menu

The system menu in OS X holds the various commands that are available for performing tasks in your current application.

For many of the commands that are commonly used, Apple and application developers have bound them to keyboard shortcuts (listed next to the menu item) so you can perform the same command with a keystroke instead of needing to access the menus.

When browsing through the various system or application menus, you will see that in addition to the commands with built-in keyboard shortcuts there are a number without shortcuts. These are generally less-common commands; however, there are some that … Read more

Portable apps don't show up in the usual places you look for programs, such as the Start Menu, and they tend to get scattered throughout your system. SyMenu's primary mission is to make it easy for you to keep track of and open your portable applications, though it also works with installed programs as well as documents, URLs, folders, and Windows commands. With drag-and-drop functionality and absolute path support, SyMenu collects your linked items in a simple menu structure and opens them instantly when you click them.

SyMenu's system tray icon serves as the central access point; … Read more

If you ever get the feeling that the Start menu in Windows XP could be better organized, you're not alone. Start Menu XP is a simple utility that improves the menu's structure, making it easier to find what you're looking for. Although the functions of the free version are limited, the program is still an improvement over the default Start menu look.

Start Menu XP appears as an icon in the Windows system tray, but it's also readily accessible from the Start menu itself, replacing what is typically found in the All Programs menu. Start Menu … Read more

MooO TransparentMenu is a free utility that lets you make your Windows menus semitransparent and change their color scheme. Why would you want to do that? Well, as the developer points out, sometimes it just looks better. Transparency is one of the cooler Aero features in Windows because it lets you see what's behind a window without obscuring its content. Applying it to context menus in Windows is a great idea; TransparentMenu makes it happen.

TransparentMenu's installer let us choose whether to create a desktop icon or start menu shortcut, but the program's main interface is its … Read more

Millions of textbooks, library books, and documents are covered with yellow, pink, and blue streaks, the legacy of highlighter pens and their enthusiasts. Text highlighting is a proven memory aid, and multiple highlighter colors can help you organize the information you want to retain. Simon Shareef's TextMarker is a free Firefox add-on that enables text highlighting via the keyboard or context menu. You can customize the colors, and copy and save highlighted text.

We ran the download and restarted Firefox to activate the add-on, opened the add-ons manager, and clicked TextMarker's options button. The default color for all … Read more

Text editors are, by design, lacking in features; they're meant to be lightweight programs that are used to handle text that doesn't require much formatting or other fanciness. Dolphin Text Editor Menu is an innovative utility that adds some useful features not only to traditional text editors but also word processors, browsers, e-mail clients, and any other program that handles text. It's unobtrusive and extremely handy to have around.

The program appears as an icon in the system tray, and right clicking it lets users access the options menu. The only real option the program has is … Read more

When you open a Windows program like Notepad or Windows Update, the program's name appears in the window's title bar. Right-clicking the tile bar calls up the system window menu, which accesses commands such as Minimize, Maximize, and Close. Moo0 WindowMenuPlus is a simple tool that can add extra entries to the system window menu and taskbar button, everything from Keep on Top to Kill Process. It's easy to use and totally free.

When it's active, WindowMenuPlus lives in the system tray, also known as the notification area. Its menu accesses entries labeled Turn On, Show/… Read more

Windows 8's new Metro-based Start menu has already aroused concerns and questions among users, but Microsoft sees the feature as a natural evolution.

In the latest Building Windows 8 blog, Chaitanya Sareen, program manager lead on Microsoft's Core Experience Evolved team, acknowledged some of the questions about the new Start menu from worrisome users.

"With regard to the main user experience, particularly Start, we're noticing some themes in your comments," Sareen said.

"Will there be a way to close Metro-style apps without going to Task Manager? (Yes there will be, but we also want … Read more

Judging from the Developer Preview version of Windows 8, Microsoft has finally decided to change the Windows Start menu in a big way. And it's about time. The last time this happened was with Windows 95, when the Start menu was first introduced. Over the years, this menu has been the signature feature of the operating system, a feature that represents both the innovation and the stasis of the software giant.

In Windows 8, the Ctrl-Esc combo key, which shares the same functionality as the Windows key, now brings up something entirely different: the Metro Start Screen. This screen … Read more