DragonFly On-Line Manual Pages
checkbutton(n) Tk Built-In Commands checkbutton(n)
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NAME
checkbutton - Create and manipulate 'checkbutton' boolean selection
widgets
SYNOPSIS
checkbutton pathName ?options?
STANDARD OPTIONS
-activebackground -disabledforeground -padx
-activeforeground -font -pady
-anchor -foreground -relief
-background -highlightbackground -takefocus
-bitmap -highlightcolor -text
-borderwidth -highlightthickness -textvariable
-compound -image -underline
-cursor -justify -wraplength
See the options manual entry for details on the standard options.
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 is not
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:-offrelief
Database Name: offRelief
Database Class: OffRelief
Specifies the relief for the checkbutton when the indicator is
not drawn and the checkbutton is off. The default value is
"raised". By setting this option to "flat" and setting
-indicatoron to false and -overrelief to "raised", the effect is
achieved of having a flat button that raises on mouse-over and
which is depressed when activated. This is the behavior
typically exhibited by the Bold, Italic, and Underline
checkbuttons on the toolbar of a word-processor, for example.
Command-Line Name:-offvalue
Database Name: offValue
Database Class: Value
Specifies value to store in the button's associated variable
whenever this button is deselected. Defaults to "0".
Command-Line Name:-onvalue
Database Name: onValue
Database Class: Value
Specifies value to store in the button's associated variable
whenever this button is selected. Defaults to "1".
Command-Line Name:-overrelief
Database Name: overRelief
Database Class: OverRelief
Specifies an alternative relief for the checkbutton, to be used
when the mouse cursor is over the widget. This option can be
used to make toolbar buttons, by configuring -relief flat
-overrelief raised. If the value of this option is the empty
string, then no alternative relief is used when the mouse cursor
is over the checkbutton. The empty string is the default value.
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 then the color is used as the background
for the indicator regardless of the select state. 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 then 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 checkbutton 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 checkbutton: normal,
active, or disabled. In normal state the checkbutton is
displayed using the -foreground and -background options. The
active state is typically used when the pointer is over the
checkbutton. In active state the checkbutton is displayed using
the -activeforeground and -activebackground options. Disabled
state means that the checkbutton 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
checkbutton is displayed.
Command-Line Name:-tristateimage
Database Name: tristateImage
Database Class: TristateImage
Specifies an image to display (in place of the -image option)
when the checkbutton is in tri-state mode. This option is
ignored unless the -image option has been specified.
Command-Line Name:-tristatevalue
Database Name: tristateValue
Database Class: Value
Specifies the value that causes the checkbutton to display the
multi-value selection, also known as the tri-state mode.
Defaults to "".
Command-Line Name:-variable
Database Name: variable
Database Class: Variable
Specifies the name of a global variable to set to indicate
whether or not this button is selected. Defaults to the name of
the button within its parent (i.e. the last element of the
button window's path name).
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 then 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 is not specified, the
button's desired width is computed from the size of the image or
bitmap or text being displayed in it.
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DESCRIPTION
The checkbutton command creates a new window (given by the pathName
argument) and makes it into a checkbutton widget. Additional options,
described above, may be specified on the command line or in the option
database to configure aspects of the checkbutton such as its colors,
font, text, and initial relief. The checkbutton 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 checkbutton is a widget that displays a textual string, bitmap or
image and a square 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 checkbutton has all of the
behavior of a simple button, including the following: 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 checkbutton.
In addition, checkbuttons can be selected. If a checkbutton is
selected then the indicator is normally drawn with a selected
appearance, and a Tcl variable associated with the checkbutton is set
to a particular value (normally 1). The indicator is drawn with a
check mark inside. If the checkbutton is not selected, then the
indicator is drawn with a deselected appearance, and the associated
variable is set to a different value (typically 0). The indicator is
drawn without a check mark inside. In the special case where the
variable (if specified) has a value that matches the tristatevalue, the
indicator is drawn with a tri-state appearance and is in the tri-state
mode indicating mixed or multiple values. (This is used when the check
box represents the state of multiple items.) The indicator is drawn in
a platform dependent manner. Under Unix and Windows, the background
interior of the box is "grayed". Under Mac, the indicator is drawn
with a dash mark inside. By default, the name of the variable
associated with a checkbutton is the same as the name used to create
the checkbutton. The variable name, and the "on", "off" and "tristate"
values stored in 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 checkbutton is configured to select and deselect
itself on alternate button clicks. In addition, each checkbutton
monitors its associated variable and automatically selects and
deselects itself when the variables value changes to and from the
button's "on", "off" and "tristate" values.
WIDGET COMMAND
The checkbutton 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 checkbutton 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
checkbutton 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, 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
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
checkbutton command.
pathName deselect
Deselects the checkbutton and sets the associated variable to
its "off" value.
pathName flash
Flashes the checkbutton. This is accomplished by redisplaying
the checkbutton several times, alternating between active and
normal colors. At the end of the flash the checkbutton is left
in the same normal/active state as when the command was invoked.
This command is ignored if the checkbutton's state is disabled.
pathName invoke
Does just what would have happened if the user invoked the
checkbutton with the mouse: toggle the selection state of the
button and invoke the Tcl command associated with the
checkbutton, 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 checkbutton. This command is
ignored if the checkbutton's state is disabled.
pathName select
Selects the checkbutton and sets the associated variable to its
"on" value.
pathName toggle
Toggles the selection state of the button, redisplaying it and
modifying its associated variable to reflect the new state.
BINDINGS
Tk automatically creates class bindings for checkbuttons that give them
the following default behavior:
[1] On Unix systems, a checkbutton activates whenever the mouse
passes over it and deactivates whenever the mouse leaves the
checkbutton. On Mac and Windows systems, when mouse button 1 is
pressed over a checkbutton, the button activates whenever the
mouse pointer is inside the button, and deactivates whenever the
mouse pointer leaves the button.
[2] When mouse button 1 is pressed over a checkbutton, it is invoked
(its selection state toggles and the command associated with the
button is invoked, if there is one).
[3] When a checkbutton has the input focus, the space key causes the
checkbutton to be invoked. Under Windows, there are additional
key bindings; plus (*) and equal (=) select the button, and
minus (-) deselects the button.
If the checkbutton's state is disabled then none of the above actions
occur: the checkbutton is completely non-responsive.
The behavior of checkbuttons can be changed by defining new bindings
for individual widgets or by redefining the class bindings.
EXAMPLE
This example shows a group of uncoupled checkbuttons.
labelframe .lbl -text "Steps:"
checkbutton .c1 -text Lights -variable lights
checkbutton .c2 -text Cameras -variable cameras
checkbutton .c3 -text Action! -variable action
pack .c1 .c2 .c3 -in .lbl
pack .lbl
SEE ALSO
button(n), options(n), radiobutton(n), ttk::checkbutton(n)
KEYWORDS
checkbutton, widget
Tk 4.4 checkbutton(n)