Tix Built-In Commands - tixHList manual page

Command-Line Name: -browsecmd
Database Name: browsecmd
Database Class: BrowseCmd: Specifies a TCL command to be executed when the user browses through the entries in the HList widget.
Command-Line Name: -columns
Database Name: columns
Database Class: Columns: Specifies the number of columns in this HList widget. This option can only be set during the creation of the HList widget and cannot be changed subsequently.
Command-Line Name: -command
Database Name: command
Database Class: Command: Specifies the TCL command to be executed when the user invokes a list entry in the HList widget. Normally the user invokes a list entry by double-clicking it or pressing the Return key.
Command-Line Name: -drawbranch
Database Name: drawBranch
Database Class: DrawBranch: A Boolean value to specify whether branch line should be drawn to connect list entries to their parents.

Name: foreground
Class: Foreground
Switch: -foreground
Alias: -fg

[OBSOLETE] Specifies the default foreground color for the list entries.

Command-Line Name: -gap
Database Name: gap
Database Class: Gap: [OBSOLETE] The default distance between the bitmap/image and the text in list entries.
Command-Line Name: -header
Database Name: header
Database Class: Header: A Boolean value specifying whether headers should be displayed for this HList widget (see the header widget command below).
Command-Line Name: -height
Database Name: height
Database Class: Height: Specifies the desired height for the window in number of characters.
Command-Line Name: -indent
Database Name: indent
Database Class: Indent: Specifies the amount of horizontal indentation between a list entry and its children. Must be a valid screen distance value.
Command-Line Name: -indicator
Database Name: indicator
Database Class: Indicator: Specifies whether the indicators should be displayed inside the HList widget. See the indicator widget command below.
Command-Line Name: -indicatorcmd
Database Name: indicatorCmd
Database Class: IndicatorCmd: Specifies a TCL command to be executed when the user manipulates the indicator of an HList entry. The -indicatorcmd is triggered when the user press or releases the mouse button over the indicator in an HList entry. By default the TCL command specified by -indicatorcmd is executed with one additional argument, the entryPath of the entry whose indicator has been triggered. Additional information about the event can be obtained by the tixEvent command.
Command-Line Name: -itemtype
Database Name: itemType
Database Class: ItemType: Specifies the default type of display item for this HList widget. When you call the add and addchild widget commands, display items of this type will be created if the -itemtype option is not specified .
Command-Line Name: -padx
Database Name: padX
Database Class: Pad: [OBSOLETE] The default horizontal padding for list entries.
Command-Line Name: -padx
Database Name: padY
Database Class: Pad: [OBSOLETE] The default vertical padding for list entries.
Command-Line Name: -selectbackground
Database Name: selectBackground
Database Class: SelectBackground: Specifies the background color for the selected list entries.
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: SelectForeground: Specifies the foreground color for the selected list entries.
Command-Line Name: -selectmode
Database Name: selectMode
Database Class: SelectMode: Specifies one of several styles for manipulating the selection. The value of the option may be arbitrary, but the default bindings expect it to be either single, browse, multiple, or extended; the default value is single.
Command-Line Name: -sizecmd
Database Name: sizeCmd
Database Class: SizeCmd: Specifies a TCL script to be called whenever the HList widget changes its size. This command can be useful to implement "user scroll bars when needed" features.
Command-Line Name: -separator
Database Name: separator
Database Class: Separator: Specifies the character to used as the separator character when intepreting the path-names of list entries. By default the character "." is used.
Command-Line Name: -width
Database Name: width
Database Class: Width: Specifies the desired width for the window in characters.

The tixHList command creates a new window (given by the pathName argument) and makes it into a HList widget. Additional options, described above, may be specified on the command line or in the option database to configure aspects of the HList widget such as its cursor and relief.

The HList widget can be used to display any data that have a hierarchical structure, for example, file system directory trees. The list entries are indented and connected by branch lines according to their places in the hierachy.

Each list entry is identified by an entryPath. The entryPath is a sequence of entry names separated by the separator charactor (specified by the -separator option). An entry name can be any string that does not contain the separator charactor, or it can be the a string that contains only one separator charactor.

For example, when "." is used as the separator charactor, "one.two.three" is the entryPath for a list entry whose parent is "one.two", whose parent is "one", which is a toplevel entry (has no parents).

Another examples: ".two.three" is the entryPath for a list entry whose parent is ".two", whose parent is ".", which is a toplevel entry.

DISPLAY ITEMS

Each list entry in an HList widget is associated with a display item. The display item determines what visual information should be displayed for this list entry. Please see the tixDisplayStyle manual page for a list of all display items. When a list entry is created by the add or addchild widget commands, the type of its display item is determined by the -itemtype option passed to these commands. If the -itemtype is omitted, then by default the type specified by this HList widget's -itemtype option is used.

WIDGET COMMAND

The tixHList command creates a new Tcl command whose name is the same as the path name of the HList widget's window. This command may be used to invoke various operations on the widget. It has the following general form:

pathName option ?arg arg ...?

PathName is the name of the command, which is the same as the HList widget's path name. Option and the args determine the exact behavior of the command. The following commands are possible for HList widgets:

pathName add entryPath ?option value ...?

Creates a new list entry with the pathname entryPath. A list entry must be created after its parent is created (unless this entry is a top-level entry, which has no parent). This command returns the entryPath of the newly created list entry. The following configuration options can be given to configure the list entry:

-at position: Insert the new list at the position given by position. position must be a valid integer. the Position 0 indicates the first position, 1 indicates the second position, and so on.
-after afterWhich: Insert the new list entry after the entry identified by afterWhich. afterWhich must be a valid list entry and it mush have the same parent as the new list entry
-before beforeWhich: Insert the new list entry before the entry identified by beforeWhich. beforeWhich must be a valid list entry and it mush have the same parent as the new list entry
-data string: Specifies a string to associate with this list entry. This string can be queried by the info widget command. The application programmer can use the -data option to associate the list entry with the data it represents.
-itemtype type: Specifies the type of display item to be display for the new list entry. type must be a valid display item type. Currently the available display item types are imagetext, text, and window. If this option is not specified, then by default the type specified by this HList widget's -itemtype option is used.
-state: Specifies whether this entry can be selected or invoked by the user. Must be either normal or disabled.

The add widget command accepts additional configuration options to configure the display item associated with this list entry. The set of additional configuration options depends on the type of the display item given by the -itemtype option. Please see the tixDisplayStyle manual page for a list of the configuration options for each of the display item types.

pathName addchild parentPath ?option value ... ?

Adds a new child entry to the children list of the list entry identified by parentPath. Or, if parentPath is set to be the empty string, then creates a new toplevel entry. The name of the new list entry will be a unique name automatically generated by the HList widget. Usually if parentPath is foo, then the entryPath of the new entry will be foo.1, foo.2, ... etc. This command returns the entryPath of the newly created list entry. option can be any option for the add widget command.

pathName anchor set entryPath

Sets the anchor to the list entry identified by entryPath. The anchor is the end of the selection that is fixed while the user is dragging out a selection with the mouse.

pathName anchor clear

Removes the anchor, if any, from this HList widget. This only removes the surrounding highlights of the anchor entry and does not affect its selection status.

pathName cget option

Returns the current value of the configuration option given by option. Option may have any of the values accepted by the tixHList command.

pathName column width col ?-char? ?width?

Querys or sets the width of a the column col in the HList widget. The value of col is zero-based: 0 stands for the first column, 1 stands for the second, and so on. If no further parameters are given, returns the current width of this column (in number of pixels). Additional parameters can be given to set the width of this column:

pathName column width col {}: An empty string indicates that the width of the column should be just wide enough to display the widest element in this column. In this case, the width of this column may change as a result of the elements in this column changing their sizes.
pathName column width col width: width must be in a form accepted by Tk_GetPixels.
pathName column width col -char nChars: The width is set to be the average width occupied by nChars number of characters of the font specified by the -font option of this HList widget.

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 tixHList command.

pathName delete option ?entryPath?

Delete one or more list entries. option may be one of the following:

all: Delete all entries in the HList. In this case the entryPath does not need to be specified.
entry: Delete the entry specified by entryPath and all its offsprings, if any.
offsprings: Delete all the offsprings, if any, of the entry specified by entryPath. However, entryPath itself is not deleted.
siblings: Delete all the list entries that share the same parent with the entry specified by entryPath. However, entryPath itself is not deleted.

pathName dragsite set entryPath

Sets the dragsite to the list entry identified by entryPath. The dragsite is used to indicate the source of a drag-and-drop action. Currently drag-and-drop functionality has not been implemented in Tix yet.

pathName dragsite clear

Remove the dragsite, if any, from the this HList widget. This only removes the surrounding highlights of the dragsite entry and does not affect its selection status.

pathName dropsite set entryPath

Sets the dropsite to the list entry identified by entryPath. The dropsite is used to indicate the target of a grag-and-drop action. Currently drag-and-drop functionality has not been implemented in Tix yet.

pathName dropsite clear

Remove the dropsite, if any, from the this HList widget. This only removes the surrounding highlights of the dropsite entry and does not affect its selection status.

pathName entrycget entryPath option

Returns the current value of the configuration option given by option for the entry indentfied by entryPath. Option may have any of the values accepted by the add widget command.

pathName entryconfigure entryPath ?option? ?value option value ...?

Query or modify the configuration options of the list entry indentfied by entryPath. If no option is specified, returns a list describing all of the available options for entryPath (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 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 add or addchild widget command. The exact set of options depends on the value of the -itemtype option passed to the the add or addchild widget command when this list entry is created.

pathName header option col ?args ...?

Manipulates the header items of this HList widget. If the -header option of this HList widget is set to true, then a header item is displayed at the top of each column. The col argument for this command must be a valid integer. 0 indicates the first column, 1 the second column, ... and so on. This command supports the following options:

pathName header cget col option

If the col-th column has a header display item, returns the value of the specified option of the header item. If the header doesn't exist, returns an error.

pathName header configure col ?option? ?value option value ...?

Query or modify the configuration options of the header display item of the col-th column. The header item must exist, or an error will result. If no option is specified, returns a list describing all of the available options for the header display item (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 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 header create widget command. The exact set of options depends on the value of the -itemtype option passed to the the header create widget command when this display item was created.

pathName header create col ?-itemtype type? ?option value ...?

Creates a new display item as the header for the col-th column. If an header display item already exists for this column, it will be replaced by the new item. An optional parameter -itemtype can be used to specify what type of display item should be created. If the -itemtype is not given, then by default the type specified by this HList widget's -itemtype option is used. Additional parameters, in option-value pairs, can be passed to configure the appearance of the display item. Each option-value pair must be a valid option for this type of display item or one of the following:

-borderwidth: Specifies the border width of this header item.
-headerbackground: Specifies the background color of this header item.
-relief: Specifies the relief type of the border of this header item.

pathName header delete col

Deletes the header display item for the col-th column.

pathName header exists col

Return true if an header display item exists for the col-th column; return false otherwise.

pathName header size entryPath

If an header display item exists for the col-th column , returns its size in a two element list of the form {width height}; returns an error if the header display item does not exist.

pathName hide option ?entryPath?

Makes some of entries invisible invisible without deleting them. Option can be one of the following:

entry: Hides the list entry identified by entryPath.

Currently only the entry option is supported. Other options will be added in the next release.

pathName indicator option entryPath ?args ...?

Manipulates the indicator on the list entries. An indicator is usually a small display item (such as an image) that is displayed to the left to an entry to indicate the status of the entry. For example, it may be used to indicator whether a directory is opened or closed. option can be one of the following:

pathName indicator cget entryPath option: If the list entry given by entryPath has an indicator, returns the value of the specified option of the indicator. If the indicator doesn't exist, returns an error.
pathName indicator configure entryPath ?option? ?value option value ...?: Query or modify the configuration options of the indicator display item of the entry specified by entryPath. The indicator item must exist, or an error will result. If no option is specified, returns a list describing all of the available options for the indicator display item (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 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 indicator create widget command. The exact set of options depends on the value of the -itemtype option passed to the the indicator create widget command when this display item was created.
pathName indicator create entryPath ?-itemtype type? ?option value ...?: Creates a new display item as the indicator for the entry specified by entryPath. If an indicator display item already exists for this entry, it will be replaced by the new item. An optional parameter -itemtype can be used to specify what type of display item should be created. If the -itemtype is not given, then by default the type specified by this HList widget's -itemtype option is used. Additional parameters, in option-value pairs, can be passed to configure the appearance of the display item. Each option-value pair must be a valid option for this type of display item.
pathName indicator delete entryPath: Deletes the indicator display item for the entry given by entryPath.
pathName indicator exists entryPath: Return true if an indicator display item exists for the entry given by entryPath; return false otherwise.
pathName indicator size entryPath: If an indicator display item exists for the entry given by entryPath, returns its size in a two element list of the form {width height}; returns an error if the indicator display item does not exist.

pathName info option arg ...

Query information about the HList widget. option can be one of the following:

pathName info anchor: Returns the entryPath of the current anchor, if any, of the HList widget. If the anchor is not set, returns the empty string.
pathName info bbox entryPath: Returns a list of four numbers describing the visible bounding box of the entry given entryPath. 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 entry (specified in pixels relative to the widget) and the last two elements give the lower-right corner of the area, in pixels. If no part of the entry given by index is visible on the screen then the result is an empty string; if the entry is partially visible, the result gives the only the visible area of the entry.
pathName info children ?entryPath?: If entrpyPath is given, returns a list of the entryPath's of its children entries. Otherwise returns a list of the toplevel entryPath's.
pathName info data ?entryPath?: Returns the data associated with entryPath.
pathName info dragsite: Returns the entryPath of the current dragsite, if any, of the HList widget. If the dragsite is not set, returns the empty string.
pathName info dropsite: Returns the entryPath of the current dropsite, if any, of the HList widget. If the dropsite is not set, returns the empty string.
pathName info exists entryPath: Returns a boolean value indicating whether the list entry entrpyPath exists.
pathName info hidden entryPath: Returns a boolean value indicating whether the list entry entrpyPath is hidden or not.
pathName info next entryPath: Returns the entryPath of the list entry, if any, immediately below this list entry. If this entry is already at the bottom of the HList widget, returns an empty string.
pathName info parent entryPath: Returns the name of the parent of the list entry identified by entrpyPath. If entrpyPath is a toplevel list entry, returns the empty string.
pathName info prev entryPath: Returns the entryPath of the list entry, if any, immediately above this list entry. If this entry is already at the top of the HList widget, returns an empty string.
pathName info selection: Returns a list of selected entries in the HList widget. If no entries are selectd, returns an empty string.

pathName item option ?args ...?

Creates and configures the display items at individual columns the entries. The form of additional of arguments depends on the choice of option:

pathName item cget entryPath col option: Returns the current value of the configure option of the display item at the column designated by col of the entry specified by entryPath.
pathName item configure entryPath col ?option? ?value option value ...?: Query or modify the configuration options of the display item at the column designated by col of the entry specified by entryPath. If no option is specified, returns a list describing all of the available options for entryPath (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 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 item create widget command. The exact set of options depends on the value of the -itemtype option passed to the the item create widget command when this display item was created.
pathName item create entryPath col ?-itemtype type? ?option value ...?: Creates a new display item at the column designated by col of the entry specified by entryPath. An optional parameter -itemtype can be used to specify what type of display items should be created. If the -itemtype is not specified, then by default the type specified by this HList widget's -itemtype option is used. Additional parameters, in option-value pairs, can be passed to configure the appearance of the display item. Each option- value pair must be a valid option for this type of display item.
pathName item delete entryPath col: Deletes the display item at the column designated by col of the entry specified by entryPath.
pathName item exists entryPath col: Returns true if there is a display item at the column designated by col of the entry specified by entryPath; returns false otherwise.

pathName nearest y

Given a y-coordinate within the HList window, this command returns the entryPath of the (visible) HList element nearest to that y-coordinate.

pathName see entryPath

Adjust the view in the HList so that the entry given by entryPath is visible. If the entry is already visible then the command has no effect; if the entry is near one edge of the window then the HList scrolls to bring the element into view at the edge; otherwise the HList widget scrolls to center the entry.

pathName selection option arg ...

This command is used to adjust the selection within a HList widget. It has several forms, depending on option:

pathName selection clear ?from? ?to?: When no extra arguments are given, deselects all of the list entrie(s) in this HList widget. When only from is given, only the list entry identified by from is deselected. When both from and to are given, deselects all of the list entrie(s) between between from and to, inclusive, without affecting the selection state of entries outside that range.
pathName selection get: This is an alias for the info selection widget command. ,
pathName selection includes entryPath: Returns 1 if the list entry indicated by entryPath is currently selected; returns 0 otherwise.
pathName selection set from ?to?: Selects all of the list entrie(s) between between from and to, inclusive, without affecting the selection state of entries outside that range. When only from is given, only the list entry identified by from is selected.

pathName show option ?entryPath?

Show the entries that are hidden by the hide command, option can be one of the following:

entry: Shows the list entry identified by entryPath.

Currently only the entry option is supported. Other options will be added in future releases.

pathName xview args

This command is used to query and change the horizontal position of the information in the widget's window. It can take any of the following forms:

pathName xview: Returns a list containing two elements. Each element 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 HList entry is off-screen to the left, the middle 40% is visible in the window, and 40% of the entry is off-screen to the right. These are the same values passed to scrollbars via the -xscrollcommand option.
pathName xview entryPath: Adjusts the view in the window so that the list entry identified by entryPath is aligned to the left edge of the window.
pathName xview moveto fraction: Adjusts the view in the window so that fraction of the total width of the HList is off-screen to the left. 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 character units (the width of the 0 character) on the display; if it is 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.

pathName yview ?args?

This command is used to query and change the vertical position of the entries in the widget's window. It can take any of the following forms:

pathName yview: Returns a list containing two elements, both of which are real fractions between 0 and 1. The first element gives the position of the list element at the top of the window, relative to the HList as a whole (0.5 means it is halfway through the HList, for example). The second element gives the position of the list entry just after the last one in the window, relative to the HList as a whole. These are the same values passed to scrollbars via the -yscrollcommand option.
pathName yview entryPath: Adjusts the view in the window so that the list entry given by entryPath is displayed at the top of the window.
pathName yview moveto fraction: Adjusts the view in the window so that the list entry given by fraction appears at the top of the window. Fraction is a fraction between 0 and 1; 0 indicates the first entry in the HList, 0.33 indicates the entry one-third the way through the HList, and so on.
pathName yview scroll number what: This command adjust the view in the window up or down according to number and what. Number must be an integer. What must be either units or pages. If what is units, the view adjusts up or down by number lines; if it is pages then the view adjusts by number screenfuls. If number is negative then earlier entries become visible; if it is positive then later entries become visible.

BINDINGS

[1]: If the -selectmode is "browse", when the user drags the mouse pointer over the list entries, the entry under the pointer will be highlighted and the -browsecmd procedure will be called with one parameter, the entryPath of the highlighted entry. Only one entry can be highlighted at a time. The -command procedure will be called when the user double-clicks on a list entry.
[2]: If the -selectmode is "single", the entries will only be highlighted by mouse <ButtonRelease-1> events. When a new list entry is highlighted, the -browsecmd procedure will be called with one parameter indicating the highlighted list entry. The -command procedure will be called when the user double-clicks on a list entry.
[3]: If the -selectmode is "multiple", when the user drags the mouse pointer over the list entries, all the entries under the pointer will be highlighted. However, only a contiguous region of list entries can be selected. When the highlighted area is changed, the -browsecmd procedure will be called with an undefined parameter. It is the responsibility of the -browsecmd procedure to find out the exact highlighted selection in the HList. The -command procedure will be called when the user double-clicks on a list entry.
[4]: If the -selectmode is "extended", when the user drags the mouse pointer over the list entries, all the entries under the pointer will be highlighted. The user can also make disjointed selections using <Control-ButtonPress-1>. When the highlighted area is changed, the -browsecmd procedure will be called with an undefined parameter. It is the responsibility of the -browsecmd procedure to find out the exact highlighted selection in the HList. The -command procedure will be called when the user double-clicks on a list entry.
[5]: Arrow key bindings: <Up> arrow key moves the anchor point to the item right on top of the current anchor item. <Down> arrow key moves the anchor point to the item right below the current anchor item. <Left> arrow key moves the anchor to the parent item of the current anchor item. <Right> moves the anchor to the first child of the current anchor item. If the current anchor item does not have any children, moves the anchor to the item right below the current anchor item.

EXAMPLE

This example demonstrates how to use an HList to store a file directory structure and respond to the user's browse events:

tixHList .h -separator "/" -browsecmd browse -selectmode single \
    -itemtype text
 .h add /         -text /
 .h add /home     -text /home
 .h add /home/ioi -text /home/ioi
 .h add /home/foo -text /home/foo
 .h add /usr      -text /usr
 .h add /usr/lib  -text /usr/lib
 pack .h

 proc browse {file} {
     puts "$file browsed"
 }

BUGS

The fact that the display item at column 0 is implicitly associated with the whole entry is probably a design bug. This was done for backward compatibility purposes. The result is that there is a large overlap between the item command and the add, addchild, entrycget and entryconfigure commands. Whenever multiple columns exist, the programmer should use ONLY the item command to create and configure the display items in each column; the add, addchild, entrycget and entryconfigure should be used ONLY to create and configure entries.

KEYWORDS

Tix(n), Hierarchical Listbox

Copyright © 1993-1999 Ioi Kim Lam.
Copyright © 2000-2001 Tix Project Group.
Copyright © 1995-1997 Roger E. Critchlow Jr.