ntext(n)           Alternative Bindings for the Text Widget           ntext(n)



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NAME
       ntext - Alternative Bindings for the Text Widget

SYNOPSIS
       package require Tcl  8.5

       package require Tk  8.5

       package require ntext  ?0.81?

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DESCRIPTION
       The purpose of the ntext package is to make the text widget behave more
       like other text-editing applications. It makes the text widget more
       useful for implementing a text editor, and makes it behave in a way
       that will be more familiar to most users.

       The package provides a binding tag named Ntext for use by text widgets
       in place of the default Text binding tag.

       Package ntext 's functions and variables are contained entirely in the
       ::ntext namespace; its other code is contained in the binding tag
       Ntext.  ntext has no exports to the global or other namespaces, and no
       new widget commands.  It uses modified copies of the Tk code, leaving
       the original code, and the Text binding tag, unchanged.

       The differences between the Ntext binding tag and the default Text
       binding tag are in three categories:

       o      Some Text bindings behave differently from most text-editing
              applications.  Ntext gives these bindings more familiar
              behaviour.  For details see ntextBindings.

       o      When a logical line with leading whitespace is word-wrapped onto
              more than one display line, the wrapped display lines begin
              further to the left than the first display line, which can make
              the text layout untidy and difficult to read.  Ntext can indent
              the wrapped lines to match the leading whitespace of the first
              display line (this facility is switched off by default).  For
              details see ntextIndent.

       o      When the user navigates or selects text, Tcl/Tk sometimes needs
              to detect word boundaries.  Ntext provides improved rules for
              word boundary detection.  For details see ntextWordBreak.

       The remainder of this page describes the basic use and configuration of
       all three aspects of Ntext.  For more detailed information on the
       different facilities of Ntext, see the pages ntextBindings,
       ntextIndent, and ntextWordBreak.

       See Section EXAMPLE for how to apply the Ntext binding tag in place of
       the Text binding tag.

CONFIGURATION OPTIONS
       Ntext provides alternatives to a number of behaviours of the classic
       Text binding tag.  Where there is an option, the Ntext behaviour
       (except for display-line indentation) is switched on by default.

       The behaviour of Ntext may be configured application-wide by setting
       the values of a number of namespace variables:

       ::ntext::classicAnchor

       o      0 - (default value) selects Ntext behaviour, i.e. the anchor
              point is fixed

       o      1 - selects classic Text behaviour, i.e. the anchor point is
              variable

       ::ntext::classicExtras

       o      0 - (default value) selects Ntext behaviour, i.e. several
              traditional Text bindings are de-activated

       o      1 - selects classic Text behaviour, i.e. all Text bindings are
              activated

       ::ntext::classicMouseSelect

       o      0 - (default value) selects Ntext behaviour, i.e. the anchor
              point for mouse selection operations is moved by keyboard
              navigation

       o      1 - selects classic Text behaviour

       ::ntext::classicWordBreak

       o      0 - (default value) selects Ntext behaviour, i.e. platform-
              independent, two classes of word characters and one class of
              non-word characters.

       o      1 - selects classic Text behaviour, i.e. platform-dependent, one
              class of word characters and one class of non-word characters

       o      After changing this value, the matching patterns should be
              recalculated.  See ntextWordBreak for details and advanced
              configuration options.

       ::ntext::classicWrap

       o      0 - selects Ntext behaviour, i.e. display lines of text widgets
              in -wrap word mode are indented to match the initial whitespace
              of the first display line of a logical line.  If the widget
              already holds text when this value is set, a function call may
              be necessary.  See ntextIndent for detailed instructions on the
              use of Ntext 's indentation.

       o      1 - (default value) selects classic Text behaviour, i.e. no
              indentation

       ::ntext::overwrite

       o      0 - (initial value) text typed at the keyboard is inserted into
              the widget

       o      1 - text typed at the keyboard overwrites text already in the
              widget

       o      The value is toggled by the Insert key.

EXAMPLE
       To create a text widget .t and use the Ntext bindings:


              package require ntext
              text .t
              bindtags .t {.t Ntext . all}

       See bindtags for more information.

BUGS, IDEAS, FEEDBACK
       This document, and the package it describes, will undoubtedly contain
       bugs and other problems.  Please report such in the category ntext of
       the Tklib Trackers [http://core.tcl.tk/tklib/reportlist].  Please also
       report any ideas for enhancements you may have for either package
       and/or documentation.

SEE ALSO
       bindtags, ntextBindings, ntextIndent, ntextWordBreak, re_syntax,
       regexp, text

KEYWORDS
       bindtags, re_syntax, regexp, text



tklib                                0.81                             ntext(n)
