Thanks for the info. Since posting however I came across the
"ToolStripRenderer" class and derivatives. By deriving my own class from
"ToolStripSystemRenderer" in particular and assigning an instance to
"ToolStripManager.Renderer", I can now override
"OnRenderMenuItemBackground()" and trap whenever a menu item becomes active.
By wiring all this into my own "Form" deriviative ("FormEx" which all forms
in my app derive from), I can now provide a protected function called
"FormEx.OnMenuItemEnter()". This fires my own "MenuItemEnter" event (to keep
things consistent with the native .NET. classes), but it also set a property
called "FormEx.CurrentMenuItem". The bottom line is that.all my "FormEx"
derivatives now have access to this property which will be null if no menu
item is currently active. Now my form itself can catch keystrokes as usual
(including F1) and check this property to determine which menu item is
currently active (if any). In any case, having to turn to such unorthodox
techniques is ugly to say the least but at least the plumbing is hidden from
users of my "FormEx" class. I find my self constantly struggling with issues
like this however. Trapping keys in particular has often been a very painful
experience. In any case, thanks again for your help.