tk_getOpenFile(n)

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NAME

       tk_getOpenFile,  tk_getSaveFile  -  pop up a dialog box for the user to
       select a file to open or save.

SYNOPSIS

       tk_getOpenFile ?option value ...?
       tk_getSaveFile ?option value ...?
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DESCRIPTION

       The procedures tk_getOpenFile and tk_getSaveFile pop up  a  dialog  box
       for  the user to select a file to open or save. The tk_getOpenFile com-
       mand is usually associated with the Open command in the File menu.  Its
       purpose  is  for  the user to select an existing file only. If the user
       enters a non-existent file, the dialog box  gives  the  user  an  error
       prompt  and  requires  the user to give an alternative selection. If an
       application allows the user to create new files, it  should  do  so  by
       providing a separate New menu command.

       The  tk_getSaveFile command is usually associated with the Save as com-
       mand in the File menu. If the user enters a file that  already  exists,
       the  dialog  box prompts the user for confirmation whether the existing
       file should be overwritten or not.

       The following option-value pairs are possible as command line arguments
       to these two commands:

       -defaultextension extension
              Specifies  a string that will be appended to the filename if the
              user enters a filename without an extension. The  default  value
              is  the  empty string, which means no extension will be appended
              to the filename in any case. This option is ignored on the  Mac-
              intosh platform, which does not require extensions to filenames, |
              and the UNIX implementation guesses reasonable values  for  this |
              from the -filetypes option when this is not supplied.

       -filetypes filePatternList
              If a File types listbox exists in the file dialog on the partic-
              ular platform, this option gives the filetypes in this  listbox.
              When  the  user choose a filetype in the listbox, only the files
              of that type are listed. If this option is unspecified, or if it
              is  set  to  the empty list, or if the File types listbox is not
              supported by the particular platform then all files  are  listed
              regardless  of their types. See the section SPECIFYING FILE PAT-
              TERNS below for a discussion on the contents of filePatternList.

       -initialdir directory
              Specifies  that  the files in directory should be displayed when
              the dialog pops up. If this parameter is not specified, then the
              files  in  the  current  working directory are displayed. If the
              parameter specifies a relative path, the return value will  con-
              vert the relative path to an absolute path.  This option may not
              always work on the Macintosh.  This is not a  bug.  Rather,  the
              General Controls control panel on the Mac allows the end user to
              override the application default directory.

       -initialfile filename
              Specifies a filename to be displayed in the dialog when it  pops
              up.  This option is ignored on the Macintosh platform.

       -multiple
              Allows  the  user to choose multiple files from the Open dialog.
              On the Macintosh, this is only available  when  Navigation  Ser-
              vices are installed.

       -message string
              Specifies a message to include in the client area of the dialog.
              This is only available on the Macintosh, and only  when  Naviga-
              tion Services are installed.

       -parent window
              Makes  window  the  logical  parent of the file dialog. The file
              dialog is displayed on top of its parent window.

       -title titleString
              Specifies a string to display as the title of the dialog box. If
              this option is not specified, then a default title is displayed.

       If the user selects a  file,  both  tk_getOpenFile  and  tk_getSaveFile
       return  the  full pathname of this file. If the user cancels the opera-
       tion, both commands return the empty string.

SPECIFYING FILE PATTERNS

       The filePatternList value given by the -filetypes option is a  list  of
       file patterns. Each file pattern is a list of the form
              typeName {extension ?extension ...?} ?{macType ?macType ...?}?
       typeName  is  the  name of the file type described by this file pattern
       and is the text string that appears in the File types  listbox.  exten-
       sion  is  a  file  extension for this file pattern.  macType is a four-
       character Macintosh file type. The list of macTypes is optional and may
       be  omitted  for applications that do not need to execute on the Macin-
       tosh platform.

       Several file patterns may have the same typeName, in  which  case  they
       refer  to  the  same file type and share the same entry in the listbox.
       When the user selects an entry in the listbox, all the files that match
       at  least  one  of  the  file  patterns corresponding to that entry are
       listed. Usually, each file pattern corresponds to a  distinct  type  of
       file.  The  use  of more than one file patterns for one type of file is
       necessary on the Macintosh platform only.

       On the Macintosh platform, a file matches a file pattern  if  its  name
       matches at least one of the extension(s) AND it belongs to at least one
       of the macType(s) of the file pattern. For example, the C Source  Files
       file  pattern  in  the  sample  code  matches with files that have a .c
       extension AND belong to the macType TEXT. To use the OR  rule  instead,
       you  can  use  two  file patterns, one with the extensions only and the
       other with the macType only. The GIF Files file type in the sample code
       matches  files  that EITHER have a .gif extension OR belong to the mac-
       Type GIFF.

       On the Unix and Windows platforms, a file matches a file pattern if its
       name  matches at least one of the extension(s) of the file pattern. The
       macTypes are ignored.

SPECIFYING EXTENSIONS

       On the Unix and Macintosh platforms, extensions are matched using glob-
       style  pattern  matching.  On  the  Windows  platforms,  extensions are
       matched by the underlying  operating  system.  The  types  of  possible
       extensions  are:  (1) the special extension * matches any file; (2) the
       special extension "" matches any files that do not  have  an  extension
       (i.e., the filename contains no full stop character); (3) any character
       string that does not contain any wild card characters (* and ?).

       Due to the different pattern matching rules on the  various  platforms,
       to  ensure  portability,  wild  card  characters are not allowed in the
       extensions, except as in the special extension *. Extensions without  a
       full  stop character (e.g. ~) are allowed but may not work on all plat-
       forms.

EXAMPLE

              set types {
                  {{Text Files}       {.txt}        }
                  {{TCL Scripts}      {.tcl}        }
                  {{C Source Files}   {.c}      TEXT}
                  {{GIF Files}        {.gif}        }
                  {{GIF Files}        {}        GIFF}
                  {{All Files}        *             }
              }
              set filename [tk_getOpenFile -filetypes $types]

              if {$filename != ""} {
                  # Open the file ...
              }

SEE ALSO

       tk_chooseDirectory

KEYWORDS

       file selection dialog

Tk                                    4.2                    tk_getOpenFile(n)