menubar(n) Create and manipulate menubars menubar(n)______________________________________________________________________________NAMEmenubar - Creates an instance of the menubar Class.
SYNOPSIS
package require Tcl 8.6
package require Tk 8.6
package require menubar ?0.5?
menubar new ?options?
mBarInst define body
mBarInst install pathName body
mBarInst menu.configure option tag-settings ?option tag-settings ...?
mBarInst menu.namespace tag namespace
mBarInst menu.hide tag
mBarInst menu.show tag
mBarInst tag.add tag value
mBarInst tag.configure pathName tag ?option value ...option value?
mBarInst tag.cget pathName tag ?option?
mBarInst group.add tag label ?cmd? ?accel? ?sequence? ?state?
mBarInst group.delete tag label
mBarInst group.move direction tag label
mBarInst group.configure tag label ?option value ...option value?
mBarInst group.serialize tag
mBarInst group.deserialize tag stream
mBarInst notebook.addTabStore pathname
mBarInst notebook.deleteTabStore pathname
mBarInst notebook.setTabValue pathname tag
mBarInst notebook.restoreTabValues pathname
_________________________________________________________________DESCRIPTIONmenubar new ?options?
Create and return a new instance of the menubar class. The menubar
class encapsulates the definition, installation and dynamic behavior of
a menubar. The class doesn't depend on a widget framework and therefore
can be used with or without a framework (e.g. Bwidget, IWidget, Snit,
etc.). Unlike other Tk widget commands, the menubar command doesn't
have a pathName argument because menubars are handled by the window
manager (i.e. wm) and not the application.
OPTIONS
The following options can be passed to the menubar new command.
These options are inherited from the Tk menu command, their effect is
platform specific.
-activebackground [http://docs.actives‐
tate.com/activetcl/8.5/tcl/TkCmd/options.htm#M-activebackground]
-activeborderwidth [http://docs.actives‐
tate.com/activetcl/8.5/tcl/TkCmd/options.htm#M-activeborderwidth]
-activeforeground [http://docs.actives‐
tate.com/activetcl/8.5/tcl/TkCmd/options.htm#M-activeforeground]
-background [http://docs.actives‐
tate.com/activetcl/8.5/tcl/TkCmd/options.htm#M-background]
-borderwidth [http://docs.actives‐
tate.com/activetcl/8.5/tcl/TkCmd/options.htm#M-borderwidth]
-cursor [http://docs.actives‐
tate.com/activetcl/8.5/tcl/TkCmd/options.htm#M-cursor]
-disabledforeground [http://docs.actives‐
tate.com/activetcl/8.5/tcl/TkCmd/options.htm#M-disabledforeground]
-font [http://docs.actives‐
tate.com/activetcl/8.5/tcl/TkCmd/options.htm#M-font]
-foreground [http://docs.actives‐
tate.com/activetcl/8.5/tcl/TkCmd/options.htm#M-foreground]
-relief [http://docs.actives‐
tate.com/activetcl/8.5/tcl/TkCmd/options.htm#M-relief]
INTRODUCTION
An instance of the menubar class provides methods for compiling a
description of the menubar, configuring menu items and installing the
menubar in toplevel windows.
A menubar can be thought of as a tree of cascading menus. Users define
a menubar using a language that results in a human readable description
of a menubar. The description of the menubar is then compiled by an
instance of the menubar class after which it can be installed in one or
more toplevel windows.
The menubar class provides many unique capabilities that are not found
in other tcl/tk menubar implementation. Some of these are:
· A tagging system that simplifies access to menu entries in the
menu tree.
· Support for user defined tags that depend on the toplevel window
context.
· A simplified and uniform interface for all callback commands.
· Namespace support for all callback commands so callback commands
can be easily grouped into namespaces.
· Support for hiding and exposing menus on the menubar.
· A simplified method for creating radiobutton groups.
· Automatic management of state variables for checkbuttons and
radiobuttons.
· Scope control for the state variables of checkbuttons and
radiobuttons.
· Tear-off menu management that ensures only one tearoff menu is
created.
· Support for dynamic menu extension to simplify the creation of
recent document menus.
· Support for saving and restoring dynamic menu extensions.
TERMINOLOGY
MENUBAR
The visible rendering of a menubar in a toplevel window is a
horizontally group of cascading Tk menus.
MENU A menu is an ordered list of items that is rendered vertically.
Menus are not visible until a user preforms some action (nor‐
mally a <ButtonPress-1> event). A menu may contain any number of
child menus that are rendered as cascading menus. Cascading
menus are rendered next to the parent menu when they are acti‐
vated.
MENU ENTRY
A menu contains an ordered list of items called entries. Menu
entries have a type and the menubar class supports the following
6 entry types: Command, Checkbutton, Radiobutton, Separator,
Group and Menu.
ENTRY LABEL
Each menu entry has a visible string that is called the entry
label.
TAG A tag is name that is normally used to referr to an item in a
menu tree. A tag name is an alphanumeric character string that
may include the underscore character. Menu tree tags are defined
for all nodes and leafs in a menu tree. This provides a flat
abstraction of the tree and simplifies item referencing in
menubar methods. Without this abstraction it would be necessary
to reference menu elements using a tree path which could change
at run-time. The menubar class also has a method that can create
a user defined tag. User defined tags store values that change
based on the currently active toplevel window. User defined tags
can be used to store widget pathnames use by callback code so
that output can be routed to the appropriate toplevel window.
METHODS
mBarInst define body
Compiles body into a tree of menu entries which define the vis‐
ual layout of the menubar. The body argument describes the lay‐
out using the following syntax, where the elements of the syntax
are described below.
body == definitions
definitions ::= { <ignore> | <definition> | <definition> <definitions> }
ignore ::= { <nl> | <white-space> <nl> | # <comment> <nl> }
definition ::= { <command> | <checkbutton> | <radiobutton> | <separator> | <group> | <menu> }
command ::= <label> C <tag> <nl>
checkbutton ::= <label> X<scope> { <tag> | <tag>+ } <nl>
radiobutton ::= <label> R<scope> { <tag> | <tag>+ } <nl>
separator ::= <stext> S <tag> <nl>
group ::= <dummy> G <tag> <nl>
menu ::= <label> { M:<tag> | M:<tag>+ } <nl> <definitions>
stext ::= '--' | <label>
scope ::= '' | '@' | '='
C - Command
The C type entry is the most common type of entry. This
entry executes a command when it is invoked.
X - Checkbutton
A X type entry behaves much like a Tk checkbutton widget.
When it is invoked it toggles back and forth between a
selected and deselected states. The value of a checkbut‐
ton is a boolean (i.e. 1 or 0). By default all checkbut‐
tons are deselected. If you want the checkbutton to be
initially selected then include a trailing plus (+) with
the tag name. See SCOPE CONTROL below for a description
of the scope indicator.
R - Radiobutton
A R type menu entry behaves much like a Tk radiobutton
widget. Each radiobutton entry is a member of a radiobut‐
ton group that controls the behavior of the radiobuttons
in the group. All radiobuttons in a group are given the
same tag name. In the example below Red, Green and Blue
all have the same tag and are therefore all in the same
radiobutton group. A trailing plus (+) on the tag name of
a radiobutton entry will cause the entry to be the ini‐
tially selected entry. See SCOPE CONTROL below for a
description of the scope indicator.
S - Separator
A S type menu entry is an entry that is displayed either
as a horizontal dividing line or a label. Separators are
not active elements of a menu and have no associated
behavior if they are invoked. If <stext> is two dashes
(i.e. '--') then the separator will be displayed as a
horizontal line otherwise <stext> will be displayed as a
bold label surrounded by double dashes (e.g. "-- <stext>
--") with a lightgray background.
G - Command Group
The G type menu entry marks a location in the menu tree
where entries can be dynamically added and removed. Menu
extension can only occur at the end of a menu so G type
entries must be the last item on a menu. A G type entry
is rendered as a separator line. The group.<xxx> sub-com‐
mands are used to manipulate command group entries.
M - Menu
An M type entry is used to define both menubar menus and
cascading menus. Menu entries are the most complicated of
the 6 menu types. A menu entry is composed of three list
elements. The first element of the list is its label. The
second element of the list is a composite string consist‐
ing of a type identifier (M) followed by an optional tag
(beginning with a ':' separator) and finally an optional
plus (+) which indicates that the menu is a tear-off
menu. The final element of the list is a LIST VALUE.
mBarInst install pathName body
The install method installs the menubar created with the define
method into toplevel window pathName. The body argument of the
command contains a tcl script which is used to initialize the
installed menubar. Normally the tcl script will contain calls to
various menubar methods to perform the initialization. The ini‐
tialization code is only run once when the menubar is installed.
The namespace in which the install method is executed becomes
the default namespace for callback commands (see menu.namespace
below for more details).
METHODS - MENU.XXX
mBarInst menu.configure option tag-settings ?option tag-settings ...?
Configures the tags of a menubar and returns an empty string.
This method provides a convenient way to configure a larger num‐
ber of tags without the verbosity of using the tag.configure
method.
option Option may have any of the values accepted by the
tag.configure method.
tag-settings
The tag-settings argument is a string that is converted
to a list of tag-value pairs using the following syntax.
Syntax for tag-settings.
tag-settings ::= { <ignore> | <value> | <value> <tag-settings> }
ignore ::= { <nl> | <white-space> <nl> | # <comment> <nl> }
value ::= <tag> <option-value> <nl>
mBarInst menu.namespace tag namespace
Change the namespace for a sub-tree of the menubar starting at
entry tag. The new value will be namespace. Each entry in the
menubar tree has an associated namespace which will be used for
its callback procedure. The default namespace is the namespace
where the install method was executed. The namespace method can
be used to change the namespace that will be used for callbacks
in a sub-tree of the menubar. This method can only be used in
the context of an install script.
mBarInst menu.hide tag
Remove (hide) a menubar entry. When a menubar tree is defined
all entries are visible by default. This method can be used to
hide a menubar entry. The hide methods can be used in the con‐
text of an install script so that a menu will be initially hid‐
den at application start up. The tag argument is the tag name of
the menu to be hidden.
mBarInst menu.show tag
Exposes (shows) a hidden menubar entry. When a menubar tree is
defined all entries are visible by default. If a entry is hid‐
den from the user (using the menu.hide method) then it can be
exposed again using the show method. The tag argument is the tag
name of the menu to be shown.
METHODS - TAG.XXX
mBarInst tag.add tag value
Add a user defined tag value. The tag.add method adds a new tag-
value pair to the the tags defined for a menubar. User defined
tags are different from the tags created by the define method.
The tag.add method can only be used in an install script and its
value is associated with the toplevel where the menubar is
installed. This makes the tag context sensitive so callback code
that queries the tag value will receive a value that is associ‐
ated with the window that performed the callback.
mBarInst tag.configure pathName tag ?option value ...option value?
Given the pathName of a toplevel window and a tag this method
configures the menu entry associated with the tag and return an
empty string.
Standard Options
These option are the same as those described for menu
entries in the Tk menu documentation.
-activebackground
-activeforeground
-background
-bitmap
-columnbreak
-compound
-font
-foreground
-hidemargin
-image
-indicatoron
-label
-selectcolor
-selectimage
-state
Class Specific Options
-bind {uline accel sequence}
The value of the -bind option is three element
list where the values are as follows.
uline An integer index of a character to under‐
line in the entry. This value performs the
same function as the Tk menu -underline
option. If this value is an empty string
then no underlining is performed.
accel A string to display at the right side of
the menu entry. The string normally
describes an accelerator keystroke sequence
that may be typed to invoke the same func‐
tion as the menu entry. This value per‐
forms the same function as the Tk menu
-accelerator option. If this value is an
empty string then no accelerator is dis‐
played.
sequence
A bind sequence that will cause the entries
associated command to fire.
-command cmdprefix
The value of the -command option a command prefix
that is evaluated when the menu entry is invoked.
By default the callback is evaluate in the names‐
pace where the install method was executed. Addi‐
tional values are appended to the cmdprefix and
are thus passed to the callback command as argu‐
ment. These additional arguments are described in
the list below.
command entry
1) The pathname of the toplevel window that
invoked the callback.
checkbutton entry
1) The pathname of the toplevel window that
invoked the callback.
2) The checkbutton's tag name
3) The new value for the checkbutton
radiobutton entry
1) The pathname of the toplevel window that
invoked the callback.
2) The radiobutton's tag name
3) The label of the button that was
selected
group entry
1) The pathname of the toplevel window that
invoked the callback.
mBarInst tag.cget pathName tag ?option?
Returns the value of the configuration option given by option or
the value of a user defined tag. The option argument may be any
of the options accepted by the tag.configure method for the tag
type. User defined tags are queried without an option value.
METHODS - GROUP.XXX
mBarInst group.add tag label ?cmd? ?accel? ?sequence? ?state?
Add a command to the group with tag name tag. This method
appends a new command entry to the end of a command group. The
order of the arguments is fixed but arguments to the right can
be ignored. Arguments to this method have the following meaning.
tag (string)
The tag name of the command group.
label (string)
The displayed label for the menu entry.
cmd (string)
A command prefix that will be used for callback command.
accel (string)
An accelerator string that will be displayed next to the
entry label.
sequence (string)
A bind sequence that will be bound to the callback com‐
mand.
state (enum)
Sets the active state of the command. One of: normal,
disabled, active
mBarInst group.delete tag label
Delete a command from a group with tag name tag. This method
deletes command label from a command group.
mBarInst group.move direction tag label
Change the position of an entry in a group with tag name tag.
The direction argument is the direction ('up' or 'down') the
entry will be moved. The entry that is moved has the name label.
mBarInst group.configure tag label ?option value ...option value?
Configure the options of an entry in the command group with tag
name tag. This method is similar to the tag.configure method
except that it works on entries in a command group. Set documen‐
tation for the tag.configure method (above) for more details on
command entry options.
mBarInst group.serialize tag
Return a string serialization of the entries in a command group.
The argument tag is the tag name for the group that is to be
serialized. The resulting serialization is a list containing
three element (1) the tag name of the group (2) a dictionary
containing group level options (3) a list of zero or more simi‐
lar three element lists that describe the entries in the group.
mBarInst group.deserialize tag stream
Replace the contents of group tag tag with the commands defined
in the serialization stream. The original contents of the group
are lost.
METHODS - NOTEBOOK.XXX
mBarInst notebook.addTabStore pathname
This method should be used in code that creates a new notebook
tab. Execution of this method will cause state storage to be
allocated for the new notebook tab. The pathname for the note‐
book tab is passed as an argument to the method.
mBarInst notebook.deleteTabStore pathname
This command deallocates the state store for a notebook tab. The
pathname for the notebook tab is passed as an argument to the
method.
mBarInst notebook.setTabValue pathname tag
This method should be used in the callback for menubar checkbut‐
tons or radiobuttons that have notebook tab scope control. When
this method is executed it will move the value associated with
tag into the tab store for the tab identified by pathname.
mBarInst notebook.restoreTabValues pathname
This method should be place in a bind script that is triggered
by a notebooks <<NotebookTabChanged>> event.
SCOPE CONTROL
By default a menubar instance looks the same in all installed toplevel
windows. As changes are made to one instance of a menubar all the other
instances are immediately updated. This means the internal state of all
the menu entries for the instances are synchronized. This behavior is
called global scope control of the menubar state.
The menubar class allows finer scope control on check and radio but‐
tons. The scope of these entry types can be modified by adding a modi‐
fier character to their type character. Two modifier characters are
supported as show in the table below.
When the local scope character (@) is added to the definition of a but‐
ton, the button is given a new variable for each installed toplevel
window. This has the effect of making the button's state local to the
window (i.e. local scope). An example use case for this behavior might
be a status bar that can be toggled on an off by a checkbutton. The
developer may want to allow the user to control the visibility of the
status bar on a per window basis. In this case a local modifier would
be added to the status bar selector so the callback code would receive
an appropriate value based on the current toplevel window.
The notebook tab scope character (=) is similar in effect to the local
scope character but it allows a notebook tab selection to also manage
the state of of a button. Adding the notebook tab scope modifier
enables notebook tab scope control but the developer must then make use
of the notebook.xxxx sub-commands to actively manage state values as
tabs are added, deleted and selected.
EXAMPLE
package require Tcl
package require Tk
package require menubar
set tout [text .t -width 25 -height 12]
pack ${tout} -expand 1 -fill both
set mbar [menubar new \
-borderwidth 4 \
-relief groove \
-foreground black \
-background tan \
]
${mbar} define {
File M:file {
Exit C exit
}
Edit M:items+ {
# Label Type Tag Name(s)
# ------------------------------
"Cut" C cut
"Copy" C copy
"Paste" C paste
-- S s2
"Options" M:opts {
"CheckList" M:chx+ {
Coffee X coffee+
Donut X donut
Eggs X eggs
}
"RadioButtons" M:btn+ {
"Red" R color
"Green" R color+
"Blue" R color
}
}
}
Help M:help {
About C about
}
}
${mbar} install . {
${mbar} tag.add tout ${tout}
${mbar} menu.configure -command {
# file menu
exit {Exit}
# Item menu
cut {CB Edit cut}
copy {CB Edit copy}
paste {CB Edit paste}
# boolean menu
coffee {CB CheckButton}
donut {CB CheckButton}
eggs {CB CheckButton}
# radio menu
color {CB RadioButton}
# Help menu
about {CB About}
} -bind {
exit {1 Cntl+Q Control-Key-q}
cut {2 Cntl+X Control-Key-x}
copy {0 Cntl+C Control-Key-c}
paste {0 Cntl+V Control-Key-v}
coffee {0 Cntl+A Control-Key-a}
donut {0 Cntl+B Control-Key-b}
eggs {0 Cntl+C Control-Key-c}
about 0
} -background {
exit red
} -foreground {
exit white
}
}
proc pout { txt } {
global mbar
set tout [${mbar} tag.cget . tout]
${tout} insert end "${txt}\n"
}
proc Exit { args } {
puts "Goodbye"
exit
}
proc CB { args } {
set alist [lassign ${args} cmd]
pout "${cmd}: [join ${alist} {, }]"
}
wm minsize . 300 300
wm geometry . +4+4
wm protocol . WM_DELETE_WINDOW exit
wm title . "Example"
wm focusmodel . active
pout "Example started ..."
CAVEATS
This implementation uses TclOO so it requires 8.6. The code has been
tested on Windows (Vista), Linux and OSX (10.4).
SEE ALSO
A command that creates menubar objects [http://wiki.tcl.tk/25231], menu
[http://www.tcl.tk/man/tcl8.6/TkCmd/menu.htm]
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 2009 Tom Krehbiel <krehbiel.tom@gmail.com> All rights reserved.
menubar 0.5 menubar(n)
