A capturing and viewing appliance and method are provided for capturing and communicating images to other appliances and devices with communication capabilities. The capturing and viewing appliance includes a processor for manipulating and viewing the images on a built-in display. Program code stored in internal memory includes a menu navigation interface application program which allows the user to use navigation buttons and operational buttons to operate the menu navigation interface in operating the appliance. According to another aspect of the invention, the menu navigation interface provides a user-friendly interface for operating an appliance or other device through reuse of the navigation buttons and operational buttons in menu activation and deactivation as well as menu item selection. Through the use of this novel user interface and method of the menu navigation, the present invention presents a novel operating solution for devices and appliances with limited resources as the menu navigation interface and method is designed for navigating menus through instrument reuse which is especially useful in portable hand-held appliances or other devices which are capable of displaying images where space and compactness are a concern.