Customising Tk

You can modify what the Tk window displays by modifying the tk_frame.pl and tk_widgets.pl members. tk_frame.pl controls the general layout and size of the various scrolled lists. Modifying this member takes a little knowledge of perl Tk.

tk_widgets.pl shows how you can add widgets to display various info and allow for buttons for manual control. The MisterHouse tk_xyz subroutines used here will add widgets to either the menu_bar or to the 'grid' frame defined in tk_frame.pl.

Any change to tk_frame.pl or tk_widgets will be evaluated on a code reload, as will the tk_geometry parm in mh.ini.

tk_xyz widgets can be added anywhere in your MisterHouse code, not just the tk_widgets.pl member. See the weather_monitor.pl, internet_mail.pl, and tk_eye.pl members in mh/code/bruce for examples.

The tk_xyz widgets are 'packed' into the menu_bar or grid in the order that they are evaluated. You can use the 'Position' directive at the top of your member.pl code to control this. Position=1 is reserved for the tk_frame.pl member, as this must be evaluated first.

Note, you can also use native Perl tk commands, or create or override the tk_xyz subroutines in your own code for more flexibility.

For more info on the tk_xyz widgets, see the MisterHouse Tk widget functions and the handy Tk utilities documentation.