tixHList(n) Tix Built-In Commands tixHList(n)NAMEtixHList - Create and manipulate Tix Hierarchial List widgets
SYNOPSIStixHList pathName ?options? -background-borderWidth -cur‐
sor -foreground -font -height-highlightColor -highlightThick‐
ness -relief-selectBackground -selectForeground -xScrollCom‐
mand -yScrollCommand-width
WIDGET-SPECIFIC OPTIONS
[-browsecmd browsecmd] Specifies a TCL command to be executed when the
user browses through the entries in the HList widget. [-columns col‐
umns] 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 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 press‐
ing the Return key. [-drawbranch drawBranch] A Boolean value to spec‐
ify 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. [-gap gap] [OBSOLETE] The default distance between the
bitmap/image and the text in list entries. [-header header] A
Boolean value specifying whether headers should be displayed for
this HList widget (see the header widget command below).
[-height height] Specifies the desired height for the window in
number of characters. [-indent indent] Specifies the amount of
horizontal indentation between a list entry and its children.
Must be a valid screen distance value. [-indicator indicator]
Specifies whether the indicators should be displayed inside the
HList widget. See the indicator widget command below. [-indica‐
torcmd indicatorCmd] Specifies a TCL command to be executed when
the user manipulates the indicator of an HList entry. The -indi‐
catorcmd 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 addi‐
tional argument, the entryPath of the entry whose indicator has
been triggered. Additional information about the event can be
obtained by the tixEvent command. [-itemtype itemType] Speci‐
fies 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 . [-padx padX] [OBSOLETE] The default horizontal
padding for list entries. [-padx padY] [OBSOLETE] The default
vertical padding for list entries. [-selectbackground select‐
Background] Specifies the background color for the selected list
entries. [-selectborderwidth selectBorderWidth] 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. [-selectforeground selectFore‐
ground] Specifies the foreground color for the selected list
entries. [-selectmode 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. [-sizecmd 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" fea‐
tures. [-separator separator] Specifies the character to used
as the separator character when intepreting the path-names of
list entries. By default the character "." is used.
[-width width] Specifies the desired width for the window in
characters.
DESCRIPTION
The tixHList command creates a new window (given by the pathName argu‐
ment) 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 hierarchi‐
cal 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 fol‐
lowing 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 indi‐
cates the first position, 1 indicates the second posi‐
tion, 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 con‐
figure 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 man‐
ual page for a list of the configuration options for each of the dis‐
play 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 entry‐
Path of the new entry will be foo.1, foo.2, ... etc. This com‐
mand 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 tixH‐
List command.
pathName column width col ?-char? ?width?
Querys or sets the width of a the column col in the HList wid‐
get. The value of col is zero-based: 0 stands for the first col‐
umn, 1 stands for the second, and so on. If no further parame‐
ters 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(3).
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 avail‐
able 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 fol‐
lowing:
all Delete all entries in the HList. In this case the entry‐
Path does not need to be specified.
entry Delete the entry specified by entryPath and all its off‐
springs, 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 identi‐
cal 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 add‐
child 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 com‐
mand 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 speci‐
fied, returns a list describing all of the available
options for the header display item (see Tk_Configure‐
Info(3) 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 modi‐
fies 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 wid‐
get 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 dis‐
played to the left to an entry to indicate the status of the
entry. For example, it may be used to indicator whether a direc‐
tory 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 indica‐
tor. 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 indica‐
tor 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(3) 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 com‐
mand 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 indica‐
tor 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, immedi‐
ately 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 identi‐
fied 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, immedi‐
ately 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 speci‐
fied by entryPath. If no option is specified, returns a
list describing all of the available options for entry‐
Path (see Tk_ConfigureInfo(3) for information on the for‐
mat 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 con‐
figure the appearance of the display item. Each option-
value pair must be a valid option for this type of dis‐
play 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 entry‐
Path is visible. If the entry is already visible then the com‐
mand 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 wid‐
get. 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 dese‐
lected. When both from and to are given, deselects all of
the list entrie(s) between between from and to, inclu‐
sive, 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 ele‐
ment 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. frac‐
tion 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 char‐
acter) 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 vis‐
ible.
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 win‐
dow, relative to the HList as a whole (0.5 means it is
halfway through the HList, for example). The second ele‐
ment 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. Frac‐
tion 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 high‐
lighted 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 param‐
eter. It is the responsibility of the -browsecmd procedure to
find out the exact highlighted selection in the HList. The -com‐
mand 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 selec‐
tions 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 dou‐
ble-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 back‐
ward compatibility purposes. The result is that there is a large over‐
lap between the item command and the add, addchild, entrycget and
entryconfigure commands. Whenever multiple columns exist, the program‐
mer should use ONLY the item command to create and configure the dis‐
play items in each column; the add, addchild, entrycget and entrycon‐
figure should be used ONLY to create and configure entries.
KEYWORDSTix(n), Hierarchical Listbox
Tix 4.0 tixHList(n)
