DOCUMENT:Q161256  17-MAR-1997  [vbwin]
TITLE   :HOWTO: Customize Visual Basic Menus to Use Mnemonics
PRODUCT :Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows
PROD/VER:5.00
OPER/SYS:WINDOWS
KEYWORDS:kbtool kbusage vb5all vb5howto VBKBEnv kbhowto

======================================================================
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:

 - Microsoft Visual Basic Professional and Enterprise Editions,
   for Windows, version 5.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY
=======

Visual Basic menus are organized to minimize the number of keystrokes it
takes to get to the most frequently-used options. Still, some options
require several extra keystrokes you may want to eliminate if you use the
option regularly. This article describes how to customize the Visual
Basic for Windows menu to create a new, top-level menu item with mnemonic
key access.

MORE INFORMATION
================

Some menu operations in Visual Basic for Windows require multiple
keystrokes or mouse actions. The best example of this is the Bookmark
option. To toggle a bookmark in a code window with the keyboard, the
keystrokes are:

   ALT+E+B+T

To accomplish this behavior with the mouse, you must do three clicks and
open two menus. There are no designated accelerator keys for these
operations.

This can be changed to a single mnemonic ALT+<KEY> with the customizable
menus introduced in Visual Basic for Windows version 5.0.

The following example assigns an ALT+B mnemonic to the menu option: Edit
Bookmark Toggle.

Step-by-Step Example
--------------------

1. Start a new Standard EXE project. Form1 is added by default.

2. Copy and paste the following code to the Form1 Code Window:

      Private Sub Form_Load()
        MsgBox "Toggle here"
      End Sub

3. Right-click the Menu Bar, and choose View, Toolbars, Customize from the
   menus. The customize window appears.

4. Select the Commands Tab.

5. Choose the "Edit" category and drag the command picture for Toggle
   Bookmark to your menu bar.

   NOTE: Do not close the Customize Window at this point: leaving it open
   determines what menu will be displayed for a right-click. If it is
   closed, you get the standard menu.

6. When you right-click the newly-dropped command picture, you will see
   a special options menu that includes changing the mnemonic and
   displaying text.

7. Change the Name property from "&Toggle Bookmark" to "Toggle &Bookmark."
   This is to avoid conflict with the existing "&Tools" menu.
   Alternatively, you could remove the "&" mnemonic from the Tools menu to
   allow ALT+T to toggle bookmarks.

8. Choose "Text Only (Always)" to display only text in the menu bar or
   choose "Image and Text" to display both the command picture and the
   text. Note that you must display the text for the mnemonic to be
   enabled.

9. Close the customize window.

10. Press the F5 key to run the project, or click "Run Project" from the
   Tools menu.

11. Position the edit cursor (caret) in the Form1 code window on the line:

   MsgBox "Toggle here"

   and press ALT+T. The symbol indicating a bookmark should appear in the
   left margin of the code window.

REFERENCES
==========

Customize Command (Shortcut Menu), Customize Dialog Box

(c) Microsoft Corporation 1996, All Rights Reserved.
Contributions by Ted Keith, Microsoft Corporation
======================================================================
Keywords            : kbtool kbusage vb5all vb5howto VBKBEnv kbhowto
Version             : 5.00
Platform            : WINDOWS
Issue type          : kbhowto

=============================================================================

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS
PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.  MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS
ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES
OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  IN NO
EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR
ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF
MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE
POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.  SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION
OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES
SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY.

Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1997.