Menus can also contain items which indicate the state of a feature, such as the visibility of a tool window. There are two ways that this can be done. The first is to use a menu item with a dynamic title. In both states, it must be completely clear to the user what will happen when the item is clicked just be reading the title. The other method is to place a checkmark beside the item indicating the current state. The advantage to this method is that it can be used for choosing from more than two states at the expense of screen space. When using this method, all possible states need to be listed in order to prevent confusion.
Examples of Good Dynamic Menu Item Usage
|Window|
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Show Tool Window
Hide Tool Window
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Show Color Picker
Hide Color Picker
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|Options|
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Change to Wireframe Preview
Change to Full Preview
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Examples of Good Multiple State Item Usage:
|Help|
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Read the Manual...
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* Show Tooltips
Do Not Show Tooltips
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Go to the MyApp Website
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|Font|
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Choose Font and Size...
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* Normal
Bold
Italics
Bold Italics
Strikeout
Underline
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