Context menu

The term context menu is commonly used for list menus which pop up when clicking with the right mouse button in the client area of a computer application. Keyboards with Microsoft-keys also have an additional key that opens context menus in Windows applications.

Context menus are sometimes hierarchically organized, allowing navigation through different levels of the menu structure. The implementations differ: Microsoft Word was one of the first applications to only show sub-entries of some menu entries after clicking an arrow icon on the context menu, otherwise executing an action associated with the parent entry. This makes it possible to quickly repeat a previous action with the same parameters, or to better separate options from actions.

Context menus have received some criticism from usability analysts when improperly used, as some applications make certain features only available in context menus, which may confuse even experienced users (especially when they are only active in a limited client area).

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