DOC HOME SITE MAP MAN PAGES GNU INFO SEARCH PRINT BOOK
 

menu(n)




______________________________________________________________________________


NAME

       menu, tk_menuSetFocus - Create and manipulate menu widgets


SYNOPSIS

       menu pathName ?options?
       tk_menuSetFocus pathName


STANDARD OPTIONS

       -activebackground     -borderwidth         -foreground
       -activeborderwidth    -cursor              -relief
       -activeforeground     -disabledforeground  -takefocus
       -background           -font

       See the options manual entry for details on the standard options.


WIDGET-SPECIFIC OPTIONS

       Command-Line Name:-postcommand                                          |
       Database Name:  postCommand                                             |
       Database Class: Command                                                 |

              If  this  option  is specified then it provides a Tcl command to |
              execute each time the menu is posted.  The command is invoked by |
              the post widget command before posting the menu. Note that in Tk |
              8.0 on Macintosh and Windows, all post-commands in a  system  of |
              menus  are  executed before any of those menus are posted.  This |
              is due to the limitations in the individual platforms' menu man- |
              agers.

       Command-Line Name:-selectcolor
       Database Name:  selectColor
       Database Class: Background

              For  menu  entries that are check buttons or radio buttons, this
              option specifies the color to display in the indicator when  the
              check button or radio button is selected.

       Command-Line Name:-tearoff
       Database Name:  tearOff
       Database Class: TearOff

              This  option  must  have a proper boolean value, which specifies
              whether or not the menu should include a tear-off entry  at  the
              top.   If so, it will exist as entry 0 of the menu and the other
              entries will number starting at 1.  The  default  menu  bindings
              arrange  for  the menu to be torn off when the tear-off entry is
              invoked.

       Command-Line Name:-tearoffcommand
       Database Name:  tearOffCommand
       Database Class: TearOffCommand

              If this option has a non-empty value, then it  specifies  a  Tcl
              command  to  invoke  whenever  the menu is torn off.  The actual
              command will consist of the value of this option, followed by  a
              space,  followed  by  the name of the menu window, followed by a
              space, followed by the name of the name of  the  torn  off  menu
              window.   For  example, if the option's is ``a b'' and menu .x.y
              is torn off to create a new menu .x.tearoff1, then  the  command
              ``a b .x.y .x.tearoff1'' will be invoked.                        |

       Command-Line Name:-title                                                |
       Database Name:  title                                                   |
       Database Class: Title                                                   |

              The  string  will  be used to title the window created when this |
              menu is torn off. If the title is NULL,  then  the  window  will |
              have the title of the menubutton or the text of the cascade item |
              from which this menu was invoked.                                |

       Command-Line Name:-type                                                 |
       Database Name:  type                                                    |
       Database Class: Type                                                    |

              This option can be one of menubar, tearoff, or  normal,  and  is |
              set  when  the menu is created. While the string returned by the |
              configuration database will change if this  option  is  changed, |
              this does not affect the menu widget's behavior. This is used by |
              the cloning mechanism and is not normally set outside of the  Tk |
              library.
_________________________________________________________________


INTRODUCTION

       The  menu command creates a new top-level window (given by the pathName
       argument) and  makes  it  into  a  menu  widget.   Additional  options,
       described  above, may be specified on the command line or in the option
       database to configure aspects of the menu such as its colors and  font.
       The  menu command returns its pathName argument.  At the time this com-
       mand is invoked, there must not exist  a  window  named  pathName,  but
       pathName's parent must exist.

       A  menu  is  a  widget  that  displays a collection of one-line entries |
       arranged in one or more columns.  There exist several  different  types |
       of entries, each with different properties.  Entries of different types |
       may be combined in a single menu.  Menu entries are  not  the  same  as |
       entry  widgets.   In  fact, menu entries are not even distinct widgets; |
       the entire menu is one widget.

       Menu entries are displayed with up to three separate fields.  The  main
       field  is  a label in the form of a text string, a bitmap, or an image,
       controlled by the -label, -bitmap, and -image options  for  the  entry.
       If  the   -accelerator  option  is specified for an entry then a second
       textual field is displayed to the right of the label.  The  accelerator
       typically  describes  a  keystroke  sequence  that  may be typed in the
       application to cause the same result as invoking the menu  entry.   The
       third  field is an indicator.  The indicator is present only for check-
       button or radiobutton entries.   It  indicates  whether  the  entry  is
       selected or not, and is displayed to the left of the entry's string.

       In  normal  use,  an entry becomes active (displays itself differently)
       whenever the mouse pointer is over the entry.  If  a  mouse  button  is
       released over the entry then the entry is invoked.  The effect of invo-
       cation is different for each type of entry; these effects are described
       below in the sections on individual entries.

       Entries  may be disabled, which causes their labels and accelerators to
       be displayed with dimmer colors.  The default menu  bindings  will  not
       allow  a  disabled  entry to be activated or invoked.  Disabled entries
       may be re-enabled, at which point it becomes possible to  activate  and
       invoke them again.                                                      |

       Whenever  a  menu's  active  entry is changed, a <<MenuSelect>> virtual |
       event is send to the menu. The active item can then be queried from the |
       menu,  and  an  action  can be taken, such as setting context-sensitive |
       help text for the entry.


COMMAND ENTRIES

       The most common kind of menu entry is a command  entry,  which  behaves
       much like a button widget.  When a command entry is invoked, a Tcl com-
       mand is executed.  The Tcl  command  is  specified  with  the  -command
       option.


SEPARATOR ENTRIES

       A  separator  is  an  entry  that is displayed as a horizontal dividing
       line.  A separator may not be activated  or  invoked,  and  it  has  no
       behavior other than its display appearance.


CHECKBUTTON ENTRIES

       A  checkbutton menu entry behaves much like a checkbutton widget.  When
       it is invoked it toggles back and forth between the selected and  dese-
       lected  states.   When  the  entry  is  selected, a particular value is
       stored in a particular global variable (as determined by  the  -onvalue
       and  -variable  options  for  the entry);  when the entry is deselected
       another value (determined by the -offvalue option)  is  stored  in  the
       global  variable.   An  indicator  box  is displayed to the left of the
       label in a checkbutton entry.  If the entry is selected then the  indi-
       cator's  center  is  displayed  in  the color given by the -selectcolor
       option for the entry; otherwise the indicator's center is displayed  in
       the  background  color for the menu.  If a -command option is specified
       for a checkbutton entry, then its value is evaluated as a  Tcl  command
       each  time  the  entry  is  invoked;   this  happens after toggling the
       entry's selected state.


RADIOBUTTON ENTRIES

       A radiobutton menu  entry  behaves  much  like  a  radiobutton  widget.
       Radiobutton entries are organized in groups of which only one entry may
       be selected at a time.  Whenever a particular entry becomes selected it
       stores  a particular value into a particular global variable (as deter-
       mined by the -value and -variable options for the entry).  This  action
       causes  any  previously-selected  entry  in  the same group to deselect
       itself.  Once an entry has become selected, any change to  the  entry's
       associated  variable will cause the entry to deselect itself.  Grouping
       of radiobutton entries is determined by their associated variables:  if
       two entries have the same associated variable then they are in the same
       group.  An indicator diamond is displayed to the left of the  label  in
       each  radiobutton entry.  If the entry is selected then the indicator's
       center is displayed in the color given by the -selectcolor  option  for
       the  entry;  otherwise the indicator's center is displayed in the back-
       ground color for the menu.  If a -command option  is  specified  for  a
       radiobutton  entry,  then  its value is evaluated as a Tcl command each
       time the entry is invoked;  this happens after selecting the entry.


CASCADE ENTRIES

       A cascade entry is one with an associated menu (determined by the -menu
       option).   Cascade  entries  allow the construction of cascading menus.
       The postcascade widget command can be used to post and unpost the asso-
       ciated  menu  just  next  to of the cascade entry.  The associated menu
       must be a child of the menu  containing  the  cascade  entry  (this  is
       needed in order for menu traversal to work correctly).

       A  cascade entry posts its associated menu by invoking a Tcl command of
       the form
              menu post x y
       where menu is the path name of the associated menu, and x and y are the
       root-window coordinates of the upper-right corner of the cascade entry. |
       On Unix, the lower-level menu is unposted by executing  a  Tcl  command |
       with the form                                                           |
              menu unpost                                                      |
       where menu is the name of the associated menu.  On other platforms, the |
       platform's native code takes care of unposting the menu.

       If a -command option is specified for a cascade entry then it is evalu- |
       ated  as  a Tcl command whenever the entry is invoked. This is not sup- |
       ported on Windows.


TEAR-OFF ENTRIES

       A tear-off entry appears at the top of the menu  if  enabled  with  the
       tearOff option.  It is not like other menu entries in that it cannot be
       created with the add widget command and  cannot  be  deleted  with  the
       delete  widget command.  When a tear-off entry is created it appears as
       a dashed line at the top of the  menu.   Under  the  default  bindings,
       invoking  the  tear-off  entry causes a torn-off copy to be made of the
       menu and all of its submenus.


MENUBARS |

       Any menu can be set as a menubar for a toplevel  window  (see  toplevel |
       command  for  syntax).  On  the  Macintosh, whenever the toplevel is in |
       front, this menu's cascade items will appear in the menubar across  the |
       top of the main monitor. On Windows and Unix, this menu's items will be |
       displayed in a menubar across the top of the window. These  menus  will |
       behave  according  to  the interface guidelines of their platforms. For |
       every menu set as a menubar, a clone menu is made. See the CLONES  sec- |
       tion for more information.                                              |

       As  noted, menubars may behave differently on different platforms.  One |
       example of this concerns the handling of checkbuttons and  radiobuttons |
       within  the  menu.  While it is permitted to put these menu elements on |
       menubars, they may not be drawn with indicators on some platforms,  due |
       to system restrictions.


SPECIAL MENUS IN MENUBARS |

       Certain  menus  in  a menubar will be treated specially.  On the Macin- |
       tosh, access to the special Apple and Help menus is provided.  On  Win- |
       dows,  access to the Windows System menu in each window is provided. On |
       X Windows, a special right-justified help  menu  is  provided.  In  all |
       cases, these menus must be created with the command name of the menubar |
       menu concatenated with  the  special  name.  So  for  a  menubar  named |
       .menubar,  on  the Macintosh, the special menus would be .menubar.apple |
       and .menubar.help; on Windows, the special menu would be  .menubar.sys- |
       tem; on X Windows, the help menu would be .menubar.help.                |

       When  Tk sees an Apple menu on the Macintosh, that menu's contents make |
       up the first items of the Apple menu on the screen whenever the  window |
       containing  the menubar is in front. The menu is the first one that the |
       user sees and has a title which is an Apple logo.  After all of the Tk- |
       defined  items,  the menu will have a separator, followed by all of the |
       items in the user's Apple Menu Items folder.  Since the System  uses  a |
       different menu definition procedure for the Apple menu than Tk uses for |
       its menus, and the system APIs do not fully support everything Tk tries |
       to  do,  the  menu  item  will  only  have  its text displayed. No font |
       attributes, images, bitmaps, or colors will be displayed. In  addition, |
       a  menu  with  a  tearoff  item will have the tearoff item displayed as |
       "(TearOff)".                                                            |

       When Tk see a Help menu on  the  Macintosh,  the  menu's  contents  are |
       appended  to  the standard help menu on the right of the user's menubar |
       whenever the user's menubar is in front. The first items  in  the  menu |
       are provided by Apple. Similar to the Apple Menu, customization in this |
       menu is limited to what the system provides.                            |

       When Tk sees a System menu on Windows, its items are  appended  to  the |
       system menu that the menubar is attached to. This menu has an icon rep- |
       resenting a spacebar, and can be invoked with the mouse  or  by  typing |
       Alt+Spacebar.  Due to limitations in the Windows API, any font changes, |
       colors, images, bitmaps, or tearoff images will not appear in the  sys- |
       tem menu.                                                               |

       When  Tk  see a Help menu on X Windows, the menu is moved to be last in |
       the menubar and is right justified.


CLONES |

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


WIDGET COMMAND

       The menu command creates a new Tcl  command  whose  name  is  pathName.
       This  command  may  be used to invoke various operations on the widget.
       It has the following general form:
              pathName option ?arg arg ...?
       Option and the args determine the exact behavior of the command.

       Many of the widget commands for a menu take as one argument an  indica-
       tor  of  which  entry  of the menu to operate on.  These indicators are
       called indexes and may be specified in any of the following forms:

       number      Specifies the entry numerically, where 0 corresponds to the
                   top-most entry of the menu, 1 to the entry below it, and so
                   on.

       active      Indicates the entry that is currently active.  If no  entry
                   is  active then this form is equivalent to none.  This form
                   may not be abbreviated.

       end         Indicates the bottommost entry in the menu.  If  there  are
                   no  entries  in  the  menu  then this form is equivalent to
                   none.  This form may not be abbreviated.

       last        Same as end.

       none        Indicates ``no entry at all'';  this is used most  commonly
                   with  the  activate option to deactivate all the entries in
                   the menu.  In most cases the specification of  none  causes
                   nothing to happen in the widget command.  This form may not
                   be abbreviated.

       @number     In this form, number is treated as a  y-coordinate  in  the
                   menu's  window;   the entry closest to that y-coordinate is
                   used.  For example, ``@0'' indicates the top-most entry  in
                   the window.

       pattern     If  the  index  doesn't satisfy one of the above forms then
                   this form is used.  Pattern is pattern-matched against  the
                   label  of  each  entry  in  the menu, in order from the top
                   down, until a  matching  entry  is  found.   The  rules  of
                   Tcl_StringMatch are used.

       The following widget commands are possible for menu widgets:

       pathName activate index
              Change  the  state of the entry indicated by index to active and
              redisplay it using its  active  colors.   Any  previously-active
              entry  is deactivated.  If index is specified as none, or if the
              specified entry is disabled, then  the  menu  ends  up  with  no
              active entry.  Returns an empty string.

       pathName add type ?option value option value ...?
              Add a new entry to the bottom of the menu.  The new entry's type
              is given by type and must be one of cascade,  checkbutton,  com-
              mand, radiobutton, or separator, or a unique abbreviation of one
              of the above.  If additional arguments are present, they specify
              any of the following options:

              -activebackground value
                     Specifies  a  background color to use for displaying this
                     entry when it is active.  If this option is specified  as
                     an  empty string (the default), then the activeBackground
                     option for the overall menu is used.  If the tk_strictMo-
                     tif variable has been set to request strict Motif compli-
                     ance, then this option is  ignored  and  the  -background
                     option  is  used in its place.  This option is not avail-
                     able for separator or tear-off entries.

              -activeforeground value
                     Specifies a foreground color to use for  displaying  this
                     entry  when it is active.  If this option is specified as
                     an empty string (the default), then the  activeForeground
                     option  for the overall menu is used.  This option is not
                     available for separator or tear-off entries.

              -accelerator value
                     Specifies a string to display at the right  side  of  the
                     menu  entry.  Normally describes an accelerator keystroke
                     sequence that may be typed to invoke the same function as
                     the menu entry.  This option is not available for separa-
                     tor or tear-off entries.

              -background value
                     Specifies a background color to use for  displaying  this
                     entry  when it is in the normal state (neither active nor
                     disabled).  If this  option  is  specified  as  an  empty
                     string  (the default), then the background option for the
                     overall menu is used.  This option is not  available  for
                     separator or tear-off entries.

              -bitmap value
                     Specifies  a  bitmap  to display in the menu instead of a
                     textual label, in any of the forms  accepted  by  Tk_Get-
                     Bitmap.  This option overrides the -label option (as con-
                     trolled by the -compound option) but may be reset  to  an
                     empty  string  to enable a textual label to be displayed.
                     If a -image option has been specified, it overrides -bit-
                     map.  This option is not available for separator or tear-
                     off entries.

              -columnbreak value
                     When this option is zero, the  entry  appears  below  the |
                     previous  entry.  When  this  option  is  one,  the entry |
                     appears at the top of a new column in the menu.

              -command value
                     Specifies a Tcl command to execute when the menu entry is
                     invoked.    Not   available  for  separator  or  tear-off
                     entries.                                                  |

              -compound                                                        |
              value                                                  |         |
                     Specifies  whether  the menu entry should display both an |
                     image and text, and if so,  where  the  image  should  be |
                     placed  relative  to  the  text.   Valid  values for this |
                     option are bottom, center, left,  none,  right  and  top. |
                     The  default  value is none, meaning that the button will |
                     display either an image or text, depending on the  values |
                     of the -image and -bitmap options.

              -font value
                     Specifies  the  font  to  use  when  drawing the label or
                     accelerator string in this  entry.   If  this  option  is
                     specified  as an empty string (the default) then the font
                     option for the overall menu is used.  This option is  not
                     available for separator or tear-off entries.

              -foreground value
                     Specifies  a  foreground color to use for displaying this
                     entry when it is in the normal state (neither active  nor
                     disabled).   If  this  option  is  specified  as an empty
                     string (the default), then the foreground option for  the
                     overall  menu  is used.  This option is not available for
                     separator or tear-off entries.                            |

              -hidemargin                                                      |
              value                                                |           |
                     Specifies  whether  the  standard margins should be drawn |
                     for this menu entry. This is useful when creating palette |
                     with  images  in  them,  i.e.,  color  palettes,  pattern |
                     palettes, etc. 1 indicates that the margin for the  entry |
                     is hidden; 0 means that the margin is used.

              -image value
                     Specifies  an  image  to display in the menu instead of a
                     text string or bitmap.  The image must have been  created
                     by some previous invocation of image create.  This option
                     overrides the -label and -bitmap options  (as  controlled
                     by  the  -compound  option)  but may be reset to an empty
                     string to enable a textual or bitmap  label  to  be  dis-
                     played.   This  option  is not available for separator or
                     tear-off entries.

              -indicatoron value
                     Available only for checkbutton and  radiobutton  entries.
                     Value  is  a  boolean  that determines whether or not the
                     indicator should be displayed.

              -label value
                     Specifies a string to display as an identifying label  in
                     the  menu entry.  Not available for separator or tear-off
                     entries.

              -menu value
                     Available only for cascade entries.  Specifies  the  path
                     name of the submenu associated with this entry.  The sub-
                     menu must be a child of the menu.

              -offvalue value
                     Available only for checkbutton  entries.   Specifies  the
                     value  to  store  in the entry's associated variable when
                     the entry is deselected.

              -onvalue value
                     Available only for checkbutton  entries.   Specifies  the
                     value  to  store  in the entry's associated variable when
                     the entry is selected.

              -selectcolor value
                     Available only for checkbutton and  radiobutton  entries.
                     Specifies  the color to display in the indicator when the
                     entry is selected.  If the value is an empty string  (the
                     default)  then the selectColor option for the menu deter-
                     mines the indicator color.

              -selectimage value
                     Available only for checkbutton and  radiobutton  entries.
                     Specifies  an  image to display in the entry (in place of
                     the -image option) when it is  selected.   Value  is  the
                     name  of  an  image, which must have been created by some
                     previous invocation of  image  create.   This  option  is
                     ignored unless the -image option has been specified.

              -state value
                     Specifies  one  of  three  states for the entry:  normal,
                     active, or disabled.  In normal state the entry  is  dis-
                     played  using  the foreground option for the menu and the
                     background option from the entry or the menu.  The active
                     state  is  typically  used  when  the pointer is over the
                     entry.  In active state the entry is displayed using  the
                     activeForeground  option  for  the  menu  along  with the
                     activebackground option from the entry.   Disabled  state
                     means  that the entry should be insensitive:  the default
                     bindings will refuse to activate or invoke the entry.  In
                     this  state  the entry is displayed according to the dis-
                     abledForeground option for the menu  and  the  background
                     option  from the entry.  This option is not available for
                     separator entries.

              -underline value
                     Specifies the integer index of a character  to  underline
                     in the entry.  This option is also queried by the default
                     bindings and used to  implement  keyboard  traversal.   0
                     corresponds  to the first character of the text displayed
                     in the entry, 1 to the next character, and so on.   If  a
                     bitmap  or  image  is  displayed  in  the entry then this
                     option is ignored.  This option is not available for sep-
                     arator or tear-off entries.

              -value value
                     Available  only  for  radiobutton entries.  Specifies the
                     value to store in the entry's  associated  variable  when
                     the  entry is selected.  If an empty string is specified,
                     then the -label option for the  entry  as  the  value  to
                     store in the variable.

              -variable value
                     Available  only  for checkbutton and radiobutton entries.
                     Specifies the name of a global  value  to  set  when  the
                     entry  is selected.  For checkbutton entries the variable
                     is also set when the entry is deselected.  For  radiobut-
                     ton  entries, changing the variable causes the currently-
                     selected entry to deselect itself.

              The add widget command returns an empty string.

       pathName cget option
              Returns the current value of the configuration option  given  by
              option.   Option may have any of the values accepted by the menu
              command.                                                         |

       pathName clone newPathname ?clone-                                      |
       Type?                                  |                                |
              Makes  a clone of the current menu named newPathName. This clone |
              is a menu in its own right, but any changes  to  the  clone  are |
              propogated to the original menu and vice versa. cloneType can be |
              normal, menubar, or tearoff. Should not normally be called  out- |
              side of the Tk library. See the CLONES section for more informa- |
              tion.

       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 avail-
              able 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 menu command.

       pathName delete index1 ?index2?
              Delete all of the menu entries between index1 and index2  inclu-
              sive.   If  index2  is  omitted  then  it  defaults  to  index1.
              Attempts to delete a tear-off menu entry are  ignored  (instead,
              you  should  change  the  tearOff  option to remove the tear-off
              entry).

       pathName entrycget index option
              Returns the current value of  a  configuration  option  for  the
              entry  given  by  index.   Option  may  have  any  of the values
              accepted by the add widget command.

       pathName entryconfigure index ?options?
              This command is similar to the configure command, except that it
              applies  to the options for an individual entry, whereas config-
              ure applies to the options for the menu as a whole.  Options may
              have  any  of the values accepted by the add widget command.  If
              options are specified, options are modified as indicated in  the
              command  and the command returns an empty string.  If no options
              are specified, returns a list describing the current options for
              entry  index (see Tk_ConfigureInfo for information on the format
              of this list).

       pathName index index
              Returns the numerical index corresponding to index, or  none  if
              index was specified as none.

       pathName insert index type ?option value option value ...?
              Same  as  the  add widget command except that it inserts the new
              entry just before the entry given by index, instead of appending
              to  the  end of the menu.  The type, option, and value arguments
              have the same interpretation as for the add widget command.   It
              is  not  possible to insert new menu entries before the tear-off
              entry, if the menu has one.

       pathName invoke index
              Invoke the action of the menu entry.  See the  sections  on  the
              individual  entries  above  for details on what happens.  If the
              menu entry is disabled then nothing happens.  If the entry has a
              command  associated  with  it then the result of that command is
              returned as the result of the invoke widget command.   Otherwise
              the  result  is  an  empty string.  Note:  invoking a menu entry
              does not automatically unpost the menu;   the  default  bindings
              normally  take  care  of  this before invoking the invoke widget
              command.

       pathName post x y
              Arrange for the menu to be displayed on the screen at the  root-
              window  coordinates  given  by  x  and y.  These coordinates are
              adjusted if necessary to guarantee that the entire menu is visi-
              ble  on  the  screen.   This  command  normally returns an empty
              string.  If the postCommand option has been specified, then  its
              value  is  executed  as a Tcl script before posting the menu and
              the result of that script is returned as the result of the  post
              widget  command.   If  an error returns while executing the com-
              mand, then the error is returned without posting the menu.

       pathName postcascade index
              Posts the submenu associated with the  cascade  entry  given  by
              index,  and  unposts  any  previously  posted submenu.  If index
              doesn't correspond to a cascade  entry,  or  if  pathName  isn't
              posted, the command has no effect except to unpost any currently
              posted submenu.

       pathName type index
              Returns the type of the menu entry given by index.  This is  the
              type  argument  passed  to the add widget command when the entry
              was created, such as command or  separator,  or  tearoff  for  a
              tear-off entry.

       pathName unpost
              Unmap the window so that it is no longer displayed.  If a lower- |
              level cascaded menu is posted, unpost  that  menu.   Returns  an |
              empty  string.  This subcommand does not work on Windows and the |
              Macintosh, as those platforms have their own  way  of  unposting |
              menus.

       pathName yposition index
              Returns a decimal string giving the y-coordinate within the menu
              window of the topmost pixel in the entry specified by index.


MENU CONFIGURATIONS

       The default bindings support four different ways of using menus:        |

       Pulldown Menus in                                                       |
       Menubar                                               |                 |
              This  is  the  most  command case. You create a menu widget that |
              will become the menu bar. You then add cascade entries  to  this |
              menu,  specifying  the  pull  down menus you wish to use in your |
              menu bar. You then create all of the pulldowns.  Once  you  have |
              done  this,  specify  the  menu  using  the  -menu option of the |
              toplevel's widget command. See the  toplevel  manual  entry  for |
              details.

       Pulldown Menus in Menu Buttons
              This  is  the  compatable  way  to do menu bars.  You create one
              menubutton widget for each top-level  menu,  and  typically  you
              arrange  a  series  of menubuttons in a row in a menubar window.
              You also create the top-level menus and any  cascaded  submenus,
              and tie them together with -menu options in menubuttons and cas-
              cade menu entries.  The top-level menu must be a  child  of  the
              menubutton,  and  each  submenu must be a child of the menu that
              refers to it.  Once you have done  this,  the  default  bindings
              will  allow  users  to traverse and invoke the tree of menus via
              its menubutton;  see the menubutton manual entry for details.

       Popup Menus
              Popup menus typically post in response to a mouse  button  press
              or  keystroke.  You create the popup menus and any cascaded sub-
              menus, then you call the tk_popup procedure at  the  appropriate
              time to post the top-level menu.

       Option Menus
              An  option menu consists of a menubutton with an associated menu
              that allows you to select one of several  values.   The  current
              value  is  displayed  in  the menubutton and is also stored in a
              global variable.  Use  the  tk_optionMenu  procedure  to  create
              option menubuttons and their menus.

       Torn-off Menus
              You create a torn-off menu by invoking the tear-off entry at the
              top of an existing menu.  The default bindings will create a new
              menu  that  is  a  copy of the original menu and leave it perma-
              nently posted as a top-level window.  The torn-off menu  behaves
              just the same as the original menu.


DEFAULT BINDINGS

       Tk  automatically  creates  class bindings for menus that give them the
       following default behavior:

       [1]    When the mouse enters a menu, the  entry  underneath  the  mouse
              cursor  activates;   as  the  mouse  moves  around the menu, the
              active entry changes to track the mouse.

       [2]    When the mouse leaves a menu all of  the  entries  in  the  menu
              deactivate,  except  in  the  special case where the mouse moves
              from a menu to a cascaded submenu.

       [3]    When a button is released over a menu, the active entry (if any)
              is invoked.  The menu also unposts unless it is a torn-off menu.

       [4]    The Space and Return keys invoke the active entry and unpost the
              menu.

       [5]    If any of the entries in a menu have letters underlined with the
              -underline option, then pressing one of the  underlined  letters
              (or  its upper-case or lower-case equivalent) invokes that entry
              and unposts the menu.

       [6]    The Escape key aborts  a  menu  selection  in  progress  without
              invoking  any  entry.   It  also unposts the menu unless it is a
              torn-off menu.

       [7]    The Up and Down keys activate the next higher or lower entry  in
              the menu.  When one end of the menu is reached, the active entry
              wraps around to the other end.

       [8]    The Left key moves to the next menu to the left.  If the current
              menu is a cascaded submenu, then the submenu is unposted and the
              current menu entry becomes the cascade entry in the parent.   If
              the  current  menu is a top-level menu posted from a menubutton,
              then the current menubutton is unposted and the next  menubutton
              to  the  left  is posted.  Otherwise the key has no effect.  The
              left-right order of menubuttons is determined by their  stacking
              order:   Tk assumes that the lowest menubutton (which by default
              is the first one created) is on the left.

       [9]    The Right key moves to the next menu to the right.  If the  cur-
              rent  entry  is  a cascade entry, then the submenu is posted and
              the  current menu entry becomes the first entry in the  submenu.
              Otherwise,  if  the  current  menu was posted from a menubutton,
              then the current menubutton is unposted and the next  menubutton
              to the right is posted.

       Disabled menu entries are non-responsive:  they don't activate and they
       ignore mouse button presses and releases.

       Several of the bindings make use of the  command  tk_menuSetFocus.   It |
       saves  the  current  focus and sets the focus to its pathName argument, |
       which is a menu widget.

       The behavior of menus can be changed by defining new bindings for indi-
       vidual widgets or by redefining the class bindings.


BUGS

       At present it isn't possible to use the option database to specify val-
       ues for the options to individual entries.


KEYWORDS

       menu, widget

Tk                                    4.1                              menu(n)

Man(1) output converted with man2html