9MENU(1) Plan 9 For X 9MENU(1)
May 05 1997
NAME
9menu - create a menu to run commands
SYNOPSIS
9menu [ -display displayname ] [ -font fname ] [ -geometry geom ] [
-label name ] [ -fg foreground-color ] [ -bg background-color ] [
-shell prog ] [ -popup ] [ -popdown ] [ -iconic ] [ -teleport ] [ -warp
] [ -version ] menuitem[:command] ...
DESCRIPTION
9menu is a simple program that accepts a list of menu item and command
pairs on the command line. It creates a window that consists of
nothing but a menu. When a particular item is selected, the
corresponding command is executed. Either Button1 or Button3 may be
used to select an item.
Menu items and commands are separated by a colon. The colon and
command are optional. If they are missing, then the menu item is
assumed to be a command that can be executed directly.
A menu item consisting of the word exit will cause 9menu to exit.
Otherwise, the menu should be deleted from the window manager. The
exit menu item can be anywhere in the list, although by convention it
is last. If a command is supplied along with the exit item, that
command will be executed before 9menu exits.
9menu accepts the following command line options.
-display displayname
Use the X display displayname, instead of the default
display.
-font fname
Use the font fname, instead of one of the default fonts
built into 9wm.
-geometry geom
Use geom (a geometry in standard X format) as the geometry
of the menu. This is most useful for specifying the initial
location of the menu. 9menu will override the size part of
the geometry specification. The window will always be just
large enough to hold the menu.
-label name
Change both the window and icon labels of the window to
name. The default label is the last component of the path
used to run 9menu, typically, 9menu.
-fg foreground-color
Set the foreground color to foreground-color. By default,
the foreground color is black.
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9MENU(1) Plan 9 For X 9MENU(1)
May 05 1997
-bg background-color
Set the background color to background-color. By default,
the background color is white.
-shell prog
Use prog as the shell to run commands, instead of /bin/sh.
A popular alternative shell is rc(1). If the shell cannot
be executed, 9menu will silently fall back to using /bin/sh.
-popup
Act like a pop-up menu. Once a menu item is selected, 9menu
will exit. This option overrides -popdown.
-popdown
Once an item is selected, the menu window will automatically
iconify itself.
-iconic
Start up in the iconified state.
-teleport
Move the menu to where the mouse is when the menu is
uniconified. This option is particularly useful when
combined with -popdown.
-warp
Warp the mouse to the menu when the menu is uniconified.
After the selection is made, restore the mouse to where it
was. This option is particularly useful when combined with
-popdown.
-version
This option prints the version of 9menu on the standard
output, and then exits with an exit value of zero.
EXAMPLES
9menu -label Remotes xterm 'acme:rsh acme xterm' 'herman:rsh herman 9term' &
9menu -label 'X progs' ghostview xdvi xeyes xneko exit &
SEE ALSO
sam(1), 9term(1), 9wm(1), rc(1), es(1).
The Plan 9 Programmer's Manual.
AUTHORS
The initial idea for this program was by Arnold Robbins, after having
worked with John Mackin's GWM Blit emulation. Matty Farrow wrote a
version using libXg, from which some ideas were borrowed. This code
was written by David Hogan and Arnold Robbins. Rich Salz motivated
the -shell option. Christopher Platt motivated the -teleport option.
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9MENU(1) Plan 9 For X 9MENU(1)
May 05 1997
John O'Donnell supplied the basic code for the -fg and -bg options.
- 3 - Formatted: December 16, 2025
