Tk Built-In Commands entry(1T)
NAME
entry - Create and manipulate entry widgets
SYNOPSIS
entry pathName ?options?
STANDARD OPTIONS
-background -highlightthickness -selectbackground
-borderwidth -insertbackground -selectborderwidth
-cursor -insertborderwidth -selectforeground
-exportselection -insertofftime -takefocus
-font -insertontime -textvariable
-foreground -insertwidth -xscrollcommand
-highlightbackground -justify
-highlightcolor -relief
See the options manual entry for details on the standard
options.
WIDGET-SPECIFIC OPTIONS
Command-Line Name:-disabledbackground
Database Name: disabledBackground
Database Class: DisabledBackground
Specifies the background color to use when the entry is
disabled. If this option is the empty string, the nor-
mal background color is used.
Command-Line Name:-disabledforeground
Database Name: disabledForeground
Database Class: DisabledForeground
Specifies the foreground color to use when the entry is
disabled. If this option is the empty string, the nor-
mal foreground color is used.
Command-Line Name:-invalidcommand or -invcmd
Database Name: invalidCommand
Database Class: InvalidCommand
Specifies a script to eval when validateCommand returns
0. Setting it to {} disables this feature (the
default). The best use of this option is to set it to
bell. See Validation below for more information.
Command-Line Name:-readonlybackground
Database Name: readonlyBackground
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Tk Built-In Commands entry(1T)
Database Class: ReadonlyBackground
Specifies the background color to use when the entry is
readonly. If this option is the empty string, the nor-
mal background color is used.
Command-Line Name:-show
Database Name: show
Database Class: Show
If this option is specified, then the true contents of
the entry are not displayed in the window. Instead,
each character in the entry's value will be displayed
as the first character in the value of this option,
such as ``*''. This is useful, for example, if the
entry is to be used to enter a password. If characters
in the entry are selected and copied elsewhere, the
information copied will be what is displayed, not the
true contents of the entry.
Command-Line Name:-state
Database Name: state
Database Class: State
Specifies one of three states for the entry: normal,
disabled, or readonly. If the entry is readonly, then
the value may not be changed using widget commands and
no insertion cursor will be displayed, even if the
input focus is in the widget; the contents of the
widget may still be selected. If the entry is dis-
abled, the value may not be changed, no insertion cur-
sor will be displayed, the contents will not be select-
able, and the entry may be displayed in a different
color, depending on the values of the -disabledfore-
ground and -disabledbackground options.
Command-Line Name:-validate
Database Name: validate
Database Class: Validate
Specifies the mode in which validation should operate:
none, focus, focusin, focusout, key, or all. It
defaults to none. When you want validation, you must
explicitly state which mode you wish to use. See Vali-
dation below for more.
Command-Line Name:-validatecommand or -vcmd
Database Name: validateCommand
Database Class: ValidateCommand
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Tk Built-In Commands entry(1T)
Specifies a script to eval when you want to validate
the input into the entry widget. Setting it to {} dis-
ables this feature (the default). This command must
return a valid Tcl boolean value. If it returns 0 (or
the valid Tcl boolean equivalent) then it means you
reject the new edition and it will not occur and the
invalidCommand will be evaluated if it is set. If it
returns 1, then the new edition occurs. See Validation
below for more information.
Command-Line Name:-width
Database Name: width
Database Class: Width
Specifies an integer value indicating the desired width
of the entry window, in average-size characters of the
widget's font. If the value is less than or equal to
zero, the widget picks a size just large enough to hold
its current text.
DESCRIPTION
The entry command creates a new window (given by the path-
Name argument) and makes it into an entry widget. Addi-
tional options, described above, may be specified on the
command line or in the option database to configure aspects
of the entry such as its colors, font, and relief. The
entry 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.
An entry is a widget that displays a one-line text string
and allows that string to be edited using widget commands
described below, which are typically bound to keystrokes and
mouse actions. When first created, an entry's string is
empty. A portion of the entry may be selected as described
below. If an entry is exporting its selection (see the
exportSelection option), then it will observe the standard
X11 protocols for handling the selection; entry selections
are available as type STRING. Entries also observe the
standard Tk rules for dealing with the input focus. When an
entry has the input focus it displays an insertion cursor to
indicate where new characters will be inserted.
Entries are capable of displaying strings that are too long
to fit entirely within the widget's window. In this case,
only a portion of the string will be displayed; commands
described below may be used to change the view in the win-
dow. Entries use the standard xScrollCommand mechanism for
interacting with scrollbars (see the description of the
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Tk Built-In Commands entry(1T)
xScrollCommand option for details). They also support scan-
ning, as described below.
VALIDATION
Validation works by setting the validateCommand option to a
script which will be evaluated according to the validate
option as follows:
none
Default. This means no validation will occur.
focus
validateCommand will be called when the entry
receives or loses focus.
focu-
sin
validateCommand will be called when the entry
receives focus.
focu-
sout
validateCommand will be called when the entry
loses focus.
key
validateCommand will be called when the entry is
edited.
all
validateCommand will be called for all above con-
ditions.
It is possible to perform percent substitutions on the vali-
dateCommand and invalidCommand, just as you would in a bind
script. The following substitutions are recognized:
%d
Type of action: 1 for insert, 0 for delete, or -1 for
focus, forced or textvariable validation.
%i
Index of char string to be inserted/deleted, if any,
otherwise -1.
%P
The value of the entry if the edit is allowed. If you
are configuring the entry widget to have a new
textvariable, this will be the value of that textvari-
able.
%s
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Tk Built-In Commands entry(1T)
The current value of entry prior to editing.
%S
The text string being inserted/deleted, if any, {} oth-
erwise.
%v
The type of validation currently set.
%V
The type of validation that triggered the callback
(key, focusin, focusout, forced).
%W
The name of the entry widget.
In general, the textVariable and validateCommand can be
dangerous to mix. Any problems have been overcome so that
using the validateCommand will not interfere with the tradi-
tional behavior of the entry widget. Using the textVariable
for read-only purposes will never cause problems. The
danger comes when you try set the textVariable to something
that the validateCommand would not accept, which causes
validate to become none (the invalidCommand will not be
triggered). The same happens when an error occurs evaluat-
ing the validateCommand.
Primarily, an error will occur when the validateCommand or
invalidCommand encounters an error in its script while
evaluating or validateCommand does not return a valid Tcl
boolean value. The validate option will also set itself to
none when you edit the entry widget from within either the
validateCommand or the invalidCommand. Such editions will
override the one that was being validated. If you wish to
edit the entry widget (for example set it to {}) during
validation and still have the validate option set, you
should include the command
after idle {%W config -validate %v}
in the validateCommand or invalidCommand (whichever one you
were editing the entry widget from). It is also recommended
to not set an associated textVariable during validation, as
that can cause the entry widget to become out of sync with
the textVariable.
WIDGET COMAND
The entry command creates a new Tcl command whose name is
pathName. This command may be used to invoke various opera-
tions 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.
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Tk Built-In Commands entry(1T)
Many of the widget commands for entries take one or more
indices as arguments. An index specifies a particular char-
acter in the entry's string, in any of the following ways:
number Specifies the character as a numerical index,
where 0 corresponds to the first character in
the string.
anchor Indicates the anchor point for the selection,
which is set with the select from and select
adjust widget commands.
end Indicates the character just after the last one
in the entry's string. This is equivalent to
specifying a numerical index equal to the length
of the entry's string.
insert Indicates the character adjacent to and immedi-
ately following the insertion cursor.
sel.first Indicates the first character in the selection.
It is an error to use this form if the selection
isn't in the entry window.
sel.last Indicates the character just after the last one
in the selection. It is an error to use this
form if the selection isn't in the entry window.
@number In this form, number is treated as an x-
coordinate in the entry's window; the character
spanning that x-coordinate is used. For exam-
ple, ``@0'' indicates the left-most character in
the window.
Abbreviations may be used for any of the forms above, e.g.
``e'' or ``sel.f''. In general, out-of-range indices are
automatically rounded to the nearest legal value.
The following commands are possible for entry widgets:
pathName bbox index
Returns a list of four numbers describing the bounding
box of the character given by index. The first two
elements of the list give the x and y coordinates of
the upper-left corner of the screen area covered by the
character (in pixels relative to the widget) and the
last two elements give the width and height of the
character, in pixels. The bounding box may refer to a
region outside the visible area of the window.
pathName cget option
Returns the current value of the configuration option
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Tk Built-In Commands entry(1T)
given by option. Option may have any of the values
accepted by the entry 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 TkConfigureInfo 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 entry command.
pathName delete first ?last?
Delete one or more elements of the entry. First is the
index of the first character to delete, and last is the
index of the character just after the last one to
delete. If last isn't specified it defaults to
first]1, i.e. a single character is deleted. This com-
mand returns an empty string.
pathName get
Returns the entry's string.
pathName icursor index
Arrange for the insertion cursor to be displayed just
before the character given by index. Returns an empty
string.
pathName index index
Returns the numerical index corresponding to index.
pathName insert index string
Insert the characters of string just before the charac-
ter indicated by index. Returns an empty string.
pathName scan option args
This command is used to implement scanning on entries.
It has two forms, depending on option:
pathName scan mark x
Records x and the current view in the entry win-
dow; used in conjunction with later scan dragto
commands. Typically this command is associated
with a mouse button press in the widget. It
returns an empty string.
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Tk Built-In Commands entry(1T)
pathName scan dragto x
This command computes the difference between its x
argument and the x argument to the last scan mark
command for the widget. It then adjusts the view
left or right by 10 times the difference in x-
coordinates. This command is typically associated
with mouse motion events in the widget, to produce
the effect of dragging the entry at high speed
through the window. The return value is an empty
string.
pathName selection option arg
This command is used to adjust the selection within an
entry. It has several forms, depending on option:
pathName selection adjust index
Locate the end of the selection nearest to the
character given by index, and adjust that end of
the selection to be at index (i.e. including but
not going beyond index). The other end of the
selection is made the anchor point for future
select to commands. If the selection isn't
currently in the entry, then a new selection is
created to include the characters between index
and the most recent selection anchor point,
inclusive. Returns an empty string.
pathName selection clear
Clear the selection if it is currently in this
widget. If the selection isn't in this widget
then the command has no effect. Returns an empty
string.
pathName selection from index
Set the selection anchor point to just before the
character given by index. Doesn't change the
selection. Returns an empty string.
pathName selection present
Returns 1 if there is are characters selected in
the entry, 0 if nothing is selected.
pathName selection range start end
Sets the selection to include the characters
starting with the one indexed by start and ending
with the one just before end. If end refers to
the same character as start or an earlier one,
then the entry's selection is cleared.
pathName selection to index
If index is before the anchor point, set the
selection to the characters from index up to but
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Tk Built-In Commands entry(1T)
not including the anchor point. If index is the
same as the anchor point, do nothing. If index is
after the anchor point, set the selection to the
characters from the anchor point up to but not
including index. The anchor point is determined
by the most recent select from or select adjust
command in this widget. If the selection isn't in
this widget then a new selection is created using
the most recent anchor point specified for the
widget. Returns an empty string.
pathName validate
This command is used to force an evaluation of the
validateCommand independent of the conditions specified
by the validate option. This is done by temporarily
setting the validate option to all. It returns 0 or 1.
pathName xview args
This command is used to query and change the horizontal
position of the text in the widget's window. It can
take any of the following forms:
pathName xview
Returns a list containing two elements. Each ele-
ment is a real fraction between 0 and 1; together
they describe the horizontal span that is visible
in the window. For example, if the first element
is .2 and the second element is .6, 20% of the
entry's text is off-screen to the left, the middle
40% is visible in the window, and 40% of the text
is off-screen to the right. These are the same
values passed to scrollbars via the -xscrollcom-
mand option.
pathName xview index
Adjusts the view in the window so that the charac-
ter given by index is displayed at the left edge
of the window.
pathName xview moveto fraction
Adjusts the view in the window so that the charac-
ter fraction of the way through the text appears
at the left edge of the window. Fraction must be
a fraction between 0 and 1.
pathName xview scroll number what
This command shifts the view in the window left or
right according to number and what. Number must
be an integer. What must be either units or pages
or an abbreviation of one of these. If what is
units, the view adjusts left or right by number
average-width characters on the display; if it is
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Tk Built-In Commands entry(1T)
pages then the view adjusts by number screenfuls.
If number is negative then characters farther to
the left become visible; if it is positive then
characters farther to the right become visible.
DEFAULT BINDINGS
Tk automatically creates class bindings for entries that
give them the following default behavior. In the descrip-
tions below, ``word'' refers to a contiguous group of
letters, digits, or ``'' characters, or any single charac-
ter other than these.
[1] Clicking mouse button 1 positions the insertion cursor
just before the character underneath the mouse cursor,
sets the input focus to this widget, and clears any
selection in the widget. Dragging with mouse button 1
strokes out a selection between the insertion cursor
and the character under the mouse.
[2] Double-clicking with mouse button 1 selects the word
under the mouse and positions the insertion cursor at
the end of the word. Dragging after a double click
will stroke out a selection consisting of whole words.
[3] Triple-clicking with mouse button 1 selects all of the
text in the entry and positions the insertion cursor at
the end of the line.
[4] The ends of the selection can be adjusted by dragging
with mouse button 1 while the Shift key is down; this
will adjust the end of the selection that was nearest
to the mouse cursor when button 1 was pressed. If the
button is double-clicked before dragging then the
selection will be adjusted in units of whole words.
[5] Clicking mouse button 1 with the Control key down will
position the insertion cursor in the entry without
affecting the selection.
[6] If any normal printing characters are typed in an
entry, they are inserted at the point of the insertion
cursor.
[7] The view in the entry can be adjusted by dragging with
mouse button 2. If mouse button 2 is clicked without
moving the mouse, the selection is copied into the
entry at the position of the mouse cursor.
[8] If the mouse is dragged out of the entry on the left or
right sides while button 1 is pressed, the entry will
automatically scroll to make more text visible (if
there is more text off-screen on the side where the
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Tk Built-In Commands entry(1T)
mouse left the window).
[9] The Left and Right keys move the insertion cursor one
character to the left or right; they also clear any
selection in the entry and set the selection anchor.
If Left or Right is typed with the Shift key down, then
the insertion cursor moves and the selection is
extended to include the new character. Control-Left
and Control-Right move the insertion cursor by words,
and Control-Shift-Left and Control-Shift-Right move the
insertion cursor by words and also extend the selec-
tion. Control-b and Control-f behave the same as Left
and Right, respectively. Meta-b and Meta-f behave the
same as Control-Left and Control-Right, respectively.
[10] The Home key, or Control-a, will move the insertion
cursor to the beginning of the entry and clear any
selection in the entry. Shift-Home moves the insertion
cursor to the beginning of the entry and also extends
the selection to that point.
[11] The End key, or Control-e, will move the insertion cur-
sor to the end of the entry and clear any selection in
the entry. Shift-End moves the cursor to the end and
extends the selection to that point.
[12] The Select key and Control-Space set the selection
anchor to the position of the insertion cursor. They
don't affect the current selection. Shift-Select and
Control-Shift-Space adjust the selection to the current
position of the insertion cursor, selecting from the
anchor to the insertion cursor if there was not any
selection previously.
[13] Control-/ selects all the text in the entry.
[14] Control-\ clears any selection in the entry.
[15] The F16 key (labelled Copy on many Sun workstations) or
Meta-w copies the selection in the widget to the clip-
board, if there is a selection.
[16] The F20 key (labelled Cut on many Sun workstations) or
Control-w copies the selection in the widget to the
clipboard and deletes the selection. If there is no
selection in the widget then these keys have no effect.
[17] The F18 key (labelled Paste on many Sun workstations)
or Control-y inserts the contents of the clipboard at
the position of the insertion cursor.
[18] The Delete key deletes the selection, if there is one
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Tk Built-In Commands entry(1T)
in the entry. If there is no selection, it deletes the
character to the right of the insertion cursor.
[19] The BackSpace key and Control-h delete the selection,
if there is one in the entry. If there is no selec-
tion, it deletes the character to the left of the
insertion cursor.
[20] Control-d deletes the character to the right of the
insertion cursor.
[21] Meta-d deletes the word to the right of the insertion
cursor.
[22] Control-k deletes all the characters to the right of
the insertion cursor.
[23] Control-t reverses the order of the two characters to
the right of the insertion cursor.
If the entry is disabled using the -state option, then the
entry's view can still be adjusted and text in the entry can
still be selected, but no insertion cursor will be displayed
and no text modifications will take place except if the
entry is linked to a variable using the -textvariable
option, in which case any changes to the variable are
reflected by the entry whatever the value of its -state
option.
The behavior of entries can be changed by defining new bind-
ings for individual widgets or by redefining the class bind-
ings.
KEYWORDS
entry, widget
ATRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attri-
butes:
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Tk Built-In Commands entry(1T)
ATRIBUTE TYPE ATRIBUTE VALUE
Availability SUNWTk
Interface Stability Uncommitted
NOTES
Source for Tk is available on http:/opensolaris.org.
Tk Last change: 8.3 13
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