Provided by: tk8.6-doc_8.6.14-1build1_all 
NAME
entry - Create and manipulate 'entry' one-line text entry widgets
SYNOPSIS
entry pathName ?options?
STANDARD OPTIONS
-background -highlightthickness -selectbackground
-borderwidth -insertbackground -selectborderwidth
-cursor -insertborderwidth -selectforeground
-exportselection -insertofftime -takefocus
-font -insertontime -textvariable
-foreground -insertwidth -xscrollcommand
-highlightbackground -justify
-highlightcolor -relief
See the options manual entry for details on the standard options.
WIDGET-SPECIFIC OPTIONS
Command-Line Name:-disabledbackground
Database Name: disabledBackground
Database Class: DisabledBackground
Specifies the background color to use when the entry is disabled. If this option
is the empty string, the normal background color is used.
Command-Line Name:-disabledforeground
Database Name: disabledForeground
Database Class: DisabledForeground
Specifies the foreground color to use when the entry is disabled. If this option
is the empty string, the normal foreground color is used.
Command-Line Name:-invalidcommand or -invcmd
Database Name: invalidCommand
Database Class: InvalidCommand
Specifies a script to eval when -validatecommand returns 0. Setting it to {}
disables this feature (the default). The best use of this option is to set it to
bell. See VALIDATION below for more information.
Command-Line Name:-readonlybackground
Database Name: readonlyBackground
Database Class: ReadonlyBackground
Specifies the background color to use when the entry is readonly. If this option
is the empty string, the normal background color is used.
Command-Line Name:-show
Database Name: show
Database Class: Show
If this option is specified, then the true contents of the entry are not displayed
in the window. Instead, each character in the entry's value will be displayed as
the first character in the value of this option, such as “*”. This is useful, for
example, if the entry is to be used to enter a password. If characters in the
entry are selected and copied elsewhere, the information copied will be what is
displayed, not the true contents of the entry.
Command-Line Name:-state
Database Name: state
Database Class: State
Specifies one of three states for the entry: normal, disabled, or readonly. If
the entry is readonly, then the value may not be changed using widget commands and
no insertion cursor will be displayed, even if the input focus is in the widget;
the contents of the widget may still be selected. If the entry is disabled, the
value may not be changed, no insertion cursor will be displayed, the contents will
not be selectable, and the entry may be displayed in a different color, depending
on the values of the -disabledforeground and -disabledbackground options.
Command-Line Name:-validate
Database Name: validate
Database Class: Validate
Specifies the mode in which validation should operate: none, focus, focusin,
focusout, key, or all. It defaults to none. When you want validation, you must
explicitly state which mode you wish to use. See VALIDATION below for more.
Command-Line Name:-validatecommand or -vcmd
Database Name: validateCommand
Database Class: ValidateCommand
Specifies a script to eval when you want to validate the input into the entry
widget. Setting it to {} disables this feature (the default). This command must
return a valid Tcl boolean value. If it returns 0 (or the valid Tcl boolean
equivalent) then it means you reject the new edition and it will not occur and the
-invalidcommand will be evaluated if it is set. If it returns 1, then the new
edition occurs. See VALIDATION below for more information.
Command-Line Name:-width
Database Name: width
Database Class: Width
Specifies an integer value indicating the desired width of the entry window, in
average-size characters of the widget's font. If the value is less than or equal
to zero, the widget picks a size just large enough to hold its current text.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
DESCRIPTION
The entry command creates a new window (given by the pathName argument) and makes it into
an entry widget. Additional options, described above, may be specified on the command
line or in the option database to configure aspects of the entry such as its colors, font,
and relief. The entry 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.
An entry is a widget that displays a one-line text string and allows that string to be
edited using widget commands described below, which are typically bound to keystrokes and
mouse actions. When first created, an entry's string is empty. A portion of the entry
may be selected as described below. If an entry is exporting its selection (see the
-exportselection option), then it will observe the standard X11 protocols for handling the
selection; entry selections are available as type STRING. Entries also observe the
standard Tk rules for dealing with the input focus. When an entry has the input focus it
displays an insertion cursor to indicate where new characters will be inserted.
Entries are capable of displaying strings that are too long to fit entirely within the
widget's window. In this case, only a portion of the string will be displayed; commands
described below may be used to change the view in the window. Entries use the standard
-xscrollcommand mechanism for interacting with scrollbars (see the description of the
-xscrollcommand option for details). They also support scanning, as described below.
VALIDATION
Validation works by setting the -validatecommand option to a script (validateCommand)
which will be evaluated according to the -validate option as follows:
none Default. This means no validation will occur.
focus validateCommand will be called when the entry receives or loses focus.
focusin validateCommand will be called when the entry receives focus.
focusout validateCommand will be called when the entry loses focus.
key validateCommand will be called when the entry is edited.
all validateCommand will be called for all above conditions.
It is possible to perform percent substitutions on the value of the -validatecommand and
-invalidcommand options, just as you would in a bind script. The following substitutions
are recognized:
%d Type of action: 1 for insert, 0 for delete, or -1 for focus, forced or textvariable
validation.
%i Index of char string to be inserted/deleted, if any, otherwise -1.
%P The value of the entry if the edit is allowed. If you are configuring the entry
widget to have a new textvariable, this will be the value of that textvariable.
%s The current value of entry prior to editing.
%S The text string being inserted/deleted, if any, {} otherwise.
%v The type of validation currently set.
%V The type of validation that triggered the callback (key, focusin, focusout, forced).
%W The name of the entry widget.
In general, the -textvariable and -validatecommand options can be dangerous to mix. Any
problems have been overcome so that using the -validatecommand will not interfere with the
traditional behavior of the entry widget. Using the -textvariable for read-only purposes
will never cause problems. The danger comes when you try set the -textvariable to
something that the -validatecommand would not accept, which causes -validate to become
none (the -invalidcommand will not be triggered). The same happens when an error occurs
evaluating the -validatecommand.
Primarily, an error will occur when the -validatecommand or -invalidcommand encounters an
error in its script while evaluating or -validatecommand does not return a valid Tcl
boolean value. The -validate option will also set itself to none when you edit the entry
widget from within either the -validatecommand or the -invalidcommand. Such editions will
override the one that was being validated. If you wish to edit the entry widget (for
example set it to {}) during validation and still have the -validate option set, you
should include the command
after idle {%W config -validate %v}
in the -validatecommand or -invalidcommand (whichever one you were editing the entry
widget from). It is also recommended to not set an associated -textvariable during
validation, as that can cause the entry widget to become out of sync with the
-textvariable.
WIDGET COMMAND
The entry 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 subcommand ?arg arg ...?
Subcommand and the args determine the exact behavior of the command.
INDICES
Many of the widget commands for entries take one or more indices as arguments. An index
specifies a particular character in the entry's string, in any of the following ways:
number Specifies the character as a numerical index, where 0 corresponds to the first
character in the string.
anchor Indicates the anchor point for the selection, which is set with the select
from and select adjust widget commands.
end Indicates the character just after the last one in the entry's string. This
is equivalent to specifying a numerical index equal to the length of the
entry's string.
insert Indicates the character adjacent to and immediately following the insertion
cursor.
sel.first Indicates the first character in the selection. It is an error to use this
form if the selection is not in the entry window.
sel.last Indicates the character just after the last one in the selection. It is an
error to use this form if the selection is not in the entry window.
@number In this form, number is treated as an x-coordinate in the entry's window; the
character spanning that x-coordinate is used. For example, “@0” indicates the
left-most character in the window.
Abbreviations may be used for any of the forms above, e.g. “e” or “sel.f”. In general,
out-of-range indices are automatically rounded to the nearest legal value.
SUBCOMMANDS
The following commands are possible for entry widgets:
pathName bbox index
Returns a list of four numbers describing the bounding box of the character given
by index. 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 character (in pixels relative
to the widget) and the last two elements give the width and height of the
character, in pixels. The bounding box may refer to a region outside the visible
area of the window.
pathName cget option
Returns the current value of the configuration option given by option. Option may
have any of the values accepted by the entry 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 entry command.
pathName delete first ?last?
Delete one or more elements of the entry. First is the index of the first
character to delete, and last is the index of the character just after the last one
to delete. If last is not specified it defaults to first+1, i.e. a single
character is deleted. This command returns an empty string.
pathName get
Returns the entry's string.
pathName icursor index
Arrange for the insertion cursor to be displayed just before the character given by
index. Returns an empty string.
pathName index index
Returns the numerical index corresponding to index.
pathName insert index string
Insert the characters of string just before the character indicated by index.
Returns an empty string.
pathName scan option args
This command is used to implement scanning on entries. It has two forms, depending
on option:
pathName scan mark x
Records x and the current view in the entry window; used in conjunction
with later scan dragto commands. Typically this command is associated with
a mouse button press in the widget. It returns an empty string.
pathName scan dragto x
This command computes the difference between its x argument and the x
argument to the last scan mark command for the widget. It then adjusts the
view left or right by 10 times the difference in x-coordinates. This
command is typically associated with mouse motion events in the widget, to
produce the effect of dragging the entry at high speed through the window.
The return value is an empty string.
pathName selection option arg
This command is used to adjust the selection within an entry. It has several
forms, depending on option:
pathName selection adjust index
Locate the end of the selection nearest to the character given by index, and
adjust that end of the selection to be at index (i.e. including but not
going beyond index). The other end of the selection is made the anchor
point for future select to commands. If the selection is not currently in
the entry, then a new selection is created to include the characters between
index and the most recent selection anchor point, inclusive. Returns an
empty string.
pathName selection clear
Clear the selection if it is currently in this widget. If the selection is
not in this widget then the command has no effect. Returns an empty string.
pathName selection from index
Set the selection anchor point to just before the character given by index.
Does not change the selection. Returns an empty string.
pathName selection present
Returns 1 if there is are characters selected in the entry, 0 if nothing is
selected.
pathName selection range start end
Sets the selection to include the characters starting with the one indexed
by start and ending with the one just before end. If end refers to the same
character as start or an earlier one, then the entry's selection is cleared.
pathName selection to index
If index is before the anchor point, set the selection to the characters
from index up to but not including the anchor point. If index is the same
as the anchor point, do nothing. If index is after the anchor point, set
the selection to the characters from the anchor point up to but not
including index. The anchor point is determined by the most recent select
from or select adjust command in this widget. If the selection is not in
this widget then a new selection is created using the most recent anchor
point specified for the widget. Returns an empty string.
pathName validate
This command is used to force an evaluation of the -validatecommand independent of
the conditions specified by the -validate option. This is done by temporarily
setting the -validate option to all. It returns 0 or 1.
pathName xview args
This command is used to query and change the horizontal position of the text 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 entry's text is off-screen to the left, the middle
40% is visible in the window, and 40% of the text is off-screen to the
right. These are the same values passed to scrollbars via the
-xscrollcommand option.
pathName xview index
Adjusts the view in the window so that the character given by index is
displayed at the left edge of the window.
pathName xview moveto fraction
Adjusts the view in the window so that the character fraction of the way
through the text appears at the left edge of the window. 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 average-width characters 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.
DEFAULT BINDINGS
Tk automatically creates class bindings for entries that give them the following default
behavior. In the descriptions below, “word” refers to a contiguous group of letters,
digits, or “_” characters, or any single character other than these.
[1] Clicking mouse button 1 positions the insertion cursor just before the character
underneath the mouse cursor, sets the input focus to this widget, and clears any
selection in the widget. Dragging with mouse button 1 strokes out a selection
between the insertion cursor and the character under the mouse.
[2] Double-clicking with mouse button 1 selects the word under the mouse and positions
the insertion cursor at the end of the word. Dragging after a double click will
stroke out a selection consisting of whole words.
[3] Triple-clicking with mouse button 1 selects all of the text in the entry and
positions the insertion cursor at the end of the line.
[4] The ends of the selection can be adjusted by dragging with mouse button 1 while the
Shift key is down; this will adjust the end of the selection that was nearest to
the mouse cursor when button 1 was pressed. If the button is double-clicked before
dragging then the selection will be adjusted in units of whole words.
[5] Clicking mouse button 1 with the Control key down will position the insertion
cursor in the entry without affecting the selection.
[6] If any normal printing characters are typed in an entry, they are inserted at the
point of the insertion cursor.
[7] The view in the entry can be adjusted by dragging with the middle mouse button
(button 2, or button 3 in TkAqua). If the middle mouse button is clicked without
moving the mouse, the selection is copied into the entry at the position of the
mouse cursor.
[8] If the mouse is dragged out of the entry on the left or right sides while button 1
is pressed, the entry will automatically scroll to make more text visible (if there
is more text off-screen on the side where the mouse left the window).
[9] The Left and Right keys move the insertion cursor one character to the left or
right; they also clear any selection in the entry and set the selection anchor.
If Left or Right is typed with the Shift key down, then the insertion cursor moves
and the selection is extended to include the new character. Control-Left and
Control-Right move the insertion cursor by words, and Control-Shift-Left and
Control-Shift-Right move the insertion cursor by words and also extend the
selection. Control-b and Control-f behave the same as Left and Right,
respectively. Meta-b and Meta-f behave the same as Control-Left and Control-Right,
respectively.
[10] The Home key, or Control-a, will move the insertion cursor to the beginning of the
entry and clear any selection in the entry. Shift-Home moves the insertion cursor
to the beginning of the entry and also extends the selection to that point.
[11] The End key, or Control-e, will move the insertion cursor to the end of the entry
and clear any selection in the entry. Shift-End moves the cursor to the end and
extends the selection to that point.
[12] The Select key and Control-Space set the selection anchor to the position of the
insertion cursor. They do not affect the current selection. Shift-Select and
Control-Shift-Space adjust the selection to the current position of the insertion
cursor, selecting from the anchor to the insertion cursor if there was not any
selection previously.
[13] Control-/ selects all the text in the entry.
[14] Control-\ clears any selection in the entry.
[15] The F16 key (labelled Copy on many Sun workstations) or Meta-w copies the selection
in the widget to the clipboard, if there is a selection.
[16] The F20 key (labelled Cut on many Sun workstations) or Control-w copies the
selection in the widget to the clipboard and deletes the selection. If there is no
selection in the widget then these keys have no effect.
[17] The F18 key (labelled Paste on many Sun workstations) or Control-y inserts the
contents of the clipboard at the position of the insertion cursor.
[18] The Delete key deletes the selection, if there is one in the entry. If there is no
selection, it deletes the character to the right of the insertion cursor.
[19] The BackSpace key and Control-h delete the selection, if there is one in the entry.
If there is no selection, it deletes the character to the left of the insertion
cursor.
[20] Control-d deletes the character to the right of the insertion cursor.
[21] Meta-d deletes the word to the right of the insertion cursor.
[22] Control-k deletes all the characters to the right of the insertion cursor.
[23] Control-t reverses the order of the two characters to the right of the insertion
cursor.
If the entry is disabled using the -state option, then the entry's view can still be
adjusted and text in the entry can still be selected, but no insertion cursor will be
displayed and no text modifications will take place except if the entry is linked to a
variable using the -textvariable option, in which case any changes to the variable are
reflected by the entry whatever the value of its -state option.
The behavior of entries can be changed by defining new bindings for individual widgets or
by redefining the class bindings.
SEE ALSO
ttk::entry(3tk)
KEYWORDS
entry, widget