Provided by: tk9.0-doc_9.0.1-1_all 
NAME
menubutton - Create and manipulate 'menubutton' pop-up menu indicator widgets
SYNOPSIS
menubutton pathName ?options?
STANDARD OPTIONS
-activebackground -disabledforeground -padx
-activeforeground -font -pady
-anchor -foreground -relief
-background -highlightbackground -takefocus
-bitmap -highlightcolor -text
-borderwidth -highlightthickness -textvariable
-cursor -image -underline
-compound -justify -wraplength
See the options manual entry for details on the standard options.
WIDGET-SPECIFIC OPTIONS
Command-Line Name:-direction
Database Name: direction
Database Class: Direction
Specifies where the menu is going to be popup up. above tries to pop the menu above the
menubutton. below tries to pop the menu below the menubutton. left tries to pop the menu to the
left of the menubutton. right tries to pop the menu to the right of the menu button. flush pops
the menu directly over the menubutton. In the case of above or below, the direction will be
reversed if the menu would show offscreen.
Command-Line Name:-height
Database Name: height
Database Class: Height
Specifies a desired height for the menubutton. If an image or bitmap is being displayed in the
menubutton then the value is in screen units (i.e. any of the forms acceptable to Tk_GetPixels);
for text it is in lines of text. If this option is not specified, the menubutton's desired height
is computed from the size of the image or bitmap or text being displayed in it.
Command-Line Name:-indicatoron
Database Name: indicatorOn
Database Class: IndicatorOn
The value must be a proper boolean value. If it is true then a small indicator rectangle will be
displayed on the right side of the menubutton and the default menu bindings will treat this as an
option menubutton. If false then no indicator will be displayed.
Command-Line Name:-menu
Database Name: menu
Database Class: MenuName
Specifies the path name of the menu associated with this menubutton. The menu must be a child of
the menubutton.
Command-Line Name:-state
Database Name: state
Database Class: State
Specifies one of three states for the menubutton: normal, active, or disabled. In normal state
the menubutton is displayed using the foreground and background options. The active state is
typically used when the pointer is over the menubutton. In active state the menubutton is
displayed using the -activeforeground and -activebackground options. Disabled state means that
the menubutton should be insensitive: the default bindings will refuse to activate the widget and
will ignore mouse button presses. In this state the -disabledforeground and -background options
determine how the button is displayed.
Command-Line Name:-width
Database Name: width
Database Class: Width
Specifies a desired width for the menubutton. If an image or bitmap is being displayed in the
menubutton then the value is in screen units (i.e. any of the forms acceptable to Tk_GetPixels);
for text it is in characters. If this option is not specified, the menubutton's desired width is
computed from the size of the image or bitmap or text being displayed in it.
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INTRODUCTION
The menubutton command creates a new window (given by the pathName argument) and makes it into a
menubutton widget. Additional options, described above, may be specified on the command line or in the
option database to configure aspects of the menubutton such as its colors, font, text, and initial
relief. The menubutton command returns its pathName argument. At the time this command is invoked,
there must not exist a window named pathName, but pathName's parent must exist.
A menubutton is a widget that displays a textual string, bitmap, or image and is associated with a menu
widget. If text is displayed, it must all be in a single font, but it can occupy multiple lines on the
screen (if it contains newlines or if wrapping occurs because of the -wraplength option) and one of the
characters may optionally be underlined using the -underline option. In normal usage, pressing mouse
button 1 over the menubutton causes the associated menu to be posted just underneath the menubutton. If
the mouse is moved over the menu before releasing the mouse button, the button release causes the
underlying menu entry to be invoked. When the button is released, the menu is unposted.
Menubuttons are used to construct a tk_optionMenu, which is the preferred mechanism for allowing a user
to select one item from a list on macOS.
Menubuttons were also typically organized into groups called menu bars that allow scanning: if the mouse
button is pressed over one menubutton (causing it to post its menu) and the mouse is moved over another
menubutton in the same menu bar without releasing the mouse button, then the menu of the first menubutton
is unposted and the menu of the new menubutton is posted instead. This use is deprecated in favor of
setting a menu directly as a menubar; see the toplevel's -menu option for how to do that.
There are several interactions between menubuttons and menus; see the menu manual entry for information
on various menu configurations, such as pulldown menus and option menus.
WIDGET COMMAND
The menubutton command creates a new Tcl command whose name is pathName. This command may be used to
invoke various operations on the widget. It has the following general form:
pathName option ?arg ...?
Option and the args determine the exact behavior of the command. The following commands are possible for
menubutton widgets:
pathName cget option
Returns the current value of the configuration option given by option. Option may have any of the
values accepted by the menubutton command.
pathName configure ?option? ?value option value ...?
Query or modify the configuration options of the widget. If no option is specified, returns a
list describing all of the available options for pathName (see Tk_ConfigureInfo for information on
the format of this list). If option is specified with no value, then the command returns a list
describing the one named option (this list will be identical to the corresponding sublist of the
value returned if no option is specified). If one or more option-value pairs are specified, then
the command modifies the given widget option(s) to have the given value(s); in this case the
command returns an empty string. Option may have any of the values accepted by the menubutton
command.
DEFAULT BINDINGS
Tk automatically creates class bindings for menubuttons that give them the following default behavior:
[1] A menubutton activates whenever the mouse passes over it and deactivates whenever the mouse leaves
it.
[2] Pressing mouse button 1 over a menubutton posts the menubutton: its relief changes to raised and
its associated menu is posted under the menubutton. If the mouse is dragged down into the menu
with the button still down, and if the mouse button is then released over an entry in the menu,
the menubutton is unposted and the menu entry is invoked.
[3] If button 1 is pressed over a menubutton and then released over that menubutton, the menubutton
stays posted: you can still move the mouse over the menu and click button 1 on an entry to invoke
it. Once a menu entry has been invoked, the menubutton unposts itself.
[4] If button 1 is pressed over a menubutton and then dragged over some other menubutton, the original
menubutton unposts itself and the new menubutton posts.
[5] If button 1 is pressed over a menubutton and released outside any menubutton or menu, the
menubutton unposts without invoking any menu entry.
[6] When a menubutton is posted, its associated menu claims the input focus to allow keyboard
traversal of the menu and its submenus. See the menu manual entry for details on these bindings.
[7] If the -underline option has been specified for a menubutton then keyboard traversal may be used
to post the menubutton: Alt+x, where x is the underlined character (or its lower-case or upper-
case equivalent), may be typed in any window under the menubutton's toplevel to post the
menubutton.
[8] The F10 key may be typed in any window to post the first menubutton under its toplevel window that
is not disabled.
[9] If a menubutton has the input focus, the space and return keys post the menubutton.
If the menubutton's state is disabled then none of the above actions occur: the menubutton is completely
non-responsive.
The behavior of menubuttons can be changed by defining new bindings for individual widgets or by
redefining the class bindings.
SEE ALSO
ttk::menubutton(3tk), menu(3tk)
KEYWORDS
menubutton, widget
Tk 4.0 menubutton(3tk)