Re: suggestions on creating "blurb" boxes

[Owen Taylor <owt1 cornell edu>]

From the category of very late responses ... [ I was checking through
old messages ]

dhall@virage.org writes:

> I'm still tinkering with GTK, and I have a few questions on the GtkText
> type.
> 
> I've been using gtk_text_new to create a text box to contain a small blurb,
> such as found in most 'about' box.
> 
> Here's my questions...
> 
> 1. The text box seems to be of set size.  If I usize the window to a
>    smaller v-length, the "close" button will be clipped out.  Can I
>    decrease the size of the text box?

I suspect the problem is that the text box is in a table without
the GTK_SHRINK properties. Take a look at the current testgtk.c
to see how to use GTK_SHRINK. (This doesn't seem to be the case,
in your example code, but perhaps you were trying something different)

Text widgets certainly do shrink properly as of 0.99.5 

> 2. Do I have to use the GtkAdjustment values in gtk_text_new to affect
>    this?  If so, how do I use them?

They won't affect that. They would be used if you wanted to scroll
the text widget yourself.
 
> 3. Are text boxes always "recessed", do I have to use a label in order to
>    create a "flat" surface appearance for a text blurb?

They are always recessed. They are meant for displaying large amounts
of text, and possibly editing it. If you just want to display a
small amount of non-scrolling text, a label is a better choice.
 
> 4. gtk_widget_realize, uhm, I use it, I saw it textgtk.c, but I not 100%
>    sure what it does.

The text widget needs to be realized (that means that the X window is
created) before text is inserted. (So it can know the right default
colors for the new text - this probably could/should be fixed).

To do this, you first must add the text widget into the widget
heirarchy, and then call gtk_widget_realize().

Regards,
                                        Owen