history

App tools and presentation controls become more deliberate

id: LK-20260720-app-tools-menu-and-screenshot-clipboard
date: 2026-07-20
sequence: 141
type: feat
compatibility: compatible
component: `labkit.app` | `1.1.0 -> 1.2.0`
scope: App Framework
scope: All tracked Apps

Context

Plot, Screenshot, Save State, and Load State appeared as separate root-level native menu items. Plot was a container while the other items executed immediately, so controls at the same visual level had inconsistent behavior and consumed unnecessary horizontal space. Screenshot also required a file dialog even when the user only needed an image for another application. Short status summaries consumed the same height as detail panels, and Apps could preserve plot zoom but had no declarative one-shot reset revision.

Decision and rationale

Install one framework-owned Tools root with purpose-based Plots, Screenshot, and conditional Project State submenus. Keep scientific workflow controls in the App layout while grouping domain-neutral native utilities predictably. Use MATLAB's existing copygraphics clipboard path so the capability remains platform-neutral and introduces no external runtime.

Changes

• Moved plot utilities beneath Tools > Plots.
• Added Tools > Screenshot > Copy to Clipboard for the complete App surface and retained file export as Save to File....
• Moved project persistence beneath Tools > Project State when the App owns a project document.
• Preserved existing executable action tags for compatibility with GUI automation and added stable tags for the new menu containers and clipboard action.
• Added a line-count hint for compact status summaries and a general plot-view revision that accepts renderer-fitted limits once while preserving user zoom during ordinary redraws.
• Updated the getting-started and framework manuals.

User and data impact

App calculations, project files, plots, and exports are unchanged. Existing action tags continue to identify save screenshot, save state, load state, and plot commands, but users now reach them through the Tools hierarchy. Clipboard copy uses the operating system clipboard and may be unavailable in a noninteractive MATLAB session.

Compatibility and migration

No additional migration applies beyond the compatibility information in the preceding impact section.

Validation

• Hidden native-adapter GUI coverage verifies the menu hierarchy, labels, conditional Project State menu, stable action tags, and clipboard callback wiring.
• Focused framework tests validate the App SDK version and native runtime.
• Documentation rendering and consistency checks cover the updated manuals and history record.

Evidence

The validation details above are the supporting evidence for this record.

Known limitations and follow-up

Developer-led interactive checks should confirm clipboard image fidelity and native menu appearance on supported MATLAB desktop platforms.