Dialog boxes are a convenient way to prompt the user for a small amount of input, e.g. to display a message, ask a question, or anything else that does not require extensive effort on the user's part.
GTK+ treats a dialog as a window split vertically. The top section is a Gtk.Box.Gtk_Vbox, and is where widgets such as a Gtk.Label.Gtk_Label or a Gtk.GEntry.Gtk_Entry should be packed. The bottom area is known as the "action area". This is generally used for packing buttons into the dialog which may perform functions such as cancel, ok, or apply.
Gtk.Dialog.Gtk_Dialog boxes are created with a call to Gtk.Dialog.Gtk_New or gtk_dialog_new_with_buttons. gtk_dialog_new_with_buttons is recommended; it allows you to set the dialog title, some convenient flags, and add simple buttons.
If "dialog" is a newly created dialog, the two primary areas of the window can be accessed through Gtk.Dialog.Get_Content_Area and Gtk.Dialog.Get_Action_Area, as can be seen from the example below.
A "modal" dialog (that is, one which freezes the rest of the application from user input), can be created by calling Gtk.Window.Set_Modal on the dialog. Use the GTK_WINDOW macro to cast the widget returned from Gtk.Dialog.Gtk_New into a Gtk.Window.Gtk_Window. When using gtk_dialog_new_with_buttons you can also pass the GTK_DIALOG_MODAL flag to make a dialog modal.
If you add buttons to Gtk.Dialog.Gtk_Dialog using gtk_dialog_new_with_buttons, Gtk.Dialog.Add_Button, gtk_dialog_add_buttons, or Gtk.Dialog.Add_Action_Widget, clicking the button will emit a signal called Gtk.Dialog.Gtk_Dialog::response with a response ID that you specified. GTK+ will never assign a meaning to positive response IDs; these are entirely user-defined. But for convenience, you can use the response IDs in the Gtk_Response_Type enumeration (these all have values less than zero). If a dialog receives a delete event, the Gtk.Dialog.Gtk_Dialog::response signal will be emitted with a response ID of GTK_RESPONSE_DELETE_EVENT.
If you want to block waiting for a dialog to return before returning control flow to your code, you can call Gtk.Dialog.Run. This function enters a recursive main loop and waits for the user to respond to the dialog, returning the response ID corresponding to the button the user clicked.
For the simple dialog in the following example, in reality you'd probably use Gtk.Message_Dialog.Gtk_Message_Dialog to save yourself some effort. But you'd need to create the dialog contents manually if you had more than a simple message in the dialog.
An example for simple GtkDialog usage:
// Function to open a dialog box with a message
void
quick_message (GtkWindow *parent, gchar *message)
{
GtkWidget *dialog, *label, *content_area;
GtkDialogFlags flags;
// Create the widgets
flags = GTK_DIALOG_DESTROY_WITH_PARENT;
dialog = gtk_dialog_new_with_buttons ("Message",
parent,
flags,
_("_OK"),
GTK_RESPONSE_NONE,
NULL);
content_area = gtk_dialog_get_content_area (GTK_DIALOG (dialog));
label = gtk_label_new (message);
// Ensure that the dialog box is destroyed when the user responds
g_signal_connect_swapped (dialog,
"response",
G_CALLBACK (gtk_widget_destroy),
dialog);
// Add the label, and show everything we've added
gtk_container_add (GTK_CONTAINER (content_area), label);
gtk_widget_show_all (dialog);
}
# GtkDialog as GtkBuildable
The GtkDialog implementation of the Gtk.Buildable.Gtk_Buildable interface exposes the Vbox and Action_Area as internal children with the names "vbox" and "action_area".
GtkDialog supports a custom <action-widgets> element, which can contain multiple <action-widget> elements. The "response" attribute specifies a numeric response, and the content of the element is the id of widget (which should be a child of the dialogs Action_Area). To mark a response as default, set the "default" attribute of the <action-widget> element to true.
GtkDialog supports adding action widgets by specifying "action" as the "type" attribute of a <child> element. The widget will be added either to the action area or the headerbar of the dialog, depending on the "use-header-bar" property. The response id has to be associated with the action widget using the <action-widgets> element.
An example of a Gtk.Dialog.Gtk_Dialog UI definition fragment:
<object class="GtkDialog" id="dialog1">
<child type="action">
<object class="GtkButton" id="button_cancel"/>
</child>
<child type="action">
<object class="GtkButton" id="button_ok">
<property name="can-default">True</property>
</object>
</child>
<action-widgets>
<action-widget response="cancel">button_cancel</action-widget>
<action-widget response="ok" default="true">button_ok</action-widget>
</action-widgets>
</object>
See Gtkada.Dialogs for a higher level dialog interface.
<screenshot>gtk-dialog</screenshot> <group>Windows</group> <testgtk>create_dialog.adb</testgtk>
function "+"
(Widget : access Gtk_Dialog_Record'Class)
return Gtk.Buildable.Gtk_Buildable
function "-"
(Interf : Gtk.Buildable.Gtk_Buildable)
return Gtk_Dialog
procedure Add_Action_Widget
(Dialog : not null access Gtk_Dialog_Record;
Child : not null access Gtk.Widget.Gtk_Widget_Record'Class;
Response_Id : Gtk_Response_Type)
Adds an activatable widget to the action area of a Gtk.Dialog.Gtk_Dialog, connecting a signal handler that will emit the Gtk.Dialog.Gtk_Dialog::response signal on the dialog when the widget is activated. The widget is appended to the end of the dialog's action area. If you want to add a non-activatable widget, simply pack it into the Action_Area field of the Gtk.Dialog.Gtk_Dialog struct.
an activatable widget
response ID for Child
function Add_Button
(Dialog : not null access Gtk_Dialog_Record;
Text : UTF8_String;
Response_Id : Gtk_Response_Type) return Gtk.Widget.Gtk_Widget
Adds a button with the given text and sets things up so that clicking the button will emit the Gtk.Dialog.Gtk_Dialog::response signal with the given Response_Id. The button is appended to the end of the dialog's action area. The button widget is returned, but usually you don't need it.
text of button
response ID for the button
the Gtk.Button.Gtk_Button widget that was added
type Cb_GObject_Gtk_Response_Type_Void is not null access procedure
(Self : access Glib.Object.GObject_Record'Class;
Response_Id : Gtk_Response_Type);
type Cb_GObject_Void is not null access procedure
(Self : access Glib.Object.GObject_Record'Class);
type Cb_Gtk_Dialog_Gtk_Response_Type_Void is not null access procedure
(Self : access Gtk_Dialog_Record'Class;
Response_Id : Gtk_Response_Type);
type Cb_Gtk_Dialog_Void is not null access procedure (Self : access Gtk_Dialog_Record'Class);
Destroy_With_Parent : constant Gtk_Dialog_Flags := 2 ** 1;
Various flags that can be set for the dialog, with the following implications: - Modal : the dialog is modal, see Gtk.Window.Set_Modal - Destroy_With_Parent: The dialog is destroyed if its parent is destroyed. See Gtk.Window.Set_Destroy_With_Parent - Use_Header_Bar: create dialogs with actions in the header bar instead of action area (since 3.12)
procedure G_New_Dialog
(Self : not null access Gtk_Dialog_Record'Class;
Flags : Gtk_Dialog_Flags;
Typ : Glib.GType := Gtk.Dialog.Get_Type)
Equivalent of Glib.Object.G_New for a dialog. This function should be used when you are subclassing the dialog class (for instance to add new signals). The Use_Header_Bar flag can only have an impact before the dialog is created, so this function will take that into account as appropriate. Other flags (Modal and Destroy_With_Parent) are ignored.
function Get_Action_Area
(Dialog : not null access Gtk_Dialog_Record) return Gtk.Box.Gtk_Box
Returns the action area of Dialog. Since: gtk+ 2.14 Deprecated since 3.12, 1
function Get_Content_Area
(Dialog : not null access Gtk_Dialog_Record) return Gtk.Box.Gtk_Box
Returns the content area of Dialog. Since: gtk+ 2.14
function Get_Header_Bar
(Dialog : not null access Gtk_Dialog_Record)
return Gtk.Widget.Gtk_Widget
Returns the header bar of Dialog. Note that the headerbar is only used by the dialog if the Gtk.Dialog.Gtk_Dialog:use-header-bar property is True. Since: gtk+ 3.12
the header bar
function Get_Response_For_Widget
(Dialog : not null access Gtk_Dialog_Record;
Widget : not null access Gtk.Widget.Gtk_Widget_Record'Class)
return Gtk_Response_Type
Gets the response id of a widget in the action area of a dialog. Since: gtk+ 2.8
a widget in the action area of Dialog
function Get_Type return Glib.GType
function Get_Widget_For_Response
(Dialog : not null access Gtk_Dialog_Record;
Response_Id : Gtk_Response_Type) return Gtk.Widget.Gtk_Widget
Gets the widget button that uses the given response ID in the action area of a dialog. Since: gtk+ 2.20
the response ID used by the Dialog widget
the Widget button that uses the given Response_Id, or null.
function Gtk_Alternative_Dialog_Button_Order
(Screen : Gdk.Screen.Gdk_Screen := null) return Boolean
Returns True if dialogs are expected to use an alternative button order on the given screen (or current screen if null) . See Set_Alternative_Button_Order_From_Array for more details about alternative button order.
If you need to use this function, you should probably connect to the ::notify:gtk-alternative-button-order signal on the Gtk_Settings object associated to Screen, in order to be notified if the button order setting changes.
Returns: Whether the alternative button order should be used
type Gtk_Dialog is access all Gtk_Dialog_Record'Class;
type Gtk_Dialog_Flags is mod 8;
Various flags that can be set for the dialog, with the following implications: - Modal : the dialog is modal, see Gtk.Window.Set_Modal - Destroy_With_Parent: The dialog is destroyed if its parent is destroyed. See Gtk.Window.Set_Destroy_With_Parent - Use_Header_Bar: create dialogs with actions in the header bar instead of action area (since 3.12)
function Gtk_Dialog_New return Gtk_Dialog
Creates a new dialog box. Widgets should not be packed into this Gtk.Window.Gtk_Window directly, but into the Vbox and Action_Area, as described above.
function Gtk_Dialog_New
(Title : UTF8_String;
Parent : Gtk.Window.Gtk_Window := null;
Flags : Gtk_Dialog_Flags) return Gtk_Dialog
Create a new dialog with a specific title, and specific attributes. Parent is the transient parent for the dialog (ie the one that is used for reference for the flag Destroy_With_Parent, or to compute the initial position of the dialog). Since: gtk+ GtkAda 1.0
type Gtk_Dialog_Record is new Gtk_Window_Record with null record;
procedure Gtk_New (Dialog : out Gtk_Dialog)
Creates a new dialog box. Widgets should not be packed into this Gtk.Window.Gtk_Window directly, but into the Vbox and Action_Area, as described above. Initialize does nothing if the object was already created with another call to Initialize* or G_New.
procedure Gtk_New
(Dialog : out Gtk_Dialog;
Title : UTF8_String;
Parent : Gtk.Window.Gtk_Window := null;
Flags : Gtk_Dialog_Flags)
Create a new dialog with a specific title, and specific attributes. Parent is the transient parent for the dialog (ie the one that is used for reference for the flag Destroy_With_Parent, or to compute the initial position of the dialog). Since: gtk+ GtkAda 1.0 Initialize does nothing if the object was already created with another call to Initialize* or G_New.
Gtk_Response_Accept : constant Gtk_Response_Type := -3;
GtkAda won't return these unless you pass them in as the response for an action widget. They are for your convenience.
Gtk_Response_Apply : constant Gtk_Response_Type := -10;
These are returned from dialogs, and you can also use them yourself if you like.
Gtk_Response_Cancel : constant Gtk_Response_Type := -6;
These are returned from dialogs, and you can also use them yourself if you like.
Gtk_Response_Close : constant Gtk_Response_Type := -7;
These are returned from dialogs, and you can also use them yourself if you like.
Gtk_Response_Delete_Event : constant Gtk_Response_Type := -4;
If the dialog is deleted through the button in the titlebar
Gtk_Response_Help : constant Gtk_Response_Type := -11;
These are returned from dialogs, and you can also use them yourself if you like.
Gtk_Response_No : constant Gtk_Response_Type := -9;
These are returned from dialogs, and you can also use them yourself if you like.
Gtk_Response_None : constant Gtk_Response_Type := -1;
GtkAda returns this if a response widget has no Response_Id, or if the dialog gets programmatically hidden or destroyed.
Gtk_Response_OK : constant Gtk_Response_Type := -5;
These are returned from dialogs, and you can also use them yourself if you like.
Gtk_Response_Reject : constant Gtk_Response_Type := -2;
GtkAda won't return these unless you pass them in as the response for an action widget. They are for your convenience.
type Gtk_Response_Type is new Gint;
Type used for Response_Id's. Positive values are totally user-interpreted. GtkAda will sometimes return Gtk_Response_None if no Response_Id is available.
Typical usage is: if Gtk.Dialog.Run (Dialog) = Gtk_Response_Accept then blah; end if;
Gtk_Response_Yes : constant Gtk_Response_Type := -8;
These are returned from dialogs, and you can also use them yourself if you like.
package Implements_Gtk_Buildable is new Glib.Types.Implements
(Gtk.Buildable.Gtk_Buildable, Gtk_Dialog_Record, Gtk_Dialog);
procedure Initialize (Dialog : not null access Gtk_Dialog_Record'Class)
Creates a new dialog box. Widgets should not be packed into this Gtk.Window.Gtk_Window directly, but into the Vbox and Action_Area, as described above. Initialize does nothing if the object was already created with another call to Initialize* or G_New.
procedure Initialize
(Dialog : not null access Gtk_Dialog_Record'Class;
Title : UTF8_String;
Parent : Gtk.Window.Gtk_Window := null;
Flags : Gtk_Dialog_Flags)
Create a new dialog with a specific title, and specific attributes. Parent is the transient parent for the dialog (ie the one that is used for reference for the flag Destroy_With_Parent, or to compute the initial position of the dialog). Since: gtk+ GtkAda 1.0 Initialize does nothing if the object was already created with another call to Initialize* or G_New.
Modal : constant Gtk_Dialog_Flags := 2 ** 0;
Various flags that can be set for the dialog, with the following implications: - Modal : the dialog is modal, see Gtk.Window.Set_Modal - Destroy_With_Parent: The dialog is destroyed if its parent is destroyed. See Gtk.Window.Set_Destroy_With_Parent - Use_Header_Bar: create dialogs with actions in the header bar instead of action area (since 3.12)
procedure On_Close
(Self : not null access Gtk_Dialog_Record;
Call : Cb_GObject_Void;
Slot : not null access Glib.Object.GObject_Record'Class;
After : Boolean := False)
The ::close signal is a [keybinding signal][GtkBindingSignal] which gets emitted when the user uses a keybinding to close the dialog.
The default binding for this signal is the Escape key.
procedure On_Close
(Self : not null access Gtk_Dialog_Record;
Call : Cb_Gtk_Dialog_Void;
After : Boolean := False)
The ::close signal is a [keybinding signal][GtkBindingSignal] which gets emitted when the user uses a keybinding to close the dialog.
The default binding for this signal is the Escape key.
procedure On_Response
(Self : not null access Gtk_Dialog_Record;
Call : Cb_GObject_Gtk_Response_Type_Void;
Slot : not null access Glib.Object.GObject_Record'Class;
After : Boolean := False)
Emitted when an action widget is clicked, the dialog receives a delete event, or the application programmer calls Gtk.Dialog.Response. On a delete event, the response ID is GTK_RESPONSE_DELETE_EVENT. Otherwise, it depends on which action widget was clicked.
procedure On_Response
(Self : not null access Gtk_Dialog_Record;
Call : Cb_Gtk_Dialog_Gtk_Response_Type_Void;
After : Boolean := False)
Emitted when an action widget is clicked, the dialog receives a delete event, or the application programmer calls Gtk.Dialog.Response. On a delete event, the response ID is GTK_RESPONSE_DELETE_EVENT. Otherwise, it depends on which action widget was clicked.
procedure Response
(Dialog : not null access Gtk_Dialog_Record;
Response_Id : Gtk_Response_Type)
Emits the Gtk.Dialog.Gtk_Dialog::response signal with the given response ID. Used to indicate that the user has responded to the dialog in some way; typically either you or Gtk.Dialog.Run will be monitoring the ::response signal and take appropriate action.
response ID
type Response_Type_Array is array (Natural range <>) of Gtk_Response_Type;
function Run
(Dialog : not null access Gtk_Dialog_Record) return Gtk_Response_Type
Blocks in a recursive main loop until the Dialog either emits the Gtk.Dialog.Gtk_Dialog::response signal, or is destroyed. If the dialog is destroyed during the call to Gtk.Dialog.Run, Gtk.Dialog.Run returns GTK_RESPONSE_NONE. Otherwise, it returns the response ID from the ::response signal emission. Before entering the recursive main loop, Gtk.Dialog.Run calls Gtk.Widget.Show on the dialog for you. Note that you still need to show any children of the dialog yourself. During Gtk.Dialog.Run, the default behavior of Gtk.Widget.Gtk_Widget::delete-event is disabled; if the dialog receives ::delete_event, it will not be destroyed as windows usually are, and Gtk.Dialog.Run will return GTK_RESPONSE_DELETE_EVENT. Also, during Gtk.Dialog.Run the dialog will be modal. You can force Gtk.Dialog.Run to return at any time by calling Gtk.Dialog.Response to emit the ::response signal. Destroying the dialog during Gtk.Dialog.Run is a very bad idea, because your post-run code won't know whether the dialog was destroyed or not. After Gtk.Dialog.Run returns, you are responsible for hiding or destroying the dialog if you wish to do so. Typical usage of this function might be:
GtkWidget *dialog = gtk_dialog_new ();
// Set up dialog...
int result = gtk_dialog_run (GTK_DIALOG (dialog));
switch (result)
{
case GTK_RESPONSE_ACCEPT:
// do_application_specific_something ();
break;
default:
// do_nothing_since_dialog_was_cancelled ();
break;
}
gtk_widget_destroy (dialog);
Note that even though the recursive main loop gives the effect of a modal dialog (it prevents the user from interacting with other windows in the same window group while the dialog is run), callbacks such as timeouts, IO channel watches, DND drops, etc, will be triggered during a Gtk.Dialog.Run call.
procedure Set_Alternative_Button_Order_From_Array
(Dialog : access Gtk_Dialog_Record;
New_Order : Response_Type_Array)
Sets an alternative button order. If the gtk-alternative-button-order setting is set to %TRUE, the dialog buttons are reordered according to the order of the response ids passed to this function.
By default, GTK+ dialogs use the button order advocated by the Gnome Human Interface Guidelines with the affirmative button at the far right, and the cancel button left of it. But the builtin GTK+ dialogs and message dialogs' do provide an alternative button order, which is more suitable on some platforms, e.g. Windows.
Use this function after adding all the buttons to your dialog.
procedure Set_Default_Response
(Dialog : not null access Gtk_Dialog_Record;
Response_Id : Gtk_Response_Type)
Sets the last widget in the dialog's action area with the given Response_Id as the default widget for the dialog. Pressing "Enter" normally activates the default widget.
a response ID
procedure Set_Response_Sensitive
(Dialog : not null access Gtk_Dialog_Record;
Response_Id : Gtk_Response_Type;
Setting : Boolean)
Calls gtk_widget_set_sensitive (widget, Setting) for each widget in the dialog's action area with the given Response_Id. A convenient way to sensitize/desensitize dialog buttons.
a response ID
True for sensitive
Signal_Close : constant Glib.Signal_Name := "close";
The ::close signal is a [keybinding signal][GtkBindingSignal] which gets emitted when the user uses a keybinding to close the dialog.
The default binding for this signal is the Escape key.
Signal_Response : constant Glib.Signal_Name := "response";
Emitted when an action widget is clicked, the dialog receives a delete event, or the application programmer calls Gtk.Dialog.Response. On a delete event, the response ID is GTK_RESPONSE_DELETE_EVENT. Otherwise, it depends on which action widget was clicked.
Use_Header_Bar : constant Gtk_Dialog_Flags := 2 ** 2;
Various flags that can be set for the dialog, with the following implications: - Modal : the dialog is modal, see Gtk.Window.Set_Modal - Destroy_With_Parent: The dialog is destroyed if its parent is destroyed. See Gtk.Window.Set_Destroy_With_Parent - Use_Header_Bar: create dialogs with actions in the header bar instead of action area (since 3.12)
function Use_Header_Bar_From_Settings
(Widget : access Gtk.Widget.Gtk_Widget_Record'Class := null)
return Gtk_Dialog_Flags
Check in the gtk settings whether dialogs should display their action buttons in the header bar rather than in the action area at the bottom. Widget is used to retrieve the settings. If unspecified, the default settings are used. The value of the setting can be set in the file $HOME/.config/gtk-3.0/settings.ini with the following line: gtk-dialogs-use-header=0
Use_Header_Bar_Property : constant Glib.Properties.Property_Int;
True if the dialog uses a Gtk.Header_Bar.Gtk_Header_Bar for action buttons instead of the action-area.
For technical reasons, this property is declared as an integer property, but you should only set it to True or False.