# Menus

Source: https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/menus
Skill: hig-components-menus
Snapshot: 2025-02-02

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<!-- hig-doctor:attribution -->
> **Source**: Apple Inc. Canonical content at https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/menus.
> This file is a structured index of that content, snapshot 2025-02-02.
> Apple HIG text and imagery are © Apple Inc.; this repository provides organization and cross-referencing for AI agent consumption only.

# Menus

## Labels

**For each menu item, write a label that clearly and succinctly describes it.**

**To be consistent with platform experiences, use title-style capitalization.**

**Remove articles like _a_ , _an_ , and _the_ from menu-item labels to save space.**

**Show people when a menu item is unavailable.**

**Append an ellipsis to a menu item’s label when the action requires more information before it can complete.**

## Icons

**Represent menu item actions with familiar icons.**

**Don’t display an icon if you can’t find one that clearly represents the menu item.**

**Use a single icon to introduce a group of similar items.**

## Organization

**Prefer listing important or frequently used menu items first.**

**Consider grouping logically related items.**

**Prefer keeping all logically related commands in the same group, even if the commands don’t all have the same importance.**

**Be mindful of menu length.**

## Submenus

**Use submenus sparingly.**

**Limit the depth and length of submenus.**

**Make sure a submenu remains available even when its nested menu items are unavailable.**

**Prefer using a submenu to indenting menu items.**

## Toggled items

**Consider using a changeable label that describes an item’s current state.**

**Include a verb if a changeable label isn’t clear enough.**

**If necessary, display both menu items instead of one toggled item.**

**Consider using a checkmark to show that an attribute is currently in effect.**

**Consider offering a menu item that makes it easy to remove multiple toggled attributes.**

## In-game menus

**Let players navigate in-game menus using the platform’s default interaction method.**

**Make sure your menus remain easy to open and read on all platforms you support.**

## Platform considerations

### iOS, iPadOS

  * **Small.** A row of four items appears at the top of the menu, above a list that contains the remaining items. For each item in the top row, the menu displays a symbol or icon, but no label.

  * **Medium.** A row of three items appears at the top of the menu, above a list that contains the remaining items. For each item in the top row, the menu displays a symbol or icon above a short label.

  * **Large (the default).** The menu displays all items in a list.

**Choose a small or medium menu layout when it can help streamline people’s choices.**

### visionOS

**Prefer displaying a menu near the content it controls.**

**Prefer the subtle breakthrough effect in most cases.**

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<!-- hig-doctor:canonical-footer -->
For the complete guidance, including worked examples and illustrations, see the canonical page: https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/menus