Gjsify LogoGjsify Logo

#GtkIMContext defines the interface for GTK+ input methods. An input method is used by GTK+ text input widgets like #GtkEntry to map from key events to Unicode character strings.

The default input method can be set programmatically via the #GtkSettings:gtk-im-module GtkSettings property. Alternatively, you may set the GTK_IM_MODULE environment variable as documented in [Running GTK+ Applications][gtk-running].

The #GtkEntry #GtkEntry:im-module and #GtkTextView #GtkTextView:im-module properties may also be used to set input methods for specific widget instances. For instance, a certain entry widget might be expected to contain certain characters which would be easier to input with a certain input method.

An input method may consume multiple key events in sequence and finally output the composed result. This is called preediting, and an input method may provide feedback about this process by displaying the intermediate composition states as preedit text. For instance, the default GTK+ input method implements the input of arbitrary Unicode code points by holding down the Control and Shift keys and then typing ā€œUā€ followed by the hexadecimal digits of the code point. When releasing the Control and Shift keys, preediting ends and the character is inserted as text. Ctrl+Shift+u20AC for example results in the ā‚¬ sign.

Additional input methods can be made available for use by GTK+ widgets as loadable modules. An input method module is a small shared library which implements a subclass of #GtkIMContext or #GtkIMContextSimple and exports these four functions:

void im_module_init(GTypeModule *module);

This function should register the #GType of the #GtkIMContext subclass which implements the input method by means of g_type_module_register_type(). Note that g_type_register_static() cannot be used as the type needs to be registered dynamically.

void im_module_exit(void);

Here goes any cleanup code your input method might require on module unload.

void im_module_list(const GtkIMContextInfo ***contexts, int *n_contexts)
{
*contexts = info_list;
*n_contexts = G_N_ELEMENTS (info_list);
}

This function returns the list of input methods provided by the module. The example implementation above shows a common solution and simply returns a pointer to statically defined array of #GtkIMContextInfo items for each provided input method.

GtkIMContext * im_module_create(const gchar *context_id);

This function should return a pointer to a newly created instance of the #GtkIMContext subclass identified by context_id. The context ID is the same as specified in the #GtkIMContextInfo array returned by im_module_list().

After a new loadable input method module has been installed on the system, the configuration file gtk.immodules needs to be regenerated by [gtk-query-immodules-3.0][gtk-query-immodules-3.0], in order for the new input method to become available to GTK+ applications.

Hierarchy

Index

Constructors

Properties

g_type_instance: TypeInstance
input_hints: Gtk.InputHints
input_purpose: Gtk.InputPurpose
parent_instance: GObject.Object
name: string

Methods

  • Creates a binding between source_property on source and target_property on target.

    Whenever the source_property is changed the target_property is updated using the same value. For instance:

      g_object_bind_property (action, "active", widget, "sensitive", 0);
    

    Will result in the "sensitive" property of the widget #GObject instance to be updated with the same value of the "active" property of the action #GObject instance.

    If flags contains %G_BINDING_BIDIRECTIONAL then the binding will be mutual: if target_property on target changes then the source_property on source will be updated as well.

    The binding will automatically be removed when either the source or the target instances are finalized. To remove the binding without affecting the source and the target you can just call g_object_unref() on the returned #GBinding instance.

    Removing the binding by calling g_object_unref() on it must only be done if the binding, source and target are only used from a single thread and it is clear that both source and target outlive the binding. Especially it is not safe to rely on this if the binding, source or target can be finalized from different threads. Keep another reference to the binding and use g_binding_unbind() instead to be on the safe side.

    A #GObject can have multiple bindings.

    Parameters

    • source_property: string

      the property on source to bind

    • target: GObject.Object

      the target #GObject

    • target_property: string

      the property on target to bind

    • flags: BindingFlags

      flags to pass to #GBinding

    Returns Binding

  • Creates a binding between source_property on source and target_property on target, allowing you to set the transformation functions to be used by the binding.

    This function is the language bindings friendly version of g_object_bind_property_full(), using #GClosures instead of function pointers.

    Parameters

    • source_property: string

      the property on source to bind

    • target: GObject.Object

      the target #GObject

    • target_property: string

      the property on target to bind

    • flags: BindingFlags

      flags to pass to #GBinding

    • transform_to: TClosure<any, any>

      a #GClosure wrapping the transformation function from the source to the target, or %NULL to use the default

    • transform_from: TClosure<any, any>

      a #GClosure wrapping the transformation function from the target to the source, or %NULL to use the default

    Returns Binding

  • delete_surrounding(offset: number, n_chars: number): boolean
  • Asks the widget that the input context is attached to to delete characters around the cursor position by emitting the GtkIMContext::delete_surrounding signal. Note that offset and n_chars are in characters not in bytes which differs from the usage other places in #GtkIMContext.

    In order to use this function, you should first call gtk_im_context_get_surrounding() to get the current context, and call this function immediately afterwards to make sure that you know what you are deleting. You should also account for the fact that even if the signal was handled, the input context might not have deleted all the characters that were requested to be deleted.

    This function is used by an input method that wants to make subsitutions in the existing text in response to new input. It is not useful for applications.

    Parameters

    • offset: number

      offset from cursor position in chars; a negative value means start before the cursor.

    • n_chars: number

      number of characters to delete.

    Returns boolean

  • disconnect(id: number): void
  • emit(sigName: "commit", str: string, ...args: any[]): void
  • emit(sigName: "delete-surrounding", offset: number, n_chars: number, ...args: any[]): void
  • emit(sigName: "preedit-changed", ...args: any[]): void
  • emit(sigName: "preedit-end", ...args: any[]): void
  • emit(sigName: "preedit-start", ...args: any[]): void
  • emit(sigName: "retrieve-surrounding", ...args: any[]): void
  • emit(sigName: "notify::input-hints", ...args: any[]): void
  • emit(sigName: "notify::input-purpose", ...args: any[]): void
  • emit(sigName: string, ...args: any[]): void
  • Allow an input method to internally handle key press and release events. If this function returns %TRUE, then no further processing should be done for this key event.

    Parameters

    Returns boolean

  • focus_in(): void
  • Notify the input method that the widget to which this input context corresponds has gained focus. The input method may, for example, change the displayed feedback to reflect this change.

    Returns void

  • focus_out(): void
  • Notify the input method that the widget to which this input context corresponds has lost focus. The input method may, for example, change the displayed feedback or reset the contexts state to reflect this change.

    Returns void

  • force_floating(): void
  • This function is intended for #GObject implementations to re-enforce a [floating][floating-ref] object reference. Doing this is seldom required: all #GInitiallyUnowneds are created with a floating reference which usually just needs to be sunken by calling g_object_ref_sink().

    Returns void

  • freeze_notify(): void
  • Increases the freeze count on object. If the freeze count is non-zero, the emission of "notify" signals on object is stopped. The signals are queued until the freeze count is decreased to zero. Duplicate notifications are squashed so that at most one #GObject::notify signal is emitted for each property modified while the object is frozen.

    This is necessary for accessors that modify multiple properties to prevent premature notification while the object is still being modified.

    Returns void

  • get_data(key?: string): object
  • Gets a named field from the objects table of associations (see g_object_set_data()).

    Parameters

    • Optional key: string

      name of the key for that association

    Returns object

  • Retrieve the current preedit string for the input context, and a list of attributes to apply to the string. This string should be displayed inserted at the insertion point.

    Returns [string, Pango.AttrList, number]

  • get_property(property_name?: string, value?: any): void
  • Gets a property of an object.

    The value can be:

    • an empty #GValue initialized by %G_VALUE_INIT, which will be automatically initialized with the expected type of the property (since GLib 2.60)
    • a #GValue initialized with the expected type of the property
    • a #GValue initialized with a type to which the expected type of the property can be transformed

    In general, a copy is made of the property contents and the caller is responsible for freeing the memory by calling g_value_unset().

    Note that g_object_get_property() is really intended for language bindings, g_object_get() is much more convenient for C programming.

    Parameters

    • Optional property_name: string

      the name of the property to get

    • Optional value: any

      return location for the property value

    Returns void

  • get_qdata(quark: number): object
  • get_surrounding(): [boolean, string, number]
  • Retrieves context around the insertion point. Input methods typically want context in order to constrain input text based on existing text; this is important for languages such as Thai where only some sequences of characters are allowed.

    This function is implemented by emitting the GtkIMContext::retrieve_surrounding signal on the input method; in response to this signal, a widget should provide as much context as is available, up to an entire paragraph, by calling gtk_im_context_set_surrounding(). Note that there is no obligation for a widget to respond to the ::retrieve_surrounding signal, so input methods must be prepared to function without context.

    Returns [boolean, string, number]

  • getv(names: string[], values: any[]): void
  • Gets n_properties properties for an object. Obtained properties will be set to values. All properties must be valid. Warnings will be emitted and undefined behaviour may result if invalid properties are passed in.

    Parameters

    • names: string[]

      the names of each property to get

    • values: any[]

      the values of each property to get

    Returns void

  • is_floating(): boolean
  • notify(property_name: string): void
  • Emits a "notify" signal for the property property_name on object.

    When possible, eg. when signaling a property change from within the class that registered the property, you should use g_object_notify_by_pspec() instead.

    Note that emission of the notify signal may be blocked with g_object_freeze_notify(). In this case, the signal emissions are queued and will be emitted (in reverse order) when g_object_thaw_notify() is called.

    Parameters

    • property_name: string

      the name of a property installed on the class of object.

    Returns void

  • Emits a "notify" signal for the property specified by pspec on object.

    This function omits the property name lookup, hence it is faster than g_object_notify().

    One way to avoid using g_object_notify() from within the class that registered the properties, and using g_object_notify_by_pspec() instead, is to store the GParamSpec used with g_object_class_install_property() inside a static array, e.g.:

      enum
    {
    PROP_0,
    PROP_FOO,
    PROP_LAST
    };

    static GParamSpec *properties[PROP_LAST];

    static void
    my_object_class_init (MyObjectClass *klass)
    {
    properties[PROP_FOO] = g_param_spec_int ("foo", "Foo", "The foo",
    0, 100,
    50,
    G_PARAM_READWRITE);
    g_object_class_install_property (gobject_class,
    PROP_FOO,
    properties[PROP_FOO]);
    }

    and then notify a change on the "foo" property with:

      g_object_notify_by_pspec (self, properties[PROP_FOO]);
    

    Parameters

    • pspec: ParamSpec

      the #GParamSpec of a property installed on the class of object.

    Returns void

  • Increases the reference count of object.

    Since GLib 2.56, if GLIB_VERSION_MAX_ALLOWED is 2.56 or greater, the type of object will be propagated to the return type (using the GCC typeof() extension), so any casting the caller needs to do on the return type must be explicit.

    Returns GObject.Object

  • Increase the reference count of object, and possibly remove the [floating][floating-ref] reference, if object has a floating reference.

    In other words, if the object is floating, then this call "assumes ownership" of the floating reference, converting it to a normal reference by clearing the floating flag while leaving the reference count unchanged. If the object is not floating, then this call adds a new normal reference increasing the reference count by one.

    Since GLib 2.56, the type of object will be propagated to the return type under the same conditions as for g_object_ref().

    Returns GObject.Object

  • reset(): void
  • Notify the input method that a change such as a change in cursor position has been made. This will typically cause the input method to clear the preedit state.

    Returns void

  • run_dispose(): void
  • Releases all references to other objects. This can be used to break reference cycles.

    This function should only be called from object system implementations.

    Returns void

  • Set the client window for the input context; this is the #GdkWindow in which the input appears. This window is used in order to correctly position status windows, and may also be used for purposes internal to the input method.

    Parameters

    • window: Gdk.Window

      the client window. This may be %NULL to indicate that the previous client window no longer exists.

    Returns void

  • Notify the input method that a change in cursor position has been made. The location is relative to the client window.

    Parameters

    Returns void

  • set_data(key: string, data?: object): void
  • Each object carries around a table of associations from strings to pointers. This function lets you set an association.

    If the object already had an association with that name, the old association will be destroyed.

    Internally, the key is converted to a #GQuark using g_quark_from_string(). This means a copy of key is kept permanently (even after object has been finalized) ā€” so it is recommended to only use a small, bounded set of values for key in your program, to avoid the #GQuark storage growing unbounded.

    Parameters

    • key: string

      name of the key

    • Optional data: object

      data to associate with that key

    Returns void

  • set_property(property_name: string, value?: any): void
  • set_surrounding(text: string, len: number, cursor_index: number): void
  • Sets surrounding context around the insertion point and preedit string. This function is expected to be called in response to the GtkIMContext::retrieve_surrounding signal, and will likely have no effect if called at other times.

    Parameters

    • text: string

      text surrounding the insertion point, as UTF-8. the preedit string should not be included within text.

    • len: number

      the length of text, or -1 if text is nul-terminated

    • cursor_index: number

      the byte index of the insertion cursor within text.

    Returns void

  • set_use_preedit(use_preedit: boolean): void
  • Sets whether the IM context should use the preedit string to display feedback. If use_preedit is FALSE (default is TRUE), then the IM context may use some other method to display feedback, such as displaying it in a child of the root window.

    Parameters

    • use_preedit: boolean

      whether the IM context should use the preedit string.

    Returns void

  • steal_data(key?: string): object
  • Remove a specified datum from the object's data associations, without invoking the association's destroy handler.

    Parameters

    • Optional key: string

      name of the key

    Returns object

  • steal_qdata(quark: number): object
  • This function gets back user data pointers stored via g_object_set_qdata() and removes the data from object without invoking its destroy() function (if any was set). Usually, calling this function is only required to update user data pointers with a destroy notifier, for example:

    void
    object_add_to_user_list (GObject *object,
    const gchar *new_string)
    {
    // the quark, naming the object data
    GQuark quark_string_list = g_quark_from_static_string ("my-string-list");
    // retrieve the old string list
    GList *list = g_object_steal_qdata (object, quark_string_list);

    // prepend new string
    list = g_list_prepend (list, g_strdup (new_string));
    // this changed 'list', so we need to set it again
    g_object_set_qdata_full (object, quark_string_list, list, free_string_list);
    }
    static void
    free_string_list (gpointer data)
    {
    GList *node, *list = data;

    for (node = list; node; node = node->next)
    g_free (node->data);
    g_list_free (list);
    }

    Using g_object_get_qdata() in the above example, instead of g_object_steal_qdata() would have left the destroy function set, and thus the partial string list would have been freed upon g_object_set_qdata_full().

    Parameters

    • quark: number

      A #GQuark, naming the user data pointer

    Returns object

  • thaw_notify(): void
  • Reverts the effect of a previous call to g_object_freeze_notify(). The freeze count is decreased on object and when it reaches zero, queued "notify" signals are emitted.

    Duplicate notifications for each property are squashed so that at most one #GObject::notify signal is emitted for each property, in the reverse order in which they have been queued.

    It is an error to call this function when the freeze count is zero.

    Returns void

  • unref(): void
  • Decreases the reference count of object. When its reference count drops to 0, the object is finalized (i.e. its memory is freed).

    If the pointer to the #GObject may be reused in future (for example, if it is an instance variable of another object), it is recommended to clear the pointer to %NULL rather than retain a dangling pointer to a potentially invalid #GObject instance. Use g_clear_object() for this.

    Returns void

  • vfunc_commit(str: string): void
  • vfunc_constructed(): void
  • vfunc_delete_surrounding(offset: number, n_chars: number): boolean
  • Asks the widget that the input context is attached to to delete characters around the cursor position by emitting the GtkIMContext::delete_surrounding signal. Note that offset and n_chars are in characters not in bytes which differs from the usage other places in #GtkIMContext.

    In order to use this function, you should first call gtk_im_context_get_surrounding() to get the current context, and call this function immediately afterwards to make sure that you know what you are deleting. You should also account for the fact that even if the signal was handled, the input context might not have deleted all the characters that were requested to be deleted.

    This function is used by an input method that wants to make subsitutions in the existing text in response to new input. It is not useful for applications.

    virtual

    Parameters

    • offset: number

      offset from cursor position in chars; a negative value means start before the cursor.

    • n_chars: number

      number of characters to delete.

    Returns boolean

  • vfunc_dispatch_properties_changed(n_pspecs: number, pspecs: ParamSpec): void
  • vfunc_dispose(): void
  • Allow an input method to internally handle key press and release events. If this function returns %TRUE, then no further processing should be done for this key event.

    virtual

    Parameters

    Returns boolean

  • vfunc_finalize(): void
  • vfunc_focus_in(): void
  • Notify the input method that the widget to which this input context corresponds has gained focus. The input method may, for example, change the displayed feedback to reflect this change.

    virtual

    Returns void

  • vfunc_focus_out(): void
  • Notify the input method that the widget to which this input context corresponds has lost focus. The input method may, for example, change the displayed feedback or reset the contexts state to reflect this change.

    virtual

    Returns void

  • Retrieve the current preedit string for the input context, and a list of attributes to apply to the string. This string should be displayed inserted at the insertion point.

    virtual

    Returns [string, Pango.AttrList, number]

  • vfunc_get_property(property_id: number, value?: any, pspec?: ParamSpec): void
  • vfunc_get_surrounding(): [boolean, string, number]
  • Retrieves context around the insertion point. Input methods typically want context in order to constrain input text based on existing text; this is important for languages such as Thai where only some sequences of characters are allowed.

    This function is implemented by emitting the GtkIMContext::retrieve_surrounding signal on the input method; in response to this signal, a widget should provide as much context as is available, up to an entire paragraph, by calling gtk_im_context_set_surrounding(). Note that there is no obligation for a widget to respond to the ::retrieve_surrounding signal, so input methods must be prepared to function without context.

    virtual

    Returns [boolean, string, number]

  • Emits a "notify" signal for the property property_name on object.

    When possible, eg. when signaling a property change from within the class that registered the property, you should use g_object_notify_by_pspec() instead.

    Note that emission of the notify signal may be blocked with g_object_freeze_notify(). In this case, the signal emissions are queued and will be emitted (in reverse order) when g_object_thaw_notify() is called.

    virtual

    Parameters

    Returns void

  • vfunc_preedit_changed(): void
  • vfunc_preedit_end(): void
  • vfunc_preedit_start(): void
  • vfunc_reset(): void
  • Notify the input method that a change such as a change in cursor position has been made. This will typically cause the input method to clear the preedit state.

    virtual

    Returns void

  • vfunc_retrieve_surrounding(): boolean
  • vfunc_set_client_window(window: Gdk.Window): void
  • Set the client window for the input context; this is the #GdkWindow in which the input appears. This window is used in order to correctly position status windows, and may also be used for purposes internal to the input method.

    virtual

    Parameters

    • window: Gdk.Window

      the client window. This may be %NULL to indicate that the previous client window no longer exists.

    Returns void

  • Notify the input method that a change in cursor position has been made. The location is relative to the client window.

    virtual

    Parameters

    Returns void

  • vfunc_set_property(property_id: number, value?: any, pspec?: ParamSpec): void
  • vfunc_set_surrounding(text: string, len: number, cursor_index: number): void
  • Sets surrounding context around the insertion point and preedit string. This function is expected to be called in response to the GtkIMContext::retrieve_surrounding signal, and will likely have no effect if called at other times.

    virtual

    Parameters

    • text: string

      text surrounding the insertion point, as UTF-8. the preedit string should not be included within text.

    • len: number

      the length of text, or -1 if text is nul-terminated

    • cursor_index: number

      the byte index of the insertion cursor within text.

    Returns void

  • vfunc_set_use_preedit(use_preedit: boolean): void
  • Sets whether the IM context should use the preedit string to display feedback. If use_preedit is FALSE (default is TRUE), then the IM context may use some other method to display feedback, such as displaying it in a child of the root window.

    virtual

    Parameters

    • use_preedit: boolean

      whether the IM context should use the preedit string.

    Returns void

  • watch_closure(closure: TClosure<any, any>): void
  • This function essentially limits the life time of the closure to the life time of the object. That is, when the object is finalized, the closure is invalidated by calling g_closure_invalidate() on it, in order to prevent invocations of the closure with a finalized (nonexisting) object. Also, g_object_ref() and g_object_unref() are added as marshal guards to the closure, to ensure that an extra reference count is held on object during invocation of the closure. Usually, this function will be called on closures that use this object as closure data.

    Parameters

    • closure: TClosure<any, any>

      #GClosure to watch

    Returns void

  • compat_control(what: number, data: object): number
  • Find the #GParamSpec with the given name for an interface. Generally, the interface vtable passed in as g_iface will be the default vtable from g_type_default_interface_ref(), or, if you know the interface has already been loaded, g_type_default_interface_peek().

    Parameters

    • g_iface: TypeInterface

      any interface vtable for the interface, or the default vtable for the interface

    • property_name: string

      name of a property to look up.

    Returns ParamSpec

  • Add a property to an interface; this is only useful for interfaces that are added to GObject-derived types. Adding a property to an interface forces all objects classes with that interface to have a compatible property. The compatible property could be a newly created #GParamSpec, but normally g_object_class_override_property() will be used so that the object class only needs to provide an implementation and inherits the property description, default value, bounds, and so forth from the interface property.

    This function is meant to be called from the interface's default vtable initialization function (the class_init member of #GTypeInfo.) It must not be called after after class_init has been called for any object types implementing this interface.

    If pspec is a floating reference, it will be consumed.

    Parameters

    • g_iface: TypeInterface

      any interface vtable for the interface, or the default vtable for the interface.

    • pspec: ParamSpec

      the #GParamSpec for the new property

    Returns void

  • Lists the properties of an interface.Generally, the interface vtable passed in as g_iface will be the default vtable from g_type_default_interface_ref(), or, if you know the interface has already been loaded, g_type_default_interface_peek().

    Parameters

    • g_iface: TypeInterface

      any interface vtable for the interface, or the default vtable for the interface

    Returns ParamSpec[]

  • Creates a new instance of a #GObject subtype and sets its properties.

    Construction parameters (see %G_PARAM_CONSTRUCT, %G_PARAM_CONSTRUCT_ONLY) which are not explicitly specified are set to their default values.

    Parameters

    • object_type: GType<unknown>

      the type id of the #GObject subtype to instantiate

    • parameters: GObject.Parameter[]

      an array of #GParameter

    Returns GObject.Object

Legend

  • Module
  • Object literal
  • Variable
  • Function
  • Function with type parameter
  • Index signature
  • Type alias
  • Type alias with type parameter
  • Enumeration
  • Enumeration member
  • Property
  • Method
  • Interface
  • Interface with type parameter
  • Constructor
  • Property
  • Method
  • Index signature
  • Class
  • Class with type parameter
  • Constructor
  • Property
  • Method
  • Accessor
  • Index signature
  • Inherited constructor
  • Inherited property
  • Inherited method
  • Inherited accessor
  • Protected property
  • Protected method
  • Protected accessor
  • Private property
  • Private method
  • Private accessor
  • Static property
  • Static method