GtkRecentManager: GTK+ 3 Reference Manual

## GtkRecentManager GtkRecentManager — Managing recently used files |

## Functions

GtkRecentManager * | gtk_recent_manager_new ()
GtkRecentManager * | gtk_recent_manager_get_default ()
gboolean | gtk_recent_manager_add_item ()
gboolean | gtk_recent_manager_add_full ()
gboolean | gtk_recent_manager_remove_item ()
GtkRecentInfo * | gtk_recent_manager_lookup_item ()
gboolean | gtk_recent_manager_has_item ()
gboolean | gtk_recent_manager_move_item ()
GList * | gtk_recent_manager_get_items ()
gint | gtk_recent_manager_purge_items ()
GtkRecentInfo * | gtk_recent_info_ref ()
void | gtk_recent_info_unref ()
const gchar * | gtk_recent_info_get_uri ()
const gchar * | gtk_recent_info_get_display_name ()
const gchar * | gtk_recent_info_get_description ()
const gchar * | gtk_recent_info_get_mime_type ()
time_t | gtk_recent_info_get_added ()
time_t | gtk_recent_info_get_modified ()
time_t | gtk_recent_info_get_visited ()
gboolean | gtk_recent_info_get_private_hint ()
gboolean | gtk_recent_info_get_application_info ()
gchar ** | gtk_recent_info_get_applications ()
gchar * | gtk_recent_info_last_application ()
gboolean | gtk_recent_info_has_application ()
GAppInfo * | gtk_recent_info_create_app_info ()
gchar ** | gtk_recent_info_get_groups ()
gboolean | gtk_recent_info_has_group ()
GdkPixbuf * | gtk_recent_info_get_icon ()
GIcon * | gtk_recent_info_get_gicon ()
gchar * | gtk_recent_info_get_short_name ()
gchar * | gtk_recent_info_get_uri_display ()
gint | gtk_recent_info_get_age ()
gboolean | gtk_recent_info_is_local ()
gboolean | gtk_recent_info_exists ()
gboolean | gtk_recent_info_match ()

## Properties

gchar * | filename | Read / Write / Construct Only
gint | size | Read

## Signals

void | changed | Run First

## Types and Values

struct | GtkRecentManager
| GtkRecentInfo
struct | GtkRecentData
#define | GTK_RECENT_MANAGER_ERROR
enum | GtkRecentManagerError

## Object Hierarchy

        GObject
        ╰── GtkRecentManager

## Includes

    #include <gtk/gtk.h>

## Description

GtkRecentManager provides a facility for adding, removing and looking up recently used files. Each recently used file is identified by its URI, and has meta-data associated to it, like the names and command lines of the applications that have registered it, the number of time each application has registered the same file, the mime type of the file and whether the file should be displayed only by the applications that have registered it.

The recently used files list is per user.

The GtkRecentManager acts like a database of all the recently used files. You can create new GtkRecentManager objects, but it is more efficient to use the default manager created by GTK+.

Adding a new recently used file is as simple as:

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    GtkRecentManager *manager;

    manager = gtk_recent_manager_get_default ();
    gtk_recent_manager_add_item (manager, file_uri);

The GtkRecentManager will try to gather all the needed information from the file itself through GIO.

Looking up the meta-data associated with a recently used file given its URI requires calling `gtk_recent_manager_lookup_item()`:

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    GtkRecentManager *manager;
    GtkRecentInfo *info;
    GError *error = NULL;

    manager = gtk_recent_manager_get_default ();
    info = gtk_recent_manager_lookup_item (manager, file_uri, &error);
    if (error)
      {
        g_warning ("Could not find the file: %s", error->message);
        g_error_free (error);
      }
    else
     {
       // Use the info object
       gtk_recent_info_unref (info);
     }

In order to retrieve the list of recently used files, you can use `gtk_recent_manager_get_items()`, which returns a list of GtkRecentInfo-structs.

A GtkRecentManager is the model used to populate the contents of one, or more GtkRecentChooser implementations.

Note that the maximum age of the recently used files list is controllable through the “gtk-recent-files-max-age” property.

Recently used files are supported since GTK+ 2.10.

## Functions

### gtk_recent_manager_new ()

    GtkRecentManager *
    gtk_recent_manager_new (void);

Creates a new recent manager object. Recent manager objects are used to handle the list of recently used resources. A GtkRecentManager object monitors the recently used resources list, and emits the “changed” signal each time something inside the list changes.

GtkRecentManager objects are expensive: be sure to create them only when needed. You should use `gtk_recent_manager_get_default()` instead.

#### Returns

A newly created GtkRecentManager object

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_manager_get_default ()

    GtkRecentManager *
    gtk_recent_manager_get_default (void);

Gets a unique instance of GtkRecentManager, that you can share in your application without caring about memory management.

#### Returns

A unique GtkRecentManager. Do not ref or unref it.

[transfer none]

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_manager_add_item ()

    gboolean
    gtk_recent_manager_add_item (GtkRecentManager *manager,
                                 const gchar *uri);

Adds a new resource, pointed by `uri` , into the recently used resources list.

This function automatically retrieves some of the needed metadata and setting other metadata to common default values; it then feeds the data to `gtk_recent_manager_add_full()`.

See `gtk_recent_manager_add_full()` if you want to explicitly define the metadata for the resource pointed by `uri` .

#### Parameters

manager | a GtkRecentManager |
uri | a valid URI |

#### Returns

`TRUE` if the new item was successfully added to the recently used resources list

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_manager_add_full ()

    gboolean
    gtk_recent_manager_add_full (GtkRecentManager *manager,
                                 const gchar *uri,
                                 const GtkRecentData *recent_data);

Adds a new resource, pointed by `uri` , into the recently used resources list, using the metadata specified inside the GtkRecentData passed in `recent_data` .

The passed URI will be used to identify this resource inside the list.

In order to register the new recently used resource, metadata about the resource must be passed as well as the URI; the metadata is stored in a GtkRecentData, which must contain the MIME type of the resource pointed by the URI; the name of the application that is registering the item, and a command line to be used when launching the item.

Optionally, a GtkRecentData might contain a UTF-8 string to be used when viewing the item instead of the last component of the URI; a short description of the item; whether the item should be considered private - that is, should be displayed only by the applications that have registered it.

#### Parameters

manager | a GtkRecentManager |
uri | a valid URI |
recent_data | metadata of the resource |

#### Returns

`TRUE` if the new item was successfully added to the recently used resources list, `FALSE` otherwise

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_manager_remove_item ()

    gboolean
    gtk_recent_manager_remove_item (GtkRecentManager *manager,
                                    const gchar *uri,
                                    GError **error);

Removes a resource pointed by `uri` from the recently used resources list handled by a recent manager.

#### Parameters

manager | a GtkRecentManager |
uri | the URI of the item you wish to remove |
error | return location for a GError, or `NULL`. | [allow-none]

#### Returns

`TRUE` if the item pointed by `uri` has been successfully removed by the recently used resources list, and `FALSE` otherwise

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_manager_lookup_item ()

    GtkRecentInfo *
    gtk_recent_manager_lookup_item (GtkRecentManager *manager,
                                    const gchar *uri,
                                    GError **error);

Searches for a URI inside the recently used resources list, and returns a GtkRecentInfo containing informations about the resource like its MIME type, or its display name.

#### Parameters

manager | a GtkRecentManager |
uri | a URI |
error | a return location for a GError, or `NULL`. | [allow-none]

#### Returns

a GtkRecentInfo containing information about the resource pointed by `uri` , or `NULL` if the URI was not registered in the recently used resources list. Free with `gtk_recent_info_unref()`.

[nullable]

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_manager_has_item ()

    gboolean
    gtk_recent_manager_has_item (GtkRecentManager *manager,
                                 const gchar *uri);

Checks whether there is a recently used resource registered with `uri` inside the recent manager.

#### Parameters

manager | a GtkRecentManager |
uri | a URI |

#### Returns

`TRUE` if the resource was found, `FALSE` otherwise

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_manager_move_item ()

    gboolean
    gtk_recent_manager_move_item (GtkRecentManager *manager,
                                  const gchar *uri,
                                  const gchar *new_uri,
                                  GError **error);

Changes the location of a recently used resource from `uri` to `new_uri` .

Please note that this function will not affect the resource pointed by the URIs, but only the URI used in the recently used resources list.

#### Parameters

manager | a GtkRecentManager |
uri | the URI of a recently used resource |
new_uri | the new URI of the recently used resource, or `NULL` to remove the item pointed by `uri` in the list. | [allow-none]
error | a return location for a GError, or `NULL`. | [allow-none]

#### Returns

`TRUE` on success

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_manager_get_items ()

    GList *
    gtk_recent_manager_get_items (GtkRecentManager *manager);

Gets the list of recently used resources.

#### Parameters

manager | a GtkRecentManager |

#### Returns

a list of newly allocated GtkRecentInfo objects. Use `gtk_recent_info_unref()` on each item inside the list, and then free the list itself using `g_list_free()`.

[element-type GtkRecentInfo][transfer full]

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_manager_purge_items ()

    gint
    gtk_recent_manager_purge_items (GtkRecentManager *manager,
                                    GError **error);

Purges every item from the recently used resources list.

#### Parameters

manager | a GtkRecentManager |
error | a return location for a GError, or `NULL`. | [allow-none]

#### Returns

the number of items that have been removed from the recently used resources list

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_info_ref ()

    GtkRecentInfo *
    gtk_recent_info_ref (GtkRecentInfo *info);

Increases the reference count of `recent_info` by one.

#### Parameters

info | a GtkRecentInfo |

#### Returns

the recent info object with its reference count increased by one

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_info_unref ()

    void
    gtk_recent_info_unref (GtkRecentInfo *info);

Decreases the reference count of `info` by one. If the reference count reaches zero, `info` is deallocated, and the memory freed.

#### Parameters

info | a GtkRecentInfo |

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_info_get_uri ()

    const gchar *
    gtk_recent_info_get_uri (GtkRecentInfo *info);

Gets the URI of the resource.

#### Parameters

info | a GtkRecentInfo |

#### Returns

the URI of the resource. The returned string is owned by the recent manager, and should not be freed.

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_info_get_display_name ()

    const gchar *
    gtk_recent_info_get_display_name (GtkRecentInfo *info);

Gets the name of the resource. If none has been defined, the basename of the resource is obtained.

#### Parameters

info | a GtkRecentInfo |

#### Returns

the display name of the resource. The returned string is owned by the recent manager, and should not be freed.

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_info_get_description ()

    const gchar *
    gtk_recent_info_get_description (GtkRecentInfo *info);

Gets the (short) description of the resource.

#### Parameters

info | a GtkRecentInfo |

#### Returns

the description of the resource. The returned string is owned by the recent manager, and should not be freed.

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_info_get_mime_type ()

    const gchar *
    gtk_recent_info_get_mime_type (GtkRecentInfo *info);

Gets the MIME type of the resource.

#### Parameters

info | a GtkRecentInfo |

#### Returns

the MIME type of the resource. The returned string is owned by the recent manager, and should not be freed.

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_info_get_added ()

    time_t
    gtk_recent_info_get_added (GtkRecentInfo *info);

Gets the timestamp (seconds from system’s Epoch) when the resource was added to the recently used resources list.

#### Parameters

info | a GtkRecentInfo |

#### Returns

the number of seconds elapsed from system’s Epoch when the resource was added to the list, or -1 on failure.

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_info_get_modified ()

    time_t
    gtk_recent_info_get_modified (GtkRecentInfo *info);

Gets the timestamp (seconds from system’s Epoch) when the meta-data for the resource was last modified.

#### Parameters

info | a GtkRecentInfo |

#### Returns

the number of seconds elapsed from system’s Epoch when the resource was last modified, or -1 on failure.

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_info_get_visited ()

    time_t
    gtk_recent_info_get_visited (GtkRecentInfo *info);

Gets the timestamp (seconds from system’s Epoch) when the meta-data for the resource was last visited.

#### Parameters

info | a GtkRecentInfo |

#### Returns

the number of seconds elapsed from system’s Epoch when the resource was last visited, or -1 on failure.

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_info_get_private_hint ()

    gboolean
    gtk_recent_info_get_private_hint (GtkRecentInfo *info);

Gets the value of the “private” flag. Resources in the recently used list that have this flag set to `TRUE` should only be displayed by the applications that have registered them.

#### Parameters

info | a GtkRecentInfo |

#### Returns

`TRUE` if the private flag was found, `FALSE` otherwise

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_info_get_application_info ()

    gboolean
    gtk_recent_info_get_application_info (GtkRecentInfo *info,
                                          const gchar *app_name,
                                          const gchar **app_exec,
                                          guint *count,
                                          time_t *time_);

Gets the data regarding the application that has registered the resource pointed by `info` .

If the command line contains any escape characters defined inside the storage specification, they will be expanded.

#### Parameters

info | a GtkRecentInfo |
app_name | the name of the application that has registered this item |
app_exec | return location for the string containing the command line. | [transfer none][out]
count | return location for the number of times this item was registered. | [out]
time_ | return location for the timestamp this item was last registered for this application. | [out]

#### Returns

`TRUE` if an application with `app_name` has registered this resource inside the recently used list, or `FALSE` otherwise. The `app_exec` string is owned by the GtkRecentInfo and should not be modified or freed

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_info_get_applications ()

    gchar **
    gtk_recent_info_get_applications (GtkRecentInfo *info,
                                      gsize *length);

Retrieves the list of applications that have registered this resource.

#### Parameters

info | a GtkRecentInfo |
length | return location for the length of the returned list. | [out][allow-none]

#### Returns

a newly allocated `NULL`-terminated array of strings. Use `g_strfreev()` to free it.

[array length=length zero-terminated=1][transfer full]

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_info_last_application ()

    gchar *
    gtk_recent_info_last_application (GtkRecentInfo *info);

Gets the name of the last application that have registered the recently used resource represented by `info` .

#### Parameters

info | a GtkRecentInfo |

#### Returns

an application name. Use `g_free()` to free it.

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_info_has_application ()

    gboolean
    gtk_recent_info_has_application (GtkRecentInfo *info,
                                     const gchar *app_name);

Checks whether an application registered this resource using `app_name` .

#### Parameters

info | a GtkRecentInfo |
app_name | a string containing an application name |

#### Returns

`TRUE` if an application with name `app_name` was found, `FALSE` otherwise

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_info_create_app_info ()

    GAppInfo *
    gtk_recent_info_create_app_info (GtkRecentInfo *info,
                                     const gchar *app_name,
                                     GError **error);

Creates a GAppInfo for the specified GtkRecentInfo

#### Parameters

info | a GtkRecentInfo |
app_name | the name of the application that should be mapped to a GAppInfo; if `NULL` is used then the default application for the MIME type is used. | [allow-none]
error | return location for a GError, or `NULL`. | [allow-none]

#### Returns

the newly created GAppInfo, or `NULL`. In case of error, `error` will be set either with a `GTK_RECENT_MANAGER_ERROR` or a `G_IO_ERROR`.

[transfer full]

### gtk_recent_info_get_groups ()

    gchar **
    gtk_recent_info_get_groups (GtkRecentInfo *info,
                                gsize *length);

Returns all groups registered for the recently used item `info` . The array of returned group names will be `NULL` terminated, so length might optionally be `NULL`.

#### Parameters

info | a GtkRecentInfo |
length | return location for the number of groups returned. | [out][allow-none]

#### Returns

a newly allocated `NULL` terminated array of strings. Use `g_strfreev()` to free it.

[array length=length zero-terminated=1][transfer full]

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_info_has_group ()

    gboolean
    gtk_recent_info_has_group (GtkRecentInfo *info,
                               const gchar *group_name);

Checks whether `group_name` appears inside the groups registered for the recently used item `info` .

#### Parameters

info | a GtkRecentInfo |
group_name | name of a group |

#### Returns

`TRUE` if the group was found

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_info_get_icon ()

    GdkPixbuf *
    gtk_recent_info_get_icon (GtkRecentInfo *info,
                              gint size);

Retrieves the icon of size `size` associated to the resource MIME type.

#### Parameters

info | a GtkRecentInfo |
size | the size of the icon in pixels |

#### Returns

a GdkPixbuf containing the icon, or `NULL`. Use `g_object_unref()` when finished using the icon.

[transfer full]

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_info_get_gicon ()

    GIcon *
    gtk_recent_info_get_gicon (GtkRecentInfo *info);

Retrieves the icon associated to the resource MIME type.

#### Parameters

info | a GtkRecentInfo |

#### Returns

a GIcon containing the icon, or `NULL`. Use `g_object_unref()` when finished using the icon.

[transfer full]

Since: 2.22

### gtk_recent_info_get_short_name ()

    gchar *
    gtk_recent_info_get_short_name (GtkRecentInfo *info);

Computes a valid UTF-8 string that can be used as the name of the item in a menu or list. For example, calling this function on an item that refers to “file:///foo/bar.txt” will yield “bar.txt”.

#### Parameters

info | an GtkRecentInfo |

#### Returns

A newly-allocated string in UTF-8 encoding free it with `g_free()`

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_info_get_uri_display ()

    gchar *
    gtk_recent_info_get_uri_display (GtkRecentInfo *info);

Gets a displayable version of the resource’s URI. If the resource is local, it returns a local path; if the resource is not local, it returns the UTF-8 encoded content of `gtk_recent_info_get_uri()`.

#### Parameters

info | a GtkRecentInfo |

#### Returns

a newly allocated UTF-8 string containing the resource’s URI or `NULL`. Use `g_free()` when done using it.

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_info_get_age ()

    gint
    gtk_recent_info_get_age (GtkRecentInfo *info);

Gets the number of days elapsed since the last update of the resource pointed by `info` .

#### Parameters

info | a GtkRecentInfo |

#### Returns

a positive integer containing the number of days elapsed since the time this resource was last modified

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_info_is_local ()

    gboolean
    gtk_recent_info_is_local (GtkRecentInfo *info);

Checks whether the resource is local or not by looking at the scheme of its URI.

#### Parameters

info | a GtkRecentInfo |

#### Returns

`TRUE` if the resource is local

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_info_exists ()

    gboolean
    gtk_recent_info_exists (GtkRecentInfo *info);

Checks whether the resource pointed by `info` still exists. At the moment this check is done only on resources pointing to local files.

#### Parameters

info | a GtkRecentInfo |

#### Returns

`TRUE` if the resource exists

Since: 2.10

### gtk_recent_info_match ()

    gboolean
    gtk_recent_info_match (GtkRecentInfo *info_a,
                           GtkRecentInfo *info_b);

Checks whether two GtkRecentInfo point to the same resource.

#### Parameters

info_a | a GtkRecentInfo |
info_b | a GtkRecentInfo |

#### Returns

`TRUE` if both GtkRecentInfo point to the same resource, `FALSE` otherwise

Since: 2.10

## Types and Values

### struct GtkRecentManager

    struct GtkRecentManager;

GtkRecentManager contains only private data and should be accessed using the provided API.

Since: 2.10

### GtkRecentInfo

    typedef struct _GtkRecentInfo GtkRecentInfo;

GtkRecentInfo contains private data only, and should be accessed using the provided API.

GtkRecentInfo constains all the meta-data associated with an entry in the recently used files list.

Since: 2.10

### struct GtkRecentData

    struct GtkRecentData {
      gchar *display_name;
      gchar *description;

      gchar *mime_type;

      gchar *app_name;
      gchar *app_exec;

      gchar **groups;

      gboolean is_private;
    };

Meta-data to be passed to `gtk_recent_manager_add_full()` when registering a recently used resource.

#### Members

gchar *`display_name`; | a UTF-8 encoded string, containing the name of the recently used resource to be displayed, or `NULL`; |
gchar *`description`; | a UTF-8 encoded string, containing a short description of the resource, or `NULL`; |
gchar *`mime_type`; | the MIME type of the resource; |
gchar *`app_name`; | the name of the application that is registering this recently used resource; |
gchar *`app_exec`; | command line used to launch this resource; may contain the “%f” and “%u” escape characters which will be expanded to the resource file path and URI respectively when the command line is retrieved; |
gchar **`groups`; | a vector of strings containing groups names;. | [array zero-terminated=1]
gboolean `is_private`; | whether this resource should be displayed only by the applications that have registered it or not. |

### GTK_RECENT_MANAGER_ERROR

    #define GTK_RECENT_MANAGER_ERROR (gtk_recent_manager_error_quark ())

The GError domain for GtkRecentManager errors.

Since: 2.10

### enum GtkRecentManagerError

Error codes for GtkRecentManager operations

#### Members

GTK_RECENT_MANAGER_ERROR_NOT_FOUND | the URI specified does not exists in the recently used resources list. |
GTK_RECENT_MANAGER_ERROR_INVALID_URI | the URI specified is not valid. |
GTK_RECENT_MANAGER_ERROR_INVALID_ENCODING | the supplied string is not UTF-8 encoded. |
GTK_RECENT_MANAGER_ERROR_NOT_REGISTERED | no application has registered the specified item. |
GTK_RECENT_MANAGER_ERROR_READ | failure while reading the recently used resources file. |
GTK_RECENT_MANAGER_ERROR_WRITE | failure while writing the recently used resources file. |
GTK_RECENT_MANAGER_ERROR_UNKNOWN | unspecified error. |

Since: 2.10

## Property Details

### The `“filename”` property

      “filename”                 gchar *

The full path to the file to be used to store and read the recently used resources list

Flags: Read / Write / Construct Only

Default value: NULL

Since: 2.10

### The `“size”` property

      “size”                     gint

The size of the recently used resources list.

Flags: Read

Allowed values: >= -1

Default value: 0

Since: 2.10

## Signal Details

### The `“changed”` signal

    void
    user_function (GtkRecentManager *recent_manager,
                   gpointer          user_data)

Emitted when the current recently used resources manager changes its contents, either by calling `gtk_recent_manager_add_item()` or by another application.

#### Parameters

recent_manager | the recent manager |
user_data | user data set when the signal handler was connected. |

Flags: Run First

Since: 2.10

## See Also

GBookmarkFile, GtkSettings, GtkRecentChooser