FileChooserIF

GtkFileChooser is an interface that can be implemented by file selection widgets. In GTK+, the main objects that implement this interface are gtk.FileChooserWidget, gtk.FileChooserDialog, and gtk.FileChooserButton You do not need to write an object that implements the GtkFileChooser interface unless you are trying to adapt an existing file selector to expose a standard programming interface.

GtkFileChooser allows for shortcuts to various places in the filesystem. In the default implementation these are displayed in the left pane. It may be a bit confusing at first that these shortcuts come from various sources and in various flavours, so lets explain the terminology here:

- Bookmarks: are created by the user, by dragging folders from the right pane to the left pane, or by using the “Add”. Bookmarks can be renamed and deleted by the user.

- Shortcuts: can be provided by the application. For example, a Paint program may want to add a shortcut for a Clipart folder. Shortcuts cannot be modified by the user.

- Volumes: are provided by the underlying filesystem abstraction. They are the “roots” of the filesystem.

File Names and Encodings

When the user is finished selecting files in a GtkFileChooser, your program can get the selected names either as filenames or as URIs. For URIs, the normal escaping rules are applied if the URI contains non-ASCII characters. However, filenames are always returned in the character set specified by the G_FILENAME_ENCODING environment variable. Please see the GLib documentation for more details about this variable.

This means that while you can pass the result of gtk_file_chooser_get_filename() to open() or fopen(), you may not be able to directly set it as the text of a gtk.Label widget unless you convert it first to UTF-8, which all GTK+ widgets expect. You should use g_filename_to_utf8() to convert filenames into strings that can be passed to GTK+ widgets.

Adding a Preview Widget

You can add a custom preview widget to a file chooser and then get notification about when the preview needs to be updated. To install a preview widget, use gtk_file_chooser_set_preview_widget(). Then, connect to the update-preview signal to get notified when you need to update the contents of the preview.

Your callback should use gtk_file_chooser_get_preview_filename() to see what needs previewing. Once you have generated the preview for the corresponding file, you must call gtk_file_chooser_set_preview_widget_active() with a boolean flag that indicates whether your callback could successfully generate a preview.

Example: Using a Preview Widget ## {[gtkfilechooser-preview|gtkfilechooser-preview]}

{
GtkImage *preview;

...

preview = gtk_image_new ();

gtk_file_chooser_set_preview_widget (my_file_chooser, preview);
g_signal_connect (my_file_chooser, "update-preview",
G_CALLBACK (update_preview_cb), preview);
}

static void
update_preview_cb (GtkFileChooser *file_chooser, gpointer data)
{
GtkWidget *preview;
char *filename;
GdkPixbuf *pixbuf;
gboolean have_preview;

preview = GTK_WIDGET (data);
filename = gtk_file_chooser_get_preview_filename (file_chooser);

pixbuf = gdk_pixbuf_new_from_file_at_size (filename, 128, 128, NULL);
have_preview = (pixbuf != NULL);
g_free (filename);

gtk_image_set_from_pixbuf (GTK_IMAGE (preview), pixbuf);
if (pixbuf)
g_object_unref (pixbuf);

gtk_file_chooser_set_preview_widget_active (file_chooser, have_preview);
}

Adding Extra Widgets

You can add extra widgets to a file chooser to provide options that are not present in the default design. For example, you can add a toggle button to give the user the option to open a file in read-only mode. You can use gtk_file_chooser_set_extra_widget() to insert additional widgets in a file chooser.

An example for adding extra widgets:


GtkWidget *toggle;

...

toggle = gtk_check_button_new_with_label ("Open file read-only");
gtk_widget_show (toggle);
gtk_file_chooser_set_extra_widget (my_file_chooser, toggle);
}

If you want to set more than one extra widget in the file chooser, you can a container such as a gtk.Box or a gtk.Grid and include your widgets in it. Then, set the container as the whole extra widget.

interface FileChooserIF {

GtkFileChooser* getFileChooserStruct(bool transferOwnership);

void* getStruct();

static GType getType();

void addChoice(string id, string label, string[] options, string[] optionLabels);

void addFilter(FileFilter filter);

bool addShortcutFolder(string folder);

bool addShortcutFolderUri(string uri);

GtkFileChooserAction getFileChooserAction();

string getChoice(string id);

bool getCreateFolders();

string getCurrentFolder();

FileIF getCurrentFolderFile();

string getCurrentFolderUri();

string getCurrentName();

bool getDoOverwriteConfirmation();

Widget getExtraWidget();

FileIF getFile();

string getFilename();

ListSG getFilenames();

ListSG getFiles();

FileFilter getFilter();

bool getLocalOnly();

FileIF getPreviewFile();

string getPreviewFilename();

string getPreviewUri();

Widget getPreviewWidget();

bool getPreviewWidgetActive();

bool getSelectMultiple();

bool getShowHidden();

string getUri();

ListSG getUris();

bool getUsePreviewLabel();

ListSG listFilters();

ListSG listShortcutFolderUris();

ListSG listShortcutFolders();

void removeChoice(string id);

void removeFilter(FileFilter filter);

bool removeShortcutFolder(string folder);

bool removeShortcutFolderUri(string uri);

void selectAll();

bool selectFile(FileIF file);

bool selectFilename(string filename);

bool selectUri(string uri);

void setFileChooserAction(GtkFileChooserAction action);

void setChoice(string id, string option);

void setCreateFolders(bool createFolders);

bool setCurrentFolder(string filename);

bool setCurrentFolderFile(FileIF file);

bool setCurrentFolderUri(string uri);

void setCurrentName(string name);

void setDoOverwriteConfirmation(bool doOverwriteConfirmation);

void setExtraWidget(Widget extraWidget);

bool setFile(FileIF file);

bool setFilename(string filename);

void setFilter(FileFilter filter);

void setLocalOnly(bool localOnly);

void setPreviewWidget(Widget previewWidget);

void setPreviewWidgetActive(bool active);

void setSelectMultiple(bool selectMultiple);

void setShowHidden(bool showHidden);

bool setUri(string uri);

void setUsePreviewLabel(bool useLabel);

void unselectAll();

void unselectFile(FileIF file);

void unselectFilename(string filename);

void unselectUri(string uri);

gulong addOnConfirmOverwrite(GtkFileChooserConfirmation delegate(FileChooserIF) dlg, ConnectFlags connectFlags);

gulong addOnCurrentFolderChanged(void delegate(FileChooserIF) dlg, ConnectFlags connectFlags);

gulong addOnFileActivated(void delegate(FileChooserIF) dlg, ConnectFlags connectFlags);

gulong addOnSelectionChanged(void delegate(FileChooserIF) dlg, ConnectFlags connectFlags);

gulong addOnUpdatePreview(void delegate(FileChooserIF) dlg, ConnectFlags connectFlags);

}

Members

Functions

addChoice void addChoice(string id, string label, string[] options, string[] optionLabels): Adds a 'choice' to the file chooser. This is typically implemented as a combobox or, for boolean choices, as a checkbutton. You can select a value using gtk_file_chooser_set_choice() before the dialog is shown, and you can obtain the user-selected value in the ::response signal handler using gtk_file_chooser_get_choice().
addFilter void addFilter(FileFilter filter): Adds filter to the list of filters that the user can select between. When a filter is selected, only files that are passed by that filter are displayed.
addOnConfirmOverwrite gulong addOnConfirmOverwrite(GtkFileChooserConfirmation delegate(FileChooserIF) dlg, ConnectFlags connectFlags): This signal gets emitted whenever it is appropriate to present a confirmation dialog when the user has selected a file name that already exists. The signal only gets emitted when the file chooser is in GTK_FILE_CHOOSER_ACTION_SAVE mode.
addOnCurrentFolderChanged gulong addOnCurrentFolderChanged(void delegate(FileChooserIF) dlg, ConnectFlags connectFlags): This signal is emitted when the current folder in a GtkFileChooser changes. This can happen due to the user performing some action that changes folders, such as selecting a bookmark or visiting a folder on the file list. It can also happen as a result of calling a function to explicitly change the current folder in a file chooser.
addOnFileActivated gulong addOnFileActivated(void delegate(FileChooserIF) dlg, ConnectFlags connectFlags): This signal is emitted when the user "activates" a file in the file chooser. This can happen by double-clicking on a file in the file list, or by pressing Enter.
addOnSelectionChanged gulong addOnSelectionChanged(void delegate(FileChooserIF) dlg, ConnectFlags connectFlags): This signal is emitted when there is a change in the set of selected files in a GtkFileChooser This can happen when the user modifies the selection with the mouse or the keyboard, or when explicitly calling functions to change the selection.
addOnUpdatePreview gulong addOnUpdatePreview(void delegate(FileChooserIF) dlg, ConnectFlags connectFlags): This signal is emitted when the preview in a file chooser should be regenerated. For example, this can happen when the currently selected file changes. You should use this signal if you want your file chooser to have a preview widget.
addShortcutFolder bool addShortcutFolder(string folder): Adds a folder to be displayed with the shortcut folders in a file chooser. Note that shortcut folders do not get saved, as they are provided by the application. For example, you can use this to add a “/usr/share/mydrawprogram/Clipart” folder to the volume list.
addShortcutFolderUri bool addShortcutFolderUri(string uri): Adds a folder URI to be displayed with the shortcut folders in a file chooser. Note that shortcut folders do not get saved, as they are provided by the application. For example, you can use this to add a “file:///usr/share/mydrawprogram/Clipart” folder to the volume list.
getChoice string getChoice(string id): Gets the currently selected option in the 'choice' with the given ID.
getCreateFolders bool getCreateFolders(): Gets whether file choser will offer to create new folders. See gtk_file_chooser_set_create_folders().
getCurrentFolder string getCurrentFolder(): Gets the current folder of chooser as a local filename. See gtk_file_chooser_set_current_folder().
getCurrentFolderFile FileIF getCurrentFolderFile(): Gets the current folder of chooser as GFile See gtk_file_chooser_get_current_folder_uri().
getCurrentFolderUri string getCurrentFolderUri(): Gets the current folder of chooser as an URI. See gtk_file_chooser_set_current_folder_uri().
getCurrentName string getCurrentName(): Gets the current name in the file selector, as entered by the user in the text entry for “Name”.
getDoOverwriteConfirmation bool getDoOverwriteConfirmation(): Queries whether a file chooser is set to confirm for overwriting when the user types a file name that already exists.
getExtraWidget Widget getExtraWidget(): Gets the current extra widget; see gtk_file_chooser_set_extra_widget().
getFile FileIF getFile(): Gets the GFile for the currently selected file in the file selector. If multiple files are selected, one of the files will be returned at random.
getFileChooserAction GtkFileChooserAction getFileChooserAction(): Gets the type of operation that the file chooser is performing; see gtk_file_chooser_set_action().
getFileChooserStruct GtkFileChooser* getFileChooserStruct(bool transferOwnership): Get the main Gtk struct
getFilename string getFilename(): Gets the filename for the currently selected file in the file selector. The filename is returned as an absolute path. If multiple files are selected, one of the filenames will be returned at random.
getFilenames ListSG getFilenames(): Lists all the selected files and subfolders in the current folder of chooser. The returned names are full absolute paths. If files in the current folder cannot be represented as local filenames they will be ignored. (See gtk_file_chooser_get_uris())
getFiles ListSG getFiles(): Lists all the selected files and subfolders in the current folder of chooser as GFile An internal function, see gtk_file_chooser_get_uris().
getFilter FileFilter getFilter(): Gets the current filter; see gtk_file_chooser_set_filter().
getLocalOnly bool getLocalOnly(): Gets whether only local files can be selected in the file selector. See gtk_file_chooser_set_local_only()
getPreviewFile FileIF getPreviewFile(): Gets the GFile that should be previewed in a custom preview Internal function, see gtk_file_chooser_get_preview_uri().
getPreviewFilename string getPreviewFilename(): Gets the filename that should be previewed in a custom preview widget. See gtk_file_chooser_set_preview_widget().
getPreviewUri string getPreviewUri(): Gets the URI that should be previewed in a custom preview widget. See gtk_file_chooser_set_preview_widget().
getPreviewWidget Widget getPreviewWidget(): Gets the current preview widget; see gtk_file_chooser_set_preview_widget().
getPreviewWidgetActive bool getPreviewWidgetActive(): Gets whether the preview widget set by gtk_file_chooser_set_preview_widget() should be shown for the current filename. See gtk_file_chooser_set_preview_widget_active().
getSelectMultiple bool getSelectMultiple(): Gets whether multiple files can be selected in the file selector. See gtk_file_chooser_set_select_multiple().
getShowHidden bool getShowHidden(): Gets whether hidden files and folders are displayed in the file selector. See gtk_file_chooser_set_show_hidden().
getStruct void* getStruct(): the main Gtk struct as a void*
getUri string getUri(): Gets the URI for the currently selected file in the file selector. If multiple files are selected, one of the filenames will be returned at random.
getUris ListSG getUris(): Lists all the selected files and subfolders in the current folder of chooser. The returned names are full absolute URIs.
getUsePreviewLabel bool getUsePreviewLabel(): Gets whether a stock label should be drawn with the name of the previewed file. See gtk_file_chooser_set_use_preview_label().
listFilters ListSG listFilters(): Lists the current set of user-selectable filters; see gtk_file_chooser_add_filter(), gtk_file_chooser_remove_filter().
listShortcutFolderUris ListSG listShortcutFolderUris(): Queries the list of shortcut folders in the file chooser, as set by gtk_file_chooser_add_shortcut_folder_uri().
listShortcutFolders ListSG listShortcutFolders(): Queries the list of shortcut folders in the file chooser, as set by gtk_file_chooser_add_shortcut_folder().
removeChoice void removeChoice(string id): Removes a 'choice' that has been added with gtk_file_chooser_add_choice().
removeFilter void removeFilter(FileFilter filter): Removes filter from the list of filters that the user can select between.
removeShortcutFolder bool removeShortcutFolder(string folder): Removes a folder from a file chooser’s list of shortcut folders.
removeShortcutFolderUri bool removeShortcutFolderUri(string uri): Removes a folder URI from a file chooser’s list of shortcut folders.
selectAll void selectAll(): Selects all the files in the current folder of a file chooser.
selectFile bool selectFile(FileIF file): Selects the file referred to by file. An internal function. See _gtk_file_chooser_select_uri().
selectFilename bool selectFilename(string filename): Selects a filename. If the file name isn’t in the current folder of chooser, then the current folder of chooser will be changed to the folder containing filename.
selectUri bool selectUri(string uri): Selects the file to by uri. If the URI doesn’t refer to a file in the current folder of chooser, then the current folder of chooser will be changed to the folder containing filename.
setChoice void setChoice(string id, string option): Selects an option in a 'choice' that has been added with gtk_file_chooser_add_choice(). For a boolean choice, the possible options are "true" and "false".
setCreateFolders void setCreateFolders(bool createFolders): Sets whether file choser will offer to create new folders. This is only relevant if the action is not set to be GTK_FILE_CHOOSER_ACTION_OPEN.
setCurrentFolder bool setCurrentFolder(string filename): Sets the current folder for chooser from a local filename. The user will be shown the full contents of the current folder, plus user interface elements for navigating to other folders.
setCurrentFolderFile bool setCurrentFolderFile(FileIF file): Sets the current folder for chooser from a GFile Internal function, see gtk_file_chooser_set_current_folder_uri().
setCurrentFolderUri bool setCurrentFolderUri(string uri): Sets the current folder for chooser from an URI. The user will be shown the full contents of the current folder, plus user interface elements for navigating to other folders.
setCurrentName void setCurrentName(string name): Sets the current name in the file selector, as if entered by the user. Note that the name passed in here is a UTF-8 string rather than a filename. This function is meant for such uses as a suggested name in a “Save As...” dialog. You can pass “Untitled.doc” or a similarly suitable suggestion for the name.
setDoOverwriteConfirmation void setDoOverwriteConfirmation(bool doOverwriteConfirmation): Sets whether a file chooser in GTK_FILE_CHOOSER_ACTION_SAVE mode will present a confirmation dialog if the user types a file name that already exists. This is FALSE by default.
setExtraWidget void setExtraWidget(Widget extraWidget): Sets an application-supplied widget to provide extra options to the user.
setFile bool setFile(FileIF file): Sets file as the current filename for the file chooser, by changing to the file’s parent folder and actually selecting the file in list. If the chooser is in GTK_FILE_CHOOSER_ACTION_SAVE mode, the file’s base name will also appear in the dialog’s file name entry.
setFileChooserAction void setFileChooserAction(GtkFileChooserAction action): Sets the type of operation that the chooser is performing; the user interface is adapted to suit the selected action. For example, an option to create a new folder might be shown if the action is GTK_FILE_CHOOSER_ACTION_SAVE but not if the action is GTK_FILE_CHOOSER_ACTION_OPEN.
setFilename bool setFilename(string filename): Sets filename as the current filename for the file chooser, by changing to the file’s parent folder and actually selecting the file in list; all other files will be unselected. If the chooser is in GTK_FILE_CHOOSER_ACTION_SAVE mode, the file’s base name will also appear in the dialog’s file name entry.
setFilter void setFilter(FileFilter filter): Sets the current filter; only the files that pass the filter will be displayed. If the user-selectable list of filters is non-empty, then the filter should be one of the filters in that list. Setting the current filter when the list of filters is empty is useful if you want to restrict the displayed set of files without letting the user change it.
setLocalOnly void setLocalOnly(bool localOnly): Sets whether only local files can be selected in the file selector. If local_only is TRUE (the default), then the selected file or files are guaranteed to be accessible through the operating systems native file system and therefore the application only needs to worry about the filename functions in GtkFileChooser, like gtk_file_chooser_get_filename(), rather than the URI functions like gtk_file_chooser_get_uri(),
setPreviewWidget void setPreviewWidget(Widget previewWidget): Sets an application-supplied widget to use to display a custom preview of the currently selected file. To implement a preview, after setting the preview widget, you connect to the update-preview signal, and call gtk_file_chooser_get_preview_filename() or gtk_file_chooser_get_preview_uri() on each change. If you can display a preview of the new file, update your widget and set the preview active using gtk_file_chooser_set_preview_widget_active(). Otherwise, set the preview inactive.
setPreviewWidgetActive void setPreviewWidgetActive(bool active): Sets whether the preview widget set by gtk_file_chooser_set_preview_widget() should be shown for the current filename. When active is set to false, the file chooser may display an internally generated preview of the current file or it may display no preview at all. See gtk_file_chooser_set_preview_widget() for more details.
setSelectMultiple void setSelectMultiple(bool selectMultiple): Sets whether multiple files can be selected in the file selector. This is only relevant if the action is set to be GTK_FILE_CHOOSER_ACTION_OPEN or GTK_FILE_CHOOSER_ACTION_SELECT_FOLDER.
setShowHidden void setShowHidden(bool showHidden): Sets whether hidden files and folders are displayed in the file selector.
setUri bool setUri(string uri): Sets the file referred to by uri as the current file for the file chooser, by changing to the URI’s parent folder and actually selecting the URI in the list. If the chooser is GTK_FILE_CHOOSER_ACTION_SAVE mode, the URI’s base name will also appear in the dialog’s file name entry.
setUsePreviewLabel void setUsePreviewLabel(bool useLabel): Sets whether the file chooser should display a stock label with the name of the file that is being previewed; the default is TRUE. Applications that want to draw the whole preview area themselves should set this to FALSE and display the name themselves in their preview widget.
unselectAll void unselectAll(): Unselects all the files in the current folder of a file chooser.
unselectFile void unselectFile(FileIF file): Unselects the file referred to by file. If the file is not in the current directory, does not exist, or is otherwise not currently selected, does nothing.
unselectFilename void unselectFilename(string filename): Unselects a currently selected filename. If the filename is not in the current directory, does not exist, or is otherwise not currently selected, does nothing.
unselectUri void unselectUri(string uri): Unselects the file referred to by uri. If the file is not in the current directory, does not exist, or is otherwise not currently selected, does nothing.

Static functions

getType GType getType()

gtk FileChooserIF interfaces

FileChooserIF