Initializes the BMenuBar by assigning it a frame rectangle, a name, and a resizingMode, just like other BViews. These values are passed up the inheritance hierarchy to the BView constructor. The default resizing mode (B_FOLLOW_LEFT_RIGHT plus B_FOLLOW_TOP) is designed for a true menu bar (one that's displayed along the top edge of a window). It permits the menu bar to adjust itself to changes in the window's width, while keeping it glued to the top of the window frame.

The layout argument determines how items are arranged in the menu bar. By default, they're arranged in a row as befits a true menu bar. If an instance of this class is being used to implement something other than a horizontal menu, items can be laid out in a column ( B_ITEMS_IN_COLUMN ) or in a matrix ( B_ITEMS_IN_MATRIX ).

If the resizeToFit flag is turned on, as it is by default, the frame rectangle of the BMenuBar will be automatically resized to fit the items it displays. This is generally a good idea, since it relieves you of the responsibility of testing user preferences to determine what size the menu bar should be. Because the font and font size for menu items are user preferences, items can vary in size from user to user.

When resizeToFit is true, the frame rectangle determines only where the menu bar is located, not how large it will be. The rectangle's left and top data members are respected, but the right and bottom sides are adjusted to accommodate the items that are added to the menu bar.

Two kinds of adjustments are made if the layout is B_ITEMS_IN_ROW, as it typically is for a menu bar:

• The height of the menu bar is adjusted to the height of a single item.

• If the resizingMode includes B_FOLLOW_LEFT_RIGHT, the width of the menu bar is adjusted to match the width of its parent view. This means that a true menu bar (one that's a child of the window's top view) will always be as wide as the window.

Two similar adjustments are made if the menu bar layout is B_ITEMS_IN_COLUMN:

• The width of the menu bar is adjusted to the width of the widest item.

• If the resizingMode includes B_FOLLOW_TOP_BOTTOM, the height of the menu bar is adjusted to match the height of its parent view.

After setting up the key menu bar and adding items to it, you may want to set the minimum width of the window so that certain items won't be hidden when the window is resized smaller.

Change the resizingMode, the layout, and the resizeToFit flag as needed for BMenuBars that are used for a purpose other than to implement a true menu bar.

See also: the BMenu constructor, BWindow::SetSizeLimits()

Frees all the items and submenus in the entire menu hierarchy, and all memory allocated by the BMenuBar.

Finishes the initialization of the BMenuBar by setting up the whole hierarchy of menus that it controls, and by making the BWindow to which it has become attached the target handler for all items in the menu hierarchy, except for those items for which a target has already been set.

This function also makes the BMenuBar the key menu bar, the BMenuBar object whose menu hierarchy the user can navigate from the keyboard. If a window contains more than one BMenuBar in its view hierarchy, the last one that's added to the window gets to keep this designation. However, the key menu bar should always be the real menu bar at the top of the window. It can be explicitly set with BWindow's SetKeyMenuBar() function.

Draws the menu—whether as a true menu bar, as some other kind of menu list, or as a single item that controls a pop-up menu. This function is called as the result of update messages; you don't need to call it yourself.

See also: BView::Draw()

Initiates mouse tracking and keyboard navigation of the menu hierarchy. This function is called to notify the BMenuBar of a mouse-down event.

See also: BView::MouseDown()

Calls the inherited version of Archive() which serves to archive the BMenuBar's current state and, if the deep flag is true, all its menu items. This function then adds the BMenuBar's border style to the BMessage archive.

See also: BArchivable::Archive(), BMenu::Archive(), Instantiate() static function

These functions override their BMenu counterparts to restore the normal behavior for views when they're hidden and unhidden. When an ordinary BMenu is hidden, the window that displays it is also removed from the screen. But it would be a mistake to remove the window that displays a BMenuBar. Hiding a BMenuBar is like hiding a typical view; only the view is hidden, not the window.

See also: BView::Hide()

SetBorder() determines how the menu list is bordered. The border argument can be any of three values:

Border() returns the current setting. The default is B_BORDER_FRAME.

Returns a new BMenuBar object, allocated by new and created with the version of the constructor that takes a BMessage archive. However, if the archive message doesn't contain data for a BMenuBar object, this function returns NULL.

See also: BArchivable::Instantiate(), instantiate_object(), Archive()