Tk Built-In Commands - radiobutton manual page

NAME

radiobutton - Create and manipulate radiobutton widgets

STANDARD OPTIONS

-activebackground, activeBackground, Foreground
-activeforeground, activeForeground, Background
-anchor, anchor, Anchor
-background or -bg, background, Background
-bitmap, bitmap, Bitmap
-borderwidth or -bd, borderWidth, BorderWidth
-cursor, cursor, Cursor
-disabledforeground, disabledForeground, DisabledForeground
-font, font, Font
-foreground or -fg, foreground, Foreground
-highlightbackground, highlightBackground, HighlightBackground
-highlightcolor, highlightColor, HighlightColor
-highlightthickness, highlightThickness, HighlightThickness
-image, image, Image
-justify, justify, Justify
-padx, padX, Pad
-pady, padY, Pad
-relief, relief, Relief
-takefocus, takeFocus, TakeFocus
-text, text, Text
-textvariable, textVariable, Variable
-underline, underline, Underline
-wraplength, wrapLength, WrapLength

WIDGET-SPECIFIC OPTIONS

Command-Line Name: -command
Database Name: command
Database Class: Command: Specifies a Tcl command to associate with the button. This command is typically invoked when mouse button 1 is released over the button window. The button's global variable (-variable option) will be updated before the command is invoked.
Command-Line Name: -height
Database Name: height
Database Class: Height: Specifies a desired height for the button. If an image or bitmap is being displayed in the button then the value is in screen units (i.e. any of the forms acceptable to Tk_GetPixels); for text it is in lines of text. If this option isn't specified, the button's desired height is computed from the size of the image or bitmap or text being displayed in it.
Command-Line Name: -indicatoron
Database Name: indicatorOn
Database Class: IndicatorOn: Specifies whether or not the indicator should be drawn. Must be a proper boolean value. If false, the relief option is ignored and the widget's relief is always sunken if the widget is selected and raised otherwise.
Command-Line Name: -selectcolor
Database Name: selectColor
Database Class: Background: Specifies a background color to use when the button is selected. If indicatorOn is true, the color applicies to the indicator. If indicatorOn is false, this color is used as the background for the entire widget, in place of background or activeBackground, whenever the widget is selected. If specified as an empty string, no special color is used for displaying when the widget is selected.
Command-Line Name: -selectimage
Database Name: selectImage
Database Class: SelectImage: Specifies an image to display (in place of the image option) when the radiobutton is selected. This option is ignored unless the image option has been specified.
Command-Line Name: -state
Database Name: state
Database Class: State: Specifies one of three states for the radiobutton: normal, active, or disabled. In normal state the radiobutton is displayed using the foreground and background options. The active state is typically used when the pointer is over the radiobutton. In active state the radiobutton is displayed using the activeForeground and activeBackground options. Disabled state means that the radiobutton should be insensitive: the default bindings will refuse to activate the widget and will ignore mouse button presses. In this state the disabledForeground and background options determine how the radiobutton is displayed.
Command-Line Name: -value
Database Name: value
Database Class: Value: Specifies value to store in the button's associated variable whenever this button is selected.
Command-Line Name: -variable
Database Name: variable
Database Class: Variable: Specifies name of global variable to set whenever this button is selected. Changes in this variable also cause the button to select or deselect itself. Defaults to the value selectedButton.
Command-Line Name: -width
Database Name: width
Database Class: Width: Specifies a desired width for the button. If an image or bitmap is being displayed in the button, the value is in screen units (i.e. any of the forms acceptable to Tk_GetPixels); for text it is in characters. If this option isn't specified, the button's desired width is computed from the size of the image or bitmap or text being displayed in it.

The radiobutton command creates a new window (given by the pathName argument) and makes it into a radiobutton widget. Additional options, described above, may be specified on the command line or in the option database to configure aspects of the radiobutton such as its colors, font, text, and initial relief. The radiobutton 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.

A radiobutton is a widget that displays a textual string, bitmap or image and a diamond called an indicator. 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 or if wrapping occurs because of the wrapLength option) and one of the characters may optionally be underlined using the underline option. A radiobutton has all of the behavior of a simple button: it can display itself in either of three different ways, according to the state option; it can be made to appear raised, sunken, or flat; it can be made to flash; and it invokes a Tcl command whenever mouse button 1 is clicked over the check button.

In addition, radiobuttons can be selected. If a radiobutton is selected, the indicator is normally drawn with a sunken relief and a special color, and a Tcl variable associated with the radiobutton is set to a particular value. If the radiobutton is not selected, the indicator is drawn with a raised relief and no special color. Typically, several radiobuttons share a single variable and the value of the variable indicates which radiobutton is to be selected. When a radiobutton is selected it sets the value of the variable to indicate that fact; each radiobutton also monitors the value of the variable and automatically selects and deselects itself when the variable's value changes. By default the variable selectedButton is used; its contents give the name of the button that is selected, or the empty string if no button associated with that variable is selected. The name of the variable for a radiobutton, plus the variable to be stored into it, may be modified with options on the command line or in the option database. Configuration options may also be used to modify the way the indicator is displayed (or whether it is displayed at all). By default a radio button is configured to select itself on button clicks.

WIDGET COMMAND

The radiobutton 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 option ?arg arg ...?

Option and the args determine the exact behavior of the command. The following commands are possible for radiobutton 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 radiobutton command.
pathName 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 pathName (see Tk_ConfigureInfo for information on the format of this list). If option is specified with no value, 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, 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 radiobutton command.
pathName deselect: Deselects the radiobutton and sets the associated variable to an empty string. If this radiobutton was not currently selected, the command has no effect.
pathName flash: Flashes the radiobutton. This is accomplished by redisplaying the radiobutton several times, alternating between active and normal colors. At the end of the flash the radiobutton is left in the same normal/active state as when the command was invoked. This command is ignored if the radiobutton's state is disabled.
pathName invoke: Does just what would have happened if the user invoked the radiobutton with the mouse: selects the button and invokes its associated Tcl command, if there is one. The return value is the return value from the Tcl command, or an empty string if there is no command associated with the radiobutton. This command is ignored if the radiobutton's state is disabled.
pathName select: Selects the radiobutton and sets the associated variable to the value corresponding to this widget.

BINDINGS

Tk automatically creates class bindings for radiobuttons that give them the following default behavior:

The radiobutton activates whenever the mouse passes over it and deactivates whenever the mouse leaves the radiobutton.
When mouse button 1 is pressed over a radiobutton it is invoked (it becomes selected and the command associated with the button is invoked, if there is one).
When a radiobutton has the input focus, the space key causes the radiobutton to be invoked.

If the radiobutton's state is disabled then none of the above actions occur: the radiobutton is completely non-responsive.

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

KEYWORDS

radiobutton, widget

Copyright © 1990-1994 The Regents of the University of California.
Copyright © 1994-1996 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Copyright © 1995, 1996 Roger E. Critchlow Jr.