cordova-plugin-padMenu

iPadOS 26 and later includes a menu bar for every app. This plugin can remove unwanted menus, add new menus, and handle menu interaction.

• Add or remove menus
• Add Keyboard Shortcuts
• Handles "print" menu

This plugin is for iPadOS only: it has no effect on iOS or Android versions of an app.

Handles the "print" menu. This is the only standard menu handled.

Minimum supported Deployment Target is iOS13. Has no effect unless running iOS26+. It will return a "pre26" error if run on iOS versions less the iOS26.

The main menu should be set up as early as possible. We can't do menu setup at the point Apple suggests: that would require native code. What we can do is menu set up first thing in "onDeviceReady".

New in 1.1.0

• Ability to dynamically disable/enable menu items

What’s Ahead

• SubMenus
• Additional placement options
• Ability to manipulate menu items

Installation

cordova plugin add cordova-plugin-padmenu

Getting Started

The best way is to build the Demo App. This app demonstrates the following:

• Removing menus.
• Adding user-defined menu.
• Adding menu items to existing menu.
• Creating keyboard shortcuts

• https://github.com/j-crosson/cordova-plugin-padmenu-demo

Example

Remove all menus except for Application, Window, and Help

    let remove = '{
            "iPadMenus": {
                "remove": [
                    "view",
                    "newItem",
                    "document",
                    "edit",
                    "format",
                    "preferences",
                    "file"
                ]
            }
        }';
    PadMenu.menuAction ('modify',null, () => {alert("Pre iOS26, no effect");},[remove]);

menuAction

    PadMenu.menuAction(action,success,error,arguments[])
    

Perform Menu Action such as creating menu items.

| Parameter | Type | Description | Default | | --- | --- | --- |--- | | action | String | action to perform | | | success | Function | Success callback function| null | | error | Function | Error callback | null| | arguments | [] | An array of arguments to be passed | []|

actions:

modify

Modify main iPad Menu Bar Adds or removes Menu/Menu Items

Creates menu items either as an addition to an existing menu or a user-created menu, and removes existing menu items.

    PadMenu.menuAction ('modify', menuModified, modifyFailed,[modifyJSON])}; 
  

arguments

[modifyJSON]

modifyJSON

Menu data is represented by the following JSON:

Type: iPadMenus

iPadMenus

JSON Menu data

PadMenus

Menu items to add to and/or remove from main menu bar

| Property | Type | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | padMenu | [PadMenu] | menus to add/modify | | remove | [Identifier] | menu items to remove |

remove

Menu items to remove

Type: [Identifier]

menuJSON = '{ 
     "remove": [
           "view",
           "newItem",
           "document",
           "file"
       ]
}';

PadMenu

Menu items to add

| Property | Type | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | type | MenuType | type of menu | | title | String | title of user-defined menu | | menuElements | [MenuElement] | Items to add | | identifier | Identifier | Unique ID or ID of standard menu | | afterMenuID | Identifier | Menu User Menu follows |

type

Type: MenuType

Menu items are either added to an existing menu or a user-defined menu

| MenuType | Description | | --- | --- | | main | add items to an existing menu | | user | add items to a user-defined menu |

menuJSON = '{"type": "main"}';

title

Type: String

Title of user-defined menu. Not used if modifying an existing menu.

menuJSON = '{"title": "User Menu"}';

MenuElement

Item to add to menu

| Property | Type | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | title | String| item title | | identifier | Identifier | item identifier | | menuImage | Image | menu image | | attributes | [Attribute] | menu item attributes | | modifierFlags | [Modifier] | keyboard shortcut modifiers | | shortcut | String | keyboard shortcut key |

title

Type: String

Item title

menuJSON = '{"title":"Item 3"}';

Identifier

Type: Standard Menu Identifier, String

A Standard Menu Identifier refers to a built-in menu, an Apple-defined menu that already exists, while an user-defined identifier is a unique identifier string for a user-defined menu. Don't use a Standard Menu Identifier for a user-defined item.

| Standard Menu Identifier | | --- | | application |
| file | | edit | | view | | window | | help | | about | | preferences | | services | | hide | | quit | | newItem | | open | | openRecent | | close | | print | | document | | unredo | | standardEdit | | find | | findPanel | | replace | | share | | textStyle | | spelling | | spellingPanel | | spellingOptions | | substitutions | | substitutionsPanel | | substitutionOptions | | transformations | | speech | | lookup | | learn | | format | | autoFill | | font | | textSize | | textColor | | textStylePasteboard | | text | | writingDirection | | alignment | | toolbar | | sidebar | | fullscreen | | minimizeAndZoom | | bringAllToFront | | root |

identifier

Type: Identifier

Unique item identifier

// user-defined 
menuJSON = '{"identifier": "item 3"}';


// Standard Menu Identifier
menuJSON = '{"identifier": "application"}';

menuImage

Type: Image

Menu element image

menuJSON = '{
  "menuImage": {
    "type": "symbol",
    "name": "dice",
    "symbolConfig": [
      {
        "type": "scale",
        "value": "large"
      }
    ]
  }
}';

Image

| Property | Type | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | type | Image Type | Image type | | name | String | File or symbol name | | symbolConfig | [Configuration] | Symbol attributes |

type

Type: Image Type

Type of Image. Either a user-supplied image or an Apple SF symbol.

| Image Type | Description | | --- | --- | | symbol | Apple SF symbol. A collection of thousands of symbols. See Apple SF Symbol docs. | | file | Image file |

menuJSON = '{"type": "symbol"}';

name

Type: String

File name of image or symbol name

menuJSON = '{"name": "dice"}';
// "dice" is an SF symbol

symbolConfig

Type: [Configuration]

Array of symbol attributes

Configuration

Configuration options for Symbol Images See Apple docs for UIImage.SymbolConfiguration

| Property | Type | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | type | Configuration Type | Configuration type | | value | Attribute Value | attribute value |

type

Type: Configuration Type

Type of configuration. Currently support “scale” and “weight”.

| Configuration Type | Description | | --- | --- | | scale | symbol scale | | weight | symbol weight |

menuJSON = '{"type": "weight"}';

value

Type: Attribute Value

scale

| Attribute Value | Description | | --- | --- | | default | system default | | unspecified | unspecified scale | | small | small symbol image | | medium | medium symbol image | | large | large symbol image |

weight

| Attribute Value | Description | | --- | --- | | unspecified | unspecified weight | | ultraLight | ultraLight weight | | thin | thin weight | | light | light weight | | regular | regular weight | | medium | medium weight | | semibold | semibold weight | | bold | bold weight | | heavy | heavy weight | | black | ultra-heavy weight |

menuJSON = '{"value": "bold"}';

attributes

Menu element attributes

Type: Attribute

| Attribute | Description | | --- | --- | | destructive | more prominent style | | disabled | element can’t be selected | | hidden | element not displayed |

menuJSON = '{"attributes": ["destructive"]}';

modifierFlags

Keyboard shortcut modifiers. Key(s) pressed simultaneously with shortcut key. Default is "command".

Type: Modifier

| Modifier | Description | | --- | --- | | command | Command key | | control | Control key | | option | Option key | | shift | Shift key |

menuJSON = '{
    "modifierFlags": [
        "command",
        "option"
        ]
    }';

shortcut

Menu shortcut key. Must be single character

Type: String

menuJSON = '{"shortcut": "6"}';

afterMenuID

Type: Identifier

Standard Menu identifier of Menu that User Menu is inserted after.

menuJSON = '{"afterMenuID": "application"}';

Print Menu

To handle a print menu selection, set "PadMenu.print" to the print handler

Example

    PadMenu.print = onPrintSelected;
    // in onDeviceReady()

    function onPrintSelected() {
        alert("Print Selected");
    }

Selection Handler

When a menu item is selected, the handler assigned to Padmenu.selected is called.

selection_handler(identifier)

| Parameter | Type | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | identifier | String |Unique item identifier |

    PadMenu.selected = onSelected;
    // in onDeviceReady()

    function onSelected(identifier) {
        alert("Selected "+ identifier);
    }

Example

let menuJSON = 
'{
  "iPadMenus": {
    "remove": [
      "view",
      "newItem",
      "document",
      "edit",
      "format",
      "preferences"
    ],
    "padMenu": [
      {
        "type": "user",
        "title": "User Menu",
        "afterMenuID": "application",
        "menuElements": [
          {
            "title": "Item 1",
            "identifier": "item 1",
            "shortcut": "6",
            "modifierFlags": [
              "command"
            ],
            "menuImage": {
              "type": "symbol",
              "name": "dice",
              "symbolConfig": [
                {
                  "type": "scale",
                  "value": "large"
                }
              ]
            }
          },
          {
            "title": "Item 2",
            "identifier": "item 2",
            "shortcut": "7",
            "modifierFlags": [
              "command",
              "option"
            ],
            "menuImage": {
              "type": "symbol",
              "name": "dice",
              "symbolConfig": [
                {
                  "type": "weight",
                  "value": "bold"
                }
              ]
            }
          },
          {
            "title": "Item 3",
            "identifier": "item 3",
            "menuImage": {
              "type": "symbol",
              "name": "dice",
              "symbolConfig": [
                {
                  "type": "scale",
                  "value": "large"
                },
                {
                  "type": "weight",
                  "value": "bold"
                }
              ]
            }
          },
          {
            "title": "Item 4",
            "identifier": "item 4",
            "menuImage": {
              "type": "symbol",
              "name": "dice"
            }
          },
          {
            "title": "Stop",
            "identifier": "item 5",
            "menuImage": {
              "type": "symbol",
              "name": "flame.fill"
            },
            "attributes": [
              "destructive"
            ]
          }
        ],
        "menuTitle": "Menu",
        "identifier": "file"
      }
    ]
  }
}';

    PadMenu.menuAction ('modify',null, () => {alert("Pre iOS26, no effect");},[menuJSON]);

disable

Disable Menu Items

Disables menu items. To enable items, pass a new list of disabled items; to enable all items, pass an empty list.

    PadMenu.menuAction ('disable', itemsDisabled, disableFailed,[identifiers])}; 
  

arguments

[identifiers]

identifiers

Type: [String]

Array of identifiers to be disabled

• "print" refers to the "Print" Standard Menu Item. This is the only Standard Menu Item this plugin can disable.

Example

Disable "print" menu and user-defined "item 1"

    const disabledItems =  ["item 1", "print"];
    PadMenu.menuAction ('disable',null, () => {alert("Pre iOS26, no effect");},[disabledItems]);