            ImGui::EndMenu();
        }
        
        ImGui::EndMainMenuBar();
    }
    
    // Window with context menu
    ImGui::Begin("Window with Context Menu");
    
    ImGui::Text("Right-click on me!");
    if (ImGui::BeginPopupContextItem()) {
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Action 1")) { }
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Action 2")) { }
        ImGui::Separator();
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Close")) { }
        ImGui::EndPopup();
    }
    
    // Context menu for empty space
    if (ImGui::BeginPopupContextWindow()) {
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Clear")) { }
        if (ImGui::MenuItem("Reset")) { }
        ImGui::EndPopup();
    }
    
    ImGui::End();
}

Best Practices

Keyboard shortcuts in MenuItem() are displayed but not automatically processed. You need to implement the actual keyboard handling separately.

Use Separator() to group related menu items visually.

Always call EndMenu() only if BeginMenu() returns true. Always call EndMenuBar() only if BeginMenuBar() returns true.

Context menus default to right-click. Use ImGuiPopupFlags_MouseButtonLeft or ImGuiPopupFlags_MouseButtonMiddle for different buttons.