1.4.4 Menu actions

In addition to the fast-action bar, the user interface provides a menu of menus whose items in turn perform transformations or control the environment.

Some of the menu items perform generic actions just like fast-action items. They are used less frequently and there is simply no room for them on the fast-action bar. Generic actions are grouped under the Expressions menu.

In contrast to generic actions, other menu items perform specific tasks. They typically work only on a subexpression that conforms to the requirements of the task and quietly do nothing on a non-conforming subexpression. Examples of specific tasks are algebraic operations like completing the square, finding the root of a quadratic, performing polynomial division or isolating an expression in an equation. Task-specific menu items are grouped under the general expression types they support: §3.4 Polynomials, §3.5 Equations and §3.7 Collections.

Environment items provide access to non-mathematical aspects of the application, like communication, the file-system management facility and the rules editing facility. See §8 for a detailed description of the environment menu items.