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CIGAL Reference Manual, Chapter 1 (Topics): graphmenu
Graphmenu -- Obsolete ? use Screenmenu The Graphics Menu
CIGAL has 2 special menus to be used in graphics mode. The principle behind the graphics menus is that you sacrifice a portion of the screen in order to provide a cursor addressable menu that doesn't interfere with the rest of the display. Once the menu is active, moving the cursor into the reserved region is interpreted as selecting a menu command. The graphics menus are controlled by the MENU command and are referred to as menus 12 and 13 (see MENU(2)). Usually whatever command you use to switch into graphics mode will take care of setting up the graphics menu automatically. However, if you want you can easily create new menus or switch between existing menus using the MENU command.
The two types of graphics menus are identical except that one is displayed on the screen while the other is not. This is because the graphics menus are linked to the type of cursor device you are using rather than the display itself. Generally, if your cursor is linked to the display (for example, a mouse or the keyboard arrows) then you will want to use the displayed menu (menu number 11). However, if you use a digitizing tablet to control the cursor, then it is handier to use graphics menu number 12, which is not displayed; instead this menu corresponds to a reserved strip on the right side of the tablet (which should be labelled accordingly), and the display can still use the full screen. (See CURSOR(4) for more information on how the cursor is used.)
To make the best use of the graphics menu you should also see SKETCH(2). SKETCH provides an interactive drawing environment for graphics and has special provisions for running commands from the graphics menus while keeping the SKETCH command itself active.
