---
name: "tix"
section: "3"
platform: "linux"
package: "tix-dev"
version: "8.4.3-14"
release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/tix"
---

# tix(3)

Manipulate internal states of the Tix library

## NAME

tix - Manipulate internal states of the Tix library

## SYNOPSIS

**tix** *option* ?*arg arg ...*?

## CONFIGURATION OPTIONS

This manual page descripts the **tix** command, which manipulates the internal states of the Tix library. If you're looking for a general introduction to the Tix library, please refer to the **TixIntro** manual page.

The Tix application context supports the following configuration options. Usually, these options are set using the X resource database, i.e., in the user's **.Xdefault** file. For example, to choose a different color scheme for the Tix widgets, these two lines can be added to the user's **.Xdefault** file:

\*TixScheme:  Gray \*TixFontSet: 14Point

\[**-binding** *binding Binding*\] This is an obsolete option. \[**-debug** *debug Debug*\] Specifies whether the Tix widgets should run in debug mode. \[**-fontset** *tixFontSet TixFontSet*\] Specifies the fontset to use for the Tix widgets. Valid options are **WmDefault**, **TK**, **TkWin**, **12Point** and **14Point**. **TK** specifies that the standard TK fonts should be used. The default value is **WmDefault**. \[**-scheme** *tixScheme TixScheme*\] Specifies the color scheme to use for the Tix widgets. Valid options are **WmDefault**, **TK**, **TkWin**, **Gray**, **Blue**, **Bisque**, **SGIGray** and **TixGray**. If you want the standard TK color scheme, you can use the value **TK**.  The default value is **WmDefault**.\
  ' \[**-schemepriority** *tixSchemePriority TixSchemePriority*\] Specifies the priority level of the TK options set by th Tix schemes. Please refer to the TK **[option(n)](/option/n.md)** manual page for a discussion of the priority level of Tix options. The default value is 79, which makes the Tix schemes at a higher priority than the settings in the .Xdefaults file. If you want to allow the Tix schemes to be overridden by the settings in the .Xdefaults file, you can set the following line in you .Xdefaults file: \*TixSchemePriority: 21

## DESCRIPTION

The **tix** command provides access to miscellaneous elements of Tix's internal state and the Tix **application context**.  Most of the information manipulated by this command pertains to the application as a whole, or to a screen or display, rather than to a particular window.  The command can take any of a number of different forms depending on the *option* argument.  The legal forms are:

- **tix addbitmapdir** *directory*

  Tix maintains a list of directory under which which the **tix** **getimage** and **tix getbitmap** commands will search for image files. The standard bitmap directory is **$TIX\_LIBRARY/bitmaps**. The **addbitmapdir** command adds *directory* into this list. By using this command, the image files of an applications can also be located using the **tix getimage** or **tix getbitmap** command.

- **tix cget** *option*

  Returns the current value of the configuration option given by *option*. *Option* may be any of the options described in the **CONFIGURATION OPTIONS** section.

- **tix configure** ?*option*? *?value option value ...*?

  Query or modify the configuration options of the Tix application context. If no *option* is specified, returns a list describing all of the available options (see **Tk\_ConfigureInfo** for information on the format of this list).  If *option* is specified with no *value*, then the command returns a list describing the one named option (this list will be identical to the corresponding sublist of the value returned if no *option* is specified).  If one or more *option-value* pairs are specified, then the command modifies the given option(s) to have the given value(s); in this case the command returns an empty string. *Option* may be any of the options described in the **CONFIGURATION OPTIONS** section.

- **tix filedialog** ?*class*?

  Returns the file selection dialog that may be shared among different modules of this application. This command will create a file selection dialog widget when it is called the first time. This dialog will be returned by all subsequent calls to **tix filedialog**. An optional *class* parameter can be passed to specified what type of file selection dialog widget is desired. Possible options are **tixFileSelectDialog** or **tixExFileSelectDialog.**

- **tix getbitmap** *name*

  Locates a bitmap file of the name *name*.xpm or *name* in one of the bitmap directories (see the **addbitmapdir** command above). By using **tix getbitmap**, you can advoid hard coding the pathnames of the bitmap files in your application. When successful, it returns the complete pathname of the bitmap file, prefixed with the character **@**.  The returned value can be used to configure the **-bitmap** option of the TK and Tix widgets.

- **tix getimage** *name*

  Locates an image file of the name *name*.xpm, *name*.xbm or *name*.ppm in one of the bitmap directories (see the **addbitmapdir** command above). If more than one file with the same name (but different extensions) exist, then the image type is chosen according to the depth of the X display: xbm images are chosen on monochrome displays and color images are chosen on color displays. By using **tix getimage**, you can advoid hard coding the pathnames of the image files in your application. When successful, this command returns the name of the newly created image, which can be used to configure the **-image** option of the TK and Tix widgets.

- **tix initstyle**

  Init the style defaults for Tix.  Prior to Tix 8.4 this was done by simply package requiring Tix, but this call is now required to explicitly use Tix style.

- **tix option** ?*args ...*?

  Manipulates the options manitained by the Tix scheme mechanism. Available options are: active\_bg   active\_fg   bg bold\_font   dark1\_bg    dark1\_fg dark2\_bg    dark2\_fg    disabled\_fg fg          fixed\_font  font     inactive\_bg inactive\_fg input1\_bg     input2\_bg   italic\_font light1\_bg light1\_fg   light2\_bg   light2\_fg menu\_font   output1\_bg  output2\_bg select\_bg   select\_fg   selector The arguments to the **tix option** command can take the following form(s):

  - **tix option get** *option*

    Returns the current value of *option*.

- **tix resetoptions** *newScheme newFontSet* ?*newScmPrio*?

  Resets the scheme and fontset of the Tix application to *newScheme* and *newFontSet*, respectively. This affects only those widgets created **after** this call. Therefore, it is best to call the **resetoptions** command **before** the creation of any widgets in a Tix application.

  The optional parameter *newScmPrio* can be given to reset the priority level of the TK options set by the Tix schemes.

## BUGS

- \[1\]

  In this release of Tix, the following configuration options have been disabled. Assigning values to them will cause no effect: -binding -debug -fontset -scheme -schemepriority In addition, the following options to the **tix** command have been disabled. Invoking the **tix** command with these options will cause no effect: resetoptions

- \[2\]

  Because of the way TK handles the X option database, after tixwish has started up, it is not possible to reset the color schemes and font sets using the **tix config** command. Instead, the **tix** **resetoptions** command must be used.

The tk\_setPalette command does not work very well under Tix. To use it, one must follow these steps:

tix resetoptions TK TK tk\_setPalette lightblue

## KEYWORDS

file selection dialog