RE: Changes for emacs 28

[Drew Adams]

> > Doesn't menu File > Open File do what you request,
> > by default?  Likewise, other file operations, such
> > as File > Insert File, File > Save As, and File >
> > Open Directory.
> 
> Hmm. You are right. I thought that the problem was with Emacs defaults,
> but it seems to be a problem with helm, which I asked to install at the
> very beginning - it appears to override the file dialogue.

Thanks for confirming.

In several cases, though it may not be systematic,
Emacs default behavior tries to present, by way of
menus, something closer to what new users might be
used to.  Another example is Edit > Cut|Copy|Paste.

CUA-mode is about keyboard-key (not menu) behavior.
And in general Emacs default key bindings are
closer to what most Emacs users use, as opposed to
what new users might be used to.

There's always room for improvement.  And indeed,
the menus have improved in this way over time, to
be more accommodating to new users.

Menus are an important way to discover features
and, yes, key bindings.  They can be a gateway to
more "emacsy" behavior.
____

In terms of discovering with menus, and at the
same time seeing the power/utility of keyboard
key bindings (completion, in particular), there
is library La Carte.

https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/LaCarte

And vanilla Emacs has `tmm-menubar' (M-`).