Tk::Wm - Communicate with window manager
$toplevel
->method(?args?)
The wm methods are used to interact with window
managers in order to control such things as the title for a window, its
geometry, or the increments in terms of which it may be resized. The
wm methods can take any of a number of different forms,
depending on the particular method argument. All of the forms
expect $toplevel
, which must be a top-level window
object.
The legal forms for the wm methods are:
If minNumer, minDenom, maxNumer, and
maxDenom are all specified, then they will be passed to the
window manager and the window manager should use them to enforce a range
of acceptable aspect ratios for $toplevel
. The
aspect ratio of $toplevel
(width/length) will be
constrained to lie between minNumer/minDenom and
maxNumer/maxDenom. If minNumer etc. are all
specified as empty strings, then any existing aspect ratio restrictions
are removed. If minNumer etc. are specified, then the method
returns an empty string. Otherwise, it returns a array containing four
elements, which are the current values of minNumer,
minDenom, maxNumer, and maxDenom (if no
aspect restrictions are in effect, then an empty string is
returned).
This subcommand returns or sets platform specific attributes associated with a window.
Returns a list of the platform specific flags and their values.
Returns the value for the specific option.
Sets one or more of the values. The values are as follows: On Windows, -disabled gets or sets whether the window is in a disabled state. -toolwindow gets or sets the style of the window to toolwindow (as defined in the MSDN). -topmost gets or sets whether this is a topmost window (displays above all other windows). On Macintosh, there are currently no special attribute values. On Unix, there are currently no special attribute values.
If name is specified, this method stores name
(which should be the name of the host on which the application is
executing) in $toplevel
's
WM_CLIENT_MACHINE property for use by the window
manager or session manager. The method returns an empty string in this
case. If name isn't specified, the method returns the last name
set in a client method for
$toplevel
. If name is specified as an
empty string, the method deletes the WM_CLIENT_MACHINE
property from $toplevel
.
This method is used to manipulate the
WM_COLORMAP_WINDOWS property, which provides
information to the window managers about windows that have private
colormaps. If windowList isn't specified, the method returns a
list whose elements are the names of the windows in the
WM_COLORMAP_WINDOWS property. If windowList is
specified, it consists of a list of widgets; the method overwrites the
WM_COLORMAP_WINDOWS property with the given windows and
returns an empty string. The WM_COLORMAP_WINDOWS
property should normally contain a list of the internal windows within
$toplevel
whose colormaps differ from their
parents. The order of the windows in the property indicates a priority
order: the window manager will attempt to install as many colormaps as
possible from the head of this list when $widget
gets the colormap focus. If $widget
is not
included among the windows in windowList, Tk implicitly adds it
at the end of the WM_COLORMAP_WINDOWS property, so that
its colormap is lowest in priority. If
$widget
->colormapwindows is not invoked, Tk
will automatically set the property for each top-level window to all the
internal windows whose colormaps differ from their parents, followed by
the top-level itself; the order of the internal windows is undefined.
See the ICCCM documentation for more information on the
WM_COLORMAP_WINDOWS property.
If value is specified, this method stores value in
$toplevel
's WM_COMMAND property
for use by the window manager or session manager and returns an empty
string. Value must have proper list structure; the elements
should contain the words of the command used to invoke the application.
If value isn't specified then the method returns the last value
set in a command method for
$toplevel
. If value is specified as an
empty string, the method deletes the WM_COMMAND
property from $toplevel
.
Arrange for $toplevel
to be displayed in normal
(non-iconified) form. This is done by mapping the window. If the window
has never been mapped then this method will not map the window, but it
will ensure that when the window is first mapped it will be displayed in
de-iconified form. Returns an empty string.
If active or passive is supplied as
an optional argument to the method, then it specifies the focus model
for $toplevel
. In this case the method returns an
empty string. If no additional argument is supplied, then the method
returns the current focus model for $toplevel
. An
active focus model means that
$toplevel
will claim the input focus for itself or
its descendants, even at times when the focus is currently in some other
application. Passive means that
$toplevel
will never claim the focus for itself:
the window manager should give the focus to
$toplevel
at appropriate times. However, once the
focus has been given to $toplevel
or one of its
descendants, the application may re-assign the focus among
$toplevel
's descendants. The focus model defaults
to passive, and Tk's focus method
assumes a passive model of focusing.
If $widget
has been reparented by the window
manager into a decorative frame, the method returns the platform
specific window identifier for the outermost frame that contains
$toplevel
(the window whose parent is the root or
virtual root). If $toplevel
hasn't been reparented
by the window manager then the method returns the platform specific
window identifier for $toplevel
.
If newGeometry is specified, then the geometry of
$toplevel
is changed and an empty string is
returned. Otherwise the current geometry for
$toplevel
is returned (this is the most recent
geometry specified either by manual resizing or in a
geometry method). NewGeometry has the form
=widthxheight+-x+-y,
where any of =,
widthxheight, or
+-x+-y may be
omitted. Width and height are positive integers
specifying the desired dimensions of $toplevel
. If
$toplevel
is gridded (see GRIDDED GEOMETRY
MANAGEMENT below) then the dimensions are specified in grid units;
otherwise they are specified in pixel units. X and y
specify the desired location of $toplevel
on the
screen, in pixels. If x is preceded by +, it
specifies the number of pixels between the left edge of the screen and
the left edge of $toplevel
's border; if preceded
by - then x specifies the number of pixels
between the right edge of the screen and the right edge of
$toplevel
's border. If y is preceded by
+ then it specifies the number of pixels between the
top of the screen and the top of $toplevel
's
border; if y is preceded by - then it
specifies the number of pixels between the bottom of
$toplevel
's border and the bottom of the screen.
If newGeometry is specified as an empty string then any
existing user-specified geometry for $toplevel
is
cancelled, and the window will revert to the size requested internally
by its widgets.
This method indicates that $toplevel
is to be
managed as a gridded window. It also specifies the relationship between
grid units and pixel units. BaseWidth and baseHeight
specify the number of grid units corresponding to the pixel dimensions
requested internally by $toplevel
using
Tk_GeometryRequest. WidthInc and
heightInc specify the number of pixels in each horizontal and
vertical grid unit. These four values determine a range of acceptable
sizes for $toplevel
, corresponding to grid-based
widths and heights that are non-negative integers. Tk will pass this
information to the window manager; during manual resizing, the window
manager will restrict the window's size to one of these acceptable
sizes. Furthermore, during manual resizing the window manager will
display the window's current size in terms of grid units rather than
pixels. If baseWidth etc. are all specified as empty strings,
then $toplevel
will no longer be managed as a
gridded window. If baseWidth etc. are specified then the return
value is an empty string. Otherwise the return value is a array
containing four elements corresponding to the current
baseWidth, baseHeight, widthInc, and
heightInc; if $toplevel
is not currently
gridded, then an empty string is returned. Note: this command should not
be needed very often, since the Tk_SetGrid library
procedure and the -setgrid option provide easier access
to the same functionality.
If $widget
is specified, it is the the leader
of a group of related windows. The window manager may use this
information, for example, to unmap all of the windows in a group when
the group's leader is iconified. $widget
may be
specified as an empty string to remove $toplevel
from any group association. If $widget
is
specified then the method returns an empty string; otherwise it returns
the $toplevel
's current group leader, or an empty
string if $toplevel
isn't part of any group.
If bitmap is specified, then it names a bitmap in the
standard forms accepted by Tk (see the Tk_GetBitmap
documentation for details). This black and white bitmap is
passed to the window manager to be displayed in
$toplevel
's icon, and the method returns an empty
string. If an empty string is specified for bitmap, then any
current icon bitmap or image is cancelled for
$toplevel
. If bitmap is specified then
the method returns an empty string. Otherwise it returns the name of the
current icon bitmap associated with $toplevel
, or
an empty string if $toplevel
has no icon
bitmap.
Arrange for $toplevel
to be iconified. It
$toplevel
hasn't yet been mapped for the first
time, this method will arrange for it to appear in the iconified state
when it is eventually mapped.
If image is specified, then it names a normal Tk image. This
image is rendered into a private coloured bitmap which is
passed to the window manager to be displayed in
$toplevel
's icon, and the method returns an empty
string. If an empty string is specified for image, then any
current icon bitmap or image is cancelled for
$toplevel
. If image is specified then the
method returns an empty string. Otherwise it returns the name of the
current icon image associated with $toplevel
, or
an empty string if $toplevel
has no icon image.
The private pixmap is not pre-cleared so images which are partly
transparent display rubbish in their transparent parts. The sizes of
images that can be used as icons in this manner are platform dependent.
On Win32 this sets the large icon, which should be 32x32, it will
automatically be scaled down to 16x16 for use as a small icon.
If bitmap is specified, then it names a bitmap in the
standard forms accepted by Tk (see the Tk_GetBitmap
documentation for details). This bitmap is passed to the window manager
to be used as a mask in conjunction with the iconbitmap
option: where the mask has zeroes no icon will be displayed; where it
has ones, the bits from the icon bitmap will be displayed. If an empty
string is specified for bitmap then any current icon mask is
cancelled for $toplevel
(this is equivalent to
specifying a bitmap of all ones). If bitmap is specified then
the method returns an empty string. Otherwise it returns the name of the
current icon mask associated with $toplevel
, or an
empty string if no mask is in effect.
If newName is specified, then it is passed to the window
manager; the window manager should display newName inside the
icon associated with $toplevel
. In this case an
empty string is returned as result. If newName isn't specified
then the method returns the current icon name for
$toplevel
, or an empty string if no icon name has
been specified (in this case the window manager will normally display
the window's title, as specified with the title
method).
Sets the titlebar icon for window based on the named photo images. If -default is specified, this is applied to all future created toplevels as well. The data in the images is taken as a snapshot at the time of invocation. If the images are later changed, this is not reflected to the titlebar icons. Multiple images are accepted to allow different images sizes (eg, 16x16 and 32x32) to be provided. The window manager may scale pro- vided icons to an appropriate size. On Windows, the images are packed into a Windows icon structure. This will override an ico specified to wm iconbitmap, and vice versa. [NOTE: This is not implemented yet!] On X, the images are arranged into the _NET_WM_ICON X property, which most modern window managers support. A wm iconbitmap may exist simultaneously. It is recommended to use not more than 2 icons, placing the larger icon first. On Macintosh, this is currently does nothing.
If x and y are specified, they are passed to the
window manager as a hint about where to position the icon for
$toplevel
. In this case an empty string is
returned. If x and y are specified as empty strings
then any existing icon position hint is cancelled. If neither x
nor y is specified, then the method returns a array containing
two values, which are the current icon position hints (if no hints are
in effect then an empty string is returned).
If $widget
is specified, it is a window to use
as icon for $toplevel
: when
$toplevel
is iconified then
$widget
will be mapped to serve as icon, and when
$toplevel
is de-iconified then
$widget
will be unmapped again. If
$widget
is specified as an empty string then any
existing icon window association for $toplevel
will be cancelled. If the $widget
argument is
specified then an empty string is returned. Otherwise the method returns
the current icon window for $toplevel
, or an empty
string if there is no icon window currently specified for
$toplevel
. Button press events are disabled for
$toplevel
as long as it is an icon window; this is
needed in order to allow window managers to ``own'' those events. Note:
not all window managers support the notion of an icon window.
If width and height are specified, they give the
maximum permissible dimensions for $toplevel
. For
gridded windows the dimensions are specified in grid units; otherwise
they are specified in pixel units. The window manager will restrict the
window's dimensions to be less than or equal to width and
height. If width and height are specified,
then the method returns an empty string. Otherwise it returns a array
with two elements, which are the maximum width and height currently in
effect. The maximum size defaults to the size of the screen. If resizing
has been disabled with the resizable method, then this
method has no effect. See the sections on geometry management below for
more information.
If width and height are specified, they give the
minimum permissible dimensions for $toplevel
. For
gridded windows the dimensions are specified in grid units; otherwise
they are specified in pixel units. The window manager will restrict the
window's dimensions to be greater than or equal to width and
height. If width and height are specified,
then the method returns an empty string. Otherwise it returns a array
with two elements, which are the minimum width and height currently in
effect. The minimum size defaults to one pixel in each dimension. If
resizing has been disabled with the resizable method,
then this method has no effect. See the sections on geometry management
below for more information.
If boolean is specified, it must have a proper boolean form
and the override-redirect flag for $toplevel
is
set to that value. If boolean is not specified then
1 or 0 is returned to indicate whether
or not the override-redirect flag is currently set for
$toplevel
. Setting the override-redirect flag for
a window causes it to be ignored by the window manager; among other
things, this means that the window will not be reparented from the root
window into a decorative frame and the user will not be able to
manipulate the window using the normal window manager mechanisms.
If who is specified, it must be either
program or user, or an abbreviation of
one of these two. It indicates whether $toplevel
's
current position was requested by the program or by the user. Many
window managers ignore program-requested initial positions and ask the
user to manually position the window; if user is
specified then the window manager should position the window at the
given place without asking the user for assistance. If who is
specified as an empty string, then the current position source is
cancelled. If who is specified, then the method returns an
empty string. Otherwise it returns user or
$widget
to indicate the source of the window's current
position, or an empty string if no source has been specified yet. Most
window managers interpret ``no source'' as equivalent to
program. Tk will automatically set the position source
to user when a geometry method is
invoked, unless the source has been set explicitly to
program.
This method is used to manage window manager protocols such as
WM_DELETE_WINDOW. Name is the name of an atom
corresponding to a window manager protocol, such as
WM_DELETE_WINDOW or WM_SAVE_YOURSELF
or WM_TAKE_FOCUS. If both name and
callback are specified, then callback is associated
with the protocol specified by name. Name will be
added to $toplevel
's WM_PROTOCOLS
property to tell the window manager that the application has a protocol
handler for name, and callback will be invoked in the
future whenever the window manager sends a message to the client for
that protocol. In this case the method returns an empty string. If
name is specified but callback isn't, then the current
callback for name is returned, or an empty string if there is
no handler defined for name. If callback is specified
as an empty string then the current handler for name is deleted
and it is removed from the WM_PROTOCOLS property on
$toplevel
; an empty string is returned. Lastly, if
neither name nor callback is specified, the method
returns a list of all the protocols for which handlers are currently
defined for $toplevel
.
Tk always defines a protocol handler for WM_DELETE_WINDOW, even if you haven't asked for one with protocol. If a WM_DELETE_WINDOW message arrives when you haven't defined a handler, then Tk handles the message by destroying the window for which it was received.
This method controls whether or not the user may interactively resize
a top-level window. If width and height are specified,
they are boolean values that determine whether the width and height of
$toplevel
may be modified by the user. In this
case the method returns an empty string. If width and
height are omitted then the method returns a list with two 0/1
elements that indicate whether the width and height of
$toplevel
are currently resizable. By default,
windows are resizable in both dimensions. If resizing is disabled, then
the window's size will be the size from the most recent interactive
resize or geometry method. If there has been no such
operation then the window's natural size will be used.
If who is specified, it must be either
program or user, or an abbreviation of
one of these two. It indicates whether $toplevel
's
current size was requested by the program or by the user. Some window
managers ignore program-requested sizes and ask the user to manually
size the window; if user is specified then the window
manager should give the window its specified size without asking the
user for assistance. If who is specified as an empty string,
then the current size source is cancelled. If who is specified,
then the method returns an empty string. Otherwise it returns
user or $widget
to indicate the source of
the window's current size, or an empty string if no source has been
specified yet. Most window managers interpret ``no source'' as
equivalent to program.
The stackorder command returns a list of toplevel windows in stacking order, from lowest to highest. When a single toplevel window is passed, the returned list recursively includes all of the window's children that are toplevels. Only those toplevels that are currently mapped to the screen are returned. The stackorder command can also be used to determine if one toplevel is positioned above or below a second toplevel. When two window arguments separated by either isabove or isbelow are passed, a boolean result indicates whether or not the first window is currently above or below the second window in the stacking order.
If newstate is specified, the window will be set to the new
state, otherwise it returns the current state of
$toplevel
: either normal,
iconic, withdrawn,
icon, or (Windows only) zoomed. The
difference between iconic and icon is
that iconic refers to a window that has been iconified
(e.g., with the iconify method) while
icon refers to a window whose only purpose is to serve
as the icon for some other window (via the iconwindow
method). The icon state cannot be set.
If string is specified, then it will be passed to the window
manager for use as the title for $toplevel
(the
window manager should display this string in
$toplevel
's title bar). In this case the method
returns an empty string. If string isn't specified then the
method returns the current title for the
$toplevel
. The title for a window defaults to its
name.
If master is specified, then the window manager is informed
that $toplevel
is a transient window (e.g.
pull-down menu) working on behalf of master (where
master is a top-level window). Some window managers will use
this information to manage $toplevel
specially. If
master is specified as an empty string then
$toplevel
is marked as not being a transient
window any more. If master is specified, then the method
returns an empty string. Otherwise the method returns the path name of
$toplevel
's current master, or an empty string if
$toplevel
isn't currently a transient window.
Arranges for $toplevel
to be withdrawn from the
screen. This causes the window to be unmapped and forgotten about by the
window manager. If the window has never been mapped, then this method
causes the window to be mapped in the withdrawn state. Not all window
managers appear to know how to handle windows that are mapped in the
withdrawn state. Note: it sometimes seems to be necessary to withdraw a
window and then re-map it (e.g. with deiconify) to get
some window managers to pay attention to changes in window attributes
such as group.
Returns a list of two elements: the window id of the wrapper window
in which Tk has placed $toplevel
, and the height
of the menu bar. The id is the one by which window manager will know
$toplevel
, and so is appropriate place to add X
properties. The menu height is only returned on X. On Windows, this
value is always zero.
The sizes of bitmaps/images that can be used as icons in this manner
are platform and window manager dependent. Unix window managers are
typically more tolerant than Win32. It is possible that coloured
iconimage
icons may cause problems on some X window
managers.
Win32 iconimage
and iconbitmap
set the
large icon, which should be 32x32, it will automatically be scaled down
to 16x16 for use as a small icon. Win32 ignores iconwin
requests.
KDE's kwm Accepts coloured iconimage
and black and
white iconbitmap
but will scale either to a small (14x14?)
icon. Kwm ignores iconwin
.
Sun's olwm or olvwm Honours iconwin
which will
override iconimage
or iconbitmap
. Coloured
images work.
Sun's CDE window manager Coloured images work. ...
By default a top-level window appears on the screen in its natural size, which is the one determined internally by its widgets and geometry managers. If the natural size of a top-level window changes, then the window's size changes to match. A top-level window can be given a size other than its natural size in two ways. First, the user can resize the window manually using the facilities of the window manager, such as resize handles. Second, the application can request a particular size for a top-level window using the geometry method. These two cases are handled identically by Tk; in either case, the requested size overrides the natural size. You can return the window to its natural by invoking geometry with an empty geometry string.
Normally a top-level window can have any size from one pixel in each dimension up to the size of its screen. However, you can use the minsize and maxsize methods to limit the range of allowable sizes. The range set by minsize and maxsize applies to all forms of resizing, including the window's natural size as well as manual resizes and the geometry method. You can also use the method resizable to completely disable interactive resizing in one or both dimensions.
Gridded geometry management occurs when one of the widgets of an application supports a range of useful sizes. This occurs, for example, in a text editor where the scrollbars, menus, and other adornments are fixed in size but the edit widget can support any number of lines of text or characters per line. In this case, it is usually desirable to let the user specify the number of lines or characters-per-line, either with the geometry method or by interactively resizing the window. In the case of text, and in other interesting cases also, only discrete sizes of the window make sense, such as integral numbers of lines and characters-per-line; arbitrary pixel sizes are not useful.
Gridded geometry management provides support for this kind of application. Tk (and the window manager) assume that there is a grid of some sort within the application and that the application should be resized in terms of grid units rather than pixels. Gridded geometry management is typically invoked by turning on the setGrid option for a widget; it can also be invoked with the wmGrid method or by calling Tk_SetGrid. In each of these approaches the particular widget (or sometimes code in the application as a whole) specifies the relationship between integral grid sizes for the window and pixel sizes. To return to non-gridded geometry management, invoke grid with empty argument strings.
When gridded geometry management is enabled then all the dimensions specified in minsize, maxsize, and geometry methods are treated as grid units rather than pixel units. Interactive resizing is also carried out in even numbers of grid units rather than pixels.
Most existing window managers appear to have bugs that affect the operation of the wm methods. For example, some changes won't take effect if the window is already active: the window will have to be withdrawn and de-iconified in order to make the change happen.
Tk::Widget Tk::tixWm Tk::Mwm
aspect ratio, deiconify, focus model, geometry, grid, group, icon, iconify, increments, position, size, title, top-level window, units, window manager