.\" -*-nroff-*-
.TH xgetline 1 "15 November 1998" "Straylight/Edgeware" "xtoys"
.SH NAME
xgetline \- request a line of text in an X dialogue box
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B xgetline
.RI [ gtk-options ...]
.RB [ -Hin ]
.RB [ \- M
.IR max ]
.RB [ \-d
.IR default ]
.RB [ \-l
.IR file ]
.RB [ \-p
.IR prompt ]
.RB [ \-t
.IR title ]
.SH DESCRIPTION
The
.B xgetline
program reads a line of text from the user via a pretty GTK dialogue
box.  The title bar contents, prompt string, and default text are all
configurable.  If the user enters a string and clicks the
.B OK
button (or
presses
.IR enter ),
the string is echoed to standard output and
.B xgetline
returns an exit status of zero.  If the user cancels the dialogue box
(by closing it, or pressing
.IR escape ),
.B xgetline
echoes nothing and returns an exit status of one.
.PP
The
.B xgetline
program is intended to be used in window manager configuration files, to
allow users to fill in bits of text (e.g., hostnames or shell commands)
in generally useful places.  For example, the author has the following
shell command attached to a hotkey:
.PP
.RS 5
.ft B
.nf
cmd=$(xgetline -t "Shell command in window" -p "_Command:") &&
  xterm -T "$cmd" -e sh -c "$cmd"
.ft R
.fi
.SS Options
.TP 5
.B "\-H, \-\-history"
With
.BR \-l ,
update the file with the newly entered line at the top.  Other lines
matching the newly entered string are not written.  No effect without
.BR \-l .
.TP 5
.BI "\-M, \-\-histmax " max
When writing an updated history file, do not write more than
.I max
lines.  The default is 20; a value of 0 disables a length limit on the
history file.
.TP 5
.BI "\-d, \-\-default " default
Sets the default text in the entry field to
.IR default .
The default default is the first item in the empty string.  The special
default string
.RB ` @ '
sets the default to be the first item in the history list, if one is
supplied.
.TP 5
.B \-i, \-\-invisible
Don't echo characters to the screen when they're typed.  Useful when
requesting passwords and similar secrets.
.TP 5
.BI "\-l, \-\-list " file
Reads a list of alternatives from
.I file
and displays them in a drop-down list box.  The user can rapidly select
an item from the drop-down list using the mouse or cursor keys.  The
file is not modified (but see the
.B \-\-history
option below).
.TP 5
.B "\-n, \-\-no-choice"
One of the items from the selection list must be chosen; the user may
not type an entry in directly.
.TP 5
.BI "\-p, \-\-prompt " prompt
Sets the prompt string in the dialogue box to
.IR prompt .
If the prompt string contains an underscore character
.RB ` _ ',
then the following character appears underlined; pressing Alt and the
leftmost underlined character (the `mnemonic') moves the input focus to
the entry widget.  If you want a literal underscore, type two
consecutive underscores.  The default is to have no prompt string.
.TP 5
.BI "\-t, \-\-title " title
Sets the title of the dialogue box to
.IR title .
The default title is
.RB ` "Input request" '.
.SH BUGS
Hopefully none.
.SH SEE ALSO
.BR gtk-options (7).
.SH AUTHOR
Mark Wooding (mdw@distorted.org.uk).