View

class View(**properties: Any)

Superclasses: TextView, Widget, InitiallyUnowned, Object

Subclasses: Map

Implemented Interfaces: Accessible, AccessibleText, Buildable, ConstraintTarget, Scrollable

Subclass of TextView.

GtkSourceView is the main class of the GtkSourceView library. Use a Buffer to display text with a GtkSourceView.

This class provides:

Show the line numbers;

Show a right margin;

Highlight the current line;

Indentation settings;

Configuration for the Home and End keyboard keys;

Configure and show line marks;

And a few other things.

An easy way to test all these features is to use the test-widget mini-program provided in the GtkSourceView repository, in the tests/ directory.

GtkSourceView as GtkBuildable

The GtkSourceView implementation of the Buildable interface exposes the completion object with the internal-child “completion”.

An example of a UI definition fragment with GtkSourceView:

<object class="GtkSourceView" id="source_view">
  <property name="tab-width">4</property>
  <property name="auto-indent">True</property>
  <child internal-child="completion">
    <object class="GtkSourceCompletion">
      <property name="select-on-show">False</property>
    </object>
  </child>
</object>

Changing the Font

Gtk CSS provides the best way to change the font for a GtkSourceView in a manner that allows for components like Map to scale the desired font.

GtkCssProvider *provider = gtk_css_provider_new ();
gtk_css_provider_load_from_data (provider,
                                 "textview { font-family: Monospace; font-size: 8pt; }",
                                 -1,
                                 NULL);
gtk_style_context_add_provider (gtk_widget_get_style_context (view),
                                GTK_STYLE_PROVIDER (provider),
                                GTK_STYLE_PROVIDER_PRIORITY_APPLICATION);
g_object_unref (provider);

If you need to adjust the font or size of font within a portion of the document only, you should use a TextTag with the family or scale set so that the font size may be scaled relative to the default font set in CSS.

Constructors

class View

classmethod new() → Widget

Creates a new GtkSourceView.

By default, an empty Buffer will be lazily created and can be retrieved with get_buffer.

If you want to specify your own buffer, either override the create_buffer factory method, or use new_with_buffer.

classmethod new_with_buffer(buffer: Buffer) → Widget

Creates a new View widget displaying the buffer buffer.

One buffer can be shared among many widgets.

Parameters:: buffer – a Buffer.

Methods

class View

get_auto_indent() → bool: Returns whether auto-indentation of text is enabled.

get_background_pattern() → BackgroundPatternType: Returns the BackgroundPatternType specifying if and how the background pattern should be displayed for this view.

get_completion() → Completion

Gets the Completion associated with view.

The returned object is guaranteed to be the same for the lifetime of view. Each GtkSourceView object has a different Completion.

get_enable_snippets() → bool

Gets the enable_snippets property.

If True, matching snippets found in the SnippetManager may be expanded when the user presses Tab after a word in the View.

get_gutter(window_type: TextWindowType) → Gutter

Returns the Gutter object associated with window_type for view.

Only %GTK_TEXT_WINDOW_LEFT and %GTK_TEXT_WINDOW_RIGHT are supported, respectively corresponding to the left and right gutter. The line numbers and mark category icons are rendered in the left gutter.

Parameters:: window_type – the gutter window type.

get_highlight_current_line() → bool: Returns whether the current line is highlighted.

get_hover() → Hover

Gets the Hover associated with view.

The returned object is guaranteed to be the same for the lifetime of view. Each View object has a different Hover.

get_indent_on_tab() → bool: Returns whether when the tab key is pressed the current selection should get indented instead of replaced with the \t character.

get_indent_width() → int

Returns the number of spaces to use for each step of indent.

See set_indent_width for details.

get_indenter() → Indenter | None: Gets the indenter property.

get_insert_spaces_instead_of_tabs() → bool: Returns whether when inserting a tabulator character it should be replaced by a group of space characters.

get_mark_attributes(category: str, priority: int) → MarkAttributes

Gets attributes and priority for the category.

Parameters:

category – the category.
priority – place where priority of the category will be stored.

get_right_margin_position() → int: Gets the position of the right margin in the given view.

get_show_line_marks() → bool: Returns whether line marks are displayed beside the text.

get_show_line_numbers() → bool: Returns whether line numbers are displayed beside the text.

get_show_right_margin() → bool: Returns whether a right margin is displayed.

get_smart_backspace() → bool: Returns True if pressing the Backspace key will try to delete spaces up to the previous tab stop.

get_smart_home_end() → SmartHomeEndType: Returns a SmartHomeEndType end value specifying how the cursor will move when HOME and END keys are pressed.

get_space_drawer() → SpaceDrawer

Gets the SpaceDrawer associated with view.

The returned object is guaranteed to be the same for the lifetime of view. Each View object has a different SpaceDrawer.

get_tab_width() → int: Returns the width of tabulation in characters.

get_visual_column(iter: TextIter) → int

Determines the visual column at iter taking into consideration the tab_width of view.

Parameters:: iter – a position in view.

indent_lines(start: TextIter, end: TextIter) → None

Inserts one indentation level at the beginning of the specified lines. The empty lines are not indented.

Parameters:

start – TextIter of the first line to indent
end – TextIter of the last line to indent

push_snippet(snippet: Snippet, location: TextIter | None = None) → None

Inserts a new snippet at location

If another snippet was already active, it will be paused and the new snippet will become active. Once the focus positions of snippet have been exhausted, editing will return to the previous snippet.

Parameters:

snippet – a Snippet
location – a TextIter or None for the cursor position

set_auto_indent(enable: bool) → None

If True auto-indentation of text is enabled.

When Enter is pressed to create a new line, the auto-indentation inserts the same indentation as the previous line. This is not a “smart indentation” where an indentation level is added or removed depending on the context.

Parameters:: enable – whether to enable auto indentation.

set_background_pattern(background_pattern: BackgroundPatternType) → None

Set if and how the background pattern should be displayed.

Parameters:: background_pattern – the BackgroundPatternType.

set_enable_snippets(enable_snippets: bool) → None

Sets the enable_snippets property.

If enable_snippets is True, matching snippets found in the SnippetManager may be expanded when the user presses Tab after a word in the View.

Parameters:: enable_snippets – if snippets should be enabled

set_highlight_current_line(highlight: bool) → None

If highlight is True the current line will be highlighted.

Parameters:: highlight – whether to highlight the current line.

set_indent_on_tab(enable: bool) → None

If True, when the tab key is pressed when several lines are selected, the selected lines are indented of one level instead of being replaced with a \t character. Shift+Tab unindents the selection.

If the first or last line is not selected completely, it is also indented or unindented.

When the selection doesn’t span several lines, the tab key always replaces the selection with a normal \t character.

Parameters:: enable – whether to indent a block when tab is pressed.

set_indent_width(width: int) → None

Sets the number of spaces to use for each step of indent when the tab key is pressed.

If width is -1, the value of the tab_width property will be used.

The indent_width interacts with the insert_spaces_instead_of_tabs property and tab_width. An example will be clearer:

If the indent_width is 4 and tab_width is 8 and insert_spaces_instead_of_tabs is False, then pressing the tab key at the beginning of a line will insert 4 spaces. So far so good. Pressing the tab key a second time will remove the 4 spaces and insert a \t character instead (since tab_width is 8). On the other hand, if insert_spaces_instead_of_tabs is True, the second tab key pressed will insert 4 more spaces for a total of 8 spaces in the TextBuffer.

The test-widget program (available in the GtkSourceView repository) may be useful to better understand the indentation settings (enable the space drawing!).

Parameters:: width – indent width in characters.

set_indenter(indenter: Indenter | None = None) → None

Sets the indenter for view to indenter.

Note that the indenter will not be used unless View:auto-indent has been set to True.

Parameters:: indenter – a Indenter or None

set_insert_spaces_instead_of_tabs(enable: bool) → None

If True a tab key pressed is replaced by a group of space characters.

Of course it is still possible to insert a real \t programmatically with the TextBuffer API.

Parameters:: enable – whether to insert spaces instead of tabs.

set_mark_attributes(category: str, attributes: MarkAttributes, priority: int) → None

Sets attributes and priority for the category.

Parameters:

category – the category.
attributes – mark attributes.
priority – priority of the category.

set_right_margin_position(pos: int) → None

Sets the position of the right margin in the given view.

Parameters:: pos – the width in characters where to position the right margin.

set_show_line_marks(show: bool) → None

If True line marks will be displayed beside the text.

Parameters:: show – whether line marks should be displayed.

set_show_line_numbers(show: bool) → None

If True line numbers will be displayed beside the text.

Parameters:: show – whether line numbers should be displayed.

set_show_right_margin(show: bool) → None

If True a right margin is displayed.

Parameters:: show – whether to show a right margin.

set_smart_backspace(smart_backspace: bool) → None

When set to True, pressing the Backspace key will try to delete spaces up to the previous tab stop.

Parameters:: smart_backspace – whether to enable smart Backspace handling.

set_smart_home_end(smart_home_end: SmartHomeEndType) → None

Set the desired movement of the cursor when HOME and END keys are pressed.

Parameters:: smart_home_end – the desired behavior among SmartHomeEndType.

set_tab_width(width: int) → None

Sets the width of tabulation in characters.

The TextBuffer still contains \t characters, but they can take a different visual width in a View widget.

Parameters:: width – width of tab in characters.

unindent_lines(start: TextIter, end: TextIter) → None

Removes one indentation level at the beginning of the specified lines.

Parameters:

start – TextIter of the first line to indent
end – TextIter of the last line to indent

Properties

class View

props.auto_indent: bool

props.background_pattern: BackgroundPatternType: Draw a specific background pattern on the view.

props.completion: Completion: The completion object associated with the view

props.enable_snippets: bool

The property denotes if snippets should be expanded when the user presses Tab after having typed a word matching the snippets found in SnippetManager.

The user may tab through focus-positions of the snippet if any are available by pressing Tab repeatedly until the desired focus position is selected.

props.highlight_current_line: bool

props.indent_on_tab: bool

props.indent_width: int: Width of an indentation step expressed in number of spaces.

props.indenter: Indenter: The property is a Indenter to use to indent as the user types into the View.

props.insert_spaces_instead_of_tabs: bool

props.right_margin_position: int: Position of the right margin.

props.show_line_marks: bool: Whether to display line mark pixbufs

props.show_line_numbers: bool: Whether to display line numbers

props.show_right_margin: bool: Whether to display the right margin.

props.smart_backspace: bool: Whether smart Backspace should be used.

props.smart_home_end: SmartHomeEndType: Set the behavior of the HOME and END keys.

props.space_drawer: SpaceDrawer: The SpaceDrawer object associated with the view.4

props.tab_width: int: Width of a tab character expressed in number of spaces.

Signals

class View.signals

change_case(case_type: ChangeCaseType) → None

Keybinding signal to change case of the text at the current cursor position.

Parameters:: case_type – the case to use

change_number(count: int) → None

Keybinding signal to edit a number at the current cursor position.

Parameters:: count – the number to add to the number at the current position

join_lines() → None: Keybinding signal to join the lines currently selected.

line_mark_activated(iter: TextIter, button: int, state: ModifierType, n_presses: int) → None

Emitted when a line mark has been activated (for instance when there was a button press in the line marks gutter).

You can use iter to determine on which line the activation took place.

Parameters:

iter – a TextIter
button – the button that was pressed
state – the modifier state, if any
n_presses – the number of presses

move_lines(down: bool) → None

The signal is a keybinding which gets emitted when the user initiates moving a line.

The default binding key is Alt+Up/Down arrow. And moves the currently selected lines, or the current line up or down by one line.

Parameters:: down – True to move down, False to move up.

move_to_matching_bracket(extend_selection: bool) → None

Keybinding signal to move the cursor to the matching bracket.

Parameters:: extend_selection – True if the move should extend the selection

move_words(count: int) → None

The signal is a keybinding which gets emitted when the user initiates moving a word.

The default binding key is Alt+Left/Right Arrow and moves the current selection, or the current word by one word.

Parameters:: count – the number of words to move over

push_snippet(snippet: Snippet) → TextIter

The signal is emitted to insert a new snippet into the view.

If another snippet was active, it will be paused until all focus positions of snippet have been exhausted.

location will be updated to point at the end of the snippet.

Parameters:: snippet – a Snippet

show_completion() → None

The signal is a key binding signal which gets emitted when the user requests a completion, by pressing <keycombo><keycap>Control</keycap><keycap>space</keycap></keycombo>.

This will create a CompletionContext with the activation type as USER_REQUESTED.

Applications should not connect to it, but may emit it with signal_emit_by_name if they need to activate the completion by another means, for example with another key binding or a menu entry.

smart_home_end(iter: TextIter, count: int) → None

Emitted when a the cursor was moved according to the smart home end setting.

The signal is emitted after the cursor is moved, but during the move_cursor action. This can be used to find out whether the cursor was moved by a normal home/end or by a smart home/end.

Parameters:

iter – a TextIter
count – the count

Virtual Methods

class View

do_line_mark_activated(iter: TextIter, button: int, state: ModifierType, n_presses: int) → None

Parameters:

iter
button
state
n_presses

do_move_lines(down: bool) → None

Parameters:: down

do_move_words(step: int) → None

Parameters:: step

do_push_snippet(snippet: Snippet, location: TextIter | None = None) → None

Inserts a new snippet at location

Parameters:

snippet – a Snippet
location – a TextIter or None for the cursor position

do_show_completion() → None

Fields

class View

parent_instance