NAME

Curses::Widgets::ComboBox - Combo-Box Widgets

MODULE VERSION

$Id: ComboBox.pm,v 1.100 2001/12/10 10:51:05 corliss Exp $

SYNOPSIS

        use Curses::Widgets::ComboBox;

        $cb = Curses::Widgets::ComboBox->new({
                CAPTION                 => undef,
                CAPTIONCOL              => undef,
                LENGTH                  => 10,
                MAXLENGTH               => 255,
                MASK                    => undef,
                VALUE                   => '',
                INPUTFUNC               => \&scankey,
                FOREGROUND              => undef,
                BACKGROUND              => 'black',
                BORDER                  => 1,
                BORDERCOL               => 'red',
                FOCUSSWITCH             => "\t\n",
                CURSORPOS               => 0,
                TEXTSTART               => 0,
                PASSWORD                => 0,
                X                       => 1,
                Y                       => 1,
                READONLY                => 0,
                LISTITEMS               => [qw(foo bar wop)],
                });

        $cb->draw($mwh, 1);

        See the Curses::Widgets pod for other methods.

REQUIREMENTS

Curses

Curses::Widgets

Curses::Widgets::TextField

Curses::Widgets::ListBox

DESCRIPTION

Curses::Widgets::ComboBox provides simplified OO access to Curses-based combo-boxes. This widget essentially acts as text field widget, but upon a KEY_DOWN or "\n", a drop-down list is displayed, and the item selected is put in the text field as the value.

METHODS

new (inherited from Curses::Widgets)

        $cb = Curses::Widgets::ComboBox->new({
                CAPTION                 => undef,
                CAPTIONCOL              => undef,
                LENGTH                  => 10,
                MAXLENGTH               => 255,
                MASK                    => undef,
                VALUE                   => '',
                INPUTFUNC               => \&scankey,
                FOREGROUND              => undef,
                BACKGROUND              => 'black',
                BORDER                  => 1,
                BORDERCOL               => 'red',
                FOCUSSWITCH             => "\t\n",
                CURSORPOS               => 0,
                TEXTSTART               => 0,
                PASSWORD                => 0,
                X                       => 1,
                Y                       => 1,
                READONLY                => 0,
                LISTITEMS               => [qw(foo bar wop)],
                });

The new method instantiates a new ComboBox object. The only mandatory key/value pairs in the configuration hash are X and Y. All others have the following defaults:

        Key             Default         Description
        ============================================================
        CAPTION         undef           Caption superimposed on border
        CAPTIONCOL      undef           Foreground colour for caption 
                                        text
        LENGTH          10              Number of columns displayed
        MAXLENGTH       255             Maximum string length allowed
        MASK            undef           Not yet implemented
        VALUE           ''              Current field text
        INPUTFUNC       \&scankey       Function to use to scan for 
                                        keystrokes
        FOREGROUND      undef           Default foreground colour
        BACKGROUND      'black'         Default background colour
        BORDER          1               Display a border around the 
                                        field
        BORDERCOL       undef           Foreground colour for border
        FOCUSSWITCH     "\t\n"          Characters which signify end of 
                                        input
        CURSORPOS       0               Starting position of the cursor
        TEXTSTART       0               Position in string to start 
                                        displaying
        PASSWORD        0               Subsitutes '*' instead of 
                                        characters
        READONLY        0               Prevents alteration to content
        LISTLINES       5               Number of lines to display at
                                        a time in the drop-down list
        LISTLENGTH      [LENGTH]        Width of the drop-down list.
                                        Defaults to the same length
                                        specified for the CombBox widget
        LISTITEMS       []              Items listed in drop-down list

The CAPTION is only valid when the BORDER is enabled. If the border is disabled, the field will be underlined, provided the terminal supports it.

If MAXLENGTH is undefined, no limit will be placed on the string length.

draw (inherited from Curses::Widgets::TextField)

        $cb->draw($mwh, 1);

The draw method renders the text field in its current state. This requires a valid handle to a curses window in which it will render itself. The optional second argument, if true, will cause the field's text cursor to be rendered as well.

popup

        $combo->popup;

This method causes the drop down list to be displayed. Since, theoretically, this list should never be seen unless it's being actively used, we will always assume that we need to draw a cursor on the list as well.

HISTORY

2001/12/09 -- First version of the combo box

AUTHOR/COPYRIGHT

(c) 2001 Arthur Corliss (corliss@digitalmages.com)