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Menus

A close space-efficient way to present and nest diverse commands.

Overview

Menus appear when users interact with a button, action, or other control. They can be opened from a variety of elements, most commonly buttons.

However in XR, menus can also be assigned to a gesture or control command that takes care of invoking them.

Designers can define a variety of menus, depending on the use cases. Among them, most common menus could be:

  • General: commands are constant across environments and experiences.
  • Contextual: commands are exclusively relevant to a feature.

Usage

Use when

  • Displaying a list of command choices on a surface.
  • Displaying multiple, non-obvious commands, and options.
  • Offering an option to close and/or unpin.
  • Enabling voice commands or gaze-control for users with limited accessibility.

Don’t use when

  • Performing actions with a model or spatial interfaces that could either interfere with the flow or perception of the center of attention.
  • Immediate, decisive actions that require full user attention is needed.

Types

Menus are qualified by positioning and interaction.

Hand Menus:

Hand menus are interaction patterns that allow users to invoke features of an application and/or environment within an app, bounding actions to the palm-up gesture.

Near Menus:

Near Menus by default tag along users’ radius. However, all variants have a grabbable version with a bottom handle that allow users to place the menu where they find it convenient.

Example Type When to use
Hand Menu 1 by 3 Hand Menus Generic commands that allow users to move forward in the application. Users can seamlessly bring up hand-attached UIs for frequently used functions. They offer an opportunity to help users discover features by relying on this natural gesture.
Near Menu 3 by 1 Near Menus Contextual commands and actions that need to be taken in relation to a virtual object. They usually emerge pop from another command and can contain multiple, diverse commands in them.
Last updated November 27, 2023.