Module: Gtk::FileChooser

Extended by:
GLib::Deprecatable
Defined in:
lib/gtk4/deprecated.rb

Overview

GtkFileChooser is an interface that can be implemented by file selection widgets.

In GTK, the main objects that implement this interface are [classGtk.FileChooserWidget] and [classGtk.FileChooserDialog].

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 filenames as GFiles.

Adding options

You can add extra widgets to a file chooser to provide options that are not present in the default design, by using [methodGtk.FileChooser.add_choice]. Each choice has an identifier and a user visible label; additionally, each choice can have multiple options. If a choice has no option, it will be rendered as a check button with the given label; if a choice has options, it will be rendered as a combo box.

Instance Method Summary collapse

Instance Method Details

#action ⇒ Gtk::FileChooserAction

Gets the type of operation that the file chooser is performing.

Returns:

#action=(action) ⇒ nil

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.

Parameters:

Returns:

  • (nil)

#add_choice(id, label, options, option_labels) ⇒ nil

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 [methodGtk.FileChooser.set_choice] before the dialog is shown, and you can obtain the user-selected value in the [signalGtk.Dialog::response] signal handler using [methodGtk.FileChooser.get_choice].

Parameters:

  • id (String) —

    id for the added choice

  • label (String) —

    user-visible label for the added choice

  • options (Array<String>) —

    ids for the options of the choice, or nil for a boolean choice

  • option_labels (Array<String>) —

    user-visible labels for the options, must be the same length as options

Returns:

  • (nil)

#add_filter(filter) ⇒ nil

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.

Note that the chooser takes ownership of the filter if it is floating, so you have to ref and sink it if you want to keep a reference.

Parameters:

Returns:

  • (nil)

#add_shortcut_folder(folder) ⇒ Boolean

Adds a folder to be displayed with the shortcut folders in a file chooser.

Parameters:

  • folder (Gio::File) —

    a GFile for the folder to add

Returns:

  • (Boolean) —

    true if the folder could be added successfully, false otherwise.

#create_folders ⇒ Boolean

Gets whether file chooser will offer to create new folders.

Returns:

  • (Boolean) —

    true if the Create Folder button should be displayed.

#create_folders=(create_folders) ⇒ nil

Sets whether file chooser will offer to create new folders.

This is only relevant if the action is not set to be %GTK_FILE_CHOOSER_ACTION_OPEN.

Parameters:

  • create_folders (Boolean) —

    true if the Create Folder button should be displayed

Returns:

  • (nil)

#current_folder ⇒ Gio::File

Gets the current folder of chooser as GFile.

Returns:

  • (Gio::File) —

    the GFile for the current folder.

#current_folder=(file) ⇒ Boolean

Sets the current folder for chooser from a GFile.

Parameters:

  • file (Gio::File) —

    the GFile for the new folder

Returns:

  • (Boolean) —

    true if the folder could be changed successfully, false otherwise.

#current_name ⇒ String

Gets the current name in the file selector, as entered by the user.

This is meant to be used in save dialogs, to get the currently typed filename when the file itself does not exist yet.

Returns:

  • (String) —

    The raw text from the file chooser’s “Name” entry. Free with g_free(). Note that this string is not a full pathname or URI; it is whatever the contents of the entry are. Note also that this string is in UTF-8 encoding, which is not necessarily the system’s encoding for filenames.

#current_name=(name) ⇒ nil

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.

If you want to preselect a particular existing file, you should use [methodGtk.FileChooser.set_file] instead.

Please see the documentation for those functions for an example of using [methodGtk.FileChooser.set_current_name] as well.

Parameters:

  • name (String) —

    the filename to use, as a UTF-8 string

Returns:

  • (nil)

#file ⇒ Gio::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.

If the file chooser is in folder mode, this function returns the selected folder.

Returns:

  • (Gio::File) —

    a selected GFile. You own the returned file; use g_object_unref() to release it.

#file=(file) ⇒ Boolean

Sets file as the current filename for the file chooser.

This includes 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.

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 file.

Note that the file must exist, or nothing will be done except for the directory change.

If you are implementing a save dialog, you should use this function if you already have a file name to which the user may save; for example, when the user opens an existing file and then does “Save As…”. If you don’t have a file name already — for example, if the user just created a new file and is saving it for the first time, do not call this function.

Instead, use something similar to this:

static void
prepare_file_chooser (GtkFileChooser *chooser,
                      GFile          *existing_file)
{
  gboolean document_is_new = (existing_file == NULL);

  if (document_is_new)
    {
      GFile *default_file_for_saving = g_file_new_for_path ("./out.txt");
      // the user just created a new document
      gtk_file_chooser_set_current_folder (chooser, default_file_for_saving, NULL);
      gtk_file_chooser_set_current_name (chooser, "Untitled document");
      g_object_unref (default_file_for_saving);
    }
  else
    {
      // the user edited an existing document
      gtk_file_chooser_set_file (chooser, existing_file, NULL);
    }
}

Parameters:

  • file (Gio::File) —

    the GFile to set as current

Returns:

  • (Boolean) —

    Not useful

#files ⇒ Gio::ListModel

Lists all the selected files and subfolders in the current folder of chooser as GFile.

Returns:

  • (Gio::ListModel) —

    a list model containing a GFile for each selected file and subfolder in the current folder. Free the returned list with g_object_unref().

#filter ⇒ Gtk::FileFilter

Gets the current filter.

Returns:

#filter=(filter) ⇒ nil

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.

Parameters:

Returns:

  • (nil)

#filters ⇒ Gio::ListModel

Gets the current set of user-selectable filters, as a list model.

See [methodGtk.FileChooser.add_filter] and [methodGtk.FileChooser.remove_filter] for changing individual filters.

You should not modify the returned list model. Future changes to chooser may or may not affect the returned model.

Returns:

  • (Gio::ListModel) —

    a GListModel containing the current set of user-selectable filters.

#get_choice(id) ⇒ String

Gets the currently selected option in the 'choice' with the given ID.

Parameters:

  • id (String) —

    the ID of the choice to get

Returns:

  • (String) —

    the ID of the currently selected option

#remove_choice(id) ⇒ nil

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

Parameters:

  • id (String) —

    the ID of the choice to remove

Returns:

  • (nil)

#remove_filter(filter) ⇒ nil

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

Parameters:

Returns:

  • (nil)

#remove_shortcut_folder(folder) ⇒ Boolean

Removes a folder from the shortcut folders in a file chooser.

Parameters:

  • folder (Gio::File) —

    a GFile for the folder to remove

Returns:

  • (Boolean) —

    true if the folder could be removed successfully, false otherwise.

#select_multiple ⇒ Boolean

Gets whether multiple files can be selected in the file chooser.

Returns:

  • (Boolean) —

    true if multiple files can be selected.

#select_multiple=(select_multiple) ⇒ nil

Sets whether multiple files can be selected in the file chooser.

This is only relevant if the action is set to be %GTK_FILE_CHOOSER_ACTION_OPEN or %GTK_FILE_CHOOSER_ACTION_SELECT_FOLDER.

Parameters:

  • select_multiple (Boolean) —

    true if multiple files can be selected.

Returns:

  • (nil)

#set_choice(id, option) ⇒ nil

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".

Parameters:

  • id (String) —

    the ID of the choice to set

  • option (String) —

    the ID of the option to select

Returns:

  • (nil)

#shortcut_folders ⇒ Gio::ListModel

Queries the list of shortcut folders in the file chooser.

You should not modify the returned list model. Future changes to chooser may or may not affect the returned model.

Returns:

  • (Gio::ListModel) —

    A list model of GFiles