So I finally shipped a new Zen Editor update that adds a proper context menu to the file tree. Holy fucking shit, this was a nightmare to implement. What should have been a standard feature took me way longer than I expected.

New Context Menu Features

Despite all the pain and suffering, I managed to add a proper context menu to the file tree with these features:

• Open - Opens the selected file in the editor (was already there)
• Copy Path - Now copies the full path instead of just the name
• Reveal in Explorer - Finally works properly to show the file in your system file explorer
• Delete - Removes files with status bar confirmation (press Y/N), not a dialog

The new context menu in Zen Editor

Why No Rename Feature?

So you're probably wondering, "Why the fuck isn't there a rename feature? That's like the most basic thing ever." Well, let me tell you about the fucking nightmare I've been dealing with...

I sat there from 4 AM to 7 AM trying to solve this bullshit, getting more and more pissed off as each "solution" led to two more problems. Finally, I said "fuck it" and decided to ship what works now and rewrite the entire tab system later.

What Actually Works

Despite the rename feature being a complete disaster, the rest of the context menu actually works pretty well:

Feature	Status	Notes
Context Menu UI	✓	Opens on right-click, closes properly when clicking elsewhere
Open Files	✓	Already worked before, but now integrated in menu
Copy Path	✓	Now copies full path instead of just filename
Reveal in Explorer	✓	Fixed to work on all platforms correctly
Delete	✓	Uses status bar confirmation (Y/N) instead of dialog
Rename	✗	Completely broken due to tab system issues

File deletion with status bar confirmation

Properly Closing When Clicking Elsewhere

One of the most annoying problems was that the context menu wouldn't close when you clicked somewhere else. This is now fixed with a proper global click handler:

function showContextMenu(event, items) {
    // Prevent default context menu
    event.preventDefault();
    
    // Position the context menu at the cursor position
    const menu = document.getElementById('context-menu');
    menu.style.left = `${event.pageX}px`;
    menu.style.top = `${event.pageY}px`;
    
    // Populate the menu with items
    populateContextMenu(items);
    
    // Show the menu
    menu.style.display = 'block';
    
    // Add a global click handler to close the menu when clicking elsewhere
    // Using setTimeout to avoid triggering on the current click event
    setTimeout(() => {
        window.addEventListener('click', closeContextMenuOnClick);
    }, 100);
}

function closeContextMenuOnClick(event) {
    const menu = document.getElementById('context-menu');
    // Close the menu if the click is outside the menu
    if (menu && !menu.contains(event.target)) {
        hideContextMenu();
    }
}

function hideContextMenu() {
    const menu = document.getElementById('context-menu');
    if (menu) {
        menu.style.display = 'none';
    }
    
    // Remove global click handler
    window.removeEventListener('click', closeContextMenuOnClick);
}

Next Steps

So what's next? I need to completely rewrite the tab system to properly handle file operations, including:

• Proper path tracking that handles renames
• Better editor model management
• File watcher system that actually works
• Tab state persistence that isn't a complete mess

If you're feeling brave enough to try the current version, it's available on GitHub. Just don't try to rename files or you'll break everything.

Final Thoughts

This update should have been straightforward, but it turned into a complete nightmare. The good news is I've learned a lot about what not to do when designing an editor. Sometimes you have to build something shitty to understand how to make it good.

Until next time, when I'll hopefully have fixed the fucking rename feature.