diff --git a/src/as/com/threerings/mx/controls/CommandMenu.as b/src/as/com/threerings/mx/controls/CommandMenu.as
index 323b8f451..adfbcfbc2 100644
--- a/src/as/com/threerings/mx/controls/CommandMenu.as
+++ b/src/as/com/threerings/mx/controls/CommandMenu.as
@@ -1,22 +1,36 @@
 package com.threerings.mx.controls {
 
+import flash.display.DisplayObject;
 import flash.display.DisplayObjectContainer;
 
+import flash.geom.Rectangle;
+
 import mx.controls.Menu;
 import mx.core.mx_internal;
 import mx.events.MenuEvent;
 
 import com.threerings.mx.events.CommandEvent;
 
+/**
+ * A pretty standard menu that can submit CommandEvents if menu items
+ * have "command" and possibly "arg" properties.
+ *
+ * Example dataProvider array:
+ * [ { label: "Go home", icon: homeIconClass,
+ *     command: Controller.GO_HOME, arg: homeId },
+ *   { type: "separator"},
+ *   { label: "Other places", children: subMenuArray }
+ * ];
+ *
+ * See "Defining menu structure and data" in the Flex manual for the
+ * full list.
+ */ 
 public class CommandMenu extends Menu
 {
     public function CommandMenu ()
     {
         super();
 
-        iconFunction = getIconFor;
-        labelFunction = getLabelFor;
-
         addEventListener(MenuEvent.ITEM_CLICK, itemClicked);
     }
 
@@ -24,12 +38,10 @@ public class CommandMenu extends Menu
      * Factory method to create a command menu.
      *
      * @param parent The parent of this menu.
-     * @param items an array of menu items, where each item is another array
-     *  with the following format: [ text, iconClass, command, arg ]. Arg is
-     *  optional.
+     * @param items an array of menu items.
      */
     public static function createMenu (
-            parent :DisplayObjectContainer, items :Array) :CommandMenu
+        parent :DisplayObjectContainer, items :Array) :CommandMenu
     {
         var menu :CommandMenu = new CommandMenu();
         menu.tabEnabled = false;
@@ -38,30 +50,76 @@ public class CommandMenu extends Menu
         return menu;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Actually pop up the menu. This can be used instead of show().
+     */
+    public function popUp (
+        trigger :DisplayObject, popUpwards :Boolean = true) :void
+    {
+        var r :Rectangle = trigger.getBounds(trigger.stage);
+
+        if (popUpwards) {
+            show(r.x, 0);
+            // then, reposition the y once we know our size
+            y = r.y - getExplicitOrMeasuredHeight();
+
+        } else {
+            // simply position it below the trigger
+            show(r.x, r.y + r.height);
+        }
+    }
+
     /**
      * Callback for MenuEvent.ITEM_CLICK.
      */
     protected function itemClicked (event :MenuEvent) :void
     {
-        event.stopImmediatePropagation();
-        var element :Array = (event.item as Array);
-
-        CommandEvent.dispatch(mx_internal::parentDisplayObject,
-            String(element[2]), element[3]);
+        var cmd :String = getItemCommand(event.item);
+        if (cmd != null) {
+            event.stopImmediatePropagation();
+            var arg :Object = getItemArgument(event.item);
+            CommandEvent.dispatch(mx_internal::parentDisplayObject, cmd, arg);
+        }
     }
 
-    // our function for retrieving a label for a menu entry
-    protected function getLabelFor (obj :Object) :String
+    /**
+     * Get the command for the specified item, if any.
+     * Somewhat similar to bits in the DefaultDataDescriptor.
+     */
+    protected function getItemCommand (item :Object) :String
     {
-        var element :Array = (obj as Array);
-        return String(element[0]);
+        try {
+            if (item is XML) {
+                return String(item.@command);
+
+            } else if (item is Object) {
+                return String(item.command);
+            }
+        } catch (e :Error) {
+            // fall through
+        }
+
+        return null;
     }
 
-    // our function for retrieving an icon for a menu entry
-    protected function getIconFor (obj :Object) :Class
+    /**
+     * Get the command for the specified item, if any.
+     * Somewhat similar to bits in the DefaultDataDescriptor.
+     */
+    protected function getItemArgument (item :Object) :Object
     {
-        var element :Array = (obj as Array);
-        return Class(element[1]);
+        try {
+            if (item is XML) {
+                return item.@arg;
+
+            } else if (item is Object) {
+                return item.arg;
+            }
+        } catch (e :Error) {
+            // fall through
+        }
+
+        return null;
     }
 }
 }