- This article is about dropdown menus used as inputs for blocks. For information on the creation of dropdown menus in Scratch projects, see How to Make a Drop-Down Menu.
_Pressed_Drop-Down.PNG)
A dropdown menu is a list of options that appears in some blocks. It can be accessed by clicking on an upside down triangle in the block.
Scrolling Dropdown Menus
Sometimes, a dropdown menu will be so long that not all options can be viewed at once. Scratch 2.0 had small arrows at the bottom of the menu in these cases, which could be used to scroll through the dropdown menu when you hover on them with the mouse. In Scratch 3.0, it is possible to scroll through a menu by simply using a mouse or the scroll bar at the side.
Dropdown Menus as Inputs
Sometimes, drop down menus can be used as string or number inputs. These dropdown menus are rounded. For example, the 'go to' block has a dropdown menu:
Block inputs
go to (random position v)
For this block, the dropdown menu can be used as an input as well, meaning that you could drag blocks such as variables into it:
go to (variable)
Text Inputs
The 'join' block can be used if you would like to enter text instead of a block. Just leave the first part of the 'join' block empty and enter whatever text you want into the second part:
go to (join [][enter text here ...])
Text inputs can be useful for very long dropdown menus, in which entering text can sometimes be easier than scrolling down all the way.
Non-Input Dropdown Menus
Not all dropdown menus work as inputs. Many dropdown menus with a fixed amount of options, like the variable blocks, will not work as inputs. These dropdown menus are rectangular. One example is the 'show variable' block:
show variable [not an input v]
It is not possible to place a variable in that spot. However, some Scratchers have found a way around that by 'hacking' various scratch blocks. These could be obtained by editing the JavaScript or using them from another project. However, hacked blocks no longer work in Scratch 3.0.
Blocks with Dropdown Menus
Accept Block Inputs
These blocks allow their dropdown menus to be used as inputs for other blocks:
go to (random position v)glide () secs to (random position v)point towards (mouse-pointer v)switch costume to (costume1 v)switch backdrop to (backdrop1 v)play sound ( v) until donestart sound ( v)broadcast (message1 v)broadcast (message1 v) and waitcreate clone of (myself v)touching (mouse-pointer v)?distance to (mouse-pointer v)key (space v) pressed?[backdrop # v] of (Stage v) // The first menu does not accept block inputs, but the second one does.
Do Not Accept Block Inputs
These blocks do not accept other blocks in their dropdown menus:
set rotation style [left-right v]change [color v] effect by ()set [color v] effect to ()go to [front v] layergo [forward v] () layerscostume [number v]backdrop [number v]change [pitch v] effect by ()set [pitch v] effect to ()when [space v] key pressedwhen backdrop switches to [backdrop1 v]when [loudness v] > ()when I receive [message1 v]stop [all v]set drag mode [draggable v][backdrop # v] of (Stage v) // The first menu does not accept block inputs, but the second one does.current [year v][abs v] of ()- All of the Variable and List blocks, except for
(variable)and(list::list)because they don't have dropdown menus.
