Invisible details - Building contextual menus

Linear has recently integrated contextual menus to enhance user experience, particularly for those who prefer using a mouse. These menus, which are widely used in applications like Microsoft Word, allow users to perform various actions quickly by right-clicking, aiming to streamline workflow efficiency. In addition to speeding up tasks, these menus serve as a tool for onboarding and helping users learn keyboard shortcuts. Initially, Linear's sub-menu navigation required users to move their cursor in a counterintuitive upside-down L shape, which was inefficient. To address this, Linear redesigned their contextual menus to allow for diagonal navigation by creating a "safe area" using a triangular path, ensuring the sub-menu remains open during selection. This update, implemented with a React component, aims to make the application faster and more intuitive by reducing the navigational time and minimizing user frustration.