ComboBox with an Entry
A ComboBox may contain an Entry widget for entering of arbitrary text, by specifying true for the constructor's has_entry parameter.
- 10.6.1. The text column
- 10.6.2. The entry
- 10.6.3. Responding to changes
- 10.6.4. Full Example
- 10.6.5. Simple Text Example
10.6.1. The text column
So that the Entry can interact with the drop-down list of choices, you must specify which of your model columns is the text column, with set_entry_text_column(). For instance:
m_combo.set_entry_text_column(m_columns.m_col_name);
When you select a choice from the drop-down menu, the value from this column will be placed in the Entry.
10.6.2. The entry
Because the user may enter arbitrary text, an active model row isn't enough to tell us what text the user has entered. Therefore, you should retrieve the Entry widget with the ComboBox::get_entry() method and call get_text() on that.
10.6.3. Responding to changes
When the user enters arbitrary text, it may not be enough to connect to the changed signal, which is emitted for every typed character. It is not emitted when the user presses the Enter key. Pressing the Enter key or moving the keyboard focus to another widget may signal that the user has finished entering text. To be notified of these events, connect to the Entry's activate and focus_out_event signals, like so
Gtk::Entry* entry = m_Combo.get_entry(); if (entry) { // The Entry shall receive focus-out events. entry->add_events(Gdk::FOCUS_CHANGE_MASK); // Alternatively you can connect to m_Combo.signal_changed(). entry->signal_changed().connect(sigc::mem_fun(*this, &ExampleWindow::on_entry_changed) ); entry->signal_activate().connect(sigc::mem_fun(*this, &ExampleWindow::on_entry_activate) ); entry->signal_focus_out_event().connect(sigc::mem_fun(*this, &ExampleWindow::on_entry_focus_out_event) ); }
X events are described in more detail in the X Event signals section in the appendix.
10.6.4. Full Example
File: examplewindow.h (For use with gtkmm 3, not gtkmm 2)
#ifndef GTKMM_EXAMPLEWINDOW_H #define GTKMM_EXAMPLEWINDOW_H #include <gtkmm/window.h> #include <gtkmm/combobox.h> #include <gtkmm/liststore.h> class ExampleWindow : public Gtk::Window { public: ExampleWindow(); virtual ~ExampleWindow(); protected: //Signal handlers: void on_entry_changed(); void on_entry_activate(); bool on_entry_focus_out_event(GdkEventFocus* event); //Signal connection: sigc::connection m_ConnectionFocusOut; //Tree model columns: class ModelColumns : public Gtk::TreeModel::ColumnRecord { public: ModelColumns() { add(m_col_id); add(m_col_name); } Gtk::TreeModelColumn<Glib::ustring> m_col_id; //The data to choose - this must be text. Gtk::TreeModelColumn<Glib::ustring> m_col_name; }; ModelColumns m_Columns; //Child widgets: Gtk::ComboBox m_Combo; Glib::RefPtr<Gtk::ListStore> m_refTreeModel; }; #endif //GTKMM_EXAMPLEWINDOW_H
File: examplewindow.cc (For use with gtkmm 3, not gtkmm 2)
#include "examplewindow.h" #include <iostream> ExampleWindow::ExampleWindow() : m_Combo(true /* has_entry */) { set_title("ComboBox example"); //Create the Tree model: //m_refTreeModel = Gtk::TreeStore::create(m_Columns); m_refTreeModel = Gtk::ListStore::create(m_Columns); m_Combo.set_model(m_refTreeModel); //Fill the ComboBox's Tree Model: Gtk::TreeModel::Row row = *(m_refTreeModel->append()); row[m_Columns.m_col_id] = "1"; row[m_Columns.m_col_name] = "Billy Bob"; /* Gtk::TreeModel::Row childrow = *(m_refTreeModel->append(row.children())); childrow[m_Columns.m_col_id] = 11; childrow[m_Columns.m_col_name] = "Billy Bob Junior"; childrow = *(m_refTreeModel->append(row.children())); childrow[m_Columns.m_col_id] = 12; childrow[m_Columns.m_col_name] = "Sue Bob"; */ row = *(m_refTreeModel->append()); row[m_Columns.m_col_id] = "2"; row[m_Columns.m_col_name] = "Joey Jojo"; row = *(m_refTreeModel->append()); row[m_Columns.m_col_id] = "3"; row[m_Columns.m_col_name] = "Rob McRoberts"; /* childrow = *(m_refTreeModel->append(row.children())); childrow[m_Columns.m_col_id] = 31; childrow[m_Columns.m_col_name] = "Xavier McRoberts"; */ //Add the model columns to the Combo (which is a kind of view), //rendering them in the default way: //This is automatically rendered when we use set_entry_text_column(). //m_Combo.pack_start(m_Columns.m_col_id); m_Combo.pack_start(m_Columns.m_col_name); m_Combo.set_entry_text_column(m_Columns.m_col_id); m_Combo.set_active(1); //Add the ComboBox to the window. add(m_Combo); //Connect signal handlers: Gtk::Entry* entry = m_Combo.get_entry(); if (entry) { // The Entry shall receive focus-out events. entry->add_events(Gdk::FOCUS_CHANGE_MASK); // Alternatively you can connect to m_Combo.signal_changed(). entry->signal_changed().connect(sigc::mem_fun(*this, &ExampleWindow::on_entry_changed) ); entry->signal_activate().connect(sigc::mem_fun(*this, &ExampleWindow::on_entry_activate) ); m_ConnectionFocusOut = entry->signal_focus_out_event(). connect(sigc::mem_fun(*this, &ExampleWindow::on_entry_focus_out_event) ); } else std::cout << "No Entry ???" << std::endl; show_all_children(); } ExampleWindow::~ExampleWindow() { // The focus_out signal may be emitted while m_Combo is being destructed. // The signal handler can generate critical messages, if it's called when // m_Combo has been partly destructed. m_ConnectionFocusOut.disconnect(); } void ExampleWindow::on_entry_changed() { Gtk::Entry* entry = m_Combo.get_entry(); if (entry) { std::cout << "on_entry_changed(): Row=" << m_Combo.get_active_row_number() << ", ID=" << entry->get_text() << std::endl; } } void ExampleWindow::on_entry_activate() { Gtk::Entry* entry = m_Combo.get_entry(); if (entry) { std::cout << "on_entry_activate(): Row=" << m_Combo.get_active_row_number() << ", ID=" << entry->get_text() << std::endl; } } bool ExampleWindow::on_entry_focus_out_event(GdkEventFocus* /* event */) { Gtk::Entry* entry = m_Combo.get_entry(); if (entry) { std::cout << "on_entry_focus_out_event(): Row=" << m_Combo.get_active_row_number() << ", ID=" << entry->get_text() << std::endl; return true; } return false; }
File: main.cc (For use with gtkmm 3, not gtkmm 2)
#include "examplewindow.h" #include <gtkmm/application.h> int main(int argc, char *argv[]) { Glib::RefPtr<Gtk::Application> app = Gtk::Application::create(argc, argv, "org.gtkmm.example"); ExampleWindow window; //Shows the window and returns when it is closed. return app->run(window); }
10.6.5. Simple Text Example
File: examplewindow.h (For use with gtkmm 3, not gtkmm 2)
#ifndef GTKMM_EXAMPLEWINDOW_H #define GTKMM_EXAMPLEWINDOW_H #include <gtkmm/window.h> #include <gtkmm/comboboxtext.h> class ExampleWindow : public Gtk::Window { public: ExampleWindow(); virtual ~ExampleWindow(); protected: //Signal handlers: void on_combo_changed(); void on_entry_activate(); bool on_entry_focus_out_event(GdkEventFocus* event); //Signal connection: sigc::connection m_ConnectionFocusOut; //Child widgets: Gtk::ComboBoxText m_Combo; }; #endif //GTKMM_EXAMPLEWINDOW_H
File: examplewindow.cc (For use with gtkmm 3, not gtkmm 2)
#include "examplewindow.h" #include <iostream> ExampleWindow::ExampleWindow() : m_Combo(true /* has_entry */) { set_title("ComboBoxText example"); //Fill the combo: m_Combo.append("something"); m_Combo.append("something else"); m_Combo.append("something or other"); m_Combo.set_active(0); add(m_Combo); //Connect signal handlers: Gtk::Entry* entry = m_Combo.get_entry(); // Alternatively you can connect to entry->signal_changed(). m_Combo.signal_changed().connect(sigc::mem_fun(*this, &ExampleWindow::on_combo_changed) ); if (entry) { // The Entry shall receive focus-out events. entry->add_events(Gdk::FOCUS_CHANGE_MASK); entry->signal_activate().connect(sigc::mem_fun(*this, &ExampleWindow::on_entry_activate) ); m_ConnectionFocusOut = entry->signal_focus_out_event(). connect(sigc::mem_fun(*this, &ExampleWindow::on_entry_focus_out_event) ); } else std::cout << "No Entry ???" << std::endl; m_Combo.property_has_frame() = false; show_all_children(); } ExampleWindow::~ExampleWindow() { // The focus_out signal may be emitted while m_Combo is being destructed. // The signal handler can generate critical messages, if it's called when // m_Combo has been partly destructed. m_ConnectionFocusOut.disconnect(); } void ExampleWindow::on_combo_changed() { std::cout << "on_combo_changed(): Row=" << m_Combo.get_active_row_number() << ", Text=" << m_Combo.get_active_text() << std::endl; } void ExampleWindow::on_entry_activate() { std::cout << "on_entry_activate(): Row=" << m_Combo.get_active_row_number() << ", Text=" << m_Combo.get_active_text() << std::endl; } bool ExampleWindow::on_entry_focus_out_event(GdkEventFocus* /* event */) { std::cout << "on_entry_focus_out_event(): Row=" << m_Combo.get_active_row_number() << ", Text=" << m_Combo.get_active_text() << std::endl; return true; }
File: main.cc (For use with gtkmm 3, not gtkmm 2)
#include "examplewindow.h" #include <gtkmm/application.h> int main(int argc, char *argv[]) { Glib::RefPtr<Gtk::Application> app = Gtk::Application::create(argc, argv, "org.gtkmm.example"); ExampleWindow window; //Shows the window and returns when it is closed. return app->run(window); }