CANVAS(9) Kernel Developer's Manual CANVAS(9)

canvas - Create and manipulate canvas widgets

canvas pathName ?options?

-background        -selectbackground  -takefocus
-borderwidth       -selectborderwidth -xscrollcommand
-relief            -selectforeground  -yscrollcommand

Specifies a floating-point value indicating how close the mouse cursor must be to an item before it is considered to be ``inside'' the item. Defaults to 1.0.
Specifies a boolean value that indicates whether or not it should be allowable to set the canvas's view outside the region defined by the scrollregion option. Defaults to true, which means that the view will be constrained within the scroll region.
Specifies a desired window height that the canvas widget should request from its geometry manager. The value may be specified in any of the forms described in the COORDINATES section below.
Specifies a list with four dist coordinates describing the left, top, right, and bottom coordinates of a rectangular region. This region is used for scrolling purposes and is considered to be the boundary of the information in the canvas. Each of the coordinates may be specified in any of the forms given in the COORDINATES section below.
Specifies a desired window width that the canvas widget should request from its geometry manager. The value may be specified in any of the forms described in the COORDINATES section below.
Specifies an increment for horizontal scrolling, in any of the usual forms permitted for screen distances. If the value of this option is greater than zero, the horizontal view in the window will be constrained so that the canvas x coordinate at the left edge of the window is always an even multiple of xscrollicrement; furthermore, the units for scrolling (e.g., the change in view when the left and right arrows of a scrollbar are selected) will also be xscrollicrement. If the value of this option is less than or equal to zero, then horizontal scrolling is unconstrained.
Specifies an increment for vertical scrolling, in any of the usual forms permitted for screen distances. If the value of this option is greater than zero, the vertical view in the window will be constrained so that the canvas y coordinate at the top edge of the window is always an even multiple of yscrollicrement; furthermore, the units for scrolling (e.g., the change in view when the top and bottom arrows of a scrollbar are selected) will also be yscrollicrement. If the value of this option is less than or equal to zero, then vertical scrolling is unconstrained.
Specifies how much of the canvas region will be backed by an offscreen bitmap buffer. What can be one of all (the entire scroll region will be buffered), visible (only the visible area), none (no buffering) or auto (equivalent to either none or visible depending on whether the canvas is packed inside another canvas or not).

The canvas command creates a new window (given by the pathName argument) and makes it into a canvas widget. Additional options, described above, may be specified on the command line to configure aspects of the canvas such as its colours and 3-D relief. The canvas command returns its pathName argument. At the time this command is invoked, there must not exist a window named pathName.

Canvas widgets implement structured graphics. A canvas displays any number of items, which may be things like rectangles, circles, lines, and text. Items may be manipulated (e.g. moved or re-coloured) and commands may be associated with items in much the same way that the bind command allows commands to be bound to widgets. For example, a particular command may be associated with the <Button-1> event so that the command is invoked whenever button 1 is pressed with the mouse cursor over an item. This means that items in a canvas can have behaviours defined by the Tk scripts bound to them.

The items in a canvas are ordered for purposes of display, with the first item in the display list being displayed first, followed by the next item in the list, and so on. Items later in the display list obscure those that are earlier in the display list and are sometimes referred to as being ``on top'' of earlier items. When a new item is created it is placed at the end of the display list, on top of everything else. Widget commands may be used to re-arrange the order of the display list.

Items in a canvas widget may be named in either of two ways: by id or by tag. Each item has a unique identifying number which is assigned to that item when it is created. The id of an item never changes and id numbers are never re-used within the lifetime of a canvas widget.

Each item may also have any number of tags associated with it. A tag is just a string of characters, and it may take any form except that of an integer. For example, ``x123'' is OK but ``123'' isn't. The same tag may be associated with many different items. This is commonly done to group items in various interesting ways; for example, all selected items might be given the tag ``selected''.

The tag all is implicitly associated with every item in the canvas; it may be used to invoke operations on all the items in the canvas.

The tag current is managed automatically by Tk; it applies to the current item, which is the topmost item whose drawn area covers the position of the mouse cursor. If the mouse is not in the canvas widget or is not over an item, then no item has the current tag.

When specifying items in canvas widget commands, if the specifier is an integer then it is assumed to refer to the single item with that id. If the specifier is not an integer, then it is assumed to refer to all of the items in the canvas that have a tag matching the specifier. The symbol tagOrId is used below to indicate that an argument specifies either an id that selects a single item or a tag that selects zero or more items. Some widget commands only operate on a single item at a time; if tagOrId is specified in a way that names multiple items, then the normal behaviour is for the command to use the first (lowest) of these items in the display list that is suitable for the command. Exceptions are noted in the widget command descriptions below.

All coordinates related to canvases are stored as fixed-point numbers. Coordinates and distances are specified as documented in the dist section of types (9).

Normally the origin of the canvas coordinate system is at the upper-left corner of the window containing the canvas. It is possible to adjust the origin of the canvas coordinate system relative to the origin of the window using the xview and yview widget commands; this is typically used for scrolling. Canvases do not support scaling or rotation of the canvas coordinate system relative to the window coordinate system.

Individual items may be moved or scaled using widget commands described below, but they may not be rotated.

Text items support the notion of an index for identifying particular positions within the item. Indices are used for commands such as inserting text, deleting a range of characters, and setting the insertion cursor position. An index may be specified in any of a number of ways, and different types of items may support different forms for specifying indices. Text items support the following forms for an index. Note that it is possible to refer to the character just after the last one in the text item; this is necessary for such tasks as inserting new text at the end of the item.

A decimal number giving the position of the desired character within the text item. 0 refers to the first character, 1 to the next character, and so on. A number less than 0 is treated as if it were zero, and a number greater than the length of the text item is treated as if it were equal to the length of the text item.
end
Refers to the character just after the last one in the item (same as the number of characters in the item).
insert
Refers to the character just before which the insertion cursor is drawn in this item.
sel.first
Refers to the first selected character in the item. If the selection isn't in this item then this form is illegal.
sel.last
Refers to the last selected character in the item. If the selection isn't in this item then this form is illegal.
@x,y
Refers to the character at the point given by x and y, where x and y are specified in the coordinate system of the canvas. If x and y lie outside the coordinates covered by the text item, then they refer to the first or last character in the line that is closest to the given point.

The canvas command creates a new Tk command whose name is pathName. This command may be used to invoke various operations on the widget. It has the following general form:

pathName option ?arg arg ...?
Option and the args determine the exact behaviour of the command. The following widget commands are possible for canvas widgets:
For each item that meets the constraints specified by searchSpec and the args, add tag to the list of tags associated with the item if it isn't already present on that list. It is possible that no items will satisfy the constraints given by searchSpec and args, in which case the command has no effect. This command returns an empty string as result. SearchSpec and arg's may take any of the following forms:
above tagOrId
Selects the item just after (above) the one given by tagOrId in the display list. If tagOrId denotes more than one item, then the last (topmost) of these items in the display list is used.
all
Selects all the items in the canvas.
below tagOrId
Selects the item just before (below) the one given by tagOrId in the display list. If tagOrId denotes more than one item, then the first (lowest) of these items in the display list is used.
closest x y ?halo? ?start?
Selects the item closest to the point given by x and y. If more than one item is at the same closest distance (e.g. two items overlap the point), then the top-most of these items (the last one in the display list) is used. If halo is specified, then it must be a non-negative value. Any item closer than halo to the point is considered to overlap it. The start argument may be used to step circularly through all the closest items. If start is specified, it names an item using a tag or id (if by tag, it selects the first item in the display list with the given tag). Instead of selecting the topmost closest item, this form will select the topmost closest item that is below start in the display list; if no such item exists, then the selection behaves as if the start argument had not been specified.
enclosed x1 y1 x2 y2
Selects all the items completely enclosed within the rectangular region given by x1, y1, x2, and y2. X1 must be no greater then x2 and y1 must be no greater than y2.
overlapping x1 y1 x2 y2
Selects all the items that overlap or are enclosed within the rectangular region given by x1, y1, x2, and y2. X1 must be no greater then x2 and y1 must be no greater than y2.
withtag tagOrId
Selects all the items given by tagOrId.
Returns a list with four elements giving an approximate bounding box for all the items named by the tagOrId arguments. The list has the form ``x1 y1 x2 y2'' such that the drawn areas of all the named elements are within the region bounded by x1 on the left, x2 on the right, y1 on the top, and y2 on the bottom. The return value may overestimate the actual bounding box by a few pixels. If no items match any of the tagOrId arguments or if the matching items have empty bounding boxes (i.e. they have nothing to display) then an empty string is returned.
This command associates command with all the items given by tagOrId such that whenever the event sequence given by sequence occurs for one of the items the command will be invoked. This widget command is similar to the bind command except that it operates on items in a canvas rather than entire widgets. See the bind manual entry for complete details on the syntax of sequence and the substitutions performed on command before invoking it. If all arguments are specified then a new binding is created, replacing any existing binding for the same sequence and tagOrId (if the first character of command is ``+'' then command augments an existing binding rather than replacing it). In this case the return value is an empty string. If command is omitted then the command returns the command associated with tagOrId and sequence (an error occurs if there is no such binding). If both command and sequence are omitted then the command returns a list of all the sequences for which bindings have been defined for tagOrId.

The only events for which bindings may be specified are those related to the mouse and keyboard, such as Enter, Leave, ButtonPress, Motion, and KeyPress. The handling of events in canvases uses the current item defined in ITEM IDS AND TAGS above. Enter and Leave events trigger for an item when it becomes the current item or ceases to be the current item; note that these events are different than Enter and Leave events for windows. Mouse-related events are directed to the current item, if any. Keyboard-related events are directed to the focus item, if any (see the focus widget command below for more on this).

It is possible for multiple bindings to match a particular event. This could occur, for example, if one binding is associated with the item's id and another is associated with one of the item's tags. When this occurs, all of the matching bindings are invoked. A binding associated with the all tag is invoked first, followed by one binding for each of the item's tags (in order), followed by a binding associated with the item's id. If there are multiple matching bindings for a single tag, then only the most specific binding is invoked. A continue command in a binding script terminates that script, and a break command terminates that script and skips any remaining scripts for the event, just as for the bind command.

If bindings have been created for a canvas window using the bind command, then they are invoked in addition to bindings created for the canvas's items using the bind widget command. The bindings for items will be invoked before any of the bindings for the window as a whole.

Given a window x-coordinate in the canvas screenx, this command returns the canvas x-coordinate that is displayed at that location. If gridspacing is specified, then the canvas coordinate is rounded to the nearest multiple of gridspacing units.
Given a window y-coordinate in the canvas screeny this command returns the canvas y-coordinate that is displayed at that location. If gridspacing is specified, then the canvas coordinate is rounded to the nearest multiple of gridspacing units.
Returns the current value of the configuration option given by option. Option may have any of the values accepted by the canvas command.
Query or modify the configuration options of the widget. If no option is specified, returns a list of all of the available options for pathName. If one or more option-value pairs are specified, then the command modifies the given widget option(s) to have the given value(s); in this case the command returns an empty string. Option may have any of the values accepted by the canvas command.
Query or modify the coordinates that define an item. If no coordinates are specified, this command returns a list whose elements are the coordinates of the item named by tagOrId. If coordinates are specified, then they replace the current coordinates for the named item. If tagOrId refers to multiple items, then the first one in the display list is used.
Create a new item in pathName of type type. The exact format of the arguments after type depends on type, but usually they consist of the coordinates for one or more points, followed by specifications for zero or more item options. See the subsections on individual item types below for more on the syntax of this command. This command returns the id for the new item.
For each item given by tagOrId, delete the characters in the range given by first and last, inclusive. If some of the items given by tagOrId don't support text operations, then they are ignored. First and last are indices of characters within the item(s) as described in INDICES above. If last is omitted, it defaults to first. This command returns an empty string.
Delete each of the items given by each tagOrId, and return an empty string.
For each of the items given by tagOrId, delete the tag given by tagToDelete from the list of those associated with the item. If an item doesn't have the tag tagToDelete then the item is unaffected by the command. If tagToDelete is omitted then it defaults to tagOrId. This command returns an empty string.
This command returns a list consisting of all the items that meet the constraints specified by searchCommand and arg's. SearchCommand and args have any of the forms accepted by the addtag command. If searchCommand is enclosed, overlapping, or all, the items are returned in display-list order, i.e. bottommost first.
Set the keyboard focus for the canvas widget to the item given by tagOrId. If tagOrId refers to several items, then the focus is set to the first such item in the display list that supports the insertion cursor. If tagOrId doesn't refer to any items, or if none of them support the insertion cursor, then the focus isn't changed. If tagOrId is an empty string, then the focus item is reset so that no item has the focus. If tagOrId is not specified then the command returns the id for the item that currently has the focus, or an empty string if no item has the focus.

Once the focus has been set to an item, the item will display the insertion cursor and all keyboard events will be directed to that item. The focus item within a canvas and the focus window on the screen (set with the focus command) are totally independent: a given item doesn't actually have the input focus unless (a) its canvas is the focus window and (b) the item is the focus item within the canvas. In most cases it is advisable to follow the focus widget command with the focus command to set the focus window to the canvas (if it wasn't there already).

Return a list whose elements are the tags associated with the item given by tagOrId. If tagOrId refers to more than one item, then the tags are returned from the first such item in the display list. If tagOrId doesn't refer to any items, then an error is returned. If the item contains no tags, then an empty string is returned.
Does for canvas widgets what grab (9) does for normal tk widgets: mouse events will only be delivered to tagOrId. If tagOrId refers to more than one item, then the first such item in the display list is grabbed. What is as described in grab (9).

Note that the canvas grab item, as set by this command, and the tk grab item, as set by grab (9) are totally independent; a canvas item doesn't actually grab the mouse unless a) the canvas itself has grabbed the mouse or b) the mouse events are being delivered to the canvas as a matter of course.

Set the position of the insertion cursor for the item(s) given by tagOrId to just before the character whose position is given by index. If some or all of the items given by tagOrId don't support an insertion cursor then this command has no effect on them. See INDICES above for a description of the legal forms for index. Note: the insertion cursor is only displayed in an item if that item currently has the keyboard focus (see the widget command focus, below), but the cursor position may be set even when the item doesn't have the focus. This command returns an empty string.
This command returns a decimal string giving the numerical index within tagOrId corresponding to index. Index gives a textual description of the desired position as described in INDICES above. The return value is guaranteed to lie between 0 and the number of characters within the item, inclusive. If tagOrId refers to multiple items, then the index is processed in the first of these items that supports indexing operations (in display list order).
For each of the items given by tagOrId, if the item supports text insertion then string is inserted into the item's text just before the character whose index is beforeThis. See INDICES above for information about the forms allowed for beforeThis. This command returns an empty string.
Returns the current value of the configuration option for the item given by tagOrId whose name is option. This command is similar to the cget widget command except that it applies to a particular item rather than the widget as a whole. Option may have any of the values accepted by the create widget command when the item was created. If tagOrId is a tag that refers to more than one item, the first (lowest) such item is used.
This command is similar to the configure widget command except that it modifies item-specific options for the items given by tagOrId instead of modifying options for the overall canvas widget. If one or more option-value pairs are specified, then the command modifies the given widget option(s) to have the given value(s) in each of the items given by tagOrId; in this case the command returns an empty string. The options and values are the same as those permissible in the create widget command when the item(s) were created; see the sections describing individual item types below for details on the legal options.
Move all of the items given by tagOrId to a new position in the display list just before the item given by belowThis. If tagOrId refers to more than one item then all are moved but the relative order of the moved items will not be changed. BelowThis is a tag or id; if it refers to more than one item then the first (lowest) of these items in the display list is used as the destination location for the moved items. This command returns an empty string.
Move each of the items given by tagOrId in the canvas coordinate space by adding xAmount to the x-coordinate of each point associated with the item and yAmount to the y-coordinate of each point associated with the item. This command returns an empty string.
Move all of the items given by tagOrId to a new position in the display list just after the item given by aboveThis. If tagOrId refers to more than one item then all are moved but the relative order of the moved items will not be changed. AboveThis is a tag or id; if it refers to more than one item then the last (topmost) of these items in the display list is used as the destination location for the moved items. This command returns an empty string.
Rescale all of the items given by tagOrId in canvas coordinate space. XOrigin and yOrigin identify the origin for the scaling operation and xScale and yScale identify the scale factors for x- and y-coordinates, respectively (a scale factor of 1.0 implies no change to that coordinate). For each of the points defining each item, the x-coordinate is adjusted to change the distance from xOrigin by a factor of xScale. Similarly, each y-coordinate is adjusted to change the distance from yOrigin by a factor of yScale. This command returns an empty string.
Given an x-coordinate canvasx in the canvas, this command returns the equivalent screen x-coordinate.
Given an x-coordinate canvasy in the canvas, this command returns the equivalent screen y-coordinate.
Adjusts the view in the window such that, if possible the point [x1, y1] (and, if given, the point [x2, y2]) are made visible.
Manipulates the selection in one of several ways, depending on option. The command may take any of the forms described below. In all of the descriptions below, tagOrId must refer to an item that supports indexing and selection; if it refers to multiple items then the first of these that supports indexing and the selection is used. Index gives a textual description of a position within tagOrId, as described in INDICES above.
Locate the end of the selection in tagOrId nearest to the character given by index, and adjust that end of the selection to be at index (i.e. including but not going beyond index). The other end of the selection is made the anchor point for future select to commands. If the selection isn't currently in tagOrId then this command behaves the same as the select to widget command. Returns an empty string.
Clear the selection if it is in this widget. If the selection isn't in this widget then the command has no effect. Returns an empty string.
Set the selection anchor point for the widget to be just before the character given by index in the item given by tagOrId. This command doesn't change the selection; it just sets the fixed end of the selection for future select to commands. Returns an empty string.
Returns the id of the selected item, if the selection is in an item in this canvas. If the selection is not in this canvas then an empty string is returned.
Set the selection to consist of those characters of tagOrId between the selection anchor point and index. The new selection will include the character given by index; it will include the character given by the anchor point only if index is greater than or equal to the anchor point. The anchor point is determined by the most recent select adjust or select from command for this widget. If the selection anchor point for the widget isn't currently in tagOrId, then it is set to the same character given by index. Returns an empty string.
Returns the type of the item given by tagOrId, such as rectangle or text. If tagOrId refers to more than one item, then the type of the first item in the display list is returned. If tagOrId doesn't refer to any items at all then an empty string is returned.
This command is used to query and change the horizontal position of the information displayed in the canvas's window. It can take any of the following forms:
Returns a list containing two elements. Each element is a real fraction between 0 and 1; together they describe the horizontal span that is visible in the window. For example, if the first element is .2 and the second element is .6, 20% of the canvas's area (as defined by the -scrollregion option) is off-screen to the left, the middle 40% is visible in the window, and 40% of the canvas is off-screen to the right. These are the same values passed to scrollbars via the -xscrollcommand option.
Adjusts the view in the window so that fraction of the total width of the canvas is off-screen to the left. Fraction must be a fraction between 0 and 1.
This command shifts the view in the window left or right according to number and what. Number must be an integer. What must be either units or pages. If what is units, the view adjusts left or right in units of the xscrollicrement option, if it is greater than zero, or in units of one-tenth the window's width otherwise. If what is pages then the view adjusts in units of nine-tenths the window's width. If number is negative then information farther to the left becomes visible; if it is positive then information farther to the right becomes visible.
This command is used to query and change the vertical position of the information displayed in the canvas's window. It can take any of the following forms:
Returns a list containing two elements. Each element is a real fraction between 0 and 1; together they describe the vertical span that is visible in the window. For example, if the first element is .6 and the second element is 1.0, the lowest 40% of the canvas's area (as defined by the -scrollregion option) is visible in the window. These are the same values passed to scrollbars via the -yscrollcommand option.
Adjusts the view in the window so that fraction of the canvas's area is off-screen to the top. Fraction is a fraction between 0 and 1.
This command adjusts the view in the window up or down according to number and what. Number must be an integer. What must be either units or pages. If what is units, the view adjusts up or down in units of the yscrollicrement option, if it is greater than zero, or in units of one-tenth the window's height otherwise. If what is pages then the view adjusts in units of nine-tenths the window's height. If number is negative then higher information becomes visible; if it is positive then lower information becomes visible.

The sections below describe the various types of items supported by canvas widgets. Each item type is characterized by two things: first, the form of the create command used to create instances of the type; and second, a set of configuration options for items of that type, which may be used in the create and itemconfigure widget commands. Most items don't support indexing or selection or the commands related to them, such as index and insert. Where items do support these facilities, it is noted explicitly in the descriptions below (at present, only text items provide this support).

Items of type arc appear on the display as arc-shaped regions. An arc is a section of an oval delimited by two angles (specified by the -start and -extent options) and displayed in one of several ways (specified by the -style option). Arcs are created with widget commands of the following form:

pathName create arc x1 y1 x2 y2 ?option value option value ...?
The arguments x1, y1, x2, and y2 give the coordinates of two diagonally opposite corners of a rectangular region enclosing the oval that defines the arc. After the coordinates there may be any number of option-value pairs, each of which sets one of the configuration options for the item. These same option-value pairs may be used in itemconfigure widget commands to change the item's configuration. The following options are supported for arcs:
-extent degrees
Specifies the size of the angular range occupied by the arc. The arc's range extends for degrees degrees counter-clockwise from the starting angle given by the -start option. Degrees may be negative. If it is greater than 360 or less than -360, then degrees modulo 360 is used as the extent.
-fill colour
Fill the region of the arc with colour. If colour is an empty string (the default), then the arc will not be filled.
-outline colour
Colour specifies a colour to use for drawing the arc's outline. This option defaults to black. If colour is specified as an empty string then no outline is drawn for the arc.
-start degrees
Specifies the beginning of the angular range occupied by the arc. Degrees is given in units of degrees measured counter-clockwise from the 3-o'clock position; it may be either positive or negative.
-stipple bitmap
Indicates that the arc should be filled in a stipple pattern; bitmap specifies the stipple pattern to use. If the -fill option hasn't been specified then this option has no effect. If bitmap is an empty string (the default), then filling is done in a solid fashion. The results are undefined if bitmap is not a 1-bit image.
-style type
Specifies how to draw the arc. If type is pieslice (the default) then the arc's region is defined by a section of the oval's perimeter plus two line segments, one between the center of the oval and each end of the perimeter section. If type is chord then the arc's region is defined by a section of the oval's perimeter plus a single line segment connecting the two end points of the perimeter section. This type is not implemented at the moment. It behaves as arc. If type is arc then the arc's region consists of a section of the perimeter alone. In this last case the -fill option is ignored.
-tags tagList
Specifies a set of tags to apply to the item. TagList consists of a list of tag names, which replace any existing tags for the item. TagList may be an empty list.
-width outlineWidth
Specifies the width of the outline to be drawn around the arc's region, in any of the forms described in the COORDINATES section above. If the -outline option has been specified as an empty string then this option has no effect. Wide outlines will be drawn centered on the edges of the arc's region. This option defaults to 1.0.

Items of type bitmap appear on the display as images with two colours, foreground and background. Bitmaps are created with widget commands of the following form:

pathName create bitmap x y ?option value option value ...?
The arguments x and y specify the coordinates of a point used to position the bitmap on the display (see the -anchor option below for more information on how bitmaps are displayed). After the coordinates there may be any number of option-value pairs, each of which sets one of the configuration options for the item. These same option-value pairs may be used in itemconfigure widget commands to change the item's configuration. The following options are supported for bitmaps:
-anchor anchorPos
AnchorPos tells how to position the bitmap relative to the positioning point for the item. For example, if anchorPos is center then the bitmap is centered on the point; if anchorPos is n then the bitmap will be drawn so that its top center point is at the positioning point. This option defaults to center.
-bitmap bitmap
Specifies the bitmap to display in the item.
-tags tagList
Specifies a set of tags to apply to the item. TagList consists of a list of tag names, which replace any existing tags for the item. TagList may be an empty list.

Items of type image are used to display images on a canvas. Images are created with widget commands of the following form:

pathName create image x y ?option value option value ...?
The arguments x and y specify the coordinates of a point used to position the image on the display (see the -anchor option below for more information). After the coordinates there may be any number of option-value pairs, each of which sets one of the configuration options for the item. These same option-value pairs may be used in itemconfigure widget commands to change the item's configuration. The following options are supported for images:
-anchor anchorPos
AnchorPos tells how to position the image relative to the positioning point for the item. For example, if anchorPos is center then the image is centered on the point; if anchorPos is n then the image will be drawn so that its top center point is at the positioning point. This option defaults to center.
-image name
Specifies the name of the image to display in the item. This image must have been created previously with the image create command.
-tags tagList
Specifies a set of tags to apply to the item. TagList consists of a list of tag names, which replace any existing tags for the item; it may be an empty list.

Items of type line appear on the display as one or more connected line segments or curves. Lines are created with widget commands of the following form:

pathName create line x1 y1... xn yn ?option value option value ...?
The arguments x1 through yn give the coordinates for a series of two or more points that describe a series of connected line segments. After the coordinates there may be any number of option-value pairs, each of which sets one of the configuration options for the item. These same option-value pairs may be used in itemconfigure widget commands to change the item's configuration. The following options are supported for lines:
-arrow where
Indicates whether or not arrowheads are to be drawn at one or both ends of the line. Where must have one of the values none (for no arrowheads), first (for an arrowhead at the first point of the line), last (for an arrowhead at the last point of the line), or both (for arrowheads at both ends). This option defaults to none.
-arrowshape shape
This option indicates how to draw arrowheads. The shape argument must be a list with three elements, each specifying a distance in any of the forms described in the COORDINATES section above. The first element of the list gives the distance along the line from the neck of the arrowhead to its tip. The second element gives the distance along the line from the trailing points of the arrowhead to the tip, and the third element gives the distance from the outside edge of the line to the trailing points. If this option isn't specified then Tk picks a ``reasonable'' shape.
-capstyle style
Specifies the ways in which caps are to be drawn at the endpoints of the line. Style may one of butt, projecting, or round. If this option isn't specified then it defaults to butt. Where arrowheads are drawn the cap style is ignored. Note that the first two options currently have the same effect.
-fill colour
Colour specifies a colour to use for drawing the line. It may also be an empty string, in which case the line will be transparent. This option defaults to black.
-smooth boolean
Boolean indicates whether or not the line should be drawn as a curve. If so, the line is rendered as a set of Bezier splines: one spline is drawn for the first and second line segments, one for the second and third, and so on. Straight-line segments can be generated within a curve by duplicating the end-points of the desired line segment.
-stipple bitmap
Indicates that the line should be filled in a stipple pattern; bitmap specifies the stipple pattern to use. If bitmap is an empty string (the default), then filling is done in a solid fashion. The results are undefined if bitmap is not a 1-bit image.
-tags tagList
Specifies a set of tags to apply to the item. TagList consists of a list of tag names, which replace any existing tags for the item. TagList may be an empty list.
-width lineWidth
LineWidth specifies the width of the line, in any of the forms described in the COORDINATES section above. Wide lines will be drawn centered on the path specified by the points. If this option isn't specified then it defaults to 1.0.

Items of type oval appear as circular or oval regions on the display. Each oval may have an outline, a fill, or both. Ovals are created with widget commands of the following form:

pathName create oval x1 y1 x2 y2 ?option value option value ...?
The arguments x1, y1, x2, and y2 give the coordinates of two diagonally opposite corners of a rectangular region enclosing the oval. The oval will include the top and left edges of the rectangle not the lower or right edges. If the region is square then the resulting oval is circular; otherwise it is elongated in shape. After the coordinates there may be any number of option-value pairs, each of which sets one of the configuration options for the item. These same option-value pairs may be used in itemconfigure widget commands to change the item's configuration. The following options are supported for ovals:
-fill colour
Fill the area of the oval with colour. If colour is an empty string (the default), then then the oval will not be filled.
-outline colour
Colour specifies a colour to use for drawing the oval's outline. This option defaults to black. If colour is an empty string then no outline will be drawn for the oval.
-stipple bitmap
Indicates that the oval should be filled in a stipple pattern; bitmap specifies the stipple pattern to use. If the -fill option hasn't been specified then this option has no effect. If bitmap is an empty string (the default), then filling is done in a solid fashion. The results are undefined if bitmap is not a 1-bit image.
-tags tagList
Specifies a set of tags to apply to the item. TagList consists of a list of tag names, which replace any existing tags for the item. TagList may be an empty list.
-width outlineWidth
outlineWidth specifies the width of the outline to be drawn around the oval, in any of the forms described in the COORDINATES section above. If the -outline option hasn't been specified then this option has no effect. Wide outlines are drawn centered on the oval path defined by x1, y1, x2, and y2. This option defaults to 1.0.

Items of type polygon appear as polygonal or curved filled regions on the display. Polygons are created with widget commands of the following form:

pathName create polygon x1 y1 ... xn yn ?option value option value ...?
The arguments x1 through yn specify the coordinates for three or more points that define a closed polygon. The first and last points may be the same; whether they are or not, Tk will draw the polygon as a closed polygon. After the coordinates there may be any number of option-value pairs, each of which sets one of the configuration options for the item. These same option-value pairs may be used in itemconfigure widget commands to change the item's configuration. The following options are supported for polygons:
-fill colour
Colour specifies a colour to use for filling the area of the polygon. If colour is an empty string then the polygon will be transparent. This option defaults to the empty string (transparent).
-outline colour
Colour specifies a colour to use for drawing the polygon's outline. If colour is an empty string then no outline will be drawn for the polygon. This option defaults to black.
-smooth boolean
Boolean indicates whether or not the polygon should be drawn with a curved perimeter. If so, the outline of the polygon becomes a set of Bezier splines, one spline for the first and second line segments, one for the second and third, and so on. Straight-line segments can be generated in a smoothed polygon by duplicating the end-points of the desired line segment.
-stipple bitmap
Indicates that the polygon should be filled in a stipple pattern; bitmap specifies the stipple pattern to use. If bitmap is an empty string (the default), then filling is done in a solid fashion. The results are undefined if bitmap is not a 1-bit image.
-tags tagList
Specifies a set of tags to apply to the item. TagList consists of a list of tag names, which replace any existing tags for the item. TagList may be an empty list.
-winding type
Specifies the winding rule to use when filling the polygon. Type can be either nonzero (the default) or odd See fillpoly in draw-image(2) for an explanation.
-width outlineWidth
OutlineWidth specifies the width of the outline to be drawn around the polygon, in any of the forms described in the COORDINATES section above. If the -outline option hasn't been specified then this option has no effect. This option defaults to 1.0.

Polygon items are different from other items such as rectangles, ovals and arcs in that interior points are considered to be ``inside'' a polygon (e.g. for purposes of the find closest and find overlapping widget commands) even if it is not filled. For most other item types, an interior point is considered to be inside the item only if the item is filled or if it has neither a fill nor an outline. If you would like an unfilled polygon whose interior points are not considered to be inside the polygon, use a line item instead.

Items of type rectangle appear as rectangular regions on the display. Each rectangle may have an outline, a fill, or both. Rectangles are created with widget commands of the following form:

pathName create rectangle x1 y1 x2 y2 ?option value option value ...?
The arguments x1, y1, x2, and y2 give the coordinates of two diagonally opposite corners of the rectangle (the rectangle will include its upper and left edges but not its lower or right edges). After the coordinates there may be any number of option-value pairs, each of which sets one of the configuration options for the item. These same option-value pairs may be used in itemconfigure widget commands to change the item's configuration. The following options are supported for rectangles:
-fill colour
Fill the area of the rectangle with colour. If colour is an empty string (the default), then the rectangle will not be filled.
-outline colour
Draw an outline around the edge of the rectangle in colour. This option defaults to black. If colour is an empty string then no outline will be drawn for the rectangle.
-stipple bitmap
Indicates that the rectangle should be filled in a stipple pattern; bitmap specifies the stipple pattern to use. If the -fill option hasn't been specified then this option has no effect. If bitmap is an empty string (the default), then filling is done in a solid fashion. The results are undefined if bitmap is not a 1-bit image.
-tags tagList
Specifies a set of tags to apply to the item. TagList consists of a list of tag names, which replace any existing tags for the item. TagList may be an empty list.
-width outlineWidth
OutlineWidth specifies the width of the outline to be drawn around the rectangle, in any of the forms described in the COORDINATES section above. If the -outline option hasn't been specified then this option has no effect. Wide outlines are drawn centered on the rectangular path defined by x1, y1, x2, and y2. This option defaults to 1.0.

A text item displays a string of characters on the screen in one or more lines. Text items support indexing and selection, along with the following text-related canvas widget commands: dchars, focus, icursor, index, insert, select. Text items are created with widget commands of the following form:

pathName create text x y ?option value option value ...?
The arguments x and y specify the coordinates of a point used to position the text on the display (see the options below for more information on how text is displayed). After the coordinates there may be any number of option-value pairs, each of which sets one of the configuration options for the item. These same option-value pairs may be used in itemconfigure widget commands to change the item's configuration. The following options are supported for text items:
-anchor anchorPos
AnchorPos tells how to position the text relative to the positioning point for the text. For example, if anchorPos is center then the text is centered on the point; if anchorPos is n then the text will be drawn such that the top center point of the rectangular region occupied by the text will be at the positioning point. This option defaults to center.
-fill colour
Colour specifies a colour to use for filling the text characters. If this option isn't specified then it defaults to black.
-font font
Specifies the font to use for the text item. If this option isn't specified, it defaults to a system-dependent font.
-justify how
Specifies how to justify the text within its bounding region. How must be one of the values left, right, or center. This option will only matter if the text is displayed as multiple lines. If the option is omitted, it defaults to left.
-stipple bitmap
Indicates that the text should be drawn in a stippled pattern rather than solid; bitmap specifies the stipple pattern to use. If bitmap is an empty string (the default) then the text is drawn in a solid fashion. The results are undefined if bitmap is not a 1-bit image.
-tags tagList
Specifies a set of tags to apply to the item. TagList consists of a list of tag names, which replace any existing tags for the item. TagList may be an empty list.
-text string
String specifies the characters to be displayed in the text item. Newline characters cause line breaks. The characters in the item may also be changed with the insert and delete widget commands. This option defaults to an empty string.
-width lineLength
Specifies a maximum line length for the text, in any of the forms described in the COORDINATES section above. If this option is zero (the default) the text is broken into lines only at newline characters. However, if this option is non-zero then any line that would be longer than lineLength is broken just before a space character to make the line shorter than lineLength; the space character is treated as if it were a newline character.

Items of type window cause a particular window to be displayed at a given position on the canvas. Window items are created with widget commands of the following form:

pathName create window x y ?option value option value ...?
The arguments x and y specify the coordinates of a point used to position the window on the display (see the -anchor option below for more information on how bitmaps are displayed). After the coordinates there may be any number of option-value pairs, each of which sets one of the configuration options for the item. These same option-value pairs may be used in itemconfigure widget commands to change the item's configuration. The following options are supported for window items:
-anchor anchorPos
AnchorPos tells how to position the window relative to the positioning point for the item. For example, if anchorPos is center then the window is centered on the point; if anchorPos is n then the window will be drawn so that its top center point is at the positioning point. This option defaults to center.
-height dist
Specifies the height to assign to the item's window. Dist may have any of the forms described in the COORDINATES section above. If this option isn't specified, or if it is specified as an empty string, then the window is given whatever height it requests internally.
-tags tagList
Specifies a set of tags to apply to the item. TagList consists of a list of tag names, which replace any existing tags for the item. TagList may be an empty list.
-width dist
Specifies the width to assign to the item's window. Dist may have any of the forms described in the COORDINATES section above. If this option isn't specified, or if it is specified as an empty string, then the window is given whatever width it requests internally.
-window pathName
Specifies the window to associate with this item. The window specified by pathName must either be a child of the canvas widget or a child of some ancestor of the canvas widget. PathName may not refer to a top-level window.

New canvases are not given any default behaviour. Use bind (2) commands to give the canvas its behaviour.

Tk's canvas widget is a blatant ripoff of ideas from Joel Bartlett's ezd program. Ezd provides structured graphics in a Scheme environment and preceded canvases by a year or two. Its simple mechanisms for placing and animating graphical objects inspired the functions of canvases.

options (9), types (9)