XML elements and attributes for defining context menus

Understand the different XML elements and attributes that define context menu items.

Sample menu item definition

The following example shows the format of an XML file that defines a menu item. Elements are highlighted in bold for clarity.

<ncp_menu id="mytools" label="My Tools" key="key">
<context>
<!-- This section of the xml file is a context filter. -->
<!-- Context filters specify the device and view conditions -->
<!-- under which this menu is displayed. -->
</context>
<security>
<!-- This section of the xml file is a security filter. -->
<!-- Security filters specify the users, roles and groups -->
<!-- authorized to display this menu. -->
</security>
<definition>
<tool id="ncp_dns"/>
<separator/>
<menu id="ncp_cisco"/>
<menu id="ncp_juniper"/>
</definition>
</ncp_menu>

XML elements and attributes

The following table describes the elements and attributes used to define context menus, with reference to the above example.

Table 1. Elements and Attributes in the menu XML definition file
Element or attribute	Type	Description
`ncp_menu`	Element	Introduces the definition of a menu.
`context`	Element	Defines the views and devices that the menu items is available from. Use the reference information about defining context filters to define this attribute.
`security`	Element	Defines the users, groups and roles that are allowed to view the menu item. Use the reference information about defining user access filters to define this attribute.
`id`	Attribute	Contains an alphanumeric identifier for this menu.
`label`	Attribute	Contains the actual text of the menu option that appears in the context menu.
`key`	Attribute	Used as a lookup into the $NMGUI_HOME/profile/etc/tnm/locale/`ncp_menus(_xx_XX).properties` file. This allows you to specify translations of the menu label for users with different locale settings.
`tool`	Element	Inserts a tool with the specified `id` into the menu. In this example, a tool with the id ncp_dns is inserted into the menu. The associated menu text for this tool is DNS Lookup. The ncp_dns tool is defined in a separate XML file stored in $NMGUI_HOME/profile/etc/tnm/tools/.
`separator`	Element	Inserts a separator into the menu.
`menu`	Element	Inserts a submenu with the specified `id` into the menu. In this example, two submenus are defined: The `ncp_cisco` submenu. The associated menu text for this submenu is `Cisco Tools...`. The `ncp_juniper` submenu. The associated menu text for this submenu is `Juniper Tools...`. Each of these submenus is defined in a separate .`xml` file stored in $NMGUI_HOME/profile/etc/tnm/menus/. These `.xml` files are formatted according to the rules defined in this section.