menubutton(3Tk)

menubutton - Create and manipulate menubutton widgets

As shipped in IRIX 6.5.15. Unchanged since IRIX 6.5.

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
     Name:           height
     Class:          Height
     Command-Line Switch:-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.

     Name:           indicatorOn                                              |
     Class:          IndicatorOn                                              |
     Command-Line Switch:-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.

     Name:           menu
     Class:          MenuName
     Command-Line Switch:-menu

          Specifies the path name of the menu associated with this menubutton.
          The menu must be a child of the menubutton.

     Name:           state
     Class:          State
     Command-Line Switch:-state

          Specifies one of three states for the menubutton:  normal, active,
          or disabled.  In normal state the menubutton 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
          disabledForeground and background options determine how the button
          is displayed.

     Name:           width
     Class:          Width
     Command-Line Switch:-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 initial 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 newlines or if wrapping occurs because of the wrapLength     |
     option) and one of the characters may optionally be underlined 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 button, 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
     menubutton 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 command.  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 corresponding 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 associated 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 menubutton 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 menubutton 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