Implementing MenuAdv (WPF)

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when the user needs to:

• Build an application menu bar (File, Edit, View…) with nested submenus
• Add icons, keyboard shortcut labels, or separators to menu items
• Create checkable menu items (checkbox or radio button style)
• Bind a hierarchical data collection to a menu via ItemsSource
• Wire menu items to ICommand implementations (MVVM pattern)
• Switch between horizontal and vertical menu orientation
• Control how submenus open (click vs mouse-hover)

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Component Overview

MenuAdv                               (root menu bar container)
├── MenuItemAdv  (×N)                 (top-level or nested item)
│   ├── Header                        — display text
│   ├── Icon                          — image/UIElement on left
│   ├── InputGestureText              — shortcut label (e.g. "Ctrl+N")
│   ├── IsCheckable / CheckIconType   — checkbox or radio button mode
│   ├── Command / CommandParameter    — ICommand binding
│   └── MenuItemAdv  (×N)            (nested submenu items)
└── MenuItemSeparator                 (horizontal divider line)

Assembly: Syncfusion.Shared.WPF
Namespace: Syncfusion.Windows.Shared
XAML schema: http://schemas.syncfusion.com/wpf

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Documentation and Navigation Guide

Getting Started

📄 Read: references/getting-started.md

• Assembly reference and NuGet
• XAML namespace declaration
• Declarative nested MenuItemAdv in XAML
• C# code-behind creation
• Setting icons on items
• Themes with SfSkinManager

Data Binding

📄 Read: references/data-binding.md

• Binding ObservableCollection via ItemsSource
• Model + ViewModel with SubItems hierarchy
• HierarchicalDataTemplate setup
• Binding from XML via XmlDataProvider + XPath

Menu Item Features

📄 Read: references/menu-item-features.md

• Icons on MenuItemAdv
• InputGestureText (keyboard shortcut labels)
• MenuItemSeparator (visual divider)
• CheckBox menu items (IsCheckable, CheckIconType)
• RadioButton menu items (GroupName for mutual exclusion)

Commands

📄 Read: references/commands.md

• Command property — binding to ICommand
• CommandParameter — value passed to handler
• CommandTarget — routing to a specific element
• Built-in ApplicationCommands (Copy, Cut, Paste)
• DelegateCommand implementation pattern for MVVM

Orientation and Expand Mode

📄 Read: references/orientation-and-expand-mode.md

• Orientation — Horizontal (default) vs Vertical
• ExpandMode — ExpandOnClick vs ExpandOnMouseOver
• Boundary detection and scroll support overview
• Decision guide

Appearance

📄 Read: references/appearance.md

• Animation support
• Keyboard navigation
• Blendability (Expression Blend customization)
• Themes via SfSkinManager and ThemeStudio

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Quick Start

xmlns:syncfusion="http://schemas.syncfusion.com/wpf"

<syncfusion:MenuAdv Height="25" VerticalAlignment="Top">
    <syncfusion:MenuItemAdv Header="File">
        <syncfusion:MenuItemAdv Header="New"/>
        <syncfusion:MenuItemAdv Header="Open"/>
        <syncfusion:MenuItemSeparator/>
        <syncfusion:MenuItemAdv Header="Exit"/>
    </syncfusion:MenuItemAdv>
    <syncfusion:MenuItemAdv Header="Edit">
        <syncfusion:MenuItemAdv Header="Cut"/>
        <syncfusion:MenuItemAdv Header="Copy"/>
        <syncfusion:MenuItemAdv Header="Paste"/>
    </syncfusion:MenuItemAdv>
    <syncfusion:MenuItemAdv Header="View"/>
</syncfusion:MenuAdv>

using Syncfusion.Windows.Shared;

MenuAdv menu = new MenuAdv();

MenuItemAdv file = new MenuItemAdv { Header = "File" };
file.Items.Add(new MenuItemAdv { Header = "New" });
file.Items.Add(new MenuItemAdv { Header = "Open" });
file.Items.Add(new MenuItemSeparator());
file.Items.Add(new MenuItemAdv { Header = "Exit" });

MenuItemAdv edit = new MenuItemAdv { Header = "Edit" };
edit.Items.Add(new MenuItemAdv { Header = "Cut" });
edit.Items.Add(new MenuItemAdv { Header = "Copy" });

menu.Items.Add(file);
menu.Items.Add(edit);
this.Content = menu;

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Common Patterns

Scenario	Approach
Static app menu (File/Edit/View)	Declarative nested MenuItemAdv in XAML
Dynamic data-driven menu	ItemsSource + HierarchicalDataTemplate
Icon beside menu item	MenuItemAdv.Icon with <Image Source="..."/>
Keyboard shortcut label	InputGestureText="Ctrl+N"
Separator between groups	<syncfusion:MenuItemSeparator/>
Toggle option (checkable)	IsCheckable="True" + CheckIconType="CheckBox"
Mutually exclusive options	CheckIconType="RadioButton" + GroupName="group1"
MVVM command binding	Command="{Binding SaveCommand}"
Vertical sidebar menu	Orientation="Vertical"
Open submenu on hover	ExpandMode="ExpandOnMouseOver"

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Key Properties

MenuAdv:

Property	Description
Orientation	Horizontal (default) or Vertical item layout
ExpandMode	ExpandOnClick or ExpandOnMouseOver
ItemsSource	Data collection for data-bound population
ItemTemplate	HierarchicalDataTemplate for data-bound items

MenuItemAdv:

Property	Description
Header	Display text
Icon	Image/UIElement shown on left
InputGestureText	Shortcut key label (e.g., "Ctrl+S")
IsCheckable	Enable checkbox/radio behavior
CheckIconType	CheckBox or RadioButton
IsChecked	Checked state (bool)
GroupName	Radio button group identifier
Command	ICommand binding
CommandParameter	Value passed to command
CommandTarget	Target element for routed commands