Interface

GtkFileChooser

Description [src] 

interface Gtk.FileChooser : GObject.Object

GtkFileChooser is an interface that can be implemented by file selection widgets. In GTK+, the main objects that implement this interface are GtkFileChooserWidget, GtkFileChooserDialog, and GtkFileChooserButton. 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 g_open() or g_fopen(), you may not be able to directly set it as the text of a GtkLabel 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 GtkFileChooser::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}

{
  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 GtkBox or a GtkGrid and include your widgets in it. Then, set the container as the whole extra widget.

Prerequisite

In order to implement FileChooser, your type must inherit fromGObject.

Implementations

Instance methods

gtk_file_chooser_add_choice

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().

since: 3.22

gtk_file_chooser_add_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.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_add_shortcut_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.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_add_shortcut_folder_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.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_get_action

Gets the type of operation that the file chooser is performing; see gtk_file_chooser_set_action().

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_get_choice

Gets the currently selected option in the ‘choice’ with the given ID.

since: 3.22

gtk_file_chooser_get_create_folders

Gets whether file choser will offer to create new folders. See gtk_file_chooser_set_create_folders().

since: 2.18

gtk_file_chooser_get_current_folder

Gets the current folder of chooser as a local filename. See gtk_file_chooser_set_current_folder().

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_get_current_folder_file

Gets the current folder of chooser as GFile. See gtk_file_chooser_get_current_folder_uri().

since: 2.14

gtk_file_chooser_get_current_folder_uri

Gets the current folder of chooser as an URI. See gtk_file_chooser_set_current_folder_uri().

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_get_current_name

Gets the current name in the file selector, as entered by the user in the text entry for “Name”.

since: 3.10

gtk_file_chooser_get_do_overwrite_confirmation

Queries whether a file chooser is set to confirm for overwriting when the user types a file name that already exists.

since: 2.8

gtk_file_chooser_get_extra_widget

Gets the current extra widget; see gtk_file_chooser_set_extra_widget().

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_get_file

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.

since: 2.14

gtk_file_chooser_get_filename

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.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_get_filenames

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()).

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_get_files

Lists all the selected files and subfolders in the current folder of chooser as GFile. An internal function, see gtk_file_chooser_get_uris().

since: 2.14

gtk_file_chooser_get_filter

Gets the current filter; see gtk_file_chooser_set_filter().

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_get_local_only

Gets whether only local files can be selected in the file selector. See gtk_file_chooser_set_local_only().

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_get_preview_file

Gets the GFile that should be previewed in a custom preview Internal function, see gtk_file_chooser_get_preview_uri().

since: 2.14

gtk_file_chooser_get_preview_filename

Gets the filename that should be previewed in a custom preview widget. See gtk_file_chooser_set_preview_widget().

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_get_preview_uri

Gets the URI that should be previewed in a custom preview widget. See gtk_file_chooser_set_preview_widget().

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_get_preview_widget

Gets the current preview widget; see gtk_file_chooser_set_preview_widget().

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_get_preview_widget_active

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().

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_get_select_multiple

Gets whether multiple files can be selected in the file selector. See gtk_file_chooser_set_select_multiple().

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_get_show_hidden

Gets whether hidden files and folders are displayed in the file selector. See gtk_file_chooser_set_show_hidden().

since: 2.6

gtk_file_chooser_get_uri

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.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_get_uris

Lists all the selected files and subfolders in the current folder of chooser. The returned names are full absolute URIs.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_get_use_preview_label

Gets whether a stock label should be drawn with the name of the previewed file. See gtk_file_chooser_set_use_preview_label().

gtk_file_chooser_list_filters

Lists the current set of user-selectable filters; see gtk_file_chooser_add_filter(), gtk_file_chooser_remove_filter().

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_list_shortcut_folder_uris

Queries the list of shortcut folders in the file chooser, as set by gtk_file_chooser_add_shortcut_folder_uri().

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_list_shortcut_folders

Queries the list of shortcut folders in the file chooser, as set by gtk_file_chooser_add_shortcut_folder().

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_remove_choice

Removes a ‘choice’ that has been added with gtk_file_chooser_add_choice().

since: 3.22

gtk_file_chooser_remove_filter

Removes filter from the list of filters that the user can select between.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_remove_shortcut_folder

Removes a folder from a file chooser’s list of shortcut folders.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_remove_shortcut_folder_uri

Removes a folder URI from a file chooser’s list of shortcut folders.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_select_all

Selects all the files in the current folder of a file chooser.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_select_file

Selects the file referred to by file. An internal function. See _gtk_file_chooser_select_uri().

since: 2.14

gtk_file_chooser_select_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.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_select_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.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_set_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.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_set_choice

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”.

since: 3.22

gtk_file_chooser_set_create_folders

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.

since: 2.18

gtk_file_chooser_set_current_folder

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.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_set_current_folder_file

Sets the current folder for chooser from a GFile. Internal function, see gtk_file_chooser_set_current_folder_uri().

since: 2.14

gtk_file_chooser_set_current_folder_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.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_set_current_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.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_set_do_overwrite_confirmation

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.

since: 2.8

gtk_file_chooser_set_extra_widget

Sets an application-supplied widget to provide extra options to the user.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_set_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.

since: 2.14

gtk_file_chooser_set_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.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_set_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.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_set_local_only

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(),.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_set_preview_widget

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 GtkFileChooser::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.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_set_preview_widget_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.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_set_select_multiple

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.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_set_show_hidden

Sets whether hidden files and folders are displayed in the file selector.

since: 2.6

gtk_file_chooser_set_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.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_set_use_preview_label

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.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_unselect_all

Unselects all the files in the current folder of a file chooser.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_unselect_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.

since: 2.14

gtk_file_chooser_unselect_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.

since: 2.4

gtk_file_chooser_unselect_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.

since: 2.4

Properties

Gtk.FileChooser:action
No description available.

Gtk.FileChooser:create-folders

Whether a file chooser not in GTK_FILE_CHOOSER_ACTION_OPEN mode will offer the user to create new folders.

since: 2.18

Gtk.FileChooser:do-overwrite-confirmation

Whether a file chooser in GTK_FILE_CHOOSER_ACTION_SAVE mode will present an overwrite confirmation dialog if the user selects a file name that already exists.

since: 2.8

Gtk.FileChooser:extra-widget
No description available.

Gtk.FileChooser:filter
No description available.

Gtk.FileChooser:local-only
No description available.

Gtk.FileChooser:preview-widget
No description available.

Gtk.FileChooser:preview-widget-active
No description available.

Gtk.FileChooser:select-multiple
No description available.

Gtk.FileChooser:show-hidden
No description available.

Gtk.FileChooser:use-preview-label
No description available.

Signals

Gtk.FileChooser::confirm-overwrite

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.

since: 2.8

Gtk.FileChooser::current-folder-changed

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.

Gtk.FileChooser::file-activated

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.

Gtk.FileChooser::selection-changed

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.

Gtk.FileChooser::update-preview

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.