MENUBUTTON(9)MENUBUTTON(9)NAMEmenubutton - Create and manipulate menubutton widgets
SYNOPSISmenubutton pathName ?options?
STANDARD OPTIONS-activebackground -disabledcolor -justify
-activeforeground -font -relief
-anchor-foreground-takefocus
-background-highlightcolor-text
-bitmap-highlightthickness -underline
-borderwidth-image
WIDGET-SPECIFIC OPTIONS
-height state
Specifies a desired height for the menubutton. If this option
is not specified, the menubutton's desired height is computed
from the size of the image or bitmap or text being displayed in
it.
-menu widgetname
Specifies the path name of the menu associated with this
menubutton. The menu must be a child of the menubutton.
-state state
Specifies one of three states for the menubutton: normal,
active, or disabled. In normal state the menubutton is dis‐
played using the foreground and background options. The active
state is typically used when the pointer is over the menubutton.
In active state the menubutton is displayed using the active‐
foreground and activebackground options. Disabled state means
that the menubutton should be insensitive: the default bindings
will refuse to activate the widget and will ignore mouse button
presses. In this state the disabledcolor and background options
determine how the button is displayed.
-width dist
Specifies a desired width for the menubutton. If this option is
not specified, the menubutton's desired width is computed from
the size of the image or bitmap or text being displayed in it.
INTRODUCTION
The menubutton command creates a new window (given by the pathName
argument) and makes it into a menubutton widget. Additional options,
described above, may be specified to configure aspects of the menubut‐
ton such as its colors, font, text, and initial relief. The menubutton
command returns its pathName argument. At the time this command is
invoked, there must not exist a window named pathName.
A menubutton is a widget that displays a textual string, bitmap, or
image and is associated with a menu widget. If text is displayed, it
must all be in a single font, but it can occupy multiple lines on the
screen (if it contains newlines) and one of the characters may option‐
ally be underlined using the underline option. In normal usage, press‐
ing mouse button 1 over the menubutton causes the associated menu to be
posted just underneath the menubutton. If the mouse button is released
over the menubutton then the menu remains posted; clicking on the
menubutton again unposts the menu. Releasing the mouse button over a
menu entry invokes the entry, while releasing mouse button elsewhere
unposts the menu.
Menubuttons are typically organized into groups called menu bars that
allow scanning: if the mouse button is pressed over one menubutton
(causing it to post its menu) and the mouse is moved over another
menubutton without releasing the mouse button, then the menu of the
first menubutton is unposted and the menu of the new menubutton is
posted instead.
WIDGET COMMAND
The menubutton command creates a new Tk command whose name is pathName.
This command may be used to invoke various operations on the widget.
It has the following general form:
pathName option ?arg arg ...?
Option and the args determine the exact behaviour of the command. The
following commands are possible for menubutton widgets:
pathName cget option
Returns the current value of the configuration option given by
option. Option may have any of the values accepted by the
menubutton command.
pathName configure ?option? ?value option value ...?
Query or modify the configuration options of the widget. If no
option is specified, returns a list of all of the available
options for pathName. If one or more option-value pairs are
specified, then the command modifies the given widget option(s)
to have the given value(s); in this case the command returns an
empty string. Option may have any of the values accepted by the
menubutton command.
DEFAULT BINDINGS
Tk automatically creates class bindings for menubuttons that give them
the following default behaviour:
[1] A menubutton activates whenever the mouse passes over it and
deactivates whenever the mouse leaves it.
[2] Pressing mouse button 1 over a menubutton posts the menu speci‐
fied by the -menu option. If the menu is already posted then it
is unposted.
[3] Releasing mouse button 1 over the menubutton leaves the menu
posted. Releasing the button over a menu entry, if the menu is
posted, invokes that entry. Releaseing the button anywhere else
unposts the menu.
[4] When a menubutton is posted, its associated menu claims the
input focus to allow keyboard traversal of the menu and its sub‐
menus. See the menu(9) manual entry for details on these bind‐
ings.
If the menubutton's state is disabled then none of the above actions
occur: the menubutton is completely non-responsive.
The behaviour of menubuttons can be changed by defining new bindings
for individual widgets or by redefining the class bindings.
SEE ALSOmenu(9), options(9), types(9)MENUBUTTON(9)