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entry(3tk) Tk Built-In Commands entry(3tk) 





NAME


entry - Create and manipulate 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 which will be evaluated according to the validate option as
    follows:



  

  
Default. This means no validation will occur.

  

  
validateCommand will be called when the entry receives or loses
      focus.

  

  
validateCommand will be called when the entry receives focus.

  

  
validateCommand will be called when the entry loses focus.

  

  
validateCommand will be called when the entry is edited.

  

  
validateCommand will be called for all above conditions.




It is possible to perform percent substitutions on the
    validateCommand and invalidCommand, 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 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:



  

  
Specifies the character as a numerical index, where 0 corresponds to the
      first character in the string.

  

  
Indicates the anchor point for the selection, which is set with the
      select from and select adjust widget commands.

  

  
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.

  

  
Indicates the character adjacent to and immediately following the
      insertion cursor.

  

  
Indicates the first character in the selection. It is an error to use this
      form if the selection is not in the entry window.

  

  
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:



  

  
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.

  

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

  

  
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.

  

  
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.

  

  
Returns the entry's string.

  

  
Arrange for the insertion cursor to be displayed just before the character
      given by index. Returns an empty string.

  

  
Returns the numerical index corresponding to index.

  

  
Insert the characters of string just before the character indicated
      by index. Returns an empty string.

  

  
This command is used to implement scanning on entries. It has two forms,
      depending on option:







  

  
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.

  

  
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.







  

  
This command is used to adjust the selection within an entry. It has
      several forms, depending on option:







  

  
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.

  

  
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.

  

  
Set the selection anchor point to just before the character given by
      index. Does not change the selection. Returns an empty string.

  

  
Returns 1 if there is are characters selected in the entry, 0 if nothing
      is selected.

  

  
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.

  

  
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.







  

  
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.

  

  
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:







  

  
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.

  

  
Adjusts the view in the window so that the character given by index
      is displayed at the left edge of the window.

  

  
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.

  

  
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 mouse button 2. If
      mouse button 2 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







  

    8.3
    Tk