{"id":2819,"date":"2011-07-18T17:34:07","date_gmt":"2011-07-18T17:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/contextual-menu\/"},"modified":"2011-09-12T17:08:21","modified_gmt":"2011-09-12T17:08:21","slug":"contextual-menu","status":"publish","type":"definition","link":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2828\/contextual-menu","title":{"rendered":"Contextual Menu"},"content":{"rendered":"

What Does Contextual Menu Mean?<\/span><\/h2>\n

A contextual menu is a graphical user interface menu that appears on user interactions such as right-mouse clicks or middle-click mouse operation. This menu only offers a limited set of choices based on the application’s current state. The choices available are related to the object that has been selected. <\/p>\n

Contextual menus are also referred to as context, shortcut or pop-up menus.<\/p>\n

Techopedia Explains Contextual Menu<\/span><\/h2>\n

Contextual menus provide access to actions that pertain to specific items in the user interface. They act much like left-mouse-button clicks, and operations are offered according to the user’s choices. <\/p>\n

Contextual menus are opened when users interact with their interface, and they target a region of the graphical user interface that supports context menus. On computers running on Windows or Unix, context menus are opened by clicking a secondary mouse button. In systems that support a one-button mouse, context menus are opened by pressing and holding that primary button. In certain scenarios, context menus are hierarchically organized, allowing navigation through different levels of the structure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What Does Contextual Menu Mean? A contextual menu is a graphical user interface menu that appears on user interactions such as right-mouse clicks or middle-click mouse operation. This menu only offers a limited set of choices based on the application’s current state. The choices available are related to the object that has been selected. Contextual […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7813,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"definitioncat":[230],"class_list":["post-2819","definition","type-definition","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","definitioncat-privacy-and-compliance"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is Contextual Menu? - Definition from Techopedia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This definition explains the meaning of Contextual Menu and why it matters.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Contextual Menu\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This definition explains the meaning of Contextual Menu and why it matters.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2828\/contextual-menu\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Techopedia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/techopedia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-09-12T17:08:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@techopedia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2828\/contextual-menu#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2828\/contextual-menu\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Margaret Rouse\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5dd538e31ee352d105b8af36c4268a5\"},\"headline\":\"Contextual Menu\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-07-18T17:34:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-09-12T17:08:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2828\/contextual-menu\"},\"wordCount\":179,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2828\/contextual-menu#respond\"]}],\"articleSection\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2828\/contextual-menu\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2828\/contextual-menu\",\"name\":\"What is Contextual Menu? - Definition from Techopedia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-07-18T17:34:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-09-12T17:08:21+00:00\",\"description\":\"This definition explains the meaning of Contextual Menu and why it matters.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2828\/contextual-menu#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2828\/contextual-menu\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2828\/contextual-menu#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Privacy and Compliance\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/topic\/30\/privacy-and-compliance\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Term\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Contextual Menu\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/\",\"name\":\"Techopedia\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Techopedia\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/techopedia-light-logo.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/techopedia-light-logo.svg\",\"caption\":\"Techopedia\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/techopedia\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/techopedia\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/techopedia\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/Techopedia\"],\"publishingPrinciples\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/about\/editorial-policy\",\"ownershipFundingInfo\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/about\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5dd538e31ee352d105b8af36c4268a5\",\"name\":\"Margaret Rouse\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/margaret-rouse-headshot.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/margaret-rouse-headshot.jpeg\",\"caption\":\"Margaret Rouse\"},\"description\":\"Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other\u2019s highly specialized languages.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/margaretrouse\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/@techdefinitions\"],\"knowsAbout\":[\"Technology Expert\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/contributors\/margaret-rouse\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What is Contextual Menu? - Definition from Techopedia","description":"This definition explains the meaning of Contextual Menu and why it matters.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Contextual Menu","og_description":"This definition explains the meaning of Contextual Menu and why it matters.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2828\/contextual-menu","og_site_name":"Techopedia","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/techopedia\/","article_modified_time":"2011-09-12T17:08:21+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@techopedia","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2828\/contextual-menu#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2828\/contextual-menu"},"author":{"name":"Margaret Rouse","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5dd538e31ee352d105b8af36c4268a5"},"headline":"Contextual Menu","datePublished":"2011-07-18T17:34:07+00:00","dateModified":"2011-09-12T17:08:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2828\/contextual-menu"},"wordCount":179,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#organization"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2828\/contextual-menu#respond"]}],"articleSection":""},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2828\/contextual-menu","url":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2828\/contextual-menu","name":"What is Contextual Menu? - Definition from Techopedia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-07-18T17:34:07+00:00","dateModified":"2011-09-12T17:08:21+00:00","description":"This definition explains the meaning of Contextual Menu and why it matters.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2828\/contextual-menu#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2828\/contextual-menu"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/2828\/contextual-menu#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Privacy and Compliance","item":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/topic\/30\/privacy-and-compliance"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Term","item":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Contextual Menu"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/","name":"Techopedia","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#organization","name":"Techopedia","url":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/techopedia-light-logo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/techopedia-light-logo.svg","caption":"Techopedia"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/techopedia\/","https:\/\/x.com\/techopedia","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/techopedia\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/Techopedia"],"publishingPrinciples":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/about\/editorial-policy","ownershipFundingInfo":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/about"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5dd538e31ee352d105b8af36c4268a5","name":"Margaret Rouse","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/margaret-rouse-headshot.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/margaret-rouse-headshot.jpeg","caption":"Margaret Rouse"},"description":"Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other\u2019s highly specialized languages.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/margaretrouse\/","https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/@techdefinitions"],"knowsAbout":["Technology Expert"],"url":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/contributors\/margaret-rouse"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/definition\/2819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/definition"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/definition"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7813"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/definition\/2819\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"definitioncat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/definitioncat?post=2819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}