NAME¶
options - Standard options supported by widgets
DESCRIPTION¶
This manual entry describes the common configuration options supported by
widgets in the Tk toolkit. Every widget does not necessarily support every
option (see the manual entries for individual widgets for a list of the
standard options supported by that widget), but if a widget does support an
option with one of the names listed below, then the option has exactly the
effect described below.
In the descriptions below, “Command-Line Name” refers to the switch
used in class commands and
configure widget commands to set this value.
For example, if an option's command-line switch is
-foreground and
there exists a widget
.a.b.c, then the command
.a.b.c configure -foreground black
may be used to specify the value
black for the option in the widget
.a.b.c. Command-line switches may be abbreviated, as long as the
abbreviation is unambiguous. “Database Name” refers to the
option's name in the option database (e.g. in .Xdefaults files).
“Database Class” refers to the option's class value in the option
database.
Command-Line Name: -activebackground
Database Name: activeBackground
Database Class: Foreground
- Specifies background color to use when drawing active
elements. An element (a widget or portion of a widget) is active if the
mouse cursor is positioned over the element and pressing a mouse button
will cause some action to occur. If strict Motif compliance has been
requested by setting the tk_strictMotif variable, this option will
normally be ignored; the normal background color will be used instead. For
some elements on Windows and Macintosh systems, the active color will only
be used while mouse button 1 is pressed over the element.
Command-Line Name: -activeborderwidth
Database Name: activeBorderWidth
Database Class: BorderWidth
- Specifies a non-negative value indicating the width of the
3-D border drawn around active elements. See above for definition of
active elements. The value may have any of the forms acceptable to
Tk_GetPixels. This option is typically only available in widgets
displaying more than one element at a time (e.g. menus but not
buttons).
Command-Line Name: -activeforeground
Database Name: activeForeground
Database Class: Background
- Specifies foreground color to use when drawing active
elements. See above for definition of active elements.
Command-Line Name: -anchor
Database Name: anchor
Database Class: Anchor
- Specifies how the information in a widget (e.g. text or a
bitmap) is to be displayed in the widget. Must be one of the values
n, ne, e, se, s, sw, w,
nw, or center. For example, nw means display the
information such that its top-left corner is at the top-left corner of the
widget.
Command-Line Name: -background or -bg
Database Name: background
Database Class: Background
- Specifies the normal background color to use when
displaying the widget.
Command-Line Name: -bitmap
Database Name: bitmap
Database Class: Bitmap
- Specifies a bitmap to display in the widget, in any of the
forms acceptable to Tk_GetBitmap. The exact way in which the bitmap
is displayed may be affected by other options such as anchor or
justify. Typically, if this option is specified then it overrides
other options that specify a textual value to display in the widget but
this is controlled by the compound option; the bitmap option
may be reset to an empty string to re-enable a text display. In widgets
that support both bitmap and image options, image
will usually override bitmap.
Command-Line Name: -borderwidth or -bd
Database Name: borderWidth
Database Class: BorderWidth
- Specifies a non-negative value indicating the width of the
3-D border to draw around the outside of the widget (if such a border is
being drawn; the relief option typically determines this). The
value may also be used when drawing 3-D effects in the interior of the
widget. The value may have any of the forms acceptable to
Tk_GetPixels.
Command-Line Name: -cursor
Database Name: cursor
Database Class: Cursor
- Specifies the mouse cursor to be used for the widget. The
value may have any of the forms acceptable to Tk_GetCursor. In
addition, if an empty string is specified, it indicates that the widget
should defer to its parent for cursor specification.
Command-Line Name: -compound
Database Name: compound
Database Class: Compound
- Specifies if the widget should display text and
bitmaps/images at the same time, and if so, where the bitmap/image should
be placed relative to the text. Must be one of the values none,
bottom, top, left, right, or center.
For example, the (default) value none specifies that the bitmap or
image should (if defined) be displayed instead of the text, the value
left specifies that the bitmap or image should be displayed to the
left of the text, and the value center specifies that the bitmap or
image should be displayed on top of the text.
Command-Line Name: -disabledforeground
Database Name: disabledForeground
Database Class: DisabledForeground
- Specifies foreground color to use when drawing a disabled
element. If the option is specified as an empty string (which is typically
the case on monochrome displays), disabled elements are drawn with the
normal foreground color but they are dimmed by drawing them with a
stippled fill pattern.
Command-Line Name: -exportselection
Database Name: exportSelection
Database Class: ExportSelection
- Specifies whether or not a selection in the widget should
also be the X selection. The value may have any of the forms accepted by
Tcl_GetBoolean, such as true, false, 0,
1, yes, or no. If the selection is exported, then
selecting in the widget deselects the current X selection, selecting
outside the widget deselects any widget selection, and the widget will
respond to selection retrieval requests when it has a selection. The
default is usually for widgets to export selections.
Command-Line Name: -font
Database Name: font
Database Class: Font
- Specifies the font to use when drawing text inside the
widget. The value may have any of the forms described in the font
manual page under FONT DESCRIPTION.
Command-Line Name: -foreground or -fg
Database Name: foreground
Database Class: Foreground
- Specifies the normal foreground color to use when
displaying the widget.
Command-Line Name: -highlightbackground
Database Name: highlightBackground
Database Class: HighlightBackground
- Specifies the color to display in the traversal highlight
region when the widget does not have the input focus.
Command-Line Name: -highlightcolor
Database Name: highlightColor
Database Class: HighlightColor
- Specifies the color to use for the traversal highlight
rectangle that is drawn around the widget when it has the input
focus.
Command-Line Name: -highlightthickness
Database Name: highlightThickness
Database Class: HighlightThickness
- Specifies a non-negative value indicating the width of the
highlight rectangle to draw around the outside of the widget when it has
the input focus. The value may have any of the forms acceptable to
Tk_GetPixels. If the value is zero, no focus highlight is drawn
around the widget.
Command-Line Name: -image
Database Name: image
Database Class: Image
- Specifies an image to display in the widget, which must
have been created with the image create command. Typically, if the
image option is specified then it overrides other options that
specify a bitmap or textual value to display in the widget, though this is
controlled by the compound option; the image option may be
reset to an empty string to re-enable a bitmap or text display.
Command-Line Name: -insertbackground
Database Name: insertBackground
Database Class: Foreground
- Specifies the color to use as background in the area
covered by the insertion cursor. This color will normally override either
the normal background for the widget (or the selection background if the
insertion cursor happens to fall in the selection).
Command-Line Name: -insertborderwidth
Database Name: insertBorderWidth
Database Class: BorderWidth
- Specifies a non-negative value indicating the width of the
3-D border to draw around the insertion cursor. The value may have any of
the forms acceptable to Tk_GetPixels.
Command-Line Name: -insertofftime
Database Name: insertOffTime
Database Class: OffTime
- Specifies a non-negative integer value indicating the
number of milliseconds the insertion cursor should remain
“off” in each blink cycle. If this option is zero then the
cursor does not blink: it is on all the time.
Command-Line Name: -insertontime
Database Name: insertOnTime
Database Class: OnTime
- Specifies a non-negative integer value indicating the
number of milliseconds the insertion cursor should remain “on”
in each blink cycle.
Command-Line Name: -insertwidth
Database Name: insertWidth
Database Class: InsertWidth
- Specifies a value indicating the total width of the
insertion cursor. The value may have any of the forms acceptable to
Tk_GetPixels. If a border has been specified for the insertion
cursor (using the insertBorderWidth option), the border will be
drawn inside the width specified by the insertWidth option.
Command-Line Name: -jump
Database Name: jump
Database Class: Jump
- For widgets with a slider that can be dragged to adjust a
value, such as scrollbars, this option determines when notifications are
made about changes in the value. The option's value must be a boolean of
the form accepted by Tcl_GetBoolean. If the value is false, updates
are made continuously as the slider is dragged. If the value is true,
updates are delayed until the mouse button is released to end the drag; at
that point a single notification is made (the value “jumps”
rather than changing smoothly).
Command-Line Name: -justify
Database Name: justify
Database Class: Justify
- When there are multiple lines of text displayed in a
widget, this option determines how the lines line up with each other. Must
be one of left, center, or right. Left means
that the lines' left edges all line up, center means that the
lines' centers are aligned, and right means that the lines' right
edges line up.
Command-Line Name: -orient
Database Name: orient
Database Class: Orient
- For widgets that can lay themselves out with either a
horizontal or vertical orientation, such as scrollbars, this option
specifies which orientation should be used. Must be either
horizontal or vertical or an abbreviation of one of
these.
Command-Line Name: -padx
Database Name: padX
Database Class: Pad
- Specifies a non-negative value indicating how much extra
space to request for the widget in the X-direction. The value may have any
of the forms acceptable to Tk_GetPixels. When computing how large a
window it needs, the widget will add this amount to the width it would
normally need (as determined by the width of the things displayed in the
widget); if the geometry manager can satisfy this request, the widget will
end up with extra internal space to the left and/or right of what it
displays inside. Most widgets only use this option for padding text: if
they are displaying a bitmap or image, then they usually ignore padding
options.
Command-Line Name: -pady
Database Name: padY
Database Class: Pad
- Specifies a non-negative value indicating how much extra
space to request for the widget in the Y-direction. The value may have any
of the forms acceptable to Tk_GetPixels. When computing how large a
window it needs, the widget will add this amount to the height it would
normally need (as determined by the height of the things displayed in the
widget); if the geometry manager can satisfy this request, the widget will
end up with extra internal space above and/or below what it displays
inside. Most widgets only use this option for padding text: if they are
displaying a bitmap or image, then they usually ignore padding
options.
Command-Line Name: -relief
Database Name: relief
Database Class: Relief
- Specifies the 3-D effect desired for the widget. Acceptable
values are raised, sunken, flat, ridge,
solid, and groove. The value indicates how the interior of
the widget should appear relative to its exterior; for example,
raised means the interior of the widget should appear to protrude
from the screen, relative to the exterior of the widget.
Command-Line Name: -repeatdelay
Database Name: repeatDelay
Database Class: RepeatDelay
- Specifies the number of milliseconds a button or key must
be held down before it begins to auto-repeat. Used, for example, on the
up- and down-arrows in scrollbars.
Command-Line Name: -repeatinterval
Database Name: repeatInterval
Database Class: RepeatInterval
- Used in conjunction with repeatDelay: once
auto-repeat begins, this option determines the number of milliseconds
between auto-repeats.
Command-Line Name: -selectbackground
Database Name: selectBackground
Database Class: Foreground
- Specifies the background color to use when displaying
selected items.
Command-Line Name: -selectborderwidth
Database Name: selectBorderWidth
Database Class: BorderWidth
- Specifies a non-negative value indicating the width of the
3-D border to draw around selected items. The value may have any of the
forms acceptable to Tk_GetPixels.
Command-Line Name: -selectforeground
Database Name: selectForeground
Database Class: Background
- Specifies the foreground color to use when displaying
selected items.
Command-Line Name: -setgrid
Database Name: setGrid
Database Class: SetGrid
- Specifies a boolean value that determines whether this
widget controls the resizing grid for its top-level window. This option is
typically used in text widgets, where the information in the widget has a
natural size (the size of a character) and it makes sense for the window's
dimensions to be integral numbers of these units. These natural window
sizes form a grid. If the setGrid option is set to true then the
widget will communicate with the window manager so that when the user
interactively resizes the top-level window that contains the widget, the
dimensions of the window will be displayed to the user in grid units and
the window size will be constrained to integral numbers of grid units. See
the section GRIDDED GEOMETRY MANAGEMENT in the wm manual
entry for more details.
Command-Line Name: -takefocus
Database Name: takeFocus
Database Class: TakeFocus
- Determines whether the window accepts the focus during
keyboard traversal (e.g., Tab and Shift-Tab). Before setting the focus to
a window, the traversal scripts consult the value of the takeFocus
option. A value of 0 means that the window should be skipped
entirely during keyboard traversal. 1 means that the window should
receive the input focus as long as it is viewable (it and all of its
ancestors are mapped). An empty value for the option means that the
traversal scripts make the decision about whether or not to focus on the
window: the current algorithm is to skip the window if it is disabled, if
it has no key bindings, or if it is not viewable. If the value has any
other form, then the traversal scripts take the value, append the name of
the window to it (with a separator space), and evaluate the resulting
string as a Tcl script. The script must return 0, 1, or an
empty string: a 0 or 1 value specifies whether the window
will receive the input focus, and an empty string results in the default
decision described above. Note: this interpretation of the option is
defined entirely by the Tcl scripts that implement traversal: the widget
implementations ignore the option entirely, so you can change its meaning
if you redefine the keyboard traversal scripts.
Command-Line Name: -text
Database Name: text
Database Class: Text
- Specifies a string to be displayed inside the widget. The
way in which the string is displayed depends on the particular widget and
may be determined by other options, such as anchor or
justify.
Command-Line Name: -textvariable
Database Name: textVariable
Database Class: Variable
- Specifies the name of a global variable. The value of the
variable is a text string to be displayed inside the widget; if the
variable value changes then the widget will automatically update itself to
reflect the new value. The way in which the string is displayed in the
widget depends on the particular widget and may be determined by other
options, such as anchor or justify.
Command-Line Name: -troughcolor
Database Name: troughColor
Database Class: Background
- Specifies the color to use for the rectangular trough areas
in widgets such as scrollbars and scales. This option is ignored for
scrollbars on Windows (native widget does not recognize this option).
Command-Line Name: -underline
Database Name: underline
Database Class: Underline
- Specifies the integer index of a character to underline in
the widget. This option is used by the default bindings to implement
keyboard traversal for menu buttons and menu entries. 0 corresponds to the
first character of the text displayed in the widget, 1 to the next
character, and so on.
Command-Line Name: -wraplength
Database Name: wrapLength
Database Class: WrapLength
- For widgets that can perform word-wrapping, this option
specifies the maximum line length. Lines that would exceed this length are
wrapped onto the next line, so that no line is longer than the specified
length. The value may be specified in any of the standard forms for screen
distances. If this value is less than or equal to 0 then no wrapping is
done: lines will break only at newline characters in the text.
Command-Line Name: -xscrollcommand
Database Name: xScrollCommand
Database Class: ScrollCommand
- Specifies the prefix for a command used to communicate with
horizontal scrollbars. When the view in the widget's window changes (or
whenever anything else occurs that could change the display in a
scrollbar, such as a change in the total size of the widget's contents),
the widget will generate a Tcl command by concatenating the scroll command
and two numbers. Each of the numbers is a fraction between 0 and 1, which
indicates a position in the document. 0 indicates the beginning of the
document, 1 indicates the end, .333 indicates a position one third the way
through the document, and so on. The first fraction indicates the first
information in the document that is visible in the window, and the second
fraction indicates the information just after the last portion that is
visible. The command is then passed to the Tcl interpreter for execution.
Typically the xScrollCommand option consists of the path name of a
scrollbar widget followed by “set”, e.g. “.x.scrollbar
set”: this will cause the scrollbar to be updated whenever the view
in the window changes. If this option is not specified, then no command
will be executed.
Command-Line Name: -yscrollcommand
Database Name: yScrollCommand
Database Class: ScrollCommand
- Specifies the prefix for a command used to communicate with
vertical scrollbars. This option is treated in the same way as the
xScrollCommand option, except that it is used for vertical
scrollbars and is provided by widgets that support vertical scrolling. See
the description of xScrollCommand for details on how this option is
used.
SEE ALSO¶
colors, cursors, font
KEYWORDS¶
class, name, standard option, switch