GtkComboBox

GtkComboBox — A widget used to choose from a list of items

Properties

int active Read / Write
char * active-id Read / Write
GtkSensitivityType button-sensitivity Read / Write
GtkWidget * child Read / Write
int entry-text-column Read / Write
gboolean has-entry Read / Write / Construct Only
gboolean has-frame Read / Write
int id-column Read / Write
GtkTreeModel * model Read / Write
gboolean popup-fixed-width Read / Write
gboolean popup-shown Read

Signals

void changed Run Last
char* format-entry-text Run Last
void move-active Action
gboolean popdown Action
void popup Action

Types and Values

Object Hierarchy

    GObject
    ╰── GInitiallyUnowned
        ╰── GtkWidget
            ╰── GtkComboBox
                ╰── GtkComboBoxText

Implemented Interfaces

GtkComboBox implements GtkAccessible, GtkBuildable, GtkConstraintTarget, GtkCellLayout and GtkCellEditable.

Includes

#include <gtk/gtk.h>

Description

A GtkComboBox is a widget that allows the user to choose from a list of valid choices. The GtkComboBox displays the selected choice. When activated, the GtkComboBox displays a popup which allows the user to make a new choice. The style in which the selected value is displayed, and the style of the popup is determined by the current theme. It may be similar to a Windows-style combo box.

The GtkComboBox uses the model-view pattern; the list of valid choices is specified in the form of a tree model, and the display of the choices can be adapted to the data in the model by using cell renderers, as you would in a tree view. This is possible since GtkComboBox implements the GtkCellLayout interface. The tree model holding the valid choices is not restricted to a flat list, it can be a real tree, and the popup will reflect the tree structure.

To allow the user to enter values not in the model, the “has-entry” property allows the GtkComboBox to contain a GtkEntry. This entry can be accessed by calling gtk_combo_box_get_child() on the combo box.

For a simple list of textual choices, the model-view API of GtkComboBox can be a bit overwhelming. In this case, GtkComboBoxText offers a simple alternative. Both GtkComboBox and GtkComboBoxText can contain an entry.

CSS nodes

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combobox
├── box.linked
   ╰── button.combo
       ╰── box
           ├── cellview
           ╰── arrow
╰── window.popup

A normal combobox contains a box with the .linked class, a button with the .combo class and inside those buttons, there are a cellview and an arrow.

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combobox
├── box.linked
   ├── entry.combo
   ╰── button.combo
       ╰── box
           ╰── arrow
╰── window.popup

A GtkComboBox with an entry has a single CSS node with name combobox. It contains a box with the .linked class. That box contains an entry and a button, both with the .combo class added. The button also contains another node with name arrow.


Accessibility

GtkComboBox uses the GTK_ACCESSIBLE_ROLE_COMBO_BOX role.

Functions

gtk_combo_box_new ()

GtkWidget *
gtk_combo_box_new (void);

Creates a new empty GtkComboBox.

Returns

A new GtkComboBox.


gtk_combo_box_new_with_entry ()

GtkWidget *
gtk_combo_box_new_with_entry (void);

Creates a new empty GtkComboBox with an entry.

Returns

A new GtkComboBox.


gtk_combo_box_new_with_model ()

GtkWidget *
gtk_combo_box_new_with_model (GtkTreeModel *model);

Creates a new GtkComboBox with the model initialized to model .

Parameters

model

A GtkTreeModel.

 

Returns

A new GtkComboBox.


gtk_combo_box_new_with_model_and_entry ()

GtkWidget *
gtk_combo_box_new_with_model_and_entry
                               (GtkTreeModel *model);

Creates a new empty GtkComboBox with an entry and with the model initialized to model .

Parameters

model

A GtkTreeModel

 

Returns

A new GtkComboBox


gtk_combo_box_get_active ()

int
gtk_combo_box_get_active (GtkComboBox *combo_box);

Returns the index of the currently active item, or -1 if there’s no active item. If the model is a non-flat treemodel, and the active item is not an immediate child of the root of the tree, this function returns gtk_tree_path_get_indices (path)[0], where path is the GtkTreePath of the active item.

Parameters

combo_box

A GtkComboBox

 

Returns

An integer which is the index of the currently active item, or -1 if there’s no active item.


gtk_combo_box_set_active ()

void
gtk_combo_box_set_active (GtkComboBox *combo_box,
                          int index_);

Sets the active item of combo_box to be the item at index .

Parameters

combo_box

A GtkComboBox

 

index_

An index in the model passed during construction, or -1 to have no active item

 

gtk_combo_box_get_active_iter ()

gboolean
gtk_combo_box_get_active_iter (GtkComboBox *combo_box,
                               GtkTreeIter *iter);

Sets iter to point to the currently active item, if any item is active. Otherwise, iter is left unchanged.

Parameters

combo_box

A GtkComboBox

 

iter

A GtkTreeIter.

[out]

Returns

TRUE if iter was set, FALSE otherwise


gtk_combo_box_set_active_iter ()

void
gtk_combo_box_set_active_iter (GtkComboBox *combo_box,
                               GtkTreeIter *iter);

Sets the current active item to be the one referenced by iter , or unsets the active item if iter is NULL.

Parameters

combo_box

A GtkComboBox

 

iter

The GtkTreeIter, or NULL.

[allow-none]

gtk_combo_box_get_id_column ()

int
gtk_combo_box_get_id_column (GtkComboBox *combo_box);

Returns the column which combo_box is using to get string IDs for values from.

Parameters

combo_box

A GtkComboBox

 

Returns

A column in the data source model of combo_box .


gtk_combo_box_set_id_column ()

void
gtk_combo_box_set_id_column (GtkComboBox *combo_box,
                             int id_column);

Sets the model column which combo_box should use to get string IDs for values from. The column id_column in the model of combo_box must be of type G_TYPE_STRING.

Parameters

combo_box

A GtkComboBox

 

id_column

A column in model to get string IDs for values from

 

gtk_combo_box_get_active_id ()

const char *
gtk_combo_box_get_active_id (GtkComboBox *combo_box);

Returns the ID of the active row of combo_box . This value is taken from the active row and the column specified by the “id-column” property of combo_box (see gtk_combo_box_set_id_column()).

The returned value is an interned string which means that you can compare the pointer by value to other interned strings and that you must not free it.

If the “id-column” property of combo_box is not set, or if no row is active, or if the active row has a NULL ID value, then NULL is returned.

Parameters

combo_box

a GtkComboBox

 

Returns

the ID of the active row, or NULL.

[nullable]


gtk_combo_box_set_active_id ()

gboolean
gtk_combo_box_set_active_id (GtkComboBox *combo_box,
                             const char *active_id);

Changes the active row of combo_box to the one that has an ID equal to active_id , or unsets the active row if active_id is NULL. Rows having a NULL ID string cannot be made active by this function.

If the “id-column” property of combo_box is unset or if no row has the given ID then the function does nothing and returns FALSE.

Parameters

combo_box

a GtkComboBox

 

active_id

the ID of the row to select, or NULL.

[allow-none]

Returns

TRUE if a row with a matching ID was found. If a NULL active_id was given to unset the active row, the function always returns TRUE.


gtk_combo_box_get_model ()

GtkTreeModel *
gtk_combo_box_get_model (GtkComboBox *combo_box);

Returns the GtkTreeModel which is acting as data source for combo_box .

Parameters

combo_box

A GtkComboBox

 

Returns

A GtkTreeModel which was passed during construction.

[nullable][transfer none]


gtk_combo_box_set_model ()

void
gtk_combo_box_set_model (GtkComboBox *combo_box,
                         GtkTreeModel *model);

Sets the model used by combo_box to be model . Will unset a previously set model (if applicable). If model is NULL, then it will unset the model.

Note that this function does not clear the cell renderers, you have to call gtk_cell_layout_clear() yourself if you need to set up different cell renderers for the new model.

Parameters

combo_box

A GtkComboBox

 

model

A GtkTreeModel.

[allow-none]

gtk_combo_box_popup ()

void
gtk_combo_box_popup (GtkComboBox *combo_box);

Pops up the menu or dropdown list of combo_box .

This function is mostly intended for use by accessibility technologies; applications should have little use for it.

Before calling this, combo_box must be mapped, or nothing will happen.

Parameters

combo_box

a GtkComboBox

 

gtk_combo_box_popup_for_device ()

void
gtk_combo_box_popup_for_device (GtkComboBox *combo_box,
                                GdkDevice *device);

Pops up the menu of combo_box . Note that currently this does not do anything with the device, as it was previously only used for list-mode combo boxes, and those were removed in GTK 4. However, it is retained in case similar functionality is added back later.

Parameters

combo_box

a GtkComboBox

 

device

a GdkDevice

 

gtk_combo_box_popdown ()

void
gtk_combo_box_popdown (GtkComboBox *combo_box);

Hides the menu or dropdown list of combo_box .

This function is mostly intended for use by accessibility technologies; applications should have little use for it.

Parameters

combo_box

a GtkComboBox

 

gtk_combo_box_get_row_separator_func ()

GtkTreeViewRowSeparatorFunc
gtk_combo_box_get_row_separator_func (GtkComboBox *combo_box);

Returns the current row separator function.

[skip]

Parameters

combo_box

a GtkComboBox

 

Returns

the current row separator function.

[nullable]


gtk_combo_box_set_row_separator_func ()

void
gtk_combo_box_set_row_separator_func (GtkComboBox *combo_box,
                                      GtkTreeViewRowSeparatorFunc func,
                                      gpointer data,
                                      GDestroyNotify destroy);

Sets the row separator function, which is used to determine whether a row should be drawn as a separator. If the row separator function is NULL, no separators are drawn. This is the default value.

Parameters

combo_box

a GtkComboBox

 

func

a GtkTreeViewRowSeparatorFunc.

[nullable]

data

user data to pass to func , or NULL.

[allow-none]

destroy

destroy notifier for data , or NULL.

[allow-none]

gtk_combo_box_set_button_sensitivity ()

void
gtk_combo_box_set_button_sensitivity (GtkComboBox *combo_box,
                                      GtkSensitivityType sensitivity);

Sets whether the dropdown button of the combo box should be always sensitive (GTK_SENSITIVITY_ON), never sensitive (GTK_SENSITIVITY_OFF) or only if there is at least one item to display (GTK_SENSITIVITY_AUTO).

Parameters

combo_box

a GtkComboBox

 

sensitivity

specify the sensitivity of the dropdown button

 

gtk_combo_box_get_button_sensitivity ()

GtkSensitivityType
gtk_combo_box_get_button_sensitivity (GtkComboBox *combo_box);

Returns whether the combo box sets the dropdown button sensitive or not when there are no items in the model.

Parameters

combo_box

a GtkComboBox

 

Returns

GTK_SENSITIVITY_ON if the dropdown button is sensitive when the model is empty, GTK_SENSITIVITY_OFF if the button is always insensitive or GTK_SENSITIVITY_AUTO if it is only sensitive as long as the model has one item to be selected.


gtk_combo_box_get_has_entry ()

gboolean
gtk_combo_box_get_has_entry (GtkComboBox *combo_box);

Returns whether the combo box has an entry.

Parameters

combo_box

a GtkComboBox

 

Returns

whether there is an entry in combo_box .


gtk_combo_box_set_entry_text_column ()

void
gtk_combo_box_set_entry_text_column (GtkComboBox *combo_box,
                                     int text_column);

Sets the model column which combo_box should use to get strings from to be text_column . The column text_column in the model of combo_box must be of type G_TYPE_STRING.

This is only relevant if combo_box has been created with “has-entry” as TRUE.

Parameters

combo_box

A GtkComboBox

 

text_column

A column in model to get the strings from for the internal entry

 

gtk_combo_box_get_entry_text_column ()

int
gtk_combo_box_get_entry_text_column (GtkComboBox *combo_box);

Returns the column which combo_box is using to get the strings from to display in the internal entry.

Parameters

combo_box

A GtkComboBox.

 

Returns

A column in the data source model of combo_box .


gtk_combo_box_set_popup_fixed_width ()

void
gtk_combo_box_set_popup_fixed_width (GtkComboBox *combo_box,
                                     gboolean fixed);

Specifies whether the popup’s width should be a fixed width matching the allocated width of the combo box.

Parameters

combo_box

a GtkComboBox

 

fixed

whether to use a fixed popup width

 

gtk_combo_box_get_popup_fixed_width ()

gboolean
gtk_combo_box_get_popup_fixed_width (GtkComboBox *combo_box);

Gets whether the popup uses a fixed width matching the allocated width of the combo box.

Parameters

combo_box

a GtkComboBox

 

Returns

TRUE if the popup uses a fixed width


gtk_combo_box_set_child ()

void
gtk_combo_box_set_child (GtkComboBox *combo_box,
                         GtkWidget *child);

Sets the child widget of combo_box .

Parameters

combo_box

a GtkComboBox

 

child

the child widget.

[allow-none]

gtk_combo_box_get_child ()

GtkWidget *
gtk_combo_box_get_child (GtkComboBox *combo_box);

Gets the child widget of combo_box .

Parameters

combo_box

a GtkComboBox

 

Returns

the child widget of combo_box .

[nullable][transfer none]

Types and Values

struct GtkComboBox

struct GtkComboBox;

struct GtkComboBoxClass

struct GtkComboBoxClass {
  GtkWidgetClass parent_class;

  /* signals */
  void     (* changed)           (GtkComboBox *combo_box);
  char    *(* format_entry_text) (GtkComboBox *combo_box,
                                  const char *path);
};

Members

changed ()

Signal is emitted when the active item is changed.

 

format_entry_text ()

Signal which allows you to change how the text displayed in a combo box’s entry is displayed.

 

enum GtkSensitivityType

Determines how GTK handles the sensitivity of various controls, such as combo box buttons.

Members

GTK_SENSITIVITY_AUTO

The control is made insensitive if no action can be triggered

 

GTK_SENSITIVITY_ON

The control is always sensitive

 

GTK_SENSITIVITY_OFF

The control is always insensitive

 

Property Details

The “active” property

  “active”                   int

The item which is currently active. If the model is a non-flat treemodel, and the active item is not an immediate child of the root of the tree, this property has the value gtk_tree_path_get_indices (path)[0], where path is the GtkTreePath of the active item.

Owner: GtkComboBox

Flags: Read / Write

Allowed values: >= -1

Default value: -1


The “active-id” property

  “active-id”                char *

The value of the ID column of the active row.

Owner: GtkComboBox

Flags: Read / Write

Default value: NULL


The “button-sensitivity” property

  “button-sensitivity”       GtkSensitivityType

Whether the dropdown button is sensitive when the model is empty.

Owner: GtkComboBox

Flags: Read / Write

Default value: GTK_SENSITIVITY_AUTO


The “child” property

  “child”                    GtkWidget *

The child_widget.

Owner: GtkComboBox

Flags: Read / Write


The “entry-text-column” property

  “entry-text-column”        int

The column in the combo box's model to associate with strings from the entry if the combo was created with “has-entry” = TRUE.

Owner: GtkComboBox

Flags: Read / Write

Allowed values: >= -1

Default value: -1


The “has-entry” property

  “has-entry”                gboolean

Whether the combo box has an entry.

Owner: GtkComboBox

Flags: Read / Write / Construct Only

Default value: FALSE


The “has-frame” property

  “has-frame”                gboolean

The has-frame property controls whether a frame is drawn around the entry.

Owner: GtkComboBox

Flags: Read / Write

Default value: TRUE


The “id-column” property

  “id-column”                int

The column in the combo box's model that provides string IDs for the values in the model, if != -1.

Owner: GtkComboBox

Flags: Read / Write

Allowed values: >= -1

Default value: -1


The “model” property

  “model”                    GtkTreeModel *

The model from which the combo box takes the values shown in the list.

Owner: GtkComboBox

Flags: Read / Write


The “popup-fixed-width” property

  “popup-fixed-width”        gboolean

Whether the popup's width should be a fixed width matching the allocated width of the combo box.

Owner: GtkComboBox

Flags: Read / Write

Default value: TRUE


The “popup-shown” property

  “popup-shown”              gboolean

Whether the combo boxes dropdown is popped up. Note that this property is mainly useful, because it allows you to connect to notify::popup-shown.

Owner: GtkComboBox

Flags: Read

Default value: FALSE

Signal Details

The “changed” signal

void
user_function (GtkComboBox *widget,
               gpointer     user_data)

The changed signal is emitted when the active item is changed. The can be due to the user selecting a different item from the list, or due to a call to gtk_combo_box_set_active_iter(). It will also be emitted while typing into the entry of a combo box with an entry.

Parameters

widget

the object which received the signal

 

user_data

user data set when the signal handler was connected.

 

Flags: Run Last


The “format-entry-text” signal

char*
user_function (GtkComboBox *combo,
               char        *path,
               gpointer     user_data)

For combo boxes that are created with an entry (See GtkComboBox:has-entry).

A signal which allows you to change how the text displayed in a combo box's entry is displayed.

Connect a signal handler which returns an allocated string representing path . That string will then be used to set the text in the combo box's entry. The default signal handler uses the text from the GtkComboBox::entry-text-column model column.

Here's an example signal handler which fetches data from the model and displays it in the entry.

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static char *
format_entry_text_callback (GtkComboBox *combo,
                            const char *path,
                            gpointer     user_data)
{
  GtkTreeIter iter;
  GtkTreeModel model;
  double       value;

  model = gtk_combo_box_get_model (combo);

  gtk_tree_model_get_iter_from_string (model, &iter, path);
  gtk_tree_model_get (model, &iter,
                      THE_DOUBLE_VALUE_COLUMN, &value,
                      -1);

  return g_strdup_printf ("%g", value);
}

Parameters

combo

the object which received the signal

 

path

the GtkTreePath string from the combo box's current model to format text for

 

user_data

user data set when the signal handler was connected.

 

Returns

a newly allocated string representing path for the current GtkComboBox model.

[transfer full]

Flags: Run Last


The “move-active” signal

void
user_function (GtkComboBox  *widget,
               GtkScrollType scroll_type,
               gpointer      user_data)

The ::move-active signal is a keybinding signal which gets emitted to move the active selection.

Parameters

widget

the object that received the signal

 

scroll_type

a GtkScrollType

 

user_data

user data set when the signal handler was connected.

 

Flags: Action


The “popdown” signal

gboolean
user_function (GtkComboBox *button,
               gpointer     user_data)

The ::popdown signal is a keybinding signal which gets emitted to popdown the combo box list.

The default bindings for this signal are Alt+Up and Escape.

Parameters

button

the object which received the signal

 

user_data

user data set when the signal handler was connected.

 

Flags: Action


The “popup” signal

void
user_function (GtkComboBox *widget,
               gpointer     user_data)

The ::popup signal is a keybinding signal which gets emitted to popup the combo box list.

The default binding for this signal is Alt+Down.

Parameters

widget

the object that received the signal

 

user_data

user data set when the signal handler was connected.

 

Flags: Action