By convention, in a menu, such as one from the menubar or a context menu, menu items that open a dialog window end in an ellipsis (three dots: "..."). This convention separates menu items that have instant effect on an application from menu items that do not.
Examples
Common examples include:
- Open..., since it saves the open file dialog.
- Save as... and Export..., since it opens the save file dialog.
- Preferences..., Settings..., Options..., Configure..., Properties....
- Edit... on context menus.
Exceptions
About (in Help), may not have an ellipsis despite opening the about dialog. This may be because a dialog isn't necessary to execute the operation since opening the dialog is the operation itself.
Complex Cases
New... only gets an ellipsis if it a new file requires some set up through a dialog, otherwise we see New.
Conditional Dialogs
Save doesn't have ellipsis, as it saves immediately. However, if the file hasn't been saved, a dialog will open.
Confirmation Dialogs
Delete doesn't have an ellipsis, even though this action typically displays a confirmation dialog.
Gallery
Quotes
Another widespread source of influence was IBM Common User Access from 1987, which among other things introduced the kind of keyboard shortcuts we're still familiar with, and the ellipsis ("…") to indicate menu choices that opened a dialog window.
https://datagubbe.se/usab2/ (accessed 2025-06-25)