GTK+ Reference Manual
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# GtkEntry

## Name

GtkEntry -- a single line text entry field.

## Synopsis

    #include <gtk/gtk.h>

    struct      GtkEntry;
    GtkWidget*  gtk_entry_new                   (void);
    GtkWidget*  gtk_entry_new_with_max_length   (gint max);
    void        gtk_entry_set_text              (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 const gchar *text);
    void        gtk_entry_append_text           (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 const gchar *text);
    void        gtk_entry_prepend_text          (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 const gchar *text);
    void        gtk_entry_set_position          (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 gint position);
    G_CONST_RETURN gchar* gtk_entry_get_text    (GtkEntry *entry);
    void        gtk_entry_select_region         (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 gint start,
                                                 gint end);
    void        gtk_entry_set_visibility        (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 gboolean visible);
    void        gtk_entry_set_invisible_char    (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 gunichar ch);
    void        gtk_entry_set_editable          (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 gboolean editable);
    void        gtk_entry_set_max_length        (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 gint max);
    gboolean    gtk_entry_get_activates_default (GtkEntry *entry);
    gboolean    gtk_entry_get_has_frame         (GtkEntry *entry);
    gint        gtk_entry_get_width_chars       (GtkEntry *entry);
    void        gtk_entry_set_activates_default (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 gboolean setting);
    void        gtk_entry_set_has_frame         (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 gboolean setting);
    void        gtk_entry_set_width_chars       (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 gint n_chars);
    gunichar    gtk_entry_get_invisible_char    (GtkEntry *entry);
    PangoLayout* gtk_entry_get_layout           (GtkEntry *entry);
    void        gtk_entry_get_layout_offsets    (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 gint *x,
                                                 gint *y);
    gint        gtk_entry_get_max_length        (GtkEntry *entry);
    gboolean    gtk_entry_get_visibility        (GtkEntry *entry);

## Object Hierarchy

      GObject
       +----GtkObject
             +----GtkWidget
                   +----GtkEntry

## Properties

      "cursor-position"      gint                 : Read
      "selection-bound"      gint                 : Read
      "editable"             gboolean             : Read / Write
      "max-length"           gint                 : Read / Write
      "visibility"           gboolean             : Read / Write
      "has-frame"            gboolean             : Read / Write
      "invisible-char"       guint                : Read / Write
      "activates-default"    gboolean             : Read / Write
      "width-chars"          gint                 : Read / Write
      "scroll-offset"        gint                 : Read
      "text"                 gchararray           : Read / Write

## Signal Prototypes

    "activate"  void        user_function      (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                gpointer user_data);
    "copy-clipboard"
                void        user_function      (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                gpointer user_data);
    "cut-clipboard"
                void        user_function      (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                gpointer user_data);
    "delete-from-cursor"
                void        user_function      (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                GtkDeleteType arg1,
                                                gint arg2,
                                                gpointer user_data);
    "insert-at-cursor"
                void        user_function      (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                gchar *arg1,
                                                gpointer user_data);
    "move-cursor"
                void        user_function      (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                GtkMovementStep arg1,
                                                gint arg2,
                                                gboolean arg3,
                                                gpointer user_data);
    "paste-clipboard"
                void        user_function      (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                gpointer user_data);
    "populate-popup"
                void        user_function      (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                GtkMenu *arg1,
                                                gpointer user_data);
    "toggle-overwrite"
                void        user_function      (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                gpointer user_data);

## Description

The GtkEntry widget is a single line text entry widget. A fairly large set of key bindings are supported by default. If the entered text is longer than the allocation of the widget, the widget will scroll so that the cursor position is visible.

## Details

### struct GtkEntry

    struct GtkEntry;

The GtkEntry struct contains only private data.

### gtk_entry_new ()

    GtkWidget*  gtk_entry_new                   (void);

Creates a new GtkEntry widget.

Returns : | a new GtkEntry.

### gtk_entry_new_with_max_length ()

    GtkWidget*  gtk_entry_new_with_max_length   (gint max);

Warning
`gtk_entry_new_with_max_length` is deprecated and should not be used in newly-written code.

Creates a new GtkEntry widget with the given maximum length.

Note: the existance of this function is inconsistent with the rest of the GTK+ API. The normal setup would be to just require the user to make an extra call to gtk_entry_set_max_length() instead. It is not expected that this function will be removed, but it would be better practice not to use it.

`max` : | the maximum length of the entry, or 0 for no maximum. (other than the maximum length of entries.) The value passed in will be clamped to the range 0-65536.
Returns : | a new GtkEntry.

### gtk_entry_set_text ()

    void        gtk_entry_set_text              (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 const gchar *text);

Sets the text in the widget to the given value, replacing the current contents.

`entry` : | a GtkEntry.
`text` : | the new text.

### gtk_entry_append_text ()

    void        gtk_entry_append_text           (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 const gchar *text);

Warning
`gtk_entry_append_text` is deprecated and should not be used in newly-written code.

Appends the given text to the contents of the widget.

`entry` : | a GtkEntry.
`text` : | the text to append.

### gtk_entry_prepend_text ()

    void        gtk_entry_prepend_text          (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 const gchar *text);

Warning
`gtk_entry_prepend_text` is deprecated and should not be used in newly-written code.

Prepends the given text to the contents of th ewidget.

`entry` : | a GtkEntry.
`text` : | the text to prepend.

### gtk_entry_set_position ()

    void        gtk_entry_set_position          (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 gint position);

Warning
`gtk_entry_set_position` is deprecated and should not be used in newly-written code.

Sets the cursor position in an entry to the given value. This function is obsolete. You should use gtk_editable_set_position() instead.

`entry` : | a GtkEntry.
`position` : | the position of the cursor. The cursor is displayed before the character with the given (base 0) index in the widget. The value must be less than or equal to the number of characters in the widget. A value of -1 indicates that the position should be set after the last character in the entry. Note that this position is in characters, not in bytes.

### gtk_entry_get_text ()

    G_CONST_RETURN gchar* gtk_entry_get_text    (GtkEntry *entry);

Retrieve the contents of the entry widget. The returned pointer points to internally allocated storage in the widget and must not be freed, modified or stored. See also gtk_editable_get_chars().

`entry` : | a GtkEntry.
Returns : | the pointer the the contents of the text widget as a string.

### gtk_entry_select_region ()

    void        gtk_entry_select_region         (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 gint start,
                                                 gint end);

Warning
`gtk_entry_select_region` is deprecated and should not be used in newly-written code.

Selects a region of text. The characters that are selected are those characters at positions from `start_pos` up to, but not including `end_pos`. If `end_pos` is negative, then the the characters selected will be those characters from `start_pos` to the end of the text. This function is obsolete. You should use gtk_editable_select_region() instead.

`entry` : | a GtkEntry.
`start` : | the starting position.
`end` : | the end position.

### gtk_entry_set_visibility ()

    void        gtk_entry_set_visibility        (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 gboolean visible);

Sets whether the contents of the entry are visible or not. When visibility is set to `FALSE`, characters are displayed as the invisible char, and will also appear that way when the text in the entry widget is copied elsewhere.

The default invisible char is the asterisk '*', but it can be changed with gtk_entry_set_invisible_char().

`entry` : | a GtkEntry.
`visible` : | `TRUE` if the contents of the entry are displayed as plaintext.

### gtk_entry_set_invisible_char ()

    void        gtk_entry_set_invisible_char    (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 gunichar ch);

Sets the character to use in place of the actual text when gtk_entry_set_visibility() has been called to set text visibility to `FALSE`. i.e. this is the character used in "password mode" to show the user how many characters have been typed. The default invisible char is an asterisk ('*'). If you set the invisible char to 0, then the user will get no feedback at all; there will be no text on the screen as they type.

`entry` : | a GtkEntry
`ch` : | a Unicode character

### gtk_entry_set_editable ()

    void        gtk_entry_set_editable          (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 gboolean editable);

Warning
`gtk_entry_set_editable` is deprecated and should not be used in newly-written code.

Determines if the user can edit the text in the editable widget or not. This function is obsolete. You should use gtk_editable_set_editable() instead.

`entry` : | a GtkEntry.
`editable` : | `TRUE` if the user is allowed to edit the text in the widget.

### gtk_entry_set_max_length ()

    void        gtk_entry_set_max_length        (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 gint max);

Sets the maximum allowed length of the contents of the widget. If the current contents are longer than the given length, then they will be truncated to fit.

`entry` : | a GtkEntry.
`max` : | the maximum length of the entry, or 0 for no maximum. (other than the maximum length of entries.) The value passed in will be clamped to the range 0-65536.

### gtk_entry_get_activates_default ()

    gboolean    gtk_entry_get_activates_default (GtkEntry *entry);

Retrieves the value set by gtk_entry_set_activates_default().

`entry` : | a GtkEntry
Returns : | `TRUE` if the entry will activate the default widget

### gtk_entry_get_has_frame ()

    gboolean    gtk_entry_get_has_frame         (GtkEntry *entry);

Gets the value set by gtk_entry_set_has_frame().

`entry` : | a GtkEntry
Returns : | whether the entry has a beveled frame

### gtk_entry_get_width_chars ()

    gint        gtk_entry_get_width_chars       (GtkEntry *entry);

Gets the value set by gtk_entry_set_width_chars().

`entry` : | a GtkEntry
Returns : | number of chars to request space for, or negative if unset

### gtk_entry_set_activates_default ()

    void        gtk_entry_set_activates_default (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 gboolean setting);

If `setting` is `TRUE`, pressing Enter in the `entry` will activate the default widget for the window containing the entry. This usually means that the dialog box containing the entry will be closed, since the default widget is usually one of the dialog buttons.

(For experts: if `setting` is `TRUE`, the entry calls gtk_window_activate_default() on the window containing the entry, in the default handler for the "activate" signal.)

`entry` : | a GtkEntry
`setting` : | `TRUE` to activate window's default widget on Enter keypress

### gtk_entry_set_has_frame ()

    void        gtk_entry_set_has_frame         (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 gboolean setting);

Sets whether the entry has a beveled frame around it.

`entry` : | a GtkEntry
`setting` : | new value

### gtk_entry_set_width_chars ()

    void        gtk_entry_set_width_chars       (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 gint n_chars);

Changes the size request of the entry to be about the right size for `n_chars` characters. Note that it changes the size request, the size can still be affected by how you pack the widget into containers. If `n_chars` is -1, the size reverts to the default entry size.

`entry` : | a GtkEntry
`n_chars` : | width in chars

### gtk_entry_get_invisible_char ()

    gunichar    gtk_entry_get_invisible_char    (GtkEntry *entry);

Retrieves the character displayed in place of the real characters for entries with visisbility set to false. See gtk_entry_set_invisible_char().

`entry` : | a GtkEntry
Returns : | the current invisible char, or 0, if the entry does not show invisible text at all.

### gtk_entry_get_layout ()

    PangoLayout* gtk_entry_get_layout           (GtkEntry *entry);

Gets the PangoLayout used to display the entry. The layout is useful to e.g. convert text positions to pixel positions, in combination with gtk_entry_get_layout_offsets(). The returned layout is owned by the entry so need not be freed by the caller.

Keep in mind that the layout text may contain a preedit string, so gtk_entry_layout_index_to_text_index() and gtk_entry_text_index_to_layout_index() are needed to convert byte indices in the layout to byte indices in the entry contents.

`entry` : | a GtkEntry
Returns : | the PangoLayout for this entry

### gtk_entry_get_layout_offsets ()

    void        gtk_entry_get_layout_offsets    (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                 gint *x,
                                                 gint *y);

Obtains the position of the PangoLayout used to render text in the entry, in widget coordinates. Useful if you want to line up the text in an entry with some other text, e.g. when using the entry to implement editable cells in a sheet widget.

Also useful to convert mouse events into coordinates inside the PangoLayout, e.g. to take some action if some part of the entry text is clicked.

Note that as the user scrolls around in the entry the offsets will change; you'll need to connect to the "notify::scroll_offset" signal to track this. Remember when using the PangoLayout functions you need to convert to and from pixels using PANGO_PIXELS() or PANGO_SCALE.

Keep in mind that the layout text may contain a preedit string, so gtk_entry_layout_index_to_text_index() and gtk_entry_text_index_to_layout_index() are needed to convert byte indices in the layout to byte indices in the entry contents.

`entry` : | a GtkEntry
`x` : | location to store X offset of layout, or `NULL`
`y` : | location to store Y offset of layout, or `NULL`

### gtk_entry_get_max_length ()

    gint        gtk_entry_get_max_length        (GtkEntry *entry);

Retrieves the maximum allowed length of the text in `entry`. See gtk_entry_set_max_length().

`entry` : | a GtkEntry
Returns : | the maximum allowed number of characters in GtkEntry, or 0 if there is no maximum.

### gtk_entry_get_visibility ()

    gboolean    gtk_entry_get_visibility        (GtkEntry *entry);

Retrieves whether the text in `entry` is visible. See gtk_entry_set_visibility().

`entry` : | a GtkEntry
Returns : | `TRUE` if the text is currently visible

## Properties

"`cursor-position`" (gint : Read)

  The current position of the insertion cursor in chars.

"`selection-bound`" (gint : Read)

  The position of the opposite end of the selection from the cursor in chars.

"`editable`" (gboolean : Read / Write)

  Whether the entry contents can be edited

"`max-length`" (gint : Read / Write)

  Maximum number of characters for this entry. Zero if no maximum.

"`visibility`" (gboolean : Read / Write)

  FALSE displays the "invisible char" instead of the actual text (password mode)

"`has-frame`" (gboolean : Read / Write)

  FALSE removes outside bevel from entry.

"`invisible-char`" (guint : Read / Write)

  The character to use when masking entry contents (in "password mode")

"`activates-default`" (gboolean : Read / Write)

  Whether to activate the default widget (such as the default button in a dialog) when Enter is pressed.

"`width-chars`" (gint : Read / Write)

  Number of characters to leave space for in the entry.

"`scroll-offset`" (gint : Read)

  Number of pixels of the entry scrolled off the screen to the left

"`text`" (gchararray : Read / Write)

  The contents of the entry

## Signals

### The "activate" signal

    void        user_function                  (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                gpointer user_data);

`entry` : | the object which received the signal.
`user_data` : | user data set when the signal handler was connected.

### The "copy-clipboard" signal

    void        user_function                  (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                gpointer user_data);

`entry` : | the object which received the signal.
`user_data` : | user data set when the signal handler was connected.

### The "cut-clipboard" signal

    void        user_function                  (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                gpointer user_data);

`entry` : | the object which received the signal.
`user_data` : | user data set when the signal handler was connected.

### The "delete-from-cursor" signal

    void        user_function                  (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                GtkDeleteType arg1,
                                                gint arg2,
                                                gpointer user_data);

`entry` : | the object which received the signal.
`arg1` : |
`arg2` : |
`user_data` : | user data set when the signal handler was connected.

### The "insert-at-cursor" signal

    void        user_function                  (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                gchar *arg1,
                                                gpointer user_data);

`entry` : | the object which received the signal.
`arg1` : |
`user_data` : | user data set when the signal handler was connected.

### The "move-cursor" signal

    void        user_function                  (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                GtkMovementStep arg1,
                                                gint arg2,
                                                gboolean arg3,
                                                gpointer user_data);

`entry` : | the object which received the signal.
`arg1` : |
`arg2` : |
`arg3` : |
`user_data` : | user data set when the signal handler was connected.

### The "paste-clipboard" signal

    void        user_function                  (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                gpointer user_data);

`entry` : | the object which received the signal.
`user_data` : | user data set when the signal handler was connected.

### The "populate-popup" signal

    void        user_function                  (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                GtkMenu *arg1,
                                                gpointer user_data);

`entry` : | the object which received the signal.
`arg1` : |
`user_data` : | user data set when the signal handler was connected.

### The "toggle-overwrite" signal

    void        user_function                  (GtkEntry *entry,
                                                gpointer user_data);

`entry` : | the object which received the signal.
`user_data` : | user data set when the signal handler was connected.

## See Also

GtkText

  a widget for handling multi-line text entry.

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