Provided by: perl-tk_804.031-1build1_amd64 
NAME
Tk::Listbox - Create and manipulate Listbox widgets
SYNOPSIS
$listbox = $parent->Listbox(?options?);
STANDARD OPTIONS
-background -borderwidth -cursor -disabledforeground -exportselection -font -foreground
-height -highlightbackground -highlightcolor -highlightthickness -offset -relief
-selectbackground -selectborderwidth -selectforeground -setgrid -state -takefocus -tile
-width -xscrollcommand -yscrollcommand
See Tk::options for details of the standard options.
WIDGET-SPECIFIC OPTIONS
Name: activeStyle
Class: ActiveStyle
Switch: -activestyle
Specifies the style in which to draw the active element. This must be one of dotbox
(show a focus ring around the active element), none (no special indication of active
element) or underline (underline the active element). The default is underline.
Name: height
Class: Height
Switch: -height
Specifies the desired height for the window, in lines. If zero or less, then the
desired height for the window is made just large enough to hold all the elements in
the listbox.
Name: listVariable
Class: Variable
Switch: -listvariable
The following is only partially implemented in Perl/Tk:
Specifies the reference of a variable. The value of the variable is an array to be
displayed inside the widget; if the variable value changes then the widget will
automatically update itself to reflect the new value. Attempts to assign a variable
with an invalid list value to -listvariable will cause an error. Attempts to unset a
variable in use as a -listvariable will fail but will not generate an error.
Name: selectMode
Class: SelectMode
Switch: -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 browse.
Name: state
Class: State
Switch: -state
Specifies one of two states for the listbox: normal or disabled. If the listbox is
disabled then items may not be inserted or deleted, items are drawn in the
-disabledforeground color, and selection cannot be modified and is not shown (though
selection information is retained).
Name: width
Class: Width
Switch: -width
Specifies the desired width for the window in characters. If the font doesn't have a
uniform width then the width of the character ``0'' is used in translating from
character units to screen units. If zero or less, then the desired width for the
window is made just large enough to hold all the elements in the listbox.
DESCRIPTION
The Listbox method creates a new window (given by the $widget argument) and makes it into
a listbox widget. Additional options, described above, may be specified on the command
line or in the option database to configure aspects of the listbox such as its colors,
font, text, and relief. The listbox command returns its $widget argument. At the time
this command is invoked, there must not exist a window named $widget, but $widget's parent
must exist.
A listbox is a widget that displays a list of strings, one per line. When first created,
a new listbox has no elements. Elements may be added or deleted using methods described
below. In addition, one or more elements may be selected as described below. If a
listbox is exporting its selection (see exportSelection option), then it will observe the
standard X11 protocols for handling the selection. Listbox selections are available as
type STRING; the value of the selection will be the text of the selected elements, with
newlines separating the elements.
It is not necessary for all the elements to be displayed in the listbox window at once;
commands described below may be used to change the view in the window. Listboxes allow
scrolling in both directions using the standard xScrollCommand and yScrollCommand options.
They also support scanning, as described below.
INDICES
Many of the methods for listboxes take one or more indices as arguments. An index
specifies a particular element of the listbox, in any of the following ways:
number
Specifies the element as a numerical index, where 0 corresponds to the first element
in the listbox.
active
Indicates the element that has the location cursor. This element will be displayed
with an underline when the listbox has the keyboard focus, and it is specified with
the activate method.
anchor
Indicates the anchor point for the selection, which is set with the selection anchor
method.
end Indicates the end of the listbox. For most commands this refers to the last element
in the listbox, but for a few commands such as index and insert it refers to the
element just after the last one.
@x,y
Indicates the element that covers the point in the listbox window specified by x and y
(in pixel coordinates). If no element covers that point, then the closest element to
that point is used.
In the method descriptions below, arguments named index, first, and last always contain
text indices in one of the above forms.
WIDGET METHODS
The Listbox method creates a widget object. This object supports the configure and cget
methods described in Tk::options which can be used to enquire and modify the options
described above. The widget also inherits all the methods provided by the generic
Tk::Widget class.
The following additional methods are available for listbox widgets:
$listbox->activate(index)
Sets the active element to the one indicated by index. If index is outside the range
of elements in the listbox then the closest element is activated. The active element
is drawn with an underline when the widget has the input focus, and its index may be
retrieved with the index active.
$listbox->bbox(index)
Returns a list of four numbers describing the bounding box of the text in the element
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 text (specified in pixels
relative to the widget) and the last two elements give the width and height of the
area, in pixels. If no part of the element given by index is visible on the screen,
or if index refers to a non-existent element, then the result is an empty string; if
the element is partially visible, the result gives the full area of the element,
including any parts that are not visible.
$listbox->curselection
Returns a list containing the numerical indices of all of the elements in the listbox
that are currently selected. If there are no elements selected in the listbox then an
empty string is returned.
$listbox->delete(first, ?last?)
Deletes one or more elements of the listbox. First and last are indices specifying
the first and last elements in the range to delete. If last isn't specified it
defaults to first, i.e. a single element is deleted.
$listbox->get(first, ?last?)
If last is omitted, returns the contents of the listbox element indicated by first, or
an empty string if first refers to a non-existent element. If last is specified, the
command returns a list whose elements are all of the listbox elements between first
and last, inclusive. Both first and last may have any of the standard forms for
indices.
$listbox->index(index)
Returns the integer index value that corresponds to index. If index is end the return
value is a count of the number of elements in the listbox (not the index of the last
element).
$listbox->insert(index, ?element, element, ...?)
Inserts zero or more new elements in the list just before the element given by index.
If index is specified as end then the new elements are added to the end of the list.
Returns an empty string.
$listbox->itemcget(index, option)
Returns the current value of the item configuration option given by option. Option may
have any of the values accepted by the listbox itemconfigure command.
$listbox->itemconfigure(index, ?option, value, option, value, ...?)
Query or modify the configuration options of an item in the listbox. If no option is
specified, returns a list describing all of the available options for the 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 widget option(s) to have the given value(s); in this case the
command returns an empty string. The following options are currently supported for
items:
-background => color
Color specifies the background color to use when displaying the item. It may have
any of the forms accepted by Tk_GetColor.
-foreground => color
Color specifies the foreground color to use when displaying the item. It may have
any of the forms accepted by Tk_GetColor.
-selectbackground => color
Color specifies the background color to use when displaying the item while it is
selected. It may have any of the forms accepted by Tk_GetColor.
-selectforeground => color
Color specifies the foreground color to use when displaying the item while it is
selected. It may have any of the forms accepted by Tk_GetColor.
$listbox->nearest(y)
Given a y-coordinate within the listbox window, this command returns the index of the
(visible) listbox element nearest to that y-coordinate.
$listbox->scan(option, args)
This command is used to implement scanning on listboxes. It has two forms, depending
on option:
$listbox->scanMark(x, y)
Records x and y and the current view in the listbox 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.
$listbox->scanDragto(x, y.)
This command computes the difference between its x and y arguments and the x
and y arguments to the last scan mark command for the widget. It then adjusts
the view by 10 times the difference in coordinates. This command is typically
associated with mouse motion events in the widget, to produce the effect of
dragging the list at high speed through the window. The return value is an
empty string.
$listbox->see(index)
Adjust the view in the listbox so that the element given by index is visible. If the
element is already visible then the command has no effect; if the element is near one
edge of the window then the listbox scrolls to bring the element into view at the
edge; otherwise the listbox scrolls to center the element.
$listbox->selection(option, arg)
This command is used to adjust the selection within a listbox. It has several forms,
depending on option:
$listbox->selectionAnchor(index)
Sets the selection anchor to the element given by index. If index refers to a
non-existent element, then the closest element is used. The selection anchor
is the end of the selection that is fixed while dragging out a selection with
the mouse. The index anchor may be used to refer to the anchor element.
$listbox->selectionClear(first, ?last?)
If any of the elements between first and last (inclusive) are selected, they
are deselected. The selection state is not changed for elements outside this
range.
$listbox->selectionIncludes(index)
Returns 1 if the element indicated by index is currently selected, 0 if it
isn't.
$listbox->selectionSet(first, ?last?)
Selects all of the elements in the range between first and last, inclusive,
without affecting the selection state of elements outside that range.
$listbox->size
Returns a decimal string indicating the total number of elements in the listbox.
$listbox->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:
$listbox->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 listbox'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.
$listbox->xview(index)
Adjusts the view in the window so that the character position given by index
is displayed at the left edge of the window. Character positions are defined
by the width of the character 0.
$listbox->xviewMoveto( fraction );
Adjusts the view in the window so that fraction of the total width of the
listbox text is off-screen to the left. fraction must be a fraction between 0
and 1.
$listbox->xviewScroll( 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.
$listbox->yview(?args?)
This command is used to query and change the vertical position of the text in the
widget's window. It can take any of the following forms:
$listbox->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 listbox element
at the top of the window, relative to the listbox as a whole (0.5 means it is
halfway through the listbox, for example). The second element gives the
position of the listbox element just after the last one in the window,
relative to the listbox as a whole. These are the same values passed to
scrollbars via the -yscrollcommand option.
$listbox->yview(index)
Adjusts the view in the window so that the element given by index is displayed
at the top of the window.
$listbox->yviewMoveto( fraction );
Adjusts the view in the window so that the element given by fraction appears
at the top of the window. Fraction is a fraction between 0 and 1; 0
indicates the first element in the listbox, 0.33 indicates the element one-
third the way through the listbox, and so on.
$listbox->yviewScroll( number, what );
This command adjusts 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 elements become visible; if it is positive then later elements become
visible.
DEFAULT BINDINGS
Tk automatically creates class bindings for listboxes that give them Motif-like behavior.
Much of the behavior of a listbox is determined by its selectMode option, which selects
one of four ways of dealing with the selection.
If the selection mode is single or browse, at most one element can be selected in the
listbox at once. In both modes, clicking button 1 on an element selects it and deselects
any other selected item. In browse mode it is also possible to drag the selection with
button 1.
If the selection mode is multiple or extended, any number of elements may be selected at
once, including discontiguous ranges. In multiple mode, clicking button 1 on an element
toggles its selection state without affecting any other elements. In extended mode,
pressing button 1 on an element selects it, deselects everything else, and sets the anchor
to the element under the mouse; dragging the mouse with button 1 down extends the
selection to include all the elements between the anchor and the element under the mouse,
inclusive.
Most people will probably want to use browse mode for single selections and extended mode
for multiple selections; the other modes appear to be useful only in special situations.
Any time the selection changes in the listbox, the virtual event <<ListboxSelect>> will be
generated. It is easiest to bind to this event to be made aware of any changes to listbox
selection.
In addition to the above behavior, the following additional behavior is defined by the
default bindings:
[1] In extended mode, the selected range can be adjusted by pressing button 1 with the
Shift key down: this modifies the selection to consist of the elements between the
anchor and the element under the mouse, inclusive. The un-anchored end of this new
selection can also be dragged with the button down.
[2] In extended mode, pressing button 1 with the Control key down starts a toggle
operation: the anchor is set to the element under the mouse, and its selection state
is reversed. The selection state of other elements isn't changed. If the mouse is
dragged with button 1 down, then the selection state of all elements between the
anchor and the element under the mouse is set to match that of the anchor element;
the selection state of all other elements remains what it was before the toggle
operation began.
[3] If the mouse leaves the listbox window with button 1 down, the window scrolls away
from the mouse, making information visible that used to be off-screen on the side of
the mouse. The scrolling continues until the mouse re-enters the window, the button
is released, or the end of the listbox is reached.
[4] Mouse button 2 may be used for scanning. If it is pressed and dragged over the
listbox, the contents of the listbox drag at high speed in the direction the mouse
moves.
[5] If the Up or Down key is pressed, the location cursor (active element) moves up or
down one element. If the selection mode is browse or extended then the new active
element is also selected and all other elements are deselected. In extended mode the
new active element becomes the selection anchor.
[6] In extended mode, Shift-Up and Shift-Down move the location cursor (active element) up
or down one element and also extend the selection to that element in a fashion similar
to dragging with mouse button 1.
[7] The Left and Right keys scroll the listbox view left and right by the width of the
character 0. Control-Left and Control-Right scroll the listbox view left and right by
the width of the window. Control-Prior and Control-Next also scroll left and right by
the width of the window.
[8] The Prior and Next keys scroll the listbox view up and down by one page (the height of
the window).
[9] The Home and End keys scroll the listbox horizontally to the left and right edges,
respectively.
[10]
Control-Home sets the location cursor to the the first element in the listbox, selects
that element, and deselects everything else in the listbox.
[11]
Control-End sets the location cursor to the the last element in the listbox, selects
that element, and deselects everything else in the listbox.
[12]
In extended mode, Control-Shift-Home extends the selection to the first element in the
listbox and Control-Shift-End extends the selection to the last element.
[13]
In multiple mode, Control-Shift-Home moves the location cursor to the first element in
the listbox and Control-Shift-End moves the location cursor to the last element.
[14]
The space and Select keys make a selection at the location cursor (active element)
just as if mouse button 1 had been pressed over this element.
[15]
In extended mode, Control-Shift-space and Shift-Select extend the selection to the
active element just as if button 1 had been pressed with the Shift key down.
[16]
In extended mode, the Escape key cancels the most recent selection and restores all
the elements in the selected range to their previous selection state.
[17]
Control-slash selects everything in the widget, except in single and browse modes, in
which case it selects the active element and deselects everything else.
[18]
Control-backslash deselects everything in the widget, except in browse mode where it
has no effect.
[19]
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.
The behavior of listboxes can be changed by defining new bindings for individual
widgets or by redefining the class bindings.
TIED INTERFACE
The Tk::Listbox widget can also be tied to a scalar or array variable, with different
behaviour depending on the variable type, with the following tie commands:
use Tk;
my ( @array, $scalar, $other );
my %options = ( ReturnType => "index" );
my $MW = MainWindow->new();
my $lbox = $MW->Listbox()->pack();
my @list = ( "a", "b", "c", "d", "e", "f" );
$lbox->insert('end', @list );
tie @array, "Tk::Listbox", $lbox
tie $scalar, "Tk::Listbox", $lbox;
tie $other, "Tk::Listbox", $lbox, %options;
currently only one modifier is implemented, a 3 way flag for tied scalars "ReturnType"
which can have values "element", "index" or "both". The default is "element".
Tied Arrays
If you tie an array to the Listbox you can manipulate the items currently contained by
the box in the same manner as a normal array, e.g.
print @array;
push(@array, @list);
my $popped = pop(@array);
my $shifted = shift(@array);
unshift(@array, @list);
delete $array[$index];
print $string if exists $array[$i];
@array = ();
splice @array, $offset, $length, @list
The delete function is implemented slightly differently from the standard array
implementation. Instead of setting the element at that index to undef it instead
physically removes it from the Listbox. This has the effect of changing the array
indices, so for instance if you had a list on non-continuous indices you wish to
remove from the Listbox you should reverse sort the list and then apply the delete
function, e.g.
my @list = ( 1, 2, 4, 12, 20 );
my @remove = reverse sort { $a <=> $b } @list;
delete @array[@remove];
would safely remove indices 20, 12, 4, 2 and 1 from the Listbox without problems. It
should also be noted that a similar warning applies to the splice function (which
would normally be used in this context to perform the same job).
Tied Scalars
Unlike tied arrays, if you tie a scalar to the Listbox you can retrieve the currently
selected elements in the box as an array referenced by the scalar, for instance
my @list = ( "a", "b", "c", "d", "e", "f" );
$lbox->insert('end', sort @list );
$lbox->selectionSet(1);
inserts @list as elements in an already existing listbox and selects the element at
index 1, which is "b". If we then
print @$selected;
this will return the currently selected elements, in this case "b".
However, if the "ReturnType" argument is passed when tying the Listbox to the scalar
with value "index" then the indices of the selected elements will be returned instead
of the elements themselves, ie in this case "1". This can be useful when manipulating
both contents and selected elements in the Listbox at the same time.
Importantly, if a value "both" is given the scalar will not be tied to an array, but
instead to a hash, with keys being the indices and values being the elements at those
indices
You can also manipulate the selected items using the scalar. Equating the scalar to an
array reference will select any elements that match elements in the Listbox, non-
matching array items are ignored, e.g.
my @list = ( "a", "b", "c", "d", "e", "f" );
$lbox->insert('end', sort @list );
$lbox->selectionSet(1);
would insert the array @list into an already existing Listbox and select element at
index 1, i.e. "b"
@array = ( "a", "b", "f" );
$selected = \@array;
would select elements "a", "b" and "f" in the Listbox.
Again, if the "index" we indicate we want to use indices in the options hash then the
indices are use instead of elements, e.g.
@array = ( 0, 1, 5 );
$selected = \@array;
would have the same effect, selecting elements "a", "b" and "f" if the $selected
variable was tied with %options = ( ReturnType => "index" ).
If we are returning "both", i.e. the tied scalar points to a hash, both key and value
must match, e.g.
%hash = ( 0 => "a", 1 => "b", 5 => "f" );
$selected = \%hash;
would have the same effect as the previous examples.
It should be noted that, despite being a reference to an array (or possibly a has),
you still can not copy the tied variable without it being untied, instead you must
pass a reference to the tied scalar between subroutines.
KEYWORDS
listbox, widget, tied
SEE ALSO
Tk::HList, Tk::TextList.