1wm(n) Tk Built-In Commands wm(n)
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8 wm - Communicate with window manager
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11 wm option window ?args?
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13
15 The wm command is used to interact with window managers in order to
16 control such things as the title for a window, its geometry, or the in‐
17 crements in terms of which it may be resized. The wm command can take
18 any of a number of different forms, depending on the option argument.
19 All of the forms expect at least one additional argument, window, which
20 must be the path name of a top-level window.
21 The legal forms for the wm command are:
23 wm aspect window ?minNumer minDenom maxNumer maxDenom?
25 If minNumer, minDenom, maxNumer, and maxDenom are all specified,
26 then they will be passed to the window manager and the window
27 manager should use them to enforce a range of acceptable aspect
28 ratios for window. The aspect ratio of window (width/length)
29 will be constrained to lie between minNumer/minDenom and maxNu‐
30 mer/maxDenom. If minNumer etc. are all specified as empty
31 strings, then any existing aspect ratio restrictions are re‐
32 moved. If minNumer etc. are specified, then the command returns
33 an empty string. Otherwise, it returns a Tcl list containing
34 four elements, which are the current values of minNumer, minDe‐
35 nom, maxNumer, and maxDenom (if no aspect restrictions are in
36 effect, then an empty string is returned).
37 wm attributes window
39 wm attributes window ?option?
41 wm attributes window ?option value option value...?
43 This subcommand returns or sets platform specific attributes as‐
44 sociated with a window. The first form returns a list of the
45 platform specific flags and their values. The second form re‐
46 turns the value for the specific option. The third form sets one
47 or more of the values. The values are as follows:
48 All platforms support the following attributes (though X11 users
50 should see the notes below):
51 -alpha Specifies the alpha transparency level of the toplevel.
53 It accepts a value from 0.0 (fully transparent) to 1.0
54 (opaque). Values outside that range will be constrained.
55 Where not supported, the -alpha value remains at 1.0.
56 -fullscreen
58 Places the window in a mode that takes up the entire
59 screen, has no borders, and covers the general use area
60 (i.e. Start menu and taskbar on Windows, dock and menubar
61 on OSX, general window decorations on X11).
62 -topmost
64 Specifies whether this is a topmost window (displays
65 above all other windows).
66 On Windows, the following attributes may be set.
68 -disabled
70 Specifies whether the window is in a disabled state.
71 -toolwindow
73 Specifies a toolwindow style window (as defined in the
74 MSDN).
75 -transparentcolor
77 Specifies the transparent color index of the toplevel.
78 It takes any color value accepted by Tk_GetColor. If the
79 empty string is specified (default), no transparent color
80 is used. This is supported on Windows 2000/XP+. Where
81 not supported, the -transparentcolor value remains at {}.
82 On Mac OS X, the following attributes may be set.
84 -modified
86 Specifies the modification state of the window (deter‐
87 mines whether the window close widget contains the modi‐
88 fication indicator and whether the proxy icon is drag‐
89 gable).
90 -notify
92 Specifies process notification state (bouncing of the ap‐
93 plication dock icon).
94 -titlepath
96 Specifies the path of the file referenced as the window
97 proxy icon (which can be dragged and dropped in lieu of
98 the file's finder icon).
99 -transparent
101 Makes the window content area transparent and turns off
102 the window shadow. For the transparency to be effective,
103 the toplevel background needs to be set to a color with
104 some alpha, e.g. “systemTransparent”.
105 On X11, the following attributes may be set. These are not sup‐
107 ported by all window managers, and will have no effect under
108 older WMs.
109 -type Requests that the window should be interpreted by the │
111 window manager as being of the specified type(s). This │
112 may cause the window to be decorated in a different way │
113 or otherwise managed differently, though exactly what │
114 happens is entirely up to the window manager. A list of │
115 types may be used, in order of preference. The following │
116 values are mapped to constants defined in the EWMH speci‐ │
117 fication (using others is possible, but not advised): │
118 desktop │
120 indicates a desktop feature, │
121 dock │
123 indicates a dock/panel feature, │
124 toolbar │
126 indicates a toolbar window that should be acting │
127 on behalf of another window, as indicated with wm │
128 transient, │
129 menu │
131 indicates a torn-off menu that should be acting on │
132 behalf of another window, as indicated with wm │
133 transient, │
134 utility │
136 indicates a utility window (e.g., palette or tool‐ │
137 box) that should be acting on behalf of another │
138 window, as indicated with wm transient, │
139 splash │
141 indicates a splash screen, displayed during appli‐ │
142 cation start up, │
143 dialog │
145 indicates a general dialog window, that should be │
146 acting on behalf of another window, as indicated │
147 with wm transient, │
148 dropdown_menu │
150 indicates a menu summoned from a menu bar, which │
151 should usually also be set to be override-redi‐ │
152 rected (with wm overrideredirect), │
153 popup_menu │
155 indicates a popup menu, which should usually also │
156 be set to be override-redirected (with wm overrid‐ │
157 eredirect), │
158 tooltip │
160 indicates a tooltip window, which should usually │
161 also be set to be override-redirected (with wm │
162 overrideredirect), │
163 notification │
165 indicates a window that provides a background no‐ │
166 tification of some event, which should usually │
167 also be set to be override-redirected (with wm │
168 overrideredirect), │
169 combo │
171 indicates the drop-down list of a combobox widget, │
172 which should usually also be set to be override- │
173 redirected (with wm overrideredirect), │
174 dnd │
176 indicates a window that represents something being │
177 dragged, which should usually also be set to be │
178 override-redirected (with wm overrideredirect), │
179 normal │
181 indicates a window that has no special interpreta‐ │
182 tion. │
183 -zoomed
185 Requests that the window should be maximized. This is the
186 same as wm state zoomed on Windows and Mac OS X.
187 On X11, changes to window attributes are performed asyn‐
189 chronously. Querying the value of an attribute returns the cur‐
190 rent state, which will not be the same as the value most re‐
191 cently set if the window manager has not yet processed the re‐
192 quest or if it does not support the attribute.
193 wm client window ?name?
195 If name is specified, this command stores name (which should be
196 the name of the host on which the application is executing) in
197 window's WM_CLIENT_MACHINE property for use by the window man‐
198 ager or session manager. The command returns an empty string in
199 this case. If name is not specified, the command returns the
200 last name set in a wm client command for window. If name is
201 specified as an empty string, the command deletes the
202 WM_CLIENT_MACHINE property from window.
203 wm colormapwindows window ?windowList?
205 This command is used to manipulate the WM_COLORMAP_WINDOWS prop‐
206 erty, which provides information to the window managers about
207 windows that have private colormaps.
208 If windowList is not specified, the command returns a list whose
210 elements are the names of the windows in the WM_COLORMAP_WINDOWS
211 property. If windowList is specified, it consists of a list of
212 window path names; the command overwrites the WM_COLORMAP_WIN‐
213 DOWS property with the given windows and returns an empty
214 string. The WM_COLORMAP_WINDOWS property should normally con‐
215 tain a list of the internal windows within window whose col‐
216 ormaps differ from their parents.
217 The order of the windows in the property indicates a priority
219 order: the window manager will attempt to install as many col‐
220 ormaps as possible from the head of this list when window gets
221 the colormap focus. If window is not included among the windows
222 in windowList, Tk implicitly adds it at the end of the WM_COL‐
223 ORMAP_WINDOWS property, so that its colormap is lowest in prior‐
224 ity. If wm colormapwindows is not invoked, Tk will automati‐
225 cally set the property for each top-level window to all the in‐
226 ternal windows whose colormaps differ from their parents, fol‐
227 lowed by the top-level itself; the order of the internal win‐
228 dows is undefined. See the ICCCM documentation for more infor‐
229 mation on the WM_COLORMAP_WINDOWS property.
230 wm command window ?value?
232 If value is specified, this command stores value in window's
233 WM_COMMAND property for use by the window manager or session
234 manager and returns an empty string. Value must have proper
235 list structure; the elements should contain the words of the
236 command used to invoke the application. If value is not speci‐
237 fied then the command returns the last value set in a wm command
238 command for window. If value is specified as an empty string,
239 the command deletes the WM_COMMAND property from window.
240 wm deiconify window
242 Arrange for window to be displayed in normal (non-iconified)
243 form. This is done by mapping the window. If the window has
244 never been mapped then this command will not map the window, but
245 it will ensure that when the window is first mapped it will be
246 displayed in de-iconified form. On Windows, a deiconified win‐
247 dow will also be raised and be given the focus (made the active
248 window). Returns an empty string.
249 wm focusmodel window ?active|passive?
251 If active or passive is supplied as an optional argument to the
252 command, then it specifies the focus model for window. In this
253 case the command returns an empty string. If no additional ar‐
254 gument is supplied, then the command returns the current focus
255 model for window.
256 An active focus model means that window will claim the input fo‐
258 cus for itself or its descendants, even at times when the focus
259 is currently in some other application. Passive means that win‐
260 dow will never claim the focus for itself: the window manager
261 should give the focus to window at appropriate times. However,
262 once the focus has been given to window or one of its descen‐
263 dants, the application may re-assign the focus among window's
264 descendants. The focus model defaults to passive, and Tk's fo‐
265 cus command assumes a passive model of focusing.
266 wm forget window
268 The window will be unmapped from the screen and will no longer
269 be managed by wm. Windows created with the toplevel command
270 will be treated like frame windows once they are no longer man‐
271 aged by wm, however, the -menu configuration will be remembered
272 and the menus will return once the widget is managed again.
273 wm frame window
275 If window has been reparented by the window manager into a deco‐
276 rative frame, the command returns the platform specific window
277 identifier for the outermost frame that contains window (the
278 window whose parent is the root or virtual root). If window has
279 not been reparented by the window manager then the command re‐
280 turns the platform specific window identifier for window.
281 wm geometry window ?newGeometry?
283 If newGeometry is specified, then the geometry of window is
284 changed and an empty string is returned. Otherwise the current
285 geometry for window is returned (this is the most recent geome‐
286 try specified either by manual resizing or in a wm geometry com‐
287 mand). NewGeometry has the form =widthxheight±x±y, where any of
288 =, widthxheight, or ±x±y may be omitted. Width and height are
289 positive integers specifying the desired dimensions of window.
290 If window is gridded (see GRIDDED GEOMETRY MANAGEMENT below)
291 then the dimensions are specified in grid units; otherwise they
292 are specified in pixel units.
293 X and y specify the desired location of window on the screen, in
295 pixels. If x is preceded by +, it specifies the number of pix‐
296 els between the left edge of the screen and the left edge of
297 window's border; if preceded by - then x specifies the number
298 of pixels between the right edge of the screen and the right
299 edge of window's border. If y is preceded by + then it speci‐
300 fies the number of pixels between the top of the screen and the
301 top of window's border; if y is preceded by - then it specifies
302 the number of pixels between the bottom of window's border and
303 the bottom of the screen.
304 If newGeometry is specified as an empty string then any existing
306 user-specified geometry for window is cancelled, and the window
307 will revert to the size requested internally by its widgets.
308 Note that this is related to winfo geometry, but not the same.
310 That can only query the geometry, and always reflects Tk's cur‐
311 rent understanding of the actual size and location of window,
312 whereas wm geometry allows both setting and querying of the win‐
313 dow manager's understanding of the size and location of the win‐
314 dow. This can vary significantly, for example to reflect the ad‐
315 dition of decorative elements to window such as title bars, and
316 window managers are not required to precisely follow the re‐
317 quests made through this command.
318 wm grid window ?baseWidth baseHeight widthInc heightInc?
320 This command indicates that window is to be managed as a gridded
321 window. It also specifies the relationship between grid units
322 and pixel units. BaseWidth and baseHeight specify the number of
323 grid units corresponding to the pixel dimensions requested in‐
324 ternally by window using Tk_GeometryRequest. WidthInc and
325 heightInc specify the number of pixels in each horizontal and
326 vertical grid unit. These four values determine a range of ac‐
327 ceptable sizes for window, corresponding to grid-based widths
328 and heights that are non-negative integers. Tk will pass this
329 information to the window manager; during manual resizing, the
330 window manager will restrict the window's size to one of these
331 acceptable sizes.
332 Furthermore, during manual resizing the window manager will dis‐
334 play the window's current size in terms of grid units rather
335 than pixels. If baseWidth etc. are all specified as empty
336 strings, then window will no longer be managed as a gridded win‐
337 dow. If baseWidth etc. are specified then the return value is
338 an empty string.
339 Otherwise the return value is a Tcl list containing four ele‐
341 ments corresponding to the current baseWidth, baseHeight,
342 widthInc, and heightInc; if window is not currently gridded,
343 then an empty string is returned.
344 Note: this command should not be needed very often, since the
346 Tk_SetGrid library procedure and the setGrid option provide eas‐
347 ier access to the same functionality.
348 wm group window ?pathName?
350 If pathName is specified, it gives the path name for the leader
351 of a group of related windows. The window manager may use this
352 information, for example, to unmap all of the windows in a group
353 when the group's leader is iconified. PathName may be specified
354 as an empty string to remove window from any group association.
355 If pathName is specified then the command returns an empty
356 string; otherwise it returns the path name of window's current
357 group leader, or an empty string if window is not part of any
358 group.
359 wm iconbitmap window ?bitmap?
361 If bitmap is specified, then it names a bitmap in the standard
362 forms accepted by Tk (see the Tk_GetBitmap manual entry for de‐
363 tails). This bitmap is passed to the window manager to be dis‐
364 played in window's icon, and the command returns an empty
365 string. If an empty string is specified for bitmap, then any
366 current icon bitmap is cancelled for window. If bitmap is spec‐
367 ified then the command returns an empty string. Otherwise it
368 returns the name of the current icon bitmap associated with win‐
369 dow, or an empty string if window has no icon bitmap. On the
370 Windows operating system, an additional flag is supported:
371 wm iconbitmap window ?-default? ?image?
373 If the -default flag is given, the icon is applied to all
374 toplevel windows (existing and future) to which no other
375 specific icon has yet been applied. In addition to bit‐
376 map image types, a full path specification to any file
377 which contains a valid Windows icon is also accepted
378 (usually .ico or .icr files), or any file for which the
379 shell has assigned an icon. Tcl will first test if the
380 file contains an icon, then if it has an assigned icon,
381 and finally, if that fails, test for a bitmap.
382 wm iconify window
384 Arrange for window to be iconified. It window has not yet been
385 mapped for the first time, this command will arrange for it to
386 appear in the iconified state when it is eventually mapped.
387 wm iconmask window ?bitmap?
389 If bitmap is specified, then it names a bitmap in the standard
390 forms accepted by Tk (see the Tk_GetBitmap manual entry for de‐
391 tails). This bitmap is passed to the window manager to be used
392 as a mask in conjunction with the iconbitmap option: where the
393 mask has zeroes no icon will be displayed; where it has ones,
394 the bits from the icon bitmap will be displayed. If an empty
395 string is specified for bitmap then any current icon mask is
396 cancelled for window (this is equivalent to specifying a bitmap
397 of all ones). If bitmap is specified then the command returns
398 an empty string. Otherwise it returns the name of the current
399 icon mask associated with window, or an empty string if no mask
400 is in effect.
401 wm iconname window ?newName?
403 If newName is specified, then it is passed to the window man‐
404 ager; the window manager should display newName inside the icon
405 associated with window. In this case an empty string is re‐
406 turned as result. If newName is not specified then the command
407 returns the current icon name for window, or an empty string if
408 no icon name has been specified (in this case the window manager
409 will normally display the window's title, as specified with the
410 wm title command).
411 wm iconphoto window ?-default? image1 ?image2 ...?
413 Sets the titlebar icon for window based on the named photo im‐
414 ages. If -default is specified, this is applied to all future
415 created toplevels as well. The data in the images is taken as a
416 snapshot at the time of invocation. If the images are later
417 changed, this is not reflected to the titlebar icons. Multiple
418 images are accepted to allow different images sizes (e.g., 16x16
419 and 32x32) to be provided. The window manager may scale provided
420 icons to an appropriate size.
421 On Windows, the images are packed into a Windows icon structure.
423 This will override an ico specified to wm iconbitmap, and vice
424 versa.
425 On X, the images are arranged into the _NET_WM_ICON X property,
427 which most modern window managers support. A wm iconbitmap may
428 exist simultaneously. It is recommended to use not more than 2
429 icons, placing the larger icon first.
430 On Macintosh, the first image called is loaded into an OSX-na‐
432 tive icon format, and becomes the application icon in dialogs,
433 the Dock, and other contexts. At the script level the command
434 will accept only the first image passed in the parameters as
435 support for multiple sizes/resolutions on macOS is outside Tk's
436 scope. Developers should use the largest icon they can support
437 (preferably 512 pixels) to ensure smooth rendering on the Mac.
438 wm iconposition window ?x y?
440 If x and y are specified, they are passed to the window manager
441 as a hint about where to position the icon for window. In this
442 case an empty string is returned. If x and y are specified as
443 empty strings then any existing icon position hint is cancelled.
444 If neither x nor y is specified, then the command returns a Tcl
445 list containing two values, which are the current icon position
446 hints (if no hints are in effect then an empty string is re‐
447 turned).
448 wm iconwindow window ?pathName?
450 If pathName is specified, it is the path name for a window to
451 use as icon for window: when window is iconified then pathName
452 will be mapped to serve as icon, and when window is de-iconified
453 then pathName will be unmapped again. If pathName is specified
454 as an empty string then any existing icon window association for
455 window will be cancelled. If the pathName argument is specified
456 then an empty string is returned. Otherwise the command returns
457 the path name of the current icon window for window, or an empty
458 string if there is no icon window currently specified for win‐
459 dow. Button press events are disabled for window as long as it
460 is an icon window; this is needed in order to allow window man‐
461 agers to “own” those events. Note: not all window managers sup‐
462 port the notion of an icon window.
463 wm manage widget
465 The widget specified will become a stand alone top-level window.
466 The window will be decorated with the window managers title bar,
467 etc. Only frame, labelframe and toplevel widgets can be used
468 with this command. Attempting to pass any other widget type will
469 raise an error. Attempting to manage a toplevel widget is benign
470 and achieves nothing. See also GEOMETRY MANAGEMENT.
471 wm maxsize window ?width height?
473 If width and height are specified, they give the maximum permis‐
474 sible dimensions for window. For gridded windows the dimensions
475 are specified in grid units; otherwise they are specified in
476 pixel units. The window manager will restrict the window's di‐
477 mensions to be less than or equal to width and height. If width
478 and height are specified, then the command returns an empty
479 string. Otherwise it returns a Tcl list with two elements,
480 which are the maximum width and height currently in effect. The
481 maximum size defaults to the size of the screen. See the sec‐
482 tions on geometry management below for more information.
483 wm minsize window ?width height?
485 If width and height are specified, they give the minimum permis‐
486 sible dimensions for window. For gridded windows the dimensions
487 are specified in grid units; otherwise they are specified in
488 pixel units. The window manager will restrict the window's di‐
489 mensions to be greater than or equal to width and height. If
490 width and height are specified, then the command returns an
491 empty string. Otherwise it returns a Tcl list with two ele‐
492 ments, which are the minimum width and height currently in ef‐
493 fect. The minimum size defaults to one pixel in each dimension.
494 See the sections on geometry management below for more informa‐
495 tion.
496 wm overrideredirect window ?boolean?
498 If boolean is specified, it must have a proper boolean form and
499 the override-redirect flag for window is set to that value. If
500 boolean is not specified then 1 or 0 is returned to indicate
501 whether or not the override-redirect flag is currently set for
502 window. Setting the override-redirect flag for a window causes
503 it to be ignored by the window manager; among other things,
504 this means that the window will not be reparented from the root
505 window into a decorative frame and the user will not be able to
506 manipulate the window using the normal window manager mecha‐
507 nisms.
508 Note that the override-redirect flag is only guaranteed to be
510 taken notice of when the window is first mapped or when mapped
511 after the state is changed from withdrawn to normal. Some, but
512 not all, platforms will take notice at additional times.
513 wm positionfrom window ?who?
515 If who is specified, it must be either program or user, or an
516 abbreviation of one of these two. It indicates whether window's
517 current position was requested by the program or by the user.
518 Many window managers ignore program-requested initial positions
519 and ask the user to manually position the window; if user is
520 specified then the window manager should position the window at
521 the given place without asking the user for assistance. If who
522 is specified as an empty string, then the current position
523 source is cancelled. If who is specified, then the command re‐
524 turns an empty string. Otherwise it returns user or program to
525 indicate the source of the window's current position, or an
526 empty string if no source has been specified yet. Most window
527 managers interpret “no source” as equivalent to program. Tk
528 will automatically set the position source to user when a wm ge‐
529 ometry command is invoked, unless the source has been set ex‐
530 plicitly to program.
531 wm protocol window ?name? ?command?
533 This command is used to manage window manager protocols such as
534 WM_DELETE_WINDOW. Name is the name of an atom corresponding to
535 a window manager protocol, such as WM_DELETE_WINDOW or
536 WM_SAVE_YOURSELF or WM_TAKE_FOCUS. If both name and command are
537 specified, then command is associated with the protocol speci‐
538 fied by name. Name will be added to window's WM_PROTOCOLS prop‐
539 erty to tell the window manager that the application has a pro‐
540 tocol handler for name, and command will be invoked in the fu‐
541 ture whenever the window manager sends a message to the client
542 for that protocol. In this case the command returns an empty
543 string. If name is specified but command is not, then the cur‐
544 rent command for name is returned, or an empty string if there
545 is no handler defined for name. If command is specified as an
546 empty string then the current handler for name is deleted and it
547 is removed from the WM_PROTOCOLS property on window; an empty
548 string is returned. Lastly, if neither name nor command is
549 specified, the command returns a list of all the protocols for
550 which handlers are currently defined for window.
551 Tk always defines a protocol handler for WM_DELETE_WINDOW, even
553 if you have not asked for one with wm protocol. If a
554 WM_DELETE_WINDOW message arrives when you have not defined a
555 handler, then Tk handles the message by destroying the window
556 for which it was received.
557 wm resizable window ?width height?
559 This command controls whether or not the user may interactively
560 resize a top-level window. If width and height are specified,
561 they are boolean values that determine whether the width and
562 height of window may be modified by the user. In this case the
563 command returns an empty string. If width and height are omit‐
564 ted then the command returns a list with two 0/1 elements that
565 indicate whether the width and height of window are currently
566 resizable. By default, windows are resizable in both dimen‐
567 sions. If resizing is disabled, then the window's size will be
568 the size from the most recent interactive resize or wm geometry
569 command. If there has been no such operation then the window's
570 natural size will be used.
571 wm sizefrom window ?who?
573 If who is specified, it must be either program or user, or an
574 abbreviation of one of these two. It indicates whether window's
575 current size was requested by the program or by the user. Some
576 window managers ignore program-requested sizes and ask the user
577 to manually size the window; if user is specified then the win‐
578 dow manager should give the window its specified size without
579 asking the user for assistance. If who is specified as an empty
580 string, then the current size source is cancelled. If who is
581 specified, then the command returns an empty string. Otherwise
582 it returns user or window to indicate the source of the window's
583 current size, or an empty string if no source has been specified
584 yet. Most window managers interpret “no source” as equivalent
585 to program.
586 wm stackorder window ?isabove|isbelow window?
588 The stackorder command returns a list of toplevel windows in
589 stacking order, from lowest to highest. When a single toplevel
590 window is passed, the returned list recursively includes all of
591 the window's children that are toplevels. Only those toplevels
592 that are currently mapped to the screen are returned. The
593 stackorder command can also be used to determine if one toplevel
594 is positioned above or below a second toplevel. When two window
595 arguments separated by either isabove or isbelow are passed, a
596 boolean result indicates whether or not the first window is cur‐
597 rently above or below the second window in the stacking order.
598 wm state window ?newstate?
600 If newstate is specified, the window will be set to the new
601 state, otherwise it returns the current state of window: either
602 normal, iconic, withdrawn, icon, or (Windows and Mac OS X only)
603 zoomed. The difference between iconic and icon is that iconic
604 refers to a window that has been iconified (e.g., with the wm
605 iconify command) while icon refers to a window whose only pur‐
606 pose is to serve as the icon for some other window (via the wm
607 iconwindow command). The icon state cannot be set.
608 wm title window ?string?
610 If string is specified, then it will be passed to the window
611 manager for use as the title for window (the window manager
612 should display this string in window's title bar). In this case
613 the command returns an empty string. If string is not specified
614 then the command returns the current title for the window. The
615 title for a window defaults to its name.
616 wm transient window ?container?
618 If container is specified, then the window manager is informed
619 that window is a transient window (e.g. pull-down menu) working
620 on behalf of container (where container is the path name for a
621 top-level window). If container is specified as an empty string
622 then window is marked as not being a transient window any more.
623 Otherwise the command returns the path name of window's current
624 container, or an empty string if window is not currently a tran‐
625 sient window. A transient window will mirror state changes in
626 the container and inherit the state of the container when ini‐
627 tially mapped. The directed graph with an edge from each tran‐
628 sient to its container must be acyclic. In particular, it is an
629 error to attempt to make a window a transient of itself. The
630 window manager may also decorate a transient window differently,
631 removing some features normally present (e.g., minimize and max‐
632 imize buttons) though this is entirely at the discretion of the
633 window manager.
634 wm withdraw window
636 Arranges for window to be withdrawn from the screen. This
637 causes the window to be unmapped and forgotten about by the win‐
638 dow manager. If the window has never been mapped, then this
639 command causes the window to be mapped in the withdrawn state.
640 Not all window managers appear to know how to handle windows
641 that are mapped in the withdrawn state. Note: it sometimes
642 seems to be necessary to withdraw a window and then re-map it
643 (e.g. with wm deiconify) to get some window managers to pay at‐
644 tention to changes in window attributes such as group.
645
647 By default a top-level window appears on the screen in its natural
648 size, which is the one determined internally by its widgets and geome‐
649 try managers. If the natural size of a top-level window changes, then
650 the window's size changes to match. A top-level window can be given a
651 size other than its natural size in two ways. First, the user can re‐
652 size the window manually using the facilities of the window manager,
653 such as resize handles. Second, the application can request a particu‐
654 lar size for a top-level window using the wm geometry command. These
655 two cases are handled identically by Tk; in either case, the requested
656 size overrides the natural size. You can return the window to its nat‐
657 ural by invoking wm geometry with an empty geometry string.
658 Normally a top-level window can have any size from one pixel in each
660 dimension up to the size of its screen. However, you can use the wm
661 minsize and wm maxsize commands to limit the range of allowable sizes.
662 The range set by wm minsize and wm maxsize applies to all forms of re‐
663 sizing, including the window's natural size as well as manual resizes
664 and the wm geometry command. You can also use the command wm resizable
665 to completely disable interactive resizing in one or both dimensions.
666 The wm manage and wm forget commands may be used to perform undocking
668 and docking of windows. After a widget is managed by wm manage com‐
669 mand, all other wm subcommands may be used with the widget. Only wid‐
670 gets created using the toplevel command may have an attached menu via
671 the -menu configure option. A toplevel widget may be used as a frame
672 and managed with any of the other geometry managers after using the wm
673 forget command. Any menu associated with a toplevel widget will be
674 hidden when managed by another geometry managers. The menus will reap‐
675 pear once the window is managed by wm. All custom bindtags for widgets
676 in a subtree that have their top-level widget changed via a wm manage
677 or wm forget command, must be redone to adjust any top-level widget
678 path in the bindtags. Bindtags that have not been customized do not
679 have to be redone.
680
682 Gridded geometry management occurs when one of the widgets of an appli‐
683 cation supports a range of useful sizes. This occurs, for example, in
684 a text editor where the scrollbars, menus, and other adornments are
685 fixed in size but the edit widget can support any number of lines of
686 text or characters per line. In this case, it is usually desirable to
687 let the user specify the number of lines or characters-per-line, either
688 with the wm geometry command or by interactively resizing the window.
689 In the case of text, and in other interesting cases also, only discrete
690 sizes of the window make sense, such as integral numbers of lines and
691 characters-per-line; arbitrary pixel sizes are not useful.
692 Gridded geometry management provides support for this kind of applica‐
694 tion. Tk (and the window manager) assume that there is a grid of some
695 sort within the application and that the application should be resized
696 in terms of grid units rather than pixels. Gridded geometry management
697 is typically invoked by turning on the setGrid option for a widget; it
698 can also be invoked with the wm grid command or by calling Tk_SetGrid.
699 In each of these approaches the particular widget (or sometimes code in
700 the application as a whole) specifies the relationship between integral
701 grid sizes for the window and pixel sizes. To return to non-gridded
702 geometry management, invoke wm grid with empty argument strings.
703 When gridded geometry management is enabled then all the dimensions
705 specified in wm minsize, wm maxsize, and wm geometry commands are
706 treated as grid units rather than pixel units. Interactive resizing is
707 also carried out in even numbers of grid units rather than pixels.
708
710 Most existing window managers appear to have bugs that affect the oper‐
711 ation of the wm command. For example, some changes will not take ef‐
712 fect if the window is already active: the window will have to be with‐
713 drawn and de-iconified in order to make the change happen.
714
716 A fixed-size window that says that it is fixed-size too:
717 toplevel .fixed
718 wm title .fixed "Fixed-size Window"
719 wm resizable .fixed 0 0
720 A simple dialog-like window, centred on the screen:
722 # Create and arrange the dialog contents.
723 toplevel .msg
724 label .msg.l -text "This is a very simple dialog demo."
725 button .msg.ok -text OK -default active -command {destroy .msg}
726 pack .msg.ok -side bottom -fill x
727 pack .msg.l -expand 1 -fill both
728 # Now set the widget up as a centred dialog.
730 # But first, we need the geometry managers to finish setting
732 # up the interior of the dialog, for which we need to run the
733 # event loop with the widget hidden completely...
734 wm withdraw .msg
735 update
736 set x [expr {([winfo screenwidth .]-[winfo width .msg])/2}]
737 set y [expr {([winfo screenheight .]-[winfo height .msg])/2}]
738 wm geometry .msg +$x+$y
739 wm transient .msg .
740 wm title .msg "Dialog demo"
741 wm deiconify .msg
742
744 toplevel(n), winfo(n)
745
747 aspect ratio, deiconify, focus model, geometry, grid, group, icon,
748 iconify, increments, position, size, title, top-level window, units,
749 window manager
750Tk 8.5 wm(n)