Gtk Menus and Toolbars

Gtk has a very managed and object oriented way of handling menus and toolbars using the Gtk::UIManager class.

Actions

Create an instance of Gtk::UIManager:

Glib::RefPtr m_refUIManager = Gtk::UIManager::create();

Create an instance of Gtk::ActionGroup:

m_refActionGroup = Gtk::ActionGroup::create();

Next, create an Gtk::Action and add it to the Gtk::ActionGroup instance:

m_refActionGroup->add( Gtk::Action::create("New", Gtk::Stock::NEW), sigc::mem_fun(*this, &ExampleWindow::on_action_file_new) );

Keep adding action groups until you have each menu and menuitem you want defined.
Now, add the action group itself to your Gtk::UIManager instance

m_refUIManager->insert_action_group(m_refActionGroup);

Create an XML string and feed it into the UIManager. Describe the layout of the menu and toolbar you want to appear in your application, using your named actions.
More than one menu can be created from your pool of Actions. This applies to toolbars as well.

Example: Menus and Toolbars

examplewindow.h:


#ifndef GTKMM_EXAMPLEWINDOW_H
#define GTKMM_EXAMPLEWINDOW_H

#include <gtkmm.h>

class ExampleWindow : public Gtk::Window
{
public:
  ExampleWindow();
  virtual ~ExampleWindow();

protected:
  virtual void register_stock_items();
  virtual void add_stock_item(const Glib::RefPtr& factory,
                      const std::string& filepath,
                      const Glib::ustring& id, const Glib::ustring& label);

  //Signal handlers:
  virtual void on_action_file_new();
  virtual void on_action_file_quit();
  virtual void on_action_others();

  //Child widgets:
  Gtk::VBox m_Box;

  Glib::RefPtr m_refUIManager;
  Glib::RefPtr m_refActionGroup;
};

#endif //GTKMM_EXAMPLEWINDOW_H

examplewindow.cc:


#include "examplewindow.h"
#include <gtkmm.h>
#include <iostream>

ExampleWindow::ExampleWindow()
{
  set_title("main_menu example");
  set_default_size(200, 200);

  add(m_Box); //We can put a MenuBar at the top of the box and other stuff below it.

  //Define the actions:
  m_refActionGroup = Gtk::ActionGroup::create();
  
  m_refActionGroup->add( Gtk::Action::create("MenuFile", "_File") );
  m_refActionGroup->add( Gtk::Action::create("New", Gtk::Stock::NEW),
    sigc::mem_fun(*this, &ExampleWindow::on_action_file_new) );
  m_refActionGroup->add( Gtk::Action::create("Open", Gtk::Stock::OPEN),
    sigc::mem_fun(*this, &ExampleWindow::on_action_others) );

  register_stock_items(); //Makes the "example_stock_rain" stock item available.
  m_refActionGroup->add( Gtk::ToggleAction::create("Rain", Gtk::StockID("example_stock_rain") ),
    sigc::mem_fun(*this, &ExampleWindow::on_action_others) );

  m_refActionGroup->add( Gtk::Action::create("Quit", Gtk::Stock::QUIT),
    sigc::mem_fun(*this, &ExampleWindow::on_action_file_quit) );

  m_refActionGroup->add( Gtk::Action::create("MenuEdit", "_Edit") );
  m_refActionGroup->add( Gtk::Action::create("Cut", Gtk::Stock::CUT),
    sigc::mem_fun(*this, &ExampleWindow::on_action_others) );
  m_refActionGroup->add( Gtk::Action::create("Copy", Gtk::Stock::COPY),
    sigc::mem_fun(*this, &ExampleWindow::on_action_others) );
  m_refActionGroup->add( Gtk::Action::create("Paste", Gtk::Stock::PASTE),
    sigc::mem_fun(*this, &ExampleWindow::on_action_others) );

  //Define how the actions are presented in the menus and toolbars:
  Glib::RefPtr m_refUIManager = Gtk::UIManager::create();
  m_refUIManager->insert_action_group(m_refActionGroup);
  add_accel_group(m_refUIManager->get_accel_group());

  //Layout the actions in a menubar and toolbar:
  try
  {
    Glib::ustring ui_info =
        "<ui>"
        "  <menubar name='MenuBar'>"
        "    <menu action='MenuFile'>"
        "      <menuitem action='New'/>"
        "      <menuitem action='Open'/>"
        "      <separator/>"
        "      <menuitem action='Rain'/>"
        "      <separator/>"
        "      <menuitem action='Quit'/>"
        "    </menu>"
        "    <menu action='MenuEdit'>"
        "      <menuitem action='Cut'/>"
        "      <menuitem action='Copy'/>"
        "      <menuitem action='Paste'/>"
        "    </menu>"
        "  </menubar>"
        "  <toolbar  name='ToolBar'>"
        "    <toolitem action='Open'/>"
        "    <toolitem action='Rain'/>"
        "    <toolitem action='Quit'/>"
        "  </toolbar>"
        "</ui>";

    m_refUIManager->add_ui_from_string(ui_info);
  }
  catch(const Glib::Error& ex)
  {
    std::cerr << "building menus and toolbars failed: " <<  ex.what();
  }

  Gtk::Widget* pMenuBar = m_refUIManager->get_widget("/MenuBar") ;

  //Add the MenuBar to the window:
  m_Box.pack_start(*pMenuBar, Gtk::PACK_SHRINK);


  Gtk::Widget* pToolbar = m_refUIManager->get_widget("/ToolBar") ;

  //Add the MenuBar to the window:
  m_Box.pack_start(*pToolbar, Gtk::PACK_SHRINK);
  
  show_all_children();
}

ExampleWindow::~ExampleWindow()
{
}

void ExampleWindow::on_action_file_quit()
{
  hide(); //Closes the main window to stop the Gtk::Main::run().
}

void ExampleWindow::on_action_file_new()
{
   std::cout << "A File|New menu item was selected." << std::endl;
}

void ExampleWindow::on_action_others()
{
  std::cout << "A menu item was selected." << std::endl;
}


void ExampleWindow::add_stock_item(const Glib::RefPtr& factory,
                      const std::string& filepath,
                      const Glib::ustring& id, const Glib::ustring& label)
{
  Gtk::IconSource source;
  try
  {
    //This throws an exception if the file is not found:
    source.set_pixbuf( Gdk::Pixbuf::create_from_file(filepath) );
  }
  catch(const Glib::Exception& ex)
  {
    std::cout << ex.what() << std::endl;
  }

  source.set_size(Gtk::ICON_SIZE_SMALL_TOOLBAR);
  source.set_size_wildcarded(); //Icon may be scaled.

  Gtk::IconSet icon_set;
  icon_set.add_source(source); //More than one source per set is allowed.

  const Gtk::StockID stock_id(id);
  factory->add(stock_id, icon_set);
  Gtk::Stock::add(Gtk::StockItem(stock_id, label));
}

void ExampleWindow::register_stock_items()
{
  Glib::RefPtr factory = Gtk::IconFactory::create();
  add_stock_item(factory, "rain.png", "example_stock_rain", "Stay dry");
  factory->add_default(); //Add factory to list of factories.
}

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