NAME
       tk_getOpenFile,  tk_getSaveFile  - pop up a dialog box for
       the user to select a file to open or save.

SYNOPSIS
       tk_getOpenFile ?option value ...?
       tk_getSaveFile ?option value ...?


DESCRIPTION
       The procedures tk_getOpenFile and tk_getSaveFile pop up  a
       dialog  box for the user to select a file to open or save.
       The tk_getOpenFile command is usually associated with  the
       Open command in the File menu. Its purpose is for the user
       to select an existing file only. If  the  user  enters  an
       non-existent  file, the dialog box gives the user an error
       prompt and requires the user to give an alternative selec-
       tion.  If  an  application  allows  the user to create new
       files, it should do so by providing a  separate  New  menu
       command.

       The  tk_getSaveFile command is usually associated with the
       Save as command in the File menu. If  the  user  enters  a
       file  that already exists, the dialog box prompts the user
       for confirmation whether the existing file should be over-
       written or not.

       The  following  option-value pairs are possible as command
       line arguments to these two commands:

       -defaultextension extension
              Specifies a string that will  be  appended  to  the
              filename  if  the user enters a filename without an
              extension. The defaut value is  the  empty  string,
              which  means  no  extension will be appended to the
              filename in any case. This option is ignored on the
              Macintosh  platform,  which does not require exten-
              sions to filenames.

       -filetypes filePatternList
              If a File types listbox exists in the  file  dialog
              on  the  particular platform, this option gives the
              filetypes in this listbox. When the user  choose  a
              filetype  in  the  listbox,  only the files of that
              type are listed. If this option is unspecified,  or
              if  it  is  set  to  the empty list, or if the File
              types listbox is not supported  by  the  particular
              platform  then  all  files are listed regardless of
              their types. See the section SPECIFYING  FILE  PAT-
              TERNS  below  for  a  discussion on the contents of
              filePatternList.

       -initialdir directory
              Specifies that the files  in  directory  should  be
              displayed  when the dialog pops up. If this parame-
              ter is not specified, then the files in the current
              working  directory  are displayed. If the parameter
              specifies a relative path, the  return  value  will
              convert  the  relative  path  to  an absolute path.
              This option may not always work on  the  Macintosh.
              This  is  not  a  bug. Rather, the General Controls
              control panel on the Mac allows  the  end  user  to
              override the application default directory.

       -initialfile filename
              Specifies  a filename to be displayed in the dialog
              when it pops up.  This option  is  ignored  on  the
              Macintosh platform.

       -multiple
              Allows  the  user to choose multiple files from the
              Open dialog.  On the Macintosh, this is only avail-
              able when Navigation Services are installed.

       -message
              Specifies  a  message to include in the client area
              of the dialog.  This is only available on the  Mac-
              intosh,  and  only  when  Navigation  Services  are
              installed.

       -parent window
              Makes window the logical parent of the file dialog.
              The  file  dialog is displayed on top of its parent
              window.

       -title titleString
              Specifies a string to display as the title  of  the
              dialog box. If this option is not specified, then a
              default title is displayed.

       If the  user  selects  a  file,  both  tk_getOpenFile  and
       tk_getSaveFile  return  the full pathname of this file. If
       the user cancels the operation, both commands  return  the
       empty string.

SPECIFYING FILE PATTERNS
       The  filePatternList  value given by the -filetypes option
       is a list of file patterns. Each file pattern is a list of
       the form
              typeName {extension ?extension ...?} ?{macType ?macType ...?}?
       typeName  is  the  name of the file type described by this
       file pattern and is the text string that  appears  in  the
       File types listbox. extension is a file extension for this
       file pattern.  macType is a four-character Macintosh  file
       type.  The list of macTypes is optional and may be omitted
       for applications that do not need to execute on the Macin-
       tosh platform.
       Several file patterns may have the same typeName, in which
       case they refer to the same file type and share  the  same
       entry  in  the  listbox. When the user selects an entry in
       the listbox, all the files that match at least one of  the
       file patterns corresponding to that entry are listed. Usu-
       ally, each file pattern corresponds to a distinct type  of
       file.  The use of more than one file patterns for one type
       of file is necessary on the Macintosh platform only.

       On the Macintosh platform, a file matches a  file  pattern
       if  its  name matches at least one of the extension(s) AND
       it belongs to at least one of the macType(s) of  the  file
       pattern.  For  example, the C Source Files file pattern in
       the sample code matches with files that have a  .c  exten-
       sion  AND  belong  to the macType TEXT. To use the OR rule
       instead, you can use  two  file  patterns,  one  with  the
       extensions  only  and the other with the macType only. The
       GIF Files file type in the sample code matches files  that
       EITHER  have  a  .gif  extension  OR belong to the macType
       GIFF.

       On the Unix and Windows platforms, a file matches  a  file
       pattern  if its name matches at at least one of the exten-
       sion(s) of the file pattern. The macTypes are ignored.

SPECIFYING EXTENSIONS
       On  the  Unix  and  Macintosh  platforms,  extensions  are
       matched  using glob-style pattern matching. On the Windows
       platforms, extensions are matched by the underlying  oper-
       ating  system.  The  types of possible extensions are: (1)
       the special extension * matches any file; (2) the  special
       extension  "" matches any files that do not have an exten-
       sion (i.e., the filename contains no full stop character);
       (3)  any  character  string that does not contain any wild
       card characters (* and ?).

       Due to the different pattern matching rules on the various
       platforms, to ensure portability, wild card characters are
       not allowed in the extensions, except as  in  the  special
       extension  *.  Extensions  without  a  full stop character
       (e.g, ~) are allowed but may not work on all platforms.


EXAMPLE
              set types {
                  {{Text Files}       {.txt}        }
                  {{TCL Scripts}      {.tcl}        }
                  {{C Source Files}   {.c}      TEXT}
                  {{GIF Files}        {.gif}        }
                  {{GIF Files}        {}        GIFF}
                  {{All Files}        *             }
              }
              set filename [tk_getOpenFile -filetypes $types]
              if {$filename != ""} {
                  # Open the file ...
              }


SEE ALSO
       tk_chooseDirectory


KEYWORDS
       file selection dialog
