The menu key on a keyboard or device brings up a context-sensitive menu on the display, often used to trigger a context menu on a computer screen. It was not originally part of standard keyboard layouts and can appear anywhere. Some devices have a menu key for navigation or hardware functions.
A menu key is a physical key on a computer keyboard or other device that brings up a context-sensitive menu on the display. In relation to a computer keyboard, the menu key usually has the same effect as the right mouse button or middle mouse button, immediately bringing up a specific menu of the currently active program. When the key is on a handheld device, it can often be used to bring up a menu of generic options for navigation, or it can behave in the same way as the key on a computer keyboard. Some types of electronic computer hardware, such as monitors, have a menu key that can be used to directly control internal hardware options. Not all keyboards or computer devices have a menu key, and some operating systems or applications do not recognize the menu key even if it is present.
On a computer keyboard, the menu key is typically used to trigger an event that will bring up a context menu on the screen. A context menu is a list of options from which the user can select that is directly related to the currently active program. The same menu can generally be activated with the right mouse button or the middle mouse button. In addition to bringing up a menu, the mouse cursor position is often changed to point to the first item in the menu.
The menu key was not part of the original layout of standard computer keyboards. While the overall location has been somewhat standardized, with the key appearing in the lower right quadrant of the keyboard in many cases, it is not part of a formal layout and so can appear anywhere on the keyboard that is convenient. When the key is pressed, programmatically, the scancode generated does not fall within the standard lower digit scancodes that alphanumeric keys generate, and is instead usually a higher number. Higher value scancodes were not supported by earlier computer hardware, making adding extra keys difficult or impossible to implement on all systems. Hardware and software have progressed, however, to the point where sending extended scan codes was no longer a problem.
Some handheld devices and computer hardware include a menu key to allow a user to easily access a menu to change certain options. In the case of some handheld devices, this key can invoke a context menu or can be used for basic navigation within an operating system. On hardware such as monitors, the key can be used to access specific hardware functions such as degaussing or frequency changes.
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