Ubuntu Manpage: menubutton - Create and manipulate menubutton widgets

NAME

       menubutton - Create and manipulate menubutton widgets

SYNOPSIS

       menubutton pathName ?options?

STANDARD OPTIONS

       -activebackground     -disabledforeground  -padx
       -activeforeground     -font                -pady
       -anchor               -foreground          -relief
       -background           -highlightbackground -takefocus
       -bitmap               -highlightcolor      -text
       -borderwidth          -highlightthickness  -textvariable
       -cursor               -image               -underline
       -compound             -justify             -wraplength

       See the options manual entry for details on the standard options.

WIDGET-SPECIFIC OPTIONS

Command-Line Name:-direction
Database Name: direction
Database Class: Height

Specifies where the menu is going to be popup up. above tries to pop the menu above the
menubutton. below tries to pop the menu below the menubutton. left tries to pop the menu to the
left of the menubutton. right tries to pop the menu to the right of the menu button. flush pops
the menu directly over the menubutton. In the case of above or below, the direction will be
reversed if the menu would show offscreen.

Command-Line Name:-height
Database Name: height
Database Class: 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 is not specified, the menubutton's desired height
is computed from the size of the image or bitmap or text being displayed in it.

Command-Line Name:-indicatoron
Database Name: indicatorOn
Database Class: 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.

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

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

Command-Line Name:-state
Database Name: state
Database Class: 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.

Command-Line Name:-width
Database Name: width
Database Class: 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 is not specified, the menubutton's desired width is
computed from the size of the image or bitmap or text being displayed in it.
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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
              is not 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

Tk                                                     4.0                                       menubutton(3tk)