tk4.2 User Commands - menubutton
NAME
menubutton - Create and manipulate menubutton widgets
SYNOPSIS
menubutton pathName ?options?
STANDARD OPTIONS
-activebackground -cursor -highlightthickness-takefocus
-activeforeground -disabledforeground-image-text
-anchor -font -justify -textvariable
-background -foreground -padx -underline
-bitmap -highlightbackground -pady-wraplength
-borderwidth -highlightcolor -relief
See the options manual entry for details on the standard
options.
WIDGET-SPECIFIC OPTIONS
Command-Line Name:-height
Database Name: height
Database Class: Height
Specifies a desired height for the menubutton. If an
image or bitmap is being displayed in the menubutton
then the value is in screen units (i.e. any of the
forms acceptable to Tk_GetPixels); for text it is in
lines of text. If this option isn't specified, the
menubutton's desired height is computed from the size
of the image or bitmap or text being displayed in it.
Command-Line Name:-indicatoron
Database Name: indicatorOn
Database Class: IndicatorOn
The value must be a proper boolean value. If it is
true then a small indicator rectangle will be displayed
on the right side of the menubutton and the default
menu bindings will treat this as an option menubutton.
If false then no indicator will be displayed.
Command-Line Name:-menu
Database Name: menu
Database Class: MenuName
Specifies the path name of the menu associated with
this menubutton. The menu must be a child of the menu-
button.
Command-Line Name:-state
Database Name: state
Database Class: State
Specifies one of three states for the menubutton: nor-
mal, active, or disabled. In normal state the menubut-
ton is displayed using the foreground and background
options. The active state is typically used when the
pointer is over the menubutton. In active state the
menubutton is displayed using the activeForeground and
activeBackground options. Disabled state means that
the menubutton should be insensitive: the default
bindings will refuse to activate the widget and will
ignore mouse button presses. In this state the disa-
bledForeground and background options determine how the
button is displayed.
Command-Line Name:-width
Database Name: width
Database Class: Width
Specifies a desired width for the menubutton. If an
image or bitmap is being displayed in the menubutton
then the value is in screen units (i.e. any of the
forms acceptable to Tk_GetPixels); for text it is in
characters. If this option isn't specified, the
menubutton's desired width is computed from the size of
the image or bitmap or text being displayed in it.
INTRODUCTION
The menubutton command creates a new window (given by the
pathName argument) and makes it into a menubutton widget.
Additional options, described above, may be specified on the
command line or in the option database to configure aspects
of the menubutton such as its colors, font, text, and ini-
tial relief. The menubutton command returns its pathName
argument. At the time this command is invoked, there must
not exist a window named pathName, but pathName's parent
must exist.
A menubutton is a widget that displays a textual string,
bitmap, or image and is associated with a menu widget. If
text is displayed, it must all be in a single font, but it
can occupy multiple lines on the screen (if it contains new-
lines or if wrapping occurs because of the wrapLength
option) and one of the characters may optionally be under-
lined using the underline option. In normal usage, pressing
mouse button 1 over the menubutton causes the associated
menu to be posted just underneath the menubutton. If the
mouse is moved over the menu before releasing the mouse but-
ton, the button release causes the underlying menu entry to
be invoked. When the button is released, the menu is
unposted.
Menubuttons are typically organized into groups called menu
bars that allow scanning: if the mouse button is pressed
over one menubutton (causing it to post its menu) and the
mouse is moved over another menubutton in the same menu bar
without releasing the mouse button, then the menu of the
first menubutton is unposted and the menu of the new menu-
button is posted instead.
There are several interactions between menubuttons and
menus; see the menu manual entry for information on various
menu configurations, such as pulldown menus and option
menus.
WIDGET COMMAND
The menubutton command creates a new Tcl command whose name
is pathName. This command may be used to invoke various
operations on the widget. It has the following general
form:
pathName option ?arg arg ...?
Option and the args determine the exact behavior of the com-
mand. The following commands are possible for menubutton
widgets:
pathName cget option
Returns the current value of the configuration option
given by option. Option may have any of the values
accepted by the menubutton command.
pathName configure ?option? ?value option value ...?
Query or modify the configuration options of the
widget. If no option is specified, returns a list
describing all of the available options for pathName
(see Tk_ConfigureInfo for information on the format of
this list). If option is specified with no value, then
the command returns a list describing the one named
option (this list will be identical to the correspond-
ing sublist of the value returned if no option is
specified). If one or more option - value pairs are
specified, then the command modifies the given widget
option(s) to have the given value(s); in this case the
command returns an empty string. Option may have any
of the values accepted by the menubutton command.
DEFAULT BINDINGS
Tk automatically creates class bindings for menubuttons that
give them the following default behavior:
[1] A menubutton activates whenever the mouse passes over
it and deactivates whenever the mouse leaves it.
[2] Pressing mouse button 1 over a menubutton posts the
menubutton: its relief changes to raised and its asso-
ciated menu is posted under the menubutton. If the
mouse is dragged down into the menu with the button
still down, and if the mouse button is then released
over an entry in the menu, the menubutton is unposted
and the menu entry is invoked.
[3] If button 1 is pressed over a menubutton and then
released over that menubutton, the menubutton stays
posted: you can still move the mouse over the menu and
click button 1 on an entry to invoke it. Once a menu
entry has been invoked, the menubutton unposts itself.
[4] If button 1 is pressed over a menubutton and then
dragged over some other menubutton, the original menu-
button unposts itself and the new menubutton posts.
[5] If button 1 is pressed over a menubutton and released
outside any menubutton or menu, the menubutton unposts
without invoking any menu entry.
[6] When a menubutton is posted, its associated menu claims
the input focus to allow keyboard traversal of the menu
and its submenus. See the menu manual entry for
details on these bindings.
[7] If the underline option has been specified for a menu-
button then keyboard traversal may be used to post the
menubutton: Alt+x, where x is the underlined character
(or its lower-case or upper-case equivalent), may be
typed in any window under the menubutton's toplevel to
post the menubutton.
[8] The F10 key may be typed in any window to post the
first menubutton under its toplevel window that isn't
disabled.
[9] If a menubutton has the input focus, the space and
return keys post the menubutton.
If the menubutton's state is disabled then none of the above
actions occur: the menubutton is completely non-responsive.
The behavior of menubuttons can be changed by defining new
bindings for individual widgets or by redefining the class
bindings.
KEYWORDS
menubutton, widget