1menu(n)                      Tk Built-In Commands                      menu(n)
2
3
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5______________________________________________________________________________
6

NAME

8       menu,  tk_menuSetFocus  -  Create  and  manipulate  'menu'  widgets and
9       menubars
10

SYNOPSIS

12       menu pathName ?options?
13       tk_menuSetFocus pathName
14

STANDARD OPTIONS

16       -activebackground     -borderwidth         -foreground
17       -activeborderwidth    -cursor              -relief
18       -activeforeground     -disabledforeground  -takefocus
19       -background           -font
20
21       See the options manual entry for details on the standard options.
22

WIDGET-SPECIFIC OPTIONS

24       Command-Line Name:-postcommand
25       Database Name:  postCommand
26       Database Class: Command
27
28              If this option is specified then it provides a  Tcl  command  to
29              execute each time the menu is posted.  The command is invoked by
30              the post widget command before posting the menu. Note that in Tk
31              8.0  on  Macintosh and Windows, all post-commands in a system of
32              menus are executed before any of those menus are  posted.   This
33              is due to the limitations in the individual platforms' menu man‐
34              agers.
35
36       Command-Line Name:-selectcolor
37       Database Name:  selectColor
38       Database Class: Background
39
40              For menu entries that are check buttons or radio  buttons,  this
41              option  specifies the color to display in the indicator when the
42              check button or radio button is selected.
43
44       Command-Line Name:-tearoff
45       Database Name:  tearOff
46       Database Class: TearOff
47
48              This option must have a proper boolean  value,  which  specifies
49              whether  or  not the menu should include a tear-off entry at the
50              top.  If so, it will exist as entry 0 of the menu and the  other
51              entries  will  number  starting at 1.  The default menu bindings
52              arrange for the menu to be torn off when the tear-off  entry  is
53              invoked.   This  option  is  ignored  under Aqua/Mac OS X, where
54              menus cannot be torn off.
55
56       Command-Line Name:-tearoffcommand
57       Database Name:  tearOffCommand
58       Database Class: TearOffCommand
59
60              If this option has a non-empty value, then it  specifies  a  Tcl
61              command  to  invoke  whenever  the menu is torn off.  The actual
62              command will consist of the value of this option, followed by  a
63              space,  followed  by  the name of the menu window, followed by a
64              space, followed by the name of the name of  the  torn  off  menu
65              window.   For  example,  if the option's value is “a b” and menu
66              .x.y is torn off to create a new menu .x.tearoff1, then the com‐
67              mand  “a  b  .x.y  .x.tearoff1” will be invoked.  This option is
68              ignored under Aqua/Mac OS X, where menus cannot be torn off.
69
70       Command-Line Name:-title
71       Database Name:  title
72       Database Class: Title
73
74              The string will be used to title the window  created  when  this
75              menu  is  torn  off.  If the title is NULL, then the window will
76              have the title of the menubutton or the text of the cascade item
77              from which this menu was invoked.
78
79       Command-Line Name:-type
80       Database Name:  type
81       Database Class: Type
82
83              This  option  can  be one of menubar, tearoff, or normal, and is
84              set when the menu is created. While the string returned  by  the
85              configuration  database  will  change if this option is changed,
86              this does not affect the menu widget's behavior. This is used by
87              the  cloning mechanism and is not normally set outside of the Tk
88              library.
89______________________________________________________________________________
90

INTRODUCTION

92       The menu command creates a new top-level window (given by the  pathName
93       argument) and makes it into a menu widget.  That menu widget can either
94       be used as a pop-up window or applied to a  toplevel  (with  its  -menu
95       option)  to  make  it  into  the menubar for that toplevel.  Additional
96       options, described above, may be specified on the command  line  or  in
97       the option database to configure aspects of the menu such as its colors
98       and font.  The menu command returns its pathName argument.  At the time
99       this  command is invoked, there must not exist a window named pathName,
100       but pathName's parent must exist.
101
102       A menu is a widget that  displays  a  collection  of  one-line  entries
103       arranged  in  one or more columns.  There exist several different types
104       of entries, each with different properties.  Entries of different types
105       may  be  combined  in  a single menu.  Menu entries are not the same as
106       entry widgets.  In fact, menu entries are not  even  distinct  widgets;
107       the entire menu is one widget.
108
109       Menu  entries are displayed with up to three separate fields.  The main
110       field is a label in the form of a text string, a bitmap, or  an  image,
111       controlled  by  the  -label, -bitmap, and -image options for the entry.
112       If the  -accelerator option is specified for an  entry  then  a  second
113       textual  field is displayed to the right of the label.  The accelerator
114       typically describes a keystroke sequence that may be used in the appli‐
115       cation  to cause the same result as invoking the menu entry.  This is a
116       display option, it does not  actually  set  the  corresponding  binding
117       (which  can be achieved using the bind command).  The third field is an
118       indicator.  The indicator is present only for checkbutton or  radiobut‐
119       ton entries.  It indicates whether the entry is selected or not, and is
120       displayed to the left of the entry's string.
121
122       In normal use, an entry becomes active  (displays  itself  differently)
123       whenever  the  mouse  pointer  is over the entry.  If a mouse button is
124       released over the entry then the entry is invoked.  The effect of invo‐
125       cation is different for each type of entry; these effects are described
126       below in the sections on individual entries.
127
128       Entries may be disabled, which causes their labels and accelerators  to
129       be  displayed  with  dimmer colors.  The default menu bindings will not
130       allow a disabled entry to be activated or  invoked.   Disabled  entries
131       may  be  re-enabled, at which point it becomes possible to activate and
132       invoke them again.
133
134       Whenever a menu's active entry is  changed,  a  <<MenuSelect>>  virtual
135       event is send to the menu. The active item can then be queried from the
136       menu, and an action can be taken,  such  as  setting  context-sensitive
137       help text for the entry.
138

TYPES OF ENTRIES

140   COMMAND ENTRIES
141       The  most  common  kind of menu entry is a command entry, which behaves
142       much like a button widget.  When a command entry is invoked, a Tcl com‐
143       mand  is  executed.   The  Tcl  command  is specified with the -command
144       option.
145
146   SEPARATOR ENTRIES
147       A separator is an entry that is  displayed  as  a  horizontal  dividing
148       line.   A  separator  may  not  be  activated or invoked, and it has no
149       behavior other than its display appearance.
150
151   CHECKBUTTON ENTRIES
152       A checkbutton menu entry behaves much like a checkbutton widget.   When
153       it  is invoked it toggles back and forth between the selected and dese‐
154       lected states.  When the entry  is  selected,  a  particular  value  is
155       stored  in  a particular global variable (as determined by the -onvalue
156       and -variable options for the entry);  when  the  entry  is  deselected
157       another  value  (determined  by  the -offvalue option) is stored in the
158       global variable.  An indicator box is displayed  to  the  left  of  the
159       label  in a checkbutton entry.  If the entry is selected then the indi‐
160       cator's center is displayed in the  color  given  by  the  -selectcolor
161       option  for the entry; otherwise the indicator's center is displayed in
162       the background color for the menu.  If a -command option  is  specified
163       for  a  checkbutton entry, then its value is evaluated as a Tcl command
164       each time the entry  is  invoked;   this  happens  after  toggling  the
165       entry's selected state.
166
167   RADIOBUTTON ENTRIES
168       A  radiobutton  menu  entry  behaves  much  like  a radiobutton widget.
169       Radiobutton entries are organized in groups of which only one entry may
170       be selected at a time.  Whenever a particular entry becomes selected it
171       stores a particular value into a particular global variable (as  deter‐
172       mined  by the -value and -variable options for the entry).  This action
173       causes any previously-selected entry in  the  same  group  to  deselect
174       itself.   Once  an entry has become selected, any change to the entry's
175       associated variable will cause the entry to deselect itself.   Grouping
176       of radiobutton entries is determined by their associated variables:  if
177       two entries have the same associated variable then they are in the same
178       group.   An  indicator diamond is displayed to the left of the label in
179       each radiobutton entry.  If the entry is selected then the  indicator's
180       center  is  displayed in the color given by the -selectcolor option for
181       the entry; otherwise the indicator's center is displayed in  the  back‐
182       ground  color  for  the  menu.  If a -command option is specified for a
183       radiobutton entry, then its value is evaluated as a  Tcl  command  each
184       time the entry is invoked;  this happens after selecting the entry.
185
186   CASCADE ENTRIES
187       A cascade entry is one with an associated menu (determined by the -menu
188       option).  Cascade entries allow the construction  of  cascading  menus.
189       The postcascade widget command can be used to post and unpost the asso‐
190       ciated menu just next to of the cascade  entry.   The  associated  menu
191       must  be  a  child  of  the  menu containing the cascade entry (this is
192       needed in order for menu traversal to work correctly).
193
194       A cascade entry posts its associated menu by invoking a Tcl command  of
195       the form
196              menu post x y
197       where menu is the path name of the associated menu, and x and y are the
198       root-window coordinates of the upper-right corner of the cascade entry.
199       On  Unix,  the  lower-level menu is unposted by executing a Tcl command
200       with the form
201              menu unpost
202       where menu is the name of the associated menu.  On other platforms, the
203       platform's native code takes care of unposting the menu.
204
205       If a -command option is specified for a cascade entry then it is evalu‐
206       ated as a Tcl command whenever the entry is invoked. This is  not  sup‐
207       ported on Windows.
208
209   TEAR-OFF ENTRIES
210       A  tear-off  entry  appears  at the top of the menu if enabled with the
211       -tearoff option.  It is not like other menu entries in that  it  cannot
212       be  created  with the add widget command and cannot be deleted with the
213       delete widget command.  When a tear-off entry is created it appears  as
214       a  dashed  line  at  the  top of the menu.  Under the default bindings,
215       invoking the tear-off entry causes a torn-off copy to be  made  of  the
216       menu and all of its submenus.
217
219       Any  menu  can  be set as a menubar for a toplevel window (see toplevel
220       command for syntax). On the Macintosh,  whenever  the  toplevel  is  in
221       front,  this menu's cascade items will appear in the menubar across the
222       top of the main monitor. On Windows and Unix, this menu's items will be
223       displayed  in  a menubar across the top of the window. These menus will
224       behave according to the interface guidelines of  their  platforms.  For
225       every  menu set as a menubar, a clone menu is made. See the CLONES sec‐
226       tion for more information.
227
228       As noted, menubars may behave differently on different platforms.   One
229       example  of this concerns the handling of checkbuttons and radiobuttons
230       within the menu.  While it is permitted to put these menu  elements  on
231       menubars,  they may not be drawn with indicators on some platforms, due
232       to system restrictions.
233
234   SPECIAL MENUS IN MENUBARS
235       Certain menus in a menubar will be treated specially.   On  the  Macin‐
236       tosh,  access to the special Application, Window and Help menus is pro‐
237       vided. On Windows, access to the Windows System menu in each window  is
238       provided.   On  X  Windows,  a special right-justified help menu may be
239       provided if Motif menu compatibility is enabled. In  all  cases,  these
240       menus  must  be  created with the command name of the menubar menu con‐
241       catenated with the special name. So for a menubar  named  .menubar,  on
242       the Macintosh, the special menus would be .menubar.apple, .menubar.win‐
243       dow  and  .menubar.help;  on  Windows,  the  special  menu   would   be
244       .menubar.system; on X Windows, the help menu would be .menubar.help.
245
246       When  Tk  sees  a .menubar.apple menu as the first menu in a menubar on
247       the Macintosh, that menu's contents make up  the  first  items  of  the
248       Application  menu  whenever  the  window  containing  the menubar is in
249       front.  After all of the Tk-defined items, the menu will have a separa‐
250       tor,  followed  by  all standard Application menu items.  Such a .apple
251       menu must be present in a menu when that menu is first configured as  a
252       toplevel's  menubar,  otherwise a default application menu (hidden from
253       Tk) will be inserted into the menubar at that time and subsequent addi‐
254       tion of a .apple menu will no longer result in it becoming the Applica‐
255       tion menu.
256
257       When Tk sees a .menubar.window menu on the Macintosh, the  menu's  con‐
258       tents  are inserted into the standard Window menu of the user's menubar
259       whenever the window's menubar is in front. The first items in the  menu
260       are  provided  by  Mac OS X, and the names of the current toplevels are
261       automatically appended after all the Tk-defined items and a  separator.
262       The  Window  menu  on  the  Mac  also allows toggling the window into a
263       fullscreen state, and managing a tabbed window interface (multiple win‐
264       dows  grouped into a single window) if supported by that version of the
265       operating system.
266
267       When Tk sees a .menubar.help menu on the Macintosh, the menu's contents
268       are  appended  to the standard Help menu of the user's menubar whenever
269       the window's menubar is in front. The first items in the menu are  pro‐
270       vided by Mac OS X.
271
272       When  Tk  sees  a System menu on Windows, its items are appended to the
273       system menu that the menubar is attached to. This menu is tied  to  the
274       application  icon  and  can  be  invoked  with  the  mouse or by typing
275       Alt+Spacebar.  Due to limitations in the Windows API, any font changes,
276       colors,  images, bitmaps, or tearoff images will not appear in the sys‐
277       tem menu.
278
279       When Tk sees a Help menu on X Windows and Motif menu  compatibility  is
280       enabled the menu is moved to be last in the menubar and is right justi‐
281       fied. Motif menu compatibility is enabled  by  setting  the  Tk  option
282       *Menu.useMotifHelp to true or by calling tk::classic::restore menu.
283

CLONES

285       When  a  menu is set as a menubar for a toplevel window, or when a menu
286       is torn off, a clone of the menu is made. This clone is a  menu  widget
287       in  its  own  right,  but it is a child of the original. Changes in the
288       configuration of the original are reflected in the clone. Additionally,
289       any cascades that are pointed to are also cloned so that menu traversal
290       will work right. Clones  are  destroyed  when  either  the  tearoff  or
291       menubar goes away, or when the original menu is destroyed.
292

WIDGET COMMAND

294       The  menu  command  creates  a  new Tcl command whose name is pathName.
295       This command may be used to invoke various operations  on  the  widget.
296       It has the following general form:
297              pathName option ?arg arg ...?
298       Option and the args determine the exact behavior of the command.
299
300       Many  of the widget commands for a menu take as one argument an indica‐
301       tor of which entry of the menu to  operate  on.  These  indicators  are
302       called indexes and may be specified in any of the following forms:
303
304       active      Indicates  the entry that is currently active.  If no entry
305                   is active then this form is equivalent to none.  This  form
306                   may not be abbreviated.
307
308       end         Indicates  the  bottommost entry in the menu.  If there are
309                   no entries in the menu then  this  form  is  equivalent  to
310                   none.  This form may not be abbreviated.
311
312       last        Same as end.
313
314       none        Indicates  “no  entry  at  all”; this is used most commonly
315                   with the activate option to deactivate all the  entries  in
316                   the  menu.   In most cases the specification of none causes
317                   nothing to happen in the widget command.  This form may not
318                   be abbreviated.
319
320       @number     In  this  form,  number is treated as a y-coordinate in the
321                   menu's window;  the entry closest to that  y-coordinate  is
322                   used.   For  example,  “@0” indicates the top-most entry in
323                   the window.
324
325       number      Specifies the entry numerically, where 0 corresponds to the
326                   top-most entry of the menu, 1 to the entry below it, and so
327                   on.
328
329       pattern     If the index does not satisfy one of the above  forms  then
330                   this  form is used.  Pattern is pattern-matched against the
331                   label of each entry in the menu,  in  order  from  the  top
332                   down, until a matching entry is found.  The rules of string
333                   match are used.
334
335       If the index could match more than one of the  above  forms,  then  the
336       form earlier in the above list takes precedence.
337
338       The following widget commands are possible for menu widgets:
339
340       pathName activate index
341              Change  the  state of the entry indicated by index to active and
342              redisplay it using its  active  colors.   Any  previously-active
343              entry  is deactivated.  If index is specified as none, or if the
344              specified entry is disabled, then  the  menu  ends  up  with  no
345              active entry.  Returns an empty string.
346
347       pathName add type ?option value option value ...?
348              Add a new entry to the bottom of the menu.  The new entry's type
349              is given by type and must be one of cascade,  checkbutton,  com‐
350              mand, radiobutton, or separator, or a unique abbreviation of one
351              of the above.  If additional arguments are present, they specify
352              the options listed in the MENU ENTRY OPTIONS section below.  The
353              add widget command returns an empty string.
354
355       pathName cget option
356              Returns the current value of the configuration option  given  by
357              option.   Option may have any of the values accepted by the menu
358              command.
359
360       pathName clone newPathname ?cloneType?
361              Makes a clone of the current menu named newPathName. This  clone
362              is  a  menu  in  its own right, but any changes to the clone are
363              propagated to the original menu and vice versa. cloneType can be
364              normal,  menubar, or tearoff. Should not normally be called out‐
365              side of the Tk library. See the CLONES section for more informa‐
366              tion.
367
368       pathName configure ?option? ?value option value ...?
369              Query  or modify the configuration options of the widget.  If no
370              option is specified, returns a list describing all of the avail‐
371              able  options for pathName (see Tk_ConfigureInfo for information
372              on the format of this list).  If option  is  specified  with  no
373              value,  then the command returns a list describing the one named
374              option (this list will be identical to the corresponding sublist
375              of  the  value  returned  if no option is specified).  If one or
376              more option-value pairs are specified, then the command modifies
377              the  given widget option(s) to have the given value(s);  in this
378              case the command returns an empty string.  Option may  have  any
379              of the values accepted by the menu command.
380
381       pathName delete index1 ?index2?
382              Delete  all of the menu entries between index1 and index2 inclu‐
383              sive.   If  index2  is  omitted  then  it  defaults  to  index1.
384              Attempts  to  delete a tear-off menu entry are ignored (instead,
385              you should change the -tearoff option  to  remove  the  tear-off
386              entry).
387
388       pathName entrycget index option
389              Returns  the  current  value  of  a configuration option for the
390              entry given  by  index.   Option  may  have  any  of  the  names
391              described in the MENU ENTRY OPTIONS section below.
392
393       pathName entryconfigure index ?options...?
394              This command is similar to the configure command, except that it
395              applies to the options for an individual entry, whereas  config‐
396              ure applies to the options for the menu as a whole.  Options may
397              have any of the values described in the MENU ENTRY OPTIONS  sec‐
398              tion  below.   If options are specified, options are modified as
399              indicated in the  command  and  the  command  returns  an  empty
400              string.   If no options are specified, returns a list describing
401              the current options for entry index  (see  Tk_ConfigureInfo  for
402              information on the format of this list).
403
404       pathName index index
405              Returns  the  numerical index corresponding to index, or none if
406              index was specified as none.
407
408       pathName insert index type ?option value option value ...?
409              Same as the add widget command except that it  inserts  the  new
410              entry just before the entry given by index, instead of appending
411              to the end of the menu.  The type, option, and  value  arguments
412              have  the same interpretation as for the add widget command.  It
413              is not possible to insert new menu entries before  the  tear-off
414              entry, if the menu has one.
415
416       pathName invoke index
417              Invoke  the  action  of the menu entry.  See the sections on the
418              individual entries above for details on what  happens.   If  the
419              menu entry is disabled then nothing happens.  If the entry has a
420              command associated with it then the result of  that  command  is
421              returned  as the result of the invoke widget command.  Otherwise
422              the result is an empty string.  Note:   invoking  a  menu  entry
423              does  not  automatically  unpost the menu;  the default bindings
424              normally take care of this before  invoking  the  invoke  widget
425              command.
426
427       pathName post x y ?index?
428              Arrange  for the menu to be displayed on the screen at the root-
429              window coordinates given by x and y.  If an index  is  specified
430              the  menu  will  be located so that the entry with that index is
431              displayed at the point.  These coordinates are adjusted if  nec‐
432              essary  to  guarantee  that  the  entire  menu is visible on the
433              screen.  This command normally returns an empty string.  If  the
434              -postcommand  option  has been specified, then its value is exe‐
435              cuted as a Tcl script before posting the menu and the result  of
436              that  script  is  returned as the result of the post widget com‐
437              mand.  If an error returns while executing the command, then the
438              error is returned without posting the menu.
439
440       pathName postcascade index
441              Posts  the  submenu  associated  with the cascade entry given by
442              index, and unposts any previously posted submenu.  If index does
443              not correspond to a cascade entry, or if pathName is not posted,
444              the command has no effect except to unpost any currently  posted
445              submenu.
446
447       pathName type index
448              Returns  the type of the menu entry given by index.  This is the
449              type argument passed to the add or insert  widget  command  when
450              the  entry was created, such as command or separator, or tearoff
451              for a tear-off entry.
452
453       pathName unpost
454              Unmap the window so that it is no longer displayed.  If a lower-
455              level  cascaded  menu  is  posted, unpost that menu.  Returns an
456              empty string. This subcommand does not work on Windows  and  the
457              Macintosh,  as  those  platforms have their own way of unposting
458              menus.
459
460       pathName xposition index
461              Returns a decimal string giving the x-coordinate within the menu
462              window of the leftmost pixel in the entry specified by index.
463
464       pathName yposition index
465              Returns a decimal string giving the y-coordinate within the menu
466              window of the topmost pixel in the entry specified by index.
467

MENU ENTRY OPTIONS

469       The following options are allowed on menu entries. Most options are not
470       supported by all entry types.
471
472       -activebackground value
473              Specifies  a  background  color to use for displaying this entry
474              when it is active.  If this option  is  specified  as  an  empty
475              string  (the default), then the -activebackground option for the
476              overall menu is used.  If the tk_strictMotif variable  has  been
477              set  to  request  strict  Motif  compliance, then this option is
478              ignored and the -background option is used in its  place.   This
479              option is not available for separator or tear-off entries.
480
481       -activeforeground value
482              Specifies  a  foreground  color to use for displaying this entry
483              when it is active.  If this option  is  specified  as  an  empty
484              string  (the default), then the -activeforeground option for the
485              overall menu is used.  This option is not available for  separa‐
486              tor or tear-off entries.
487
488       -accelerator value
489              Specifies  a  string  to  display  at the right side of the menu
490              entry.  Normally describes  an  accelerator  keystroke  sequence
491              that  may be used to invoke the same function as the menu entry.
492              This is a display option, it does not actually  set  the  corre‐
493              sponding binding (which can be achieved using the bind command).
494              This option is not available for separator or tear-off entries.
495
496       -background value
497              Specifies a background color to use for  displaying  this  entry
498              when  it  is  in the normal state (neither active nor disabled).
499              If this option is specified as an empty  string  (the  default),
500              then  the -background option for the overall menu is used.  This
501              option is not available for separator or tear-off entries.
502
503       -bitmap value
504              Specifies a bitmap to display in the menu instead of  a  textual
505              label,  in  any  of  the  forms  accepted by Tk_GetBitmap.  This
506              option overrides the -label option (as controlled by  the  -com‐
507              pound  option)  but  may be reset to an empty string to enable a
508              textual label to be displayed.  If  a  -image  option  has  been
509              specified,  it  overrides -bitmap.  This option is not available
510              for separator or tear-off entries.
511
512       -columnbreak value
513              When this option is zero, the entry appears below  the  previous
514              entry.  When this option is one, the entry appears at the top of
515              a new column in the menu.  This option is ignored on Aqua/Mac OS
516              X, where menus are always a single column.
517
518       -command value
519              Specifies  a  Tcl  command  to  execute  when  the menu entry is
520              invoked.  Not available for separator or tear-off entries.
521
522       -compound value
523              Specifies whether the menu entry should display  both  an  image
524              and  text,  and if so, where the image should be placed relative
525              to the text.  Valid values for this option are  bottom,  center,
526              left,  none,  right and top.  The default value is none, meaning
527              that the button will display either an image or text,  depending
528              on the values of the -image and -bitmap options.
529
530       -font value
531              Specifies  the font to use when drawing the label or accelerator
532              string in this entry.  If this option is specified as  an  empty
533              string  (the default) then the -font option for the overall menu
534              is used.  This option is not available for separator or tear-off
535              entries.
536
537       -foreground value
538              Specifies  a  foreground  color to use for displaying this entry
539              when it is in the normal state (neither  active  nor  disabled).
540              If  this  option  is specified as an empty string (the default),
541              then the -foreground option for the overall menu is used.   This
542              option is not available for separator or tear-off entries.
543
544       -hidemargin value
545              Specifies  whether the standard margins should be drawn for this
546              menu entry. This is useful when creating palette with images  in
547              them,  i.e.,  color palettes, pattern palettes, etc. 1 indicates
548              that the margin for the entry is hidden; 0 means that the margin
549              is used.
550
551       -image value
552              Specifies  an  image  to  display  in the menu instead of a text
553              string or bitmap.  The image must have been created by some pre‐
554              vious  invocation  of  image  create.  This option overrides the
555              -label and -bitmap  options  (as  controlled  by  the  -compound
556              option)  but may be reset to an empty string to enable a textual
557              or bitmap label to be displayed.  This option is  not  available
558              for separator or tear-off entries.
559
560       -indicatoron value
561              Available  only  for checkbutton and radiobutton entries.  Value
562              is a boolean that determines whether or not the indicator should
563              be displayed.
564
565       -label value
566              Specifies  a  string  to  display as an identifying label in the
567              menu entry.  Not available for separator or tear-off entries.
568
569       -menu value
570              Available only for cascade entries.  Specifies the path name  of
571              the  submenu  associated with this entry.  The submenu must be a
572              child of the menu.
573
574       -offvalue value
575              Available only for checkbutton entries.  Specifies the value  to
576              store in the entry's associated variable when the entry is dese‐
577              lected.
578
579       -onvalue value
580              Available only for checkbutton entries.  Specifies the value  to
581              store  in  the  entry's  associated  variable  when the entry is
582              selected.
583
584       -selectcolor value
585              Available only for checkbutton and radiobutton entries.   Speci‐
586              fies  the  color  to  display in the indicator when the entry is
587              selected.  If the value is an empty string  (the  default)  then
588              the  -selectcolor  option  for the menu determines the indicator
589              color.
590
591       -selectimage value
592              Available only for checkbutton and radiobutton entries.   Speci‐
593              fies  an  image  to display in the entry (in place of the -image
594              option) when it is selected.  Value is the  name  of  an  image,
595              which  must  have  been  created  by some previous invocation of
596              image create.  This option is ignored unless the  -image  option
597              has been specified.
598
599       -state value
600              Specifies one of three states for the entry:  normal, active, or
601              disabled.  In normal state the  entry  is  displayed  using  the
602              -foreground  option for the menu and the -background option from
603              the entry or the menu.  The active state is typically used  when
604              the  pointer  is  over  the entry.  In active state the entry is
605              displayed using the -activeforeground option for the menu  along
606              with  the  -activebackground  option  from  the entry.  Disabled
607              state means that the entry should be insensitive:   the  default
608              bindings  will  refuse to activate or invoke the entry.  In this
609              state the entry is displayed  according  to  the  -disabledfore‐
610              ground  option  for the menu and the -background option from the
611              entry.  This option is not available for separator entries.
612
613       -underline value
614              Specifies the integer index of a character to underline  in  the
615              entry.   This option is also queried by the default bindings and
616              used to implement keyboard  traversal.   0  corresponds  to  the
617              first  character  of  the  text displayed in the entry, 1 to the
618              next character, and so on.  If a bitmap or image is displayed in
619              the  entry  then  this  option  is  ignored.  This option is not
620              available for separator or tear-off entries.
621
622       -value value
623              Available only for radiobutton entries.  Specifies the value  to
624              store  in  the  entry's  associated  variable  when the entry is
625              selected.  If an empty string  is  specified,  then  the  -label
626              option for the entry as the value to store in the variable.
627
628       -variable value
629              Available  only for checkbutton and radiobutton entries.  Speci‐
630              fies the name of a global variable to  set  when  the  entry  is
631              selected.  For checkbutton entries the variable is also set when
632              the entry is deselected.  For radiobutton entries, changing  the
633              variable causes the currently-selected entry to deselect itself.
634
635              For  checkbutton  entries,  the  default value of this option is
636              taken from the -label option, and for radiobutton entries a sin‐
637              gle  fixed  value is used. It is recommended that you always set
638              the -variable option when creating either  a  checkbutton  or  a
639              radiobutton.
640
642       The default bindings support four different ways of using menus:
643
644       Pulldown Menus in Menubar
645              This is the most common case. You create a menu widget that will
646              become the menu bar. You then add cascade entries to this  menu,
647              specifying the pull down menus you wish to use in your menu bar.
648              You then create all of the pulldowns. Once you have  done  this,
649              specify the menu using the -menu option of the toplevel's widget
650              command. See the toplevel manual entry for details.
651
652       Pulldown Menus in Menu Buttons
653              This is the compatible way to do  menu  bars.   You  create  one
654              menubutton  widget  for  each  top-level menu, and typically you
655              arrange a series of menubuttons in a row in  a  menubar  window.
656              You  also  create the top-level menus and any cascaded submenus,
657              and tie them together with -menu options in menubuttons and cas‐
658              cade  menu  entries.   The top-level menu must be a child of the
659              menubutton, and each submenu must be a child of  the  menu  that
660              refers  to  it.   Once  you have done this, the default bindings
661              will allow users to traverse and invoke the tree  of  menus  via
662              its menubutton;  see the menubutton manual entry for details.
663
664       Popup Menus
665              Popup  menus  typically post in response to a mouse button press
666              or keystroke.  You create the popup menus and any cascaded  sub‐
667              menus,  then  you call the tk_popup procedure at the appropriate
668              time to post the top-level menu.
669
670       Option Menus
671              An option menu consists of a menubutton with an associated  menu
672              that  allows  you  to select one of several values.  The current
673              value is displayed in the menubutton and is  also  stored  in  a
674              global  variable.   Use  the  tk_optionMenu  procedure to create
675              option menubuttons and their menus.
676
677       Torn-off Menus
678              You create a torn-off menu by invoking the tear-off entry at the
679              top of an existing menu.  The default bindings will create a new
680              menu that is a copy of the original menu  and  leave  it  perma‐
681              nently  posted as a top-level window.  The torn-off menu behaves
682              just the same as the original menu.
683

DEFAULT BINDINGS

685       Tk automatically creates class bindings for menus that  give  them  the
686       following default behavior:
687
688       [1]    When  the  mouse  enters  a menu, the entry underneath the mouse
689              cursor activates;  as the  mouse  moves  around  the  menu,  the
690              active entry changes to track the mouse.
691
692       [2]    When  the  mouse  leaves  a  menu all of the entries in the menu
693              deactivate, except in the special case  where  the  mouse  moves
694              from a menu to a cascaded submenu.
695
696       [3]    When a button is released over a menu, the active entry (if any)
697              is invoked.  The menu also unposts unless it is a torn-off menu.
698
699       [4]    The Space and Return keys invoke the active entry and unpost the
700              menu.
701
702       [5]    If any of the entries in a menu have letters underlined with the
703              -underline option, then pressing one of the  underlined  letters
704              (or  its upper-case or lower-case equivalent) invokes that entry
705              and unposts the menu.
706
707       [6]    The Escape key aborts  a  menu  selection  in  progress  without
708              invoking  any  entry.   It  also unposts the menu unless it is a
709              torn-off menu.
710
711       [7]    The Up and Down keys activate the next higher or lower entry  in
712              the menu.  When one end of the menu is reached, the active entry
713              wraps around to the other end.
714
715       [8]    The Left key moves to the next menu to the left.  If the current
716              menu is a cascaded submenu, then the submenu is unposted and the
717              current menu entry becomes the cascade entry in the parent.   If
718              the  current  menu is a top-level menu posted from a menubutton,
719              then the current menubutton is unposted and the next  menubutton
720              to  the  left  is posted.  Otherwise the key has no effect.  The
721              left-right order of menubuttons is determined by their  stacking
722              order:   Tk assumes that the lowest menubutton (which by default
723              is the first one created) is on the left.
724
725       [9]    The Right key moves to the next menu to the right.  If the  cur‐
726              rent  entry  is  a cascade entry, then the submenu is posted and
727              the  current menu entry becomes the first entry in the  submenu.
728              Otherwise,  if  the  current  menu was posted from a menubutton,
729              then the current menubutton is unposted and the next  menubutton
730              to the right is posted.
731
732       Disabled  menu  entries  are  non-responsive:  they do not activate and
733       they ignore mouse button presses and releases.
734
735       Several of the bindings make use of the  command  tk_menuSetFocus.   It
736       saves  the  current  focus and sets the focus to its pathName argument,
737       which is a menu widget.
738
739       The behavior of menus can be changed by defining new bindings for indi‐
740       vidual widgets or by redefining the class bindings.
741

BUGS

743       At  present  it  is  not possible to use the option database to specify
744       values for the options to individual entries.
745

SEE ALSO

747       bind(n), menubutton(n), ttk::menubutton(n), toplevel(n)
748

KEYWORDS

750       menu, widget
751
752
753
754Tk                                    4.1                              menu(n)
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