hierarchical menu
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: A hierarchical menu is a secondary, structured list of options that appears on a computer screen when a user points at or selects a specific item within a primary menu. It organizes commands or choices into multiple, nested levels, reflecting a parent-child relationship between menu items.
Usage
A hierarchical menu is used in graphical user interfaces (GUIs) to manage complex sets of options in an organized, space-efficient way. The user activates it by hovering a cursor over or clicking a primary menu item.
Examples
- In the software, select 'File' to see the primary menu; hovering over 'Export' will open a hierarchical menu with options like 'Export as PDF' and 'Export as Image'.
- The website's navigation uses a hierarchical menu, where pointing at 'Products' reveals sub-menus for different product categories.
- Right-clicking the desktop often brings up a context menu that may contain hierarchical menus for nested actions.
Advanced Usage
- Design Principle: In user experience (UX) design, a well-structured hierarchical menu is crucial for helping users discover features without overwhelming them with all choices at once.
- Accessibility: For web accessibility, hierarchical menus must be navigable using a keyboard, not just a mouse cursor.
Variants and Related Words
- Drop-down Menu: A common type of hierarchical menu that "drops down" from a main menu bar.
- Cascading Menu: Another term for a hierarchical menu, emphasizing the way sub-menus cascade or fan out from a parent item.
- Submenu: The secondary menu that appears; it is a component of the overall hierarchical menu structure.
- Nested Menu: A menu with items that contain further sub-menus, creating multiple levels of hierarchy.
Synonyms
- Tiered menu
- Multi-level menu
Antonyms
- Flat menu (a single-level menu with no nested options)
- Linear menu
Related Phrases
- Menu Hierarchy: The overall structure of nested menus within an interface.
- Drill-down Navigation: The action of moving through levels of a hierarchical menu to find a specific command or page.
Noun
- a secondary menu that appears while you are holding the cursor over an item on the primary menu