menu(n)                      Tk Built-In Commands                      menu(n)



NAME
       menu - Create and manipulate menu widgets

SYNOPSIS
       (menu widget-name ?options?)
       :activebackground   :background    :disabledforeground :relief
       :activeborderwidth  :borderwidth   :font     :takefocus
       :activeforeground   :cursor   :foreground

WIDGET-SPECIFIC OPTIONS
       [:postcommand postCommand] If this option is specified then it provides
       a STk procedure to execute each time the menu is posted.  The procedure
       is invoked by the post widget procedure before posting the menu. Note
       that Windows, all commands in a menu systems are executed before any
       are posted. This is due to the limitations in the platform menu
       manager.  [:selectcolor selectColor] For menu entries that are check
       buttons or radio buttons, this option specifies the color to display in
       the indicator when the check button or radio button is selected.
       [:tearoff tearOff] This option must have a proper boolean value, which
       specifies whether or not the menu should include a tear-off entry at
       the top.  If so, it will exist as entry 0 of the menu and the other
       entries will number starting at 1.  The default menu bindings arrange
       for the menu to be torn off when the tear-off entry is invoked.
       [:tearoffcommand tearOffCommand] If this option has a non-empty value,
       then it specifies a STk procedure to invoke whenever the menu is torn
       off.  The actual procedure will be called with two parameters:  the
       name of the menu window and the name of the name of the torn off menu
       window.  [:title title] The string will be used to title the window
       created when this menu is torn off. If the title is the empty string,
       then the window will have the title of the menubutton or the text of
       the cascade item from which this menu was invoked.  [:type type] This
       option can be one of menubar, tearoff, or normal, and is set when the
       menu is created. While the string returned by the configuration
       database will change if this option is changed, this does not affect
       the menu widget's behavior. This is used by the cloning mechanism and
       is not normally set outside of the Tk library.


INTRODUCTION
       The menu procedure creates a new top-level window (given by the
       widget-name argument) and makes it into a menu widget.  Additional
       options, described above, may be specified on the procedure line or in
       the option database to configure aspects of the menu such as its colors
       and font.  The menu procedure returns its widget-name argument.  At the
       time this procedure is invoked, there must not exist a window named
       widget-name, but widget-name's parent must exist.

       A menu is a widget that displays a collection of one-line entries
       arranged in one or more columns.  There exist several different types
       of entries, each with different properties.  Entries of different types
       may be combined in a single menu.  Menu entries are not the same as
       entry widgets.  In fact, menu entries are not even distinct widgets;
       the entire menu is one widget.

       Menu entries are displayed with up to three separate fields.  The main
       field is a label in the form of a text string, a bitmap, or an image,
       controlled by the :label, :bitmap, and :image options for the entry.
       If the  :accelerator option is specified for an entry then a second
       textual field is displayed to the right of the label.  The accelerator
       typically describes a keystroke sequence that may be typed in the
       application to cause the same result as invoking the menu entry.  The
       third field is an indicator.  The indicator is present only for
       checkbutton or radiobutton entries.  It indicates whether the entry is
       selected or not, and is displayed to the left of the entry's string.

       In normal use, an entry becomes active (displays itself differently)
       whenever the mouse pointer is over the entry.  If a mouse button is
       released over the entry then the entry is invoked.  The effect of
       invocation is different for each type of entry; these effects are
       described below in the sections on individual entries.

       Entries may be disabled, which causes their labels and accelerators to
       be displayed with dimmer colors.  The default menu bindings will not
       allow a disabled entry to be activated or invoked.  Disabled entries
       may be re-enabled, at which point it becomes possible to activate and
       invoke them again.

       Whenever a menu's active entry is changed, a <<MenuSelect>> virtual
       event is send to the menu. The active item can then be queried from the
       menu, and an action can be taken, such as setting context-sensitive
       help text for the entry.


PROCEDURE ENTRIES
       The most common kind of menu entry is a procedure entry, which behaves
       much like a button widget.  When a procedure entry is invoked, a STk
       procedure is executed.  The STk procedure is specified with the
       :command option.


SEPARATOR ENTRIES
       A separator is an entry that is displayed as a horizontal dividing
       line.  A separator may not be activated or invoked, and it has no
       behavior other than its display appearance.


CHECKBUTTON ENTRIES
       A checkbutton menu entry behaves much like a checkbutton widget.  When
       it is invoked it toggles back and forth between the selected and
       deselected states.  When the entry is selected, a particular value is
       stored in a particular global variable (as determined by the :onvalue
       and :variable options for the entry);  when the entry is deselected
       another value (determined by the :offvalue option) is stored in the
       global variable.  An indicator box is displayed to the left of the
       label in a checkbutton entry.  If the entry is selected then the
       indicator's center is displayed in the color given by the :selectcolor
       option for the entry; otherwise the indicator's center is displayed in
       the background color for the menu.  If a :command option is specified
       for a checkbutton entry, then its value is evaluated as a STk procedure
       each time the entry is invoked;  this happens after toggling the
       entry's selected state.


RADIOBUTTON ENTRIES
       A radiobutton menu entry behaves much like a radiobutton widget.
       Radiobutton entries are organized in groups of which only one entry may
       be selected at a time.  Whenever a particular entry becomes selected it
       stores a particular value into a particular global variable (as
       determined by the :value and :variable options for the entry).  This
       action causes any previously-selected entry in the same group to
       deselect itself.  Once an entry has become selected, any change to the
       entry's associated variable will cause the entry to deselect itself.
       Grouping of radiobutton entries is determined by their associated
       variables:  if two entries have the same associated variable then they
       are in the same group.  An indicator diamond is displayed to the left
       of the label in each radiobutton entry.  If the entry is selected then
       the indicator's center is displayed in the color given by the
       :selectcolor option for the entry; otherwise the indicator's center is
       displayed in the background color for the menu.  If a :command option
       is specified for a radiobutton entry, then its value is evaluated as a
       STk procedure each time the entry is invoked;  this happens after
       selecting the entry.


CASCADE ENTRIES
       A cascade entry is one with an associated menu (determined by the :menu
       option).  Cascade entries allow the construction of cascading menus.
       The postcascade widget procedure can be used to post and unpost the
       associated menu just next to of the cascade entry.  The associated menu
       must be a child of the menu containing the cascade entry (this is
       needed in order for menu traversal to work correctly).

       A cascade entry posts its associated menu by invoking a STk procedure
       of the form (menu 'post x y) where menu is the path name of the
       associated menu, and x and y are the root-window coordinates of the
       upper-right corner of the cascade entry.  On Unix, the lower-level menu
       is unposted by executing a STk procedure with the form (menu 'unpost)
       where menu is the name of the associated menu.  On other platforms, the
       platform's native code takes care of unposting the menu.

       If a :command option is specified for a cascade entry then it is
       evaluated as a STk procedure whenever the entry is invoked. This is not
       supported on Windows.


TEAR-OFF ENTRIES
       A tear-off entry appears at the top of the menu if enabled with the
       tearOff option.  It is not like other menu entries in that it cannot be
       created with the add widget procedure and cannot be deleted with the
       delete widget procedure.  When a tear-off entry is created it appears
       as a dashed line at the top of the menu.  Under the default bindings,
       invoking the tear-off entry causes a torn-off copy to be made of the
       menu and all of its submenus.


MENUBARS
       Any menu can be set as a menubar for a toplevel window (see toplevel
       command for syntax). This menu's items will be displayed in a menubar
       accross the top of the window. These menus will behave according to the
       interface guidelines of their platforms. For every menu set as a
       menubar, a clone menu is made. See the CLONES section for more
       information.


SPECIAL MENUS IN MENUBARS
       Certain menus in a menubar will be treated specially.  On Windows,
       access to the Windows System menu in each window is provided. On X
       Windows, a special right-justified help menu is provided. In all cases,
       these menus must be created with the command name of the menubar menu
       concatenated with the special name. So for a menubar named .menubar, on
       Windows, the special menu would be .menubar.system; on X Windows, the
       help menu would be .menubar.help.

       When Tk sees a System menu on Windows, its items are appended to the
       system menu that the menubar is attached to. This menu has an icon
       representing a spacebar, and can be invoked with the mouse or by typing
       Alt+Spacebar.  Due to limitations in the Windows API, any font changes,
       colors, images, bitmaps, or tearoff images will not appear in the
       system menu.

       When Tk see a Help menu on X Windows, the menu is moved to be last in
       the menubar and is right justified.


CLONES
       When a menu is set as a menubar for a toplevel window, or when a menu
       is torn off, a clone of the menu is made. This clone is a menu widget
       in its own right, but it is a child of the original. Changes in the
       configuration of the original are reflected in the clone. Additionally,
       any cascades that are pointed to are also cloned so that menu traversal
       will work right. Clones are destroyed when either the tearoff or
       menubar goes away, or when the original menu is destroyed.


WIDGET PROCEDURE
       The menu procedure creates a new STk procedure whose name is
       widget-name.  This procedure may be used to invoke various operations
       on the widget.  It has the following general form: (widget-name option
       ?arg arg ...?)  Option and the args determine the exact behavior of the
       procedure.

       Many of the widget procedures for a menu take as one argument an
       indicator of which entry of the menu to operate on.  These indicators
       are called indexes and may be specified in any of the following forms:

       number      Specifies the entry numerically, where 0 corresponds to the
                   top-most entry of the menu, 1 to the entry below it, and so
                   on.

       active      Indicates the entry that is currently active.  If no entry
                   is active then this form is equivalent to none.  This form
                   may not be abbreviated.

       end         Indicates the bottommost entry in the menu.  If there are
                   no entries in the menu then this form is equivalent to
                   none.  This form may not be abbreviated.

       last        Same as end.

       none        Indicates ``no entry at all'';  this is used most commonly
                   with the activate option to deactivate all the entries in
                   the menu.  In most cases the specification of none causes
                   nothing to happen in the widget procedure.  This form may
                   not be abbreviated.

       @number     In this form, number is treated as a y-coordinate in the
                   menu's window;  the entry closest to that y-coordinate is
                   used.  For example, ``@0'' indicates the top-most entry in
                   the window.

       pattern     If the index doesn't satisfy one of the above forms then
                   this form is used.  Pattern is pattern-matched against the
                   label of each entry in the menu, in order from the top
                   down, until a matching entry is found.  The rules of
                   Tcl_StringMatch are used.

       The following widget procedures are possible for menu widgets:

       (widget-name 'activate index)
              Change the state of the entry indicated by index to active and
              redisplay it using its active colors.  Any previously-active
              entry is deactivated.  If index is specified as none, or if the
              specified entry is disabled, then the menu ends up with no
              active entry.  Returns an empty string.

       (widget-name add type ?option value option value ...?)
              Add a new entry to the bottom of the menu.  The new entry's type
              is given by type and must be one of cascade, checkbutton,
              command, radiobutton, or separator, or a unique abbreviation of
              one of the above.  If additional arguments are present, they
              specify any of the following options:

              :activebackground value
                     Specifies a background color to use for displaying this
                     entry when it is active.  If this option is specified as
                     an empty string (the default), then the activeBackground
                     option for the overall menu is used.  If the *tk-strict-
                     Motif* variable has been set to request strict Motif
                     compliance, then this option is ignored and the
                     :background option is used in its place.  This option is
                     not available for separator or tear-off entries.

              :activeforeground value
                     Specifies a foreground color to use for displaying this
                     entry when it is active.  If this option is specified as
                     an empty string (the default), then the activeForeground
                     option for the overall menu is used.  This option is not
                     available for separator or tear-off entries.

              :accelerator value
                     Specifies a string to display at the right side of the
                     menu entry.  Normally describes an accelerator keystroke
                     sequence that may be typed to invoke the same function as
                     the menu entry.  This option is not available for
                     separator or tear-off entries.

              :background value
                     Specifies a background color to use for displaying this
                     entry when it is in the normal state (neither active nor
                     disabled).  If this option is specified as an empty
                     string (the default), then the background option for the
                     overall menu is used.  This option is not available for
                     separator or tear-off entries.

              :bitmap value
                     Specifies a bitmap to display in the menu instead of a
                     textual label, in any of the forms accepted by
                     Tk_GetBitmap.  This option overrides the :label option
                     but may be reset to an empty string to enable a textual
                     label to be displayed.  If a :image option has been
                     specified, it overrides :bitmap.  This option is not
                     available for separator or tear-off entries.

              :columnbreak value
                     When this option is #f, the menu appears below the
                     previous entry. When this option is #f, the menu appears
                     at the top of a new column in the menu.

              :command value
                     Specifies a STk procedure to execute when the menu entry
                     is invoked.  Not available for separator or tear-off
                     entries.

              :environment value
                     Available only for checkbutton and radiobutton entries.
                     Specifies the environment in which the checkbutton or
                     radiobutton :variable must be taken. By default, this
                     environment is the STk global environment.

              :font value
                     Specifies the font to use when drawing the label or
                     accelerator string in this entry.  If this option is
                     specified as an empty string (the default) then the font
                     option for the overall menu is used.  This option is not
                     available for separator or tear-off entries.

              :foreground value
                     Specifies a foreground color to use for displaying this
                     entry when it is in the normal state (neither active nor
                     disabled).  If this option is specified as an empty
                     string (the default), then the foreground option for the
                     overall menu is used.  This option is not available for
                     separator or tear-off entries.

              :hidemargin value
                     Specifies whether the standard margins should be drawn
                     for this menu entry. This is useful when creating palette
                     with images in them, i.e., color palettes, pattern
                     palettes, etc. #t indicates that the margin for the entry
                     is hidden; #f means that the margin is used.

              :image value
                     Specifies an image to display in the menu instead of a
                     text string or bitmap The image must have been created by
                     some previous invocation of image create.  This option
                     overrides the :label and :bitmap options but may be reset
                     to an empty string to enable a textual or bitmap label to
                     be displayed.  This option is not available for separator
                     or tear-off entries.

              :indicatoron value
                     Available only for checkbutton and radiobutton entries.
                     Value is a boolean that determines whether or not the
                     indicator should be displayed.

              :label value
                     Specifies a string to display as an identifying label in
                     the menu entry.  Not available for separator or tear-off
                     entries.

              :menu value
                     Available only for cascade entries.  Specifies the path
                     name of the submenu associated with this entry.  The
                     submenu must be a child of the menu.

              :offvalue value
                     Available only for checkbutton entries.  Specifies the
                     value to store in the entry's associated variable when
                     the entry is deselected.

              :onvalue value
                     Available only for checkbutton entries.  Specifies the
                     value to store in the entry's associated variable when
                     the entry is selected.

              :selectcolor value
                     Available only for checkbutton and radiobutton entries.
                     Specifies the color to display in the indicator when the
                     entry is selected.  If the value is an empty string (the
                     default) then the selectColor option for the menu
                     determines the indicator color.

              :selectimage value
                     Available only for checkbutton and radiobutton entries.
                     Specifies an image to display in the entry (in place of
                     the :image option) when it is selected.  Value is the
                     name of an image, which must have been created by some
                     previous invocation of image create.  This option is
                     ignored unless the :image option has been specified.

              :state value
                     Specifies one of three states for the entry:  normal,
                     active, or disabled.  In normal state the entry is
                     displayed using the foreground option for the menu and
                     the background option from the entry or the menu.  The
                     active state is typically used when the pointer is over
                     the entry.  In active state the entry is displayed using
                     the activeForeground option for the menu along with the
                     activebackground option from the entry.  Disabled state
                     means that the entry should be insensitive:  the default
                     bindings will refuse to activate or invoke the entry.  In
                     this state the entry is displayed according to the
                     disabledForeground option for the menu and the background
                     option from the entry.  This option is not available for
                     separator entries.

              :underline value
                     Specifies the integer index of a character to underline
                     in the entry.  This option is also queried by the default
                     bindings and used to implement keyboard traversal.  0
                     corresponds to the first character of the text displayed
                     in the entry, 1 to the next character, and so on.  If a
                     bitmap or image is displayed in the entry then this
                     option is ignored.  This option is not available for
                     separator or tear-off entries.

              :value value
                     Available only for radiobutton entries.  Specifies the
                     value to store in the entry's associated variable when
                     the entry is selected.  If an empty string is specified,
                     then the -label option for the entry as the value to
                     store in the variable.

              :variable value
                     Available only for checkbutton and radiobutton entries.
                     Specifies the name of a global value to set when the
                     entry is selected.  For checkbutton entries the variable
                     is also set when the entry is deselected.  For
                     radiobutton entries, changing the variable causes the
                     currently-selected entry to deselect itself.

              The add widget procedure returns an empty list.

       (widget-name 'cget option)
              Returns the current value of the configuration option given by
              option.  Option may have any of the values accepted by the menu
              procedure.

       (widget-name 'clone new-widget-name ?cloneType?)
              Makes a clone of the current menu named new-widget-name. This
              clone is a menu in its own right, but any changes to the clone
              are propogated to the original menu and vice versa. cloneType
              can be normal, menubar, or tearoff. Should not normally be
              called outside of the Tk library. See the CLONES section for
              more information.

       (widget-name '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 widget-name (see Tk_ConfigureInfo for
              information on the format of this list).  If option is specified
              with no value, then the procedure 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 procedure modifies the given widget option(s) to have
              the given value(s);  in this case the procedure returns an empty
              string.  Option may have any of the values accepted by the menu
              procedure.

       (widget-name 'delete index1)

       (widget-name 'delete index1 index2)
              Delete all of the menu entries between index1 and index2
              inclusive.  If index2 is omitted then it defaults to index1.
              Attempts to delete a tear-off menu entry are ignored (instead,
              you should change the tearOff option to remove the tear-off
              entry).

       (widget-name 'entrycget index option)
              Returns the current value of a configuration option for the
              entry given by index.  Option may have any of the values
              accepted by the add widget procedure.

       (widget-name 'entryconfigure index ?options?)
              This procedure is similar to the configure procedure, except
              that it applies to the options for an individual entry, whereas
              configure applies to the options for the menu as a whole.
              Options may have any of the values accepted by the add widget
              procedure.  If options are specified, options are modified as
              indicated in the procedure and the procedure returns an empty
              string.  If no options are specified, returns a list describing
              the current options for entry index (see Tk_ConfigureInfo for
              information on the format of this list).

       (widget-name 'index index)
              Returns the numerical index corresponding to index, or "none" if
              index was specified as none.

       (widget-name insert index type ?option value option value ...?)
              Same as the add widget procedure except that it inserts the new
              entry just before the entry given by index, instead of appending
              to the end of the menu.  The type, option, and value arguments
              have the same interpretation as for the add widget procedure.
              It is not possible to insert new menu entries before the tear-
              off entry, if the menu has one.

       (widget-name 'invoke index)
              Invoke the action of the menu entry.  See the sections on the
              individual entries above for details on what happens.  If the
              menu entry is disabled then nothing happens.  If the entry has a
              procedure associated with it then the result of that procedure
              is returned as the result of the invoke widget procedure.
              Otherwise the result is an empty list.  Note:  invoking a menu
              entry does not automatically unpost the menu;  the default
              bindings normally take care of this before invoking the invoke
              widget procedure.

       (widget-name 'post x y)
              Arrange for the menu to be displayed on the screen at the root-
              window coordinates given by x and y.  These coordinates are
              adjusted if necessary to guarantee that the entire menu is
              visible on the screen.  This procedure normally returns an empty
              string.  If the postCommand option has been specified, then it
              is called before posting the menu.  If an error returns while
              executing the procedure, then the error is returned without
              posting the menu.

       (widget-name 'postcascade index)
              Posts the submenu associated with the cascade entry given by
              index, and unposts any previously posted submenu.  If index
              doesn't correspond to a cascade entry, or if widget-name isn't
              posted, the procedure has no effect except to unpost any
              currently posted submenu.

       (widget-name 'type index)
              Returns the type of the menu entry given by index.  This is the
              type argument passed to the add widget procedure when the entry
              was created, such as "command" or "separator", or "tearoff" for
              a tear-off entry.

       (widget-name 'unpost)
              Unmap the window so that it is no longer displayed.  If a lower-
              level cascaded menu is posted, unpost that menu.  Returns an
              empty list. This subcommand does not work on Windows, as these
              platform has its
               own way of unposting menus.

       (widget-name 'yposition index)
              Returns a decimal string giving the y-coordinate within the menu
              window of the topmost pixel in the entry specified by index.


MENU CONFIGURATIONS
       The default bindings support four different ways of using menus:
       Pulldown Menus in Menubar This is the most command case. You create a
       menu widget that will become the menu bar. You then add cascade entries
       to this menu, specifying the pull down menus you wish to use in your
       menu bar. You then create all of the pulldowns. Once you have done
       this, specify the menu using the :menu option of the toplevel's widget
       command. See the toplevel manual entry for details.

       Pulldown Menus in Menu Buttons
              This is the compatable way to do menu bars.  You create one
              menubutton widget for each top-level menu, and typically you
              arrange a series of menubuttons in a row in a menubar window.
              You also create the top-level menus and any cascaded submenus,
              and tie them together with :menu options in menubuttons and
              cascade menu entries.  The top-level menu must be a child of the
              menubutton, and each submenu must be a child of the menu that
              refers to it.  Once you have done this, the default bindings
              will allow users to traverse and invoke the tree of menus via
              its menubutton;  see the menubutton manual entry for details.

       Popup Menus
              Popup menus typically post in response to a mouse button press
              or keystroke.  You create the popup menus and any cascaded
              submenus, then you call the Tk:popup (see popup) procedure at
              the appropriate time to post the top-level menu.

       Option Menus
              An option menu consists of a menubutton with an associated menu
              that allows you to select one of several values.  The current
              value is displayed in the menubutton and is also stored in a
              global variable.  Use the Tk:option-menu (see option-menu)
               procedure to create option menubuttons and their menus.

       Torn-off Menus
              You create a torn-off menu by invoking the tear-off entry at the
              top of an existing menu.  The default bindings will create a new
              menu that is a copy of the original menu and leave it
              permanently posted as a top-level window.  The torn-off menu
              behaves just the same as the original menu.


DEFAULT BINDINGS
       Tk automatically creates class bindings for menus that give them the
       following default behavior:

       [1]    When the mouse enters a menu, the entry underneath the mouse
              cursor activates;  as the mouse moves around the menu, the
              active entry changes to track the mouse.

       [2]    When the mouse leaves a menu all of the entries in the menu
              deactivate, except in the special case where the mouse moves
              from a menu to a cascaded submenu.

       [3]    When a button is released over a menu, the active entry (if any)
              is invoked.  The menu also unposts unless it is a torn-off menu.

       [4]    The Space and Return keys invoke the active entry and unpost the
              menu.

       [5]    If any of the entries in a menu have letters underlined with
              with :underline option, then pressing one of the underlined
              letters (or its upper-case or lower-case equivalent) invokes
              that entry and unposts the menu.

       [6]    The Escape key aborts a menu selection in progress without
              invoking any entry.  It also unposts the menu unless it is a
              torn-off menu.

       [7]    The Up and Down keys activate the next higher or lower entry in
              the menu.  When one end of the menu is reached, the active entry
              wraps around to the other end.

       [8]    The Left key moves to the next menu to the left.  If the current
              menu is a cascaded submenu, then the submenu is unposted and the
              current menu entry becomes the cascade entry in the parent.  If
              the current menu is a top-level menu posted from a menubutton,
              then the current menubutton is unposted and the next menubutton
              to the left is posted.  Otherwise the key has no effect.  The
              left-right order of menubuttons is determined by their stacking
              order:  Tk assumes that the lowest menubutton (which by default
              is the first one created) is on the left.

       [9]    The Right key moves to the next menu to the right.  If the
              current entry is a cascade entry, then the submenu is posted and
              the  current menu entry becomes the first entry in the submenu.
              Otherwise, if the current menu was posted from a menubutton,
              then the current menubutton is unposted and the next menubutton
              to the right is posted.

       Disabled menu entries are non-responsive:  they don't activate and they
       ignore mouse button presses and releases.

       The behavior of menus can be changed by defining new bindings for
       individual widgets or by redefining the class bindings.


BUGS
       At present it isn't possible to use the option database to specify
       values for the options to individual entries.


SEE ALSO
       popup option-menu menubutton



STk                                   4.0                              menu(n)
