NAME

       listbox - Create and manipulate listbox widgets


SYNOPSIS

       listbox pathName ?options?


STANDARD OPTIONS

       -background           -foreground          -relief-takefocus
       -borderwidth          -height              -listvar-selectbackground-width
       -cursor               -highlightbackground -selectborderwidth-xscrollcommand
       -exportselection      -highlightcolor      -selectforeground-yscrollcommand
       -font                 -highlightthickness  -setgrid

       See  the  options manual entry for details on the standard
       options.


WIDGET-SPECIFIC OPTIONS

       Command-Line Name:-height
       Database Name:  height
       Database Class: Height

              Specifies the desired height  for  the  window,  in
              lines.   If  zero  or less, then the desired height
              for the window is made just large  enough  to  hold
              all the elements in the listbox.

       Command-Line Name:-listvar
       Database Name:  listVariable
       Database Class: Variable

              Specifies the name of a variable.  The value of the
              variable is a list to be displayed inside the  wid­
              get;  if the variable value changes then the widget
              will automatically update itself to reflect the new
              value.   Attempts  to  assign a bad list value to a
              variable in use as a listvar will cause  an  error.
              Attempts  to  unset  a variable in use as a listvar
              will fail but will not generate an error.

       Command-Line Name:-selectmode
       Database Name:  selectMode
       Database Class: SelectMode

              Specifies one of several  styles  for  manipulating
              the  selection.   The  value  of  the option may be
              arbitrary, but the default bindings expect it to be
              either  single, browse, multiple, or extended;  the
              default value is browse.

       Command-Line Name:-width
       Database Name:  width
       Database Class: Width

              acters.   If  the font doesn't have a uniform width
              then the width of the character ``0''  is  used  in
              translating  from  character units to screen units.
              If zero or less, then the  desired  width  for  the
              window  is  made  just large enough to hold all the
              elements in the listbox.
_________________________________________________________________


DESCRIPTION

       The listbox command creates a new  window  (given  by  the
       pathName  argument)  and  makes  it into a listbox widget.
       Additional options, described above, may be  specified  on
       the  command  line  or in the option database to configure
       aspects of the listbox such as its colors, font, text, and
       relief.   The  listbox  command returns its pathName argu­
       ment.  At the time this command is invoked, there must not
       exist  a window named pathName, but pathName's parent must
       exist.

       A listbox is a widget that displays a list of strings, one
       per  line.   When first created, a new listbox has no ele­
       ments.  Elements may be added or deleted using widget com­
       mands  described below.  In addition, one or more elements
       may be selected as  described  below.   If  a  listbox  is
       exporting its selection (see exportSelection option), then
       it will observe the standard X11  protocols  for  handling
       the  selection.   Listbox selections are available as type
       STRING; the value of the selection will be the text of the
       selected  elements, with newlines separating the elements.

       It is not necessary for all the elements to  be  displayed
       in  the  listbox window at once;  commands described below
       may be used to change the view in the  window.   Listboxes
       allow  scrolling  in  both  directions  using the standard
       xScrollCommand and yScrollCommand options.  They also sup­
       port scanning, as described below.


INDICES

       Many of the widget commands for listboxes take one or more
       indices as arguments.  An  index  specifies  a  particular
       element of the listbox, in any of the following ways:

       number      Specifies  the  element  as a numerical index,
                   where 0 corresponds to the  first  element  in
                   the listbox.

       active      Indicates  the  element  that has the location
                   cursor.  This element will be  displayed  with
                   an underline when the listbox has the keyboard
                   focus, and it is specified with  the  activate
                   widget command.

                   which is set with the selection anchor  widget
                   command.

       end         Indicates  the  end  of the listbox.  For most |
                   commands this refers to the  last  element  in |
                   the  listbox,  but  for a few commands such as |
                   index and insert it refers to the element just |
                   after the last one.

       @x,y        Indicates the element that covers the point in
                   the listbox window specified by x  and  y  (in
                   pixel coordinates).  If no element covers that
                   point, then the closest element to that  point
                   is used.

       In  the widget command descriptions below, arguments named
       index, first, and last always contain text indices in  one
       of the above forms.


WIDGET COMMAND

       The  listbox  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 listbox
       widgets:

       pathName activate index
              Sets the active element to  the  one  indicated  by
              index.   If  index is outside the range of elements |
              in the listbox then the closest  element  is  acti­ |
              vated.   The active element is drawn with an under­
              line when the widget has the input focus,  and  its
              index may be retrieved with the index active.

       pathName bbox index
              Returns  a  list  of  four  numbers  describing the
              bounding box of the text in the  element  given  by
              index.  The first two elements of the list give the
              x and y coordinates of the upper-left corner of the
              screen  area covered by the text (specified in pix­
              els relative to the widget) and the last  two  ele­
              ments  give  the  width  and height of the area, in
              pixels.  If no part of the element given  by  index
              is  visible  on the screen, or if index refers to a |
              non-existent element, then the result is  an  empty
              string;   if  the element is partially visible, the
              result gives the full area of the element,  includ­
              ing any parts that are not visible.

              Returns  the  current  value  of  the configuration
              option given by option.  Option may have any of the
              values accepted by the listbox 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 path­
              Name (see Tk_ConfigureInfo for information  on  the
              format  of this list).  If option is specified with
              no value, then the command returns a list  describ­
              ing the one named option (this list will be identi­
              cal to  the  corresponding  sublist  of  the  value
              returned  if  no  option  is specified).  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 listbox command.

       pathName curselection
              Returns a list containing the numerical indices  of
              all  of  the  elements in the listbox that are cur­
              rently selected.  If there are no elements selected
              in the listbox then an empty string is returned.

       pathName delete first ?last?
              Deletes one or more elements of the listbox.  First
              and last are indices specifying the first and  last
              elements  in  the  range  to delete.  If last isn't
              specified it defaults to first, i.e. a single  ele­
              ment is deleted.

       pathName get first ?last?
              If  last  is  omitted,  returns the contents of the
              listbox element indicated by  first,  or  an  empty |
              string  if  first refers to a non-existent element.
              If last is specified, the command  returns  a  list
              whose  elements  are  all  of  the listbox elements
              between first and last, inclusive.  Both first  and
              last  may  have  any  of  the  standard  forms  for
              indices.

       pathName index index
              Returns the integer index value that corresponds to
              index.  If index is end the return value is a count |
              of the number of elements in the listbox  (not  the |
              index of the last element).

       pathName insert index ?element element ...?
              Inserts  zero or more new elements in the list just
              before the element given by  index.   If  index  is
              specified as end then the new elements are added to


       pathName itemcget index option
              Returns the current value of the item configuration
              option  given by option. Option may have any of the
              values accepted by the listbox  itemconfigure  com­
              mand.

       pathName  itemconfigure index ?option? ?value? ?option
              value ...?
              Query  or  modify  the  configuration options of an
              item in the listbox.  If no  option  is  specified,
              returns  a  list  describing  all  of the available
              options for  the  item  (see  Tk_ConfigureInfo  for
              information on the format of this list).  If option
              is  specified  with  no  value,  then  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 spec­
              ified).  If one  or  more  option-value  pairs  are
              specified, then the command modifies the given wid­
              get option(s) to have the given value(s);  in  this
              case  the command returns an empty string. The fol­
              lowing options are currently supported for items:

              -background color
                     Color specifies the background color to  use
                     when displaying the item. It may have any of
                     the forms accepted by Tk_GetColor.

              -foreground color
                     Color specifies the foreground color to  use
                     when displaying the item. It may have any of
                     the forms accepted by Tk_GetColor.

              -selectbackground color
                     color specifies the background color to  use
                     when   displaying   the  item  while  it  is
                     selected. It  may  have  any  of  the  forms
                     accepted by Tk_GetColor.

              -selectforeground color
                     color  specifies the foreground color to use
                     when  displaying  the  item  while   it   is
                     selected.  It  may  have  any  of  the forms
                     accepted by Tk_GetColor.

       pathName nearest y
              Given a y-coordinate  within  the  listbox  window,
              this  command  returns  the  index of the (visible)
              listbox element nearest to that y-coordinate.

       pathName scan option args
              This command  is  used  to  implement  scanning  on


              pathName scan mark x y
                     Records  x and y and the current view in the
                     listbox window;  used  in  conjunction  with
                     later  scan dragto commands.  Typically this
                     command is associated with  a  mouse  button
                     press  in  the  widget.  It returns an empty
                     string.

              pathName scan dragto x y.
                     This command computes the difference between
                     its  x and y arguments and the x and y argu­
                     ments to the last scan mark command for  the
                     widget.   It  then  adjusts  the  view by 10
                     times the difference in  coordinates.   This
                     command  is  typically associated with mouse
                     motion events in the widget, to produce  the
                     effect  of  dragging  the list at high speed
                     through the window.  The return value is  an
                     empty string.

       pathName see index
              Adjust  the view in the listbox so that the element
              given by index  is  visible.   If  the  element  is
              already  visible then the command has no effect; if
              the element is near one edge of the window then the
              listbox  scrolls  to bring the element into view at
              the edge;  otherwise the listbox scrolls to  center
              the element.

       pathName selection option arg
              This command is used to adjust the selection within
              a listbox.  It  has  several  forms,  depending  on
              option:

              pathName selection anchor index
                     Sets  the  selection  anchor  to the element
                     given by index.  If index refers to  a  non- |
                     existent  element,  then the closest element |
                     is used.  The selection anchor is the end of
                     the  selection  that is fixed while dragging
                     out a selection with the mouse.   The  index
                     anchor  may  be  used to refer to the anchor
                     element.

              pathName selection clear first ?last?
                     If any of the  elements  between  first  and
                     last (inclusive) are selected, they are des­
                     elected.  The selection state is not changed
                     for elements outside this range.

              pathName selection includes index
                     Returns  1 if the element indicated by index


              pathName selection set first ?last?
                     Selects all of the  elements  in  the  range
                     between  first  and last, inclusive, without
                     affecting the selection  state  of  elements
                     outside that range.

       pathName size
              Returns  a decimal string indicating the total num­
              ber of elements in the listbox.

       pathName xview args
              This command is used to query and change the  hori­
              zontal  position of the information in the widget's
              window.  It can take any of the following forms:

              pathName xview
                     Returns  a  list  containing  two  elements.
                     Each  element  is  a real fraction between 0
                     and 1;  together they describe the  horizon­
                     tal span that is visible in the window.  For
                     example, if the first element is .2 and  the
                     second  element  is .6, 20% of the listbox's
                     text is off-screen to the left,  the  middle
                     40% is visible in the window, and 40% of the
                     text is off-screen to the right.  These  are
                     the same values passed to scrollbars via the
                     -xscrollcommand option.

              pathName xview index
                     Adjusts the view in the window so  that  the
                     character  position  given  by index is dis­
                     played at  the  left  edge  of  the  window.
                     Character positions are defined by the width
                     of the character 0.

              pathName xview moveto fraction
                     Adjusts the view in the window so that frac­
                     tion  of the total width of the listbox text
                     is off-screen to the left.  fraction must be
                     a fraction between 0 and 1.

              pathName xview scroll number what
                     This  command  shifts the view in the window
                     left or right according to number and  what.
                     Number  must  be  an  integer.  What must be
                     either units or pages or an abbreviation  of
                     one  of  these.   If what is units, the view
                     adjusts left or right  by  number  character
                     units  (the width of the 0 character) on the
                     display;  if  it  is  pages  then  the  view
                     adjusts  by number screenfuls.  If number is
                     negative then characters farther to the left

                     characters farther to the right become visi­
                     ble.

       pathName yview ?args?
              This command is used to query and change the verti­
              cal position of the text in  the  widget's  window.
              It can take any of the following forms:

              pathName yview
                     Returns a list containing two elements, both
                     of which are real fractions between 0 and 1.
                     The  first element gives the position of the
                     listbox element at the top  of  the  window,
                     relative  to  the  listbox  as  a whole (0.5
                     means it is halfway through the listbox, for
                     example).   The  second  element  gives  the
                     position of the listbox element  just  after
                     the  last one in the window, relative to the
                     listbox as a whole.  These are the same val­
                     ues  passed  to scrollbars via the -yscroll­
                     command option.

              pathName yview index
                     Adjusts the view in the window so  that  the
                     element  given  by index is displayed at the
                     top of the window.

              pathName yview moveto fraction
                     Adjusts the view in the window so  that  the
                     element given by fraction appears at the top
                     of  the  window.   Fraction  is  a  fraction
                     between 0 and 1;  0 indicates the first ele­
                     ment in the listbox, 0.33 indicates the ele­
                     ment  one-third the way through the listbox,
                     and so on.

              pathName yview scroll number what
                     This command adjusts the view in the  window
                     up  or  down  according  to number and what.
                     Number must be an  integer.   What  must  be
                     either  units  or  pages.  If what is units,
                     the view adjusts up or down by number lines;
                     if it is pages then the view adjusts by num­
                     ber screenfuls.  If number is negative  then
                     earlier  elements  become visible;  if it is
                     positive then later elements become visible.


DEFAULT BINDINGS

       Tk automatically creates class bindings for listboxes that
       give them Motif-like behavior.  Much of the behavior of  a
       listbox  is  determined  by  its  selectMode option, which
       selects one of four ways of dealing with the selection.

       element  can  be selected in the listbox at once.  In both
       modes, clicking button 1 on an element selects it and des­
       elects any other selected item.  In browse mode it is also
       possible to drag the selection with button 1.

       If the selection mode is multiple or extended, any  number
       of elements may be selected at once, including discontigu­
       ous ranges.  In multiple mode, clicking  button  1  on  an
       element  toggles its selection state without affecting any
       other elements.  In extended mode, pressing button 1 on an
       element  selects  it,  deselects everything else, and sets
       the anchor to the element under the mouse;   dragging  the
       mouse  with button 1 down extends the selection to include
       all the elements between the anchor and the element  under
       the mouse, inclusive.

       Most people will probably want to use browse mode for sin­
       gle selections and extended mode for multiple  selections;
       the other modes appear to be useful only in special situa­
       tions.

       Any time the selection changes in the listbox, the virtual
       event  <<ListboxSelect>> will be generated.  It is easiest
       to bind to this event to be made aware of any  changes  to
       listbox selection.

       In  addition  to  the  above behavior, the following addi­
       tional behavior is defined by the default bindings:

       [1]    In  extended  mode,  the  selected  range  can   be
              adjusted  by  pressing  button 1 with the Shift key
              down:  this modifies the selection  to  consist  of
              the  elements  between  the  anchor and the element
              under the mouse, inclusive.  The un-anchored end of
              this  new  selection  can  also be dragged with the
              button down.

       [2]    In extended mode, pressing button 1 with  the  Con­
              trol key down starts a toggle operation: the anchor
              is set to the element  under  the  mouse,  and  its
              selection  state  is reversed.  The selection state
              of other elements isn't changed.  If the  mouse  is
              dragged  with  button  1  down,  then the selection
              state of all elements between the  anchor  and  the
              element under the mouse is set to match that of the
              anchor element;  the selection state of  all  other
              elements  remains  what  it  was  before the toggle
              operation began.

       [3]    If the mouse leaves the listbox window with  button
              1  down,  the  window  scrolls away from the mouse,
              making information visible that  used  to  be  off-
              screen  on  the  side  of the mouse.  The scrolling

              button  is  released,  or the end of the listbox is
              reached.

       [4]    Mouse button 2 may be used for scanning.  If it  is
              pressed  and dragged over the listbox, the contents
              of the listbox drag at high speed in the  direction
              the mouse moves.

       [5]    If the Up or Down key is pressed, the location cur­
              sor (active element) moves up or down one  element.
              If  the  selection  mode is browse or extended then
              the new active element is  also  selected  and  all
              other  elements  are  deselected.  In extended mode
              the  new  active  element  becomes  the   selection
              anchor.

       [6]    In  extended mode, Shift-Up and Shift-Down move the
              location cursor (active element)  up  or  down  one
              element  and also extend the selection to that ele­
              ment in a fashion similar to  dragging  with  mouse
              button 1.

       [7]    The  Left  and  Right  keys scroll the listbox view
              left and right by the width  of  the  character  0.
              Control-Left  and  Control-Right scroll the listbox
              view left and right by the  width  of  the  window.
              Control-Prior and Control-Next also scroll left and
              right by the width of the window.

       [8]    The Prior and Next keys scroll the listbox view  up
              and down by one page (the height of the window).

       [9]    The  Home  and End keys scroll the listbox horizon­
              tally to the left and right edges, respectively.

       [10]   Control-Home sets the location cursor  to  the  the
              first element in the listbox, selects that element,
              and deselects everything else in the listbox.

       [11]   Control-End sets the location  cursor  to  the  the
              last  element in the listbox, selects that element,
              and deselects everything else in the listbox.

       [12]   In extended mode,  Control-Shift-Home  extends  the
              selection  to  the first element in the listbox and
              Control-Shift-End extends the selection to the last
              element.

       [13]   In  multiple  mode,  Control-Shift-Home  moves  the
              location cursor to the first element in the listbox
              and  Control-Shift-End moves the location cursor to
              the last element.

              location  cursor  (active element) just as if mouse
              button 1 had been pressed over this element.

       [15]   In extended mode,  Control-Shift-space  and  Shift-
              Select  extend  the selection to the active element
              just as if button 1 had been pressed with the Shift
              key down.

       [16]   In  extended  mode, the Escape key cancels the most
              recent selection and restores all the  elements  in
              the  selected  range  to  their  previous selection
              state.

       [17]   Control-slash selects  everything  in  the  widget,
              except in single and browse modes, in which case it
              selects the active element and deselects everything
              else.

       [18]   Control-backslash  deselects everything in the wid­
              get, except in browse mode where it has no  effect.

       [19]   The  F16  key  (labelled  Copy on many Sun worksta­
              tions) or Meta-w copies the selection in the widget
              to the clipboard, if there is a selection.

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


KEYWORDS

       listbox, widget


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