The WM_MENUCHAR message is sent when a menu is active and the user presses a key that does not correspond to any mnemonic or accelerator key. This message is sent to the window that owns the menu.
WM_MENUCHAR
chUser = (char) LOWORD(wParam); // ASCII character
fuFlag = (UINT) HIWORD(wParam); // menu flag
hmenu = (HMENU) lParam; // handle of menu
Parameters
chUser
Value of the low-order word of wParam. Specifies the ASCII character that corresponds to the key the user pressed.
fuFlag
Value of the high-order word of wParam. Specifies the type of the active menu. This parameter can be one of the following values:
| Value | Meaning |
| MF_POPUP | drop-down menu, submenu, or shortcut menu |
| MF_SYSMENU | window menu (System menu or Control menu) |
hmenu
Value of lParam. Identifies the active menu.
Return Values
An application that processes this message should return one of the following values in the high-order word of the return value:
| Value | Meaning |
| 0 | Informs Windows that it should discard the character the user pressed and create a short beep on the system speaker. |
| 1 | Informs Windows that it should close the active menu. |
| 2 | Informs Windows that the low-order word of the return value specifies the zero-based relative position of a menu item. This item is selected by Windows. |
Remarks
The low-order word is ignored if the high-order word contains 0 or 1. An application should process this message when an accelerator is used to select a menu item that displays a bitmap.