al_popup_menu(3alleg5)

💖 al_popup_menu — Allegro 5 API 💖

okay bestie, sit down, hydrate, and let's talk about popping up a lil menu right next to your cursor ✨ This one lives in the Allegro 5 API (section 3alleg5 if you're keeping score), and it's giving right-click energy in the best way.

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

#include <allegro5/allegro_native_dialog.h>

bool al_popup_menu(ALLEGRO_MENU *popup, ALLEGRO_DISPLAY *display)

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

So the way that this works is: it displays a context menu next to the mouse cursor. That's it. That's the whole vibe. 🖱️✨

Heads up though — the menu has to have been created with al_create_popup_menu(3alleg5) first. You can't just roll up with any old menu, she needs to be born a popup menu, iykyk.

Once it's up, it generates events just like a regular display menu does — same event flow, same energy, no special treatment. 👑

And lowkey important: it is possible that the menu will be canceled without any selection being made. Like, user clicks away, hits escape, changes their mind — no selection, no problem, that's a valid outcome fr fr.

Now, the display parameter — this one trips people up so listen closely 🫶. It indicates which window the menu is associated with (specifically when you process the menu click event). But — and this is the part everyone gets wrong — it does not actually affect where the menu is located on the screen. It's an association thing, not a positioning thing. The menu goes where the cursor is, periodt. 💅

Returns true if the context menu was displayed.

⚠️ Linux besties, this one's for you: on Linux this function will fail if any of the mouse keys are held down. I.e. it will only reliably work if you handle it in ALLEGRO_MOUSE_BUTTON_UP events — and even then, only if that event corresponds to the final mouse button that was pressed. Not me finding this out the hard way 😭 Handle your button-up events properly, okay?

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🎀 SINCE 🎀

5.1.0 — she's been iconic since day one, no cap. 🌈

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🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

• al_create_popup_menu(3alleg5) — go make your menu first, bestie, you can't skip this step 💜

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and that's the whole page!! this came to you straight from the Allegro reference manual, al_popup_menu(3alleg5), section 3alleg5 — go forth and pop up some menus, you absolute main character 🎀✨💖