When should I use a ellipsis in a Menu Item

Question

When should I put ... at the end of a menu item? I seem to remember reading some rules but can\'t for the life of me find them.

For context - I\'m adding a properti

Answer 1

If the menu is an action that the user will be doing, but the action won't be completed until we get more information from the user, you show an ellipsis, e.g.:

• Format Hard Drive… (we need to know which one, and the file system type)
• Save As… (we need to know what filename and type to save as)
• Print… (we need to know what printer and quality settings)
• Find… (we show a text box asking for the text to search for, and where)
• Rename… (rename to what)

As opposed to actions that will happen the moment you click the menu item, e.g.:

• Save
• Undo
• Redo
• Select All

Ellipses don't just indicate that a dialog will appear. i.e. if it's not an "action", then there's no ellipses, e.g.:

• About Gizmo
• Page Setup
• Print Preview
• Options
• File Properties

And asking the user if they want to do something does not count as "getting more information from the user", e.g.:

• Delete File
• Recycle File
• New Text Document