Editing Pie menu (section)

==Comparison with other interaction techniques==
Pie menus are faster and more reliable to select from than linear menus, because selection depends on direction instead of distance. The circular menu slices are large in size and near the pointer for fast interaction (see [[Fitts's law]]). Experienced users use [[muscle memory]] without looking at the menu while selecting from it.<ref name=node98>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.donhopkins.com/drupal/node/98 |title=The Design and Implementation of Pie Menus |first=Don |last=Hopkins |author-link=Don Hopkins |journal=[[Dr. Dobb's Journal]] |date=December 1991 |access-date=December 15, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091225004939/http://www.donhopkins.com/drupal/node/98 |archive-date=2009-12-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.donhopkins.com/drupal/node/102 |title=Designing to Facilitate Browsing: A Look Back at the Hyperties Workstation Browser |first1=Ben |last1=Shneiderman |author-link1=Ben Shneiderman |first2=Catherine |last2=Plaisant |first3=Rodrigo |last3=Botafogo |first4=Don |last4=Hopkins |author-link4=Don Hopkins |first5=William |last5=Weiland |publisher=Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory |place=[[University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland]] |access-date=December 15, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091225004931/http://www.donhopkins.com/drupal/node/102 |archive-date=2009-12-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Nested pie menus can efficiently offer many options, and some pie menus can pop up linear menus, and combine linear and radial items in the same menu.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.donhopkins.com/drupal/node/128 |title=Pie Menus on Python/GTK/Cairo for OLPC Sugar |first=Don |last=Hopkins |author-link=Don Hopkins |access-date=December 15, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070427222309/http://www.donhopkins.com/drupal/node/128 |archive-date=2007-04-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Pie menus, just like any [[popup menu]], are shown only when requested, resulting in less visual distraction and cognitive load than toolbars and menu bars that are always shown.

Pie menus show available options, in contrast to invisible [[mouse gestures]]. Pie menus, which delay appearance until the pointer is not moving, reduce intrusiveness to the same level as mouse gestures for experienced users. Pie menus take up more screen space than linear menus, and the number of slices in an individual menu must be kept low for effectiveness by using submenus. When using pie menus, submenus may overlap with the parent menu, but the parent menu may become translucent or hidden.

Pie menus are most suited for actions that have been laid out by humans, and have logical grouping choices. Linear menus are most suited for dynamic, large menus that have many possible options, without any logical grouping,<ref name=node98 /> since pie menus can only show a limited number of menu items. Around 3-12 items can be reasonably accommodated in a radial layout, but additional items past that tend to counteract the benefits of using pie menus in the first place. This can be overcome with related techniques that allow chaining commands in one single gesture through submenus.<ref name="efficient marking menus">{{Cite web|url=http://www.betriebsraum.de/blog/2009/12/11/extremely-efficient-menu-selection-marking-menus-for-the-flash-platform/|title=Extremely Efficient Menu Selection: Marking Menus for the Flash Platform » b-log – betriebsraum weblog}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.markingmenus.org/ |title=www.markingmenus.org |access-date=2010-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328113318/http://www.markingmenus.org/ |archive-date=2010-03-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

However, using [[interaction techniques]] that are not [[pointer (graphical user interfaces)|pointer]]-based have proven problematic with both pie and linear menus for cluttered digital tabletop, where physical objects might occlude menu items.<ref>{{cite conference |title=Improving Menu Interaction for Cluttered Tabletop Setups with User-Drawn Path Menus |last1=Leithinger |first1=D |last2=Haller |first2=M |book-title=Horizontal Interactive Human-Computer Systems, 2007. TABLETOP '07. Second Annual IEEE International Workshop on |date=October 10–12, 2007 |pages=121–128 |location =Newport, RI |isbn=978-0-7695-2013-1 |doi=10.1109/TABLETOP.2007.24 }}</ref>

Pie menus are unavailable as standard [[Graphical control element (software)|graphical control element]] in common commercial [[widget toolkit|toolkit]]s. Video games often require custom widget development, so pie menu cost is lower in that particular scenario.