tkGrep's Graphical User Interface



The Command Center

The command center has two entry fields called Filename, which indicates which files to search, and Regexp, which is the regular expression, or pattern, to search for. In the top right corner is an icon with a lighthouse in it. The lighthouse will move its light beam around when the program is executing.

Below the Filename, and Regexp, entries is Wizard Help. When the mouse is over any part of the tkGrep Interface, look at the Wizard help label for a short explanation of what role it plays in the Application. Having the Wizard Help appear in the same place in the interface helps the user easily identify the help message, and avoids those annoying popups which follow you around. The message below appears in the Wizard Help when the mouse is over the Log Window:

Below the entry widgets are the applications default Command Line Option radio buttons. If you are a beginner and do not know what the options mean, place the mouse over the option you want to learn about and read the Wizard Help message. This provides educational support by re-enforcing definitions of the Command Line Options so that later they can be used more effectively. Expert users also can reference this Wizard Help to make sure they are using the correct option, and not getting it confused with options from a different command. The options which appear in the interface are customizable too. For more information on how to add more Command Line Options to the Command Center, see the section Customizing the Options File.


The Toolbar

The Toolbar provides access to several useful commands which are summarized in the table below:

    
Execute the grep command

    
Reset tkGrep Command Center entries.

    
Clear the Log Window contents.

    
Copy tkGrep Log Window to clipboard.

    
View the Help documentation.

    
Exit tkGrep.


The Log Window

The Log Window displays the output of the grep command. If possible, the matching pattern is also highlighted in yellow, as illustrated in the figure below.

Warning messages are also displayed in the Log Window with a little Caution Sign next to them. The figure below is an example:

These messages are erased when the next command is run or when the Clear button is pressed. Note that output from a previous grep command is not cleared unless the Clear button is pressed.


The Selection

Once a command has been executed successfully, the corresponding grep syntax is displayed in this widget. The figure below shows the syntax of a successful grep command.

Displaying the syntax in this widget makes using the command in other applications besides tkGrep easier. The easiest way to copy the command to the X-Window System Selection is by clicking on the clipboard button to the right of the command display

Once the text in the widget is highlighted, as shown below,

the string can be pasted in another application by pressing the second mouse button.