Android Menu Example – Options Menu, Context Menu & Popup Menu

Menus are fundamental UI components in Android applications. They help users navigate features, execute actions, and access contextual options. Android provides several types of menus:

• Options Menu – Appears in the app bar (Toolbar)
• Context Menu – Appears on long-press of a View
• Popup Menu – Appears anchored to a specific UI element

This guide explains each menu type with clear examples and best practices for production-ready Android apps.

What Is an Android Menu?

An Android menu presents a set of action items or options. Menus improve usability by offering contextual or global operations without cluttering the interface.

Options Menu (App Bar / Toolbar)

The Options Menu is typically shown in the app bar, either as text or icon items. With AppCompat and Toolbar, defining menu items is straightforward.

Step 1 — Define Menu XML

Create a menu resource file under res/menu/ (e.g., main_menu.xml):

<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <item
        android:id="@+id/action_search"
        android:title="Search"
        android:icon="@drawable/ic_search"
        android:showAsAction="ifRoom"/>
    <item
        android:id="@+id/action_settings"
        android:title="Settings"
        android:showAsAction="never"/>
</menu>

• showAsAction="ifRoom" attempts to display the item in the app bar
• android:icon defines an icon for visual context

Step 2 — Inflate Menu in Activity

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
    getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main_menu, menu);
    return true;
}

Step 3 — Handle Menu Selections

@Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
    switch (item.getItemId()) {
        case R.id.action_search:
            // Perform search action
            return true;
        case R.id.action_settings:
            // Navigate to settings
            return true;
        default:
            return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
    }
}

This pattern displays the menu in the app bar and handles user taps.

Context Menu (Long-Press Actions)

Context menus provide actions related to a specific view (e.g., list item).

Step 1 — Register View for Context Menu

TextView textView = findViewById(R.id.textView);
registerForContextMenu(textView);

Step 2 — Define Context Menu

@Override
public void onCreateContextMenu(ContextMenu menu, View v,
                                ContextMenu.ContextMenuInfo menuInfo) {
    super.onCreateContextMenu(menu, v, menuInfo);
    getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.context_menu, menu);
}

Step 3 — Handle Context Item Selection

@Override
public boolean onContextItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
    switch(item.getItemId()) {
        case R.id.edit:
            // Edit action
            return true;
        case R.id.delete:
            // Delete action
            return true;
        default:
            return super.onContextItemSelected(item);
    }
}

This provides a long-press menu for contextual actions.

Popup Menu (Anchored to View)

Popup menus show a small menu anchored near a specific View (e.g., a button). Use this for inline option selections.

Example: Show Popup on Button Click

Button btnOptions = findViewById(R.id.btnOptions);

btnOptions.setOnClickListener(v -> {
    PopupMenu popup = new PopupMenu(this, v);
    popup.getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.popup_menu, popup.getMenu());
    popup.setOnMenuItemClickListener(item -> {
        switch(item.getItemId()) {
            case R.id.share:
                // Handle share
                return true;
            case R.id.delete:
                // Handle delete
                return true;
            default:
                return false;
        }
    });
    popup.show();
});

Popup menus are lightweight and context-specific.

Using AndroidX and Toolbars

Modern Android apps use Toolbar from Material or AppCompat as the app bar.

Setup Toolbar

Toolbar toolbar = findViewById(R.id.toolbar);
setSupportActionBar(toolbar);

Then proceed with options menu inflation as shown earlier. This centralizes menu handling in a single app bar.

Dynamic Menu Items

You can modify menu items at runtime:

@Override
public boolean onPrepareOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
    MenuItem searchItem = menu.findItem(R.id.action_search);
    searchItem.setVisible(isSearchEnabled);
    return super.onPrepareOptionsMenu(menu);
}

Call invalidateOptionsMenu() to refresh the menu.

Icons and Accessibility

• Always provide icons with meaningful titles
• Use contentDescription for accessibility
• Use vector icons (VectorDrawable) to minimize app size

Example:

android:contentDescription="@string/search_desc"

This improves screen reader support.

Best Practices (Senior Engineering Insight)

From real production experience:

• Use Toolbar + AppCompat for consistent menu support across devices
• Keep global actions in the app bar and contextual actions in context menus
• Avoid too many items in an options menu — group using groupId or submenus
• Use popup menus for inline, transient actions
• Use IDs and constants for menu handling to avoid hardcoded strings

These practices improve usability and maintainability.

Common Issues and Fixes

Menu doesn’t appear:
✔ Ensure onCreateOptionsMenu() returns true
✔ Check that the menu resource file exists under res/menu

Click events not triggering:
✔ Ensure onOptionsItemSelected() receives the correct item.getItemId()

Context menu not showing on long-press:
✔ Verify registerForContextMenu(view) is called

Summary

This guide showed how to implement menus in Android using:

• Options Menu for global app bar actions
• Context Menu for view-specific long-press options
• Popup Menu for inline actions
• Toolbar integration for a modern app bar

Menus enhance navigation, clarity, and user control in your Android apps when used appropriately with clean code structure.