options manual page - Tk Built-In Commands

This manual entry describes the common configuration options supported by widgets in the Tk toolkit. Every widget does not necessarily support every option (see the manual entries for individual widgets for a list of the standard options supported by that widget), but if a widget does support an option with one of the names listed below, then the option has exactly the effect described below.

In the descriptions below, “Command-Line Name” refers to the switch used in class commands and configure widget commands to set this value. For example, if an option's command-line switch is -foreground and there exists a widget .a.b.c, then the command

.a.b.c  configure  -foreground black

may be used to specify the value black for the option in the widget .a.b.c. Command-line switches may be abbreviated, as long as the abbreviation is unambiguous. “Database Name” refers to the option's name in the option database (e.g. in .Xdefaults files). “Database Class” refers to the option's class value in the option database.

Command-Line Name: -activebackground
Database Name: activeBackground
Database Class: Foreground: Specifies background color to use when drawing active elements. An element (a widget or portion of a widget) is active if the mouse cursor is positioned over the element and pressing a mouse button will cause some action to occur. If strict Motif compliance has been requested by setting the tk_strictMotif variable, this option will normally be ignored; the normal background color will be used instead. For some elements on Windows and Macintosh systems, the active color will only be used while mouse button 1 is pressed over the element.
Command-Line Name: -activeborderwidth
Database Name: activeBorderWidth
Database Class: BorderWidth: Specifies a non-negative value indicating the width of the 3-D border drawn around active elements. See above for definition of active elements. The value may have any of the forms acceptable to Tk_GetPixels. This option is typically only available in widgets displaying more than one element at a time (e.g. menus but not buttons).
Command-Line Name: -activeforeground
Database Name: activeForeground
Database Class: Background: Specifies foreground color to use when drawing active elements. See above for definition of active elements.
Command-Line Name: -activerelief
Database Name: activeRelief
Database Class: Relief: Specifies the 3-D effect desired for the active item of the widget. See the -relief option for details.
Command-Line Name: -anchor
Database Name: anchor
Database Class: Anchor: Specifies how the information in a widget (e.g. text or a bitmap) is to be displayed in the widget. Must be one of the values n, ne, e, se, s, sw, w, nw, or center. For example, nw means display the information such that its top-left corner is at the top-left corner of the widget.
Command-Line Name: -background or -bg
Database Name: background
Database Class: Background: Specifies the normal background color to use when displaying the widget.
Command-Line Name: -bitmap
Database Name: bitmap
Database Class: Bitmap: Specifies a bitmap to display in the widget, in any of the forms acceptable to Tk_GetBitmap. The exact way in which the bitmap is displayed may be affected by other options such as -anchor or -justify. Typically, if this option is specified then it overrides other options that specify a textual value to display in the widget but this is controlled by the -compound option; the -bitmap option may be reset to an empty string to re-enable a text display. In widgets that support both -bitmap and -image options, -image will usually override -bitmap.
Command-Line Name: -borderwidth or -bd
Database Name: borderWidth
Database Class: BorderWidth: Specifies a non-negative value indicating the width of the 3-D border to draw around the outside of the widget (if such a border is being drawn; the -relief option typically determines this). The value may also be used when drawing 3-D effects in the interior of the widget. The value may have any of the forms acceptable to Tk_GetPixels.
Command-Line Name: -cursor
Database Name: cursor
Database Class: Cursor: Specifies the mouse cursor to be used for the widget. The value may have any of the forms acceptable to Tk_GetCursor. In addition, if an empty string is specified, it indicates that the widget should defer to its parent for cursor specification.
Command-Line Name: -compound
Database Name: compound
Database Class: Compound: Specifies if the widget should display text and bitmaps/images at the same time, and if so, where the bitmap/image should be placed relative to the text. Must be one of the values none, bottom, top, left, right, or center. For example, the (default) value none specifies that the bitmap or image should (if defined) be displayed instead of the text, the value left specifies that the bitmap or image should be displayed to the left of the text, and the value center specifies that the bitmap or image should be displayed on top of the text.
Command-Line Name: -disabledforeground
Database Name: disabledForeground
Database Class: DisabledForeground: Specifies foreground color to use when drawing a disabled element. If the option is specified as an empty string (which is typically the case on monochrome displays), disabled elements are drawn with the normal foreground color but they are dimmed by drawing them with a stippled fill pattern.
Command-Line Name: -exportselection
Database Name: exportSelection
Database Class: ExportSelection: Specifies whether or not a selection in the widget should also be the X selection. The value may have any of the forms accepted by Tcl_GetBoolean, such as true, false, 0, 1, yes, or no. If the selection is exported, then selecting in the widget deselects the current X selection, selecting outside the widget deselects any widget selection, and the widget will respond to selection retrieval requests when it has a selection. The default is usually for widgets to export selections.
Command-Line Name: -font
Database Name: font
Database Class: Font: Specifies the font to use when drawing text inside the widget. The value may have any of the forms described in the font manual page under FONT DESCRIPTION.
Command-Line Name: -foreground or -fg
Database Name: foreground
Database Class: Foreground: Specifies the normal foreground color to use when displaying the widget.
Command-Line Name: -highlightbackground
Database Name: highlightBackground
Database Class: HighlightBackground: Specifies the color to display in the traversal highlight region when the widget does not have the input focus.
Command-Line Name: -highlightcolor
Database Name: highlightColor
Database Class: HighlightColor: Specifies the color to use for the traversal highlight rectangle that is drawn around the widget when it has the input focus.
Command-Line Name: -highlightthickness
Database Name: highlightThickness
Database Class: HighlightThickness: Specifies a non-negative value indicating the width of the highlight rectangle to draw around the outside of the widget when it has the input focus. The value may have any of the forms acceptable to Tk_GetPixels. If the value is zero, no focus highlight is drawn around the widget.
Command-Line Name: -image
Database Name: image
Database Class: Image: Specifies an image to display in the widget, which must have been created with the image create command. Typically, if the -image option is specified then it overrides other options that specify a bitmap or textual value to display in the widget, though this is controlled by the -compound option; the -image option may be reset to an empty string to re-enable a bitmap or text display.
Command-Line Name: -insertbackground
Database Name: insertBackground
Database Class: Foreground: Specifies the color to use as background in the area covered by the insertion cursor. This color will normally override either the normal background for the widget (or the selection background if the insertion cursor happens to fall in the selection).
Command-Line Name: -insertborderwidth
Database Name: insertBorderWidth
Database Class: BorderWidth: Specifies a non-negative value indicating the width of the 3-D border to draw around the insertion cursor. The value may have any of the forms acceptable to Tk_GetPixels.
Command-Line Name: -insertofftime
Database Name: insertOffTime
Database Class: OffTime: Specifies a non-negative integer value indicating the number of milliseconds the insertion cursor should remain “off” in each blink cycle. If this option is zero then the cursor does not blink: it is on all the time.
Command-Line Name: -insertontime
Database Name: insertOnTime
Database Class: OnTime: Specifies a non-negative integer value indicating the number of milliseconds the insertion cursor should remain “on” in each blink cycle.
Command-Line Name: -insertwidth
Database Name: insertWidth
Database Class: InsertWidth: Specifies a non-negative value indicating the total width of the insertion cursor. The value may have any of the forms acceptable to Tk_GetPixels. If a border has been specified for the insertion cursor (using the -insertborderwidth option), the border will be drawn inside the width specified by the -insertwidth option.
Command-Line Name: -jump
Database Name: jump
Database Class: Jump: For widgets with a slider that can be dragged to adjust a value, such as scrollbars, this option determines when notifications are made about changes in the value. The option's value must be a boolean of the form accepted by Tcl_GetBoolean. If the value is false, updates are made continuously as the slider is dragged. If the value is true, updates are delayed until the mouse button is released to end the drag; at that point a single notification is made (the value “jumps” rather than changing smoothly).
Command-Line Name: -justify
Database Name: justify
Database Class: Justify: When there are multiple lines of text displayed in a widget, this option determines how the lines line up with each other. Must be one of left, center, or right. Left means that the lines' left edges all line up, center means that the lines' centers are aligned, and right means that the lines' right edges line up.
Command-Line Name: -orient
Database Name: orient
Database Class: Orient: For widgets that can lay themselves out with either a horizontal or vertical orientation, such as scrollbars, this option specifies which orientation should be used. Must be either horizontal or vertical or an abbreviation of one of these.
Command-Line Name: -padx
Database Name: padX
Database Class: Pad: Specifies a non-negative value indicating how much extra space to request for the widget in the X-direction. The value may have any of the forms acceptable to Tk_GetPixels. When computing how large a window it needs, the widget will add this amount to the width it would normally need (as determined by the width of the things displayed in the widget); if the geometry manager can satisfy this request, the widget will end up with extra internal space to the left and/or right of what it displays inside. Most widgets only use this option for padding text: if they are displaying a bitmap or image, then they usually ignore padding options.
Command-Line Name: -pady
Database Name: padY
Database Class: Pad: Specifies a non-negative value indicating how much extra space to request for the widget in the Y-direction. The value may have any of the forms acceptable to Tk_GetPixels. When computing how large a window it needs, the widget will add this amount to the height it would normally need (as determined by the height of the things displayed in the widget); if the geometry manager can satisfy this request, the widget will end up with extra internal space above and/or below what it displays inside. Most widgets only use this option for padding text: if they are displaying a bitmap or image, then they usually ignore padding options.
Command-Line Name: -placeholder
Database Name: placeHolder
Database Class: PlaceHolder: Specifies a help text string to display if no text is otherwise displayed, that is when the widget is empty. The placeholder text is displayed using the values of the -font and -justify options.
Command-Line Name: -placeholderforeground
Database Name: placeholderForeground
Database Class: PlaceholderForeground: Specifies the foreground color to use when the placeholder text is displayed. The default color is platform-specific.
Command-Line Name: -relief
Database Name: relief
Database Class: Relief: Specifies the 3-D effect desired for the widget. Acceptable values are raised, sunken, flat, ridge, solid, and groove. The value indicates how the interior of the widget should appear relative to its exterior; for example, raised means the interior of the widget should appear to protrude from the screen, relative to the exterior of the widget.
Command-Line Name: -repeatdelay
Database Name: repeatDelay
Database Class: RepeatDelay: Specifies the number of milliseconds a button or key must be held down before it begins to auto-repeat. Used, for example, on the up- and down-arrows in scrollbars.
Command-Line Name: -repeatinterval
Database Name: repeatInterval
Database Class: RepeatInterval: Used in conjunction with -repeatdelay: once auto-repeat begins, this option determines the number of milliseconds between auto-repeats.
Command-Line Name: -selectbackground
Database Name: selectBackground
Database Class: Foreground: Specifies the background color to use when displaying selected items.
Command-Line Name: -selectborderwidth
Database Name: selectBorderWidth
Database Class: BorderWidth: 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.
Command-Line Name: -selectforeground
Database Name: selectForeground
Database Class: Background: Specifies the foreground color to use when displaying selected items.
Command-Line Name: -setgrid
Database Name: setGrid
Database Class: SetGrid: Specifies a boolean value that determines whether this widget controls the resizing grid for its top-level window. This option is typically used in text widgets, where the information in the widget has a natural size (the size of a character) and it makes sense for the window's dimensions to be integral numbers of these units. These natural window sizes form a grid. If the -setgrid option is set to true then the widget will communicate with the window manager so that when the user interactively resizes the top-level window that contains the widget, the dimensions of the window will be displayed to the user in grid units and the window size will be constrained to integral numbers of grid units. See the section GRIDDED GEOMETRY MANAGEMENT in the wm manual entry for more details.
Command-Line Name: -takefocus
Database Name: takeFocus
Database Class: TakeFocus: Determines whether the window accepts the focus during keyboard traversal (e.g., Tab and Shift-Tab). Before setting the focus to a window, the traversal scripts consult the value of the -takefocus option. A value of 0 means that the window should be skipped entirely during keyboard traversal. 1 means that the window should receive the input focus as long as it is viewable (it and all of its ancestors are mapped). An empty value for the option means that the traversal scripts make the decision about whether or not to focus on the window: the current algorithm is to skip the window if it is disabled, if it has no key bindings, or if it is not viewable. If the value has any other form, then the traversal scripts take the value, append the name of the window to it (with a separator space), and evaluate the resulting string as a Tcl script. The script must return 0, 1, or an empty string: a 0 or 1 value specifies whether the window will receive the input focus, and an empty string results in the default decision described above. Note that this interpretation of the option is defined entirely by the Tcl scripts that implement traversal: the widget implementations ignore the option entirely, so you can change its meaning if you redefine the keyboard traversal scripts.
Command-Line Name: -text
Database Name: text
Database Class: Text: Specifies a string to be displayed inside the widget. The way in which the string is displayed depends on the particular widget and may be determined by other options, such as -anchor or -justify.
Command-Line Name: -textvariable
Database Name: textVariable
Database Class: Variable: Specifies the name of a global variable. The value of the variable is a text string to be displayed inside the widget; if the variable value changes then the widget will automatically update itself to reflect the new value. The way in which the string is displayed in the widget depends on the particular widget and may be determined by other options, such as -anchor or -justify.
Command-Line Name: -troughcolor
Database Name: troughColor
Database Class: Background: Specifies the color to use for the rectangular trough areas in widgets such as scrollbars and scales. This option is ignored for scrollbars on Windows (native widget does not recognize this option).
Command-Line Name: -underline
Database Name: underline
Database Class: Underline: Specifies the integer index of a character to underline in the widget. This option is used by the default bindings to implement keyboard traversal for menu buttons and menu entries. 0 corresponds to the first character of the text displayed in the widget, 1 to the next character, and so on. end corresponds to the last character, end-1 to the before last character, and so on.
Command-Line Name: -wraplength
Database Name: wrapLength
Database Class: WrapLength: For widgets that can perform word-wrapping, this option specifies the maximum line length. Lines that would exceed this length are wrapped onto the next line, so that no line is longer than the specified length. The value may be specified in any of the standard forms for screen distances. If this value is negative or zero then no wrapping is done: lines will break only at newline characters in the text.
Command-Line Name: -xscrollcommand
Database Name: xScrollCommand
Database Class: ScrollCommand: Specifies the prefix for a command used to communicate with horizontal scrollbars. When the view in the widget's window changes (or whenever anything else occurs that could change the display in a scrollbar, such as a change in the total size of the widget's contents), the widget will generate a Tcl command by concatenating the scroll command and two numbers. Each of the numbers is a fraction between 0 and 1, which indicates a position in the document. 0 indicates the beginning of the document, 1 indicates the end, .333 indicates a position one third the way through the document, and so on. The first fraction indicates the first information in the document that is visible in the window, and the second fraction indicates the information just after the last portion that is visible. The command is then passed to the Tcl interpreter for execution. Typically the -xscrollcommand option consists of the path name of a scrollbar widget followed by “set”, e.g. “.x.scrollbar set”: this will cause the scrollbar to be updated whenever the view in the window changes. If this option is not specified, then no command will be executed.
Command-Line Name: -yscrollcommand
Database Name: yScrollCommand
Database Class: ScrollCommand: Specifies the prefix for a command used to communicate with vertical scrollbars. This option is treated in the same way as the -xscrollcommand option, except that it is used for vertical scrollbars and is provided by widgets that support vertical scrolling. See the description of -xscrollcommand for details on how this option is used.

KEYWORDS

class, name, standard option, switch

Tk9.0.0 Documentation > Tk Commands, version 9.0.0 > options

Tk Applications | Tk Commands | Tk C API

NAME

DESCRIPTION

SEE ALSO

KEYWORDS