WSeparator

WSeparator is a component used to provide a visual separator between WMenuItems and WSubMenus within a WMenu or WSubMenu.

• Use of WSeparator
  • Over use of WSeparator
  • Separators between hide-able components
• Related components
• Further information

Use of WSeparator

WSeparator may only be added to WMenu or WSubMenu.

Over use of WSeparator

The design of WMenu is such that WSeparator is generally unnecessary.

One should definitely not specify a WSeparator between every item in a menu or sub-menu. If this is the preferred appearance for all such artefacts then it should be added to the theme.

As a design paradigm one should look to the use of menu separators within desktop applications. You will notice that separators are used sparingly and only to group sets of similar commands where a submenu is either not available or inappropriate.

Separators between hide-able components

One issue to be aware of is that WSubMenu and WMenuItem may be hidden but WSeparator cannot. There may be UI consequences of the over use of WSeparator if items which are separated are hidden. For example if all WMenuItems in a WSubMenu are specified as being separated using a WSeparator and some of those WMenuItems are hidden then the UI will appear to have consecutive separators.

Related components

• WMenu
• WMenuItem
• WSubMenu
• WHorizontalRule is used to create horizontal visual separators but has no semantics.

Further information

• JavaDoc;
• List of WComponents.