GNU/Linux Desktop Survival Guide by Graham Williams
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Adding Widgets

For now let's ignore the excess of decoration. Instead we will build the basic interface components. There's not much that we need in the interface. Certainly we need to identify the file to be word counted. Also we want to identify whether to just count the words or also the lines and bytes.

We go back to the GTK+ Basic palette for one of the layout widgets. These are towards the bottom of the palette--third row from the bottom in fact. Hover the mouse over each of them to find the Horizontal Box, Vertical Box, Table, and Fixed Positions. Click on the Vertical Box layout. Now on the central canvas area of your Gwords interface click the left mouse button. You will be asked for the number of rows for your box--the default of 3 will do for now so just click on the OK button. Your canvas will be divided into 3 rows. Each one of the 3 rows can now be constructed independently--each can contain a different widget, including further layout widgets.

We will use the first row to identify the name of the file whose contents we will be counting. We will use a file entry box to allow for the entry of the filename. We will also add a label so that we know what the file entry box is for. That means two widgets and all we have is a single row--so we need to add a Horizontal Box with two columns. Find the Horizontal Box on the GTK+ Basic palette, click it with the left mouse button and then click in the top row of the three rows of our canvas. When prompted select just 2 (rather than the default 3) columns for this Horizontal Box.

r0.3

Labels should probably go to the left of the entry box so we will place the label first. Select the Label widget from the GTK+ Basic palette--the first item on the second row.

Now click in the top left box of our canvas (this is the left most of the two cells we have just created). A GtkLabel widget should now appear with the label label1 (and some resizing of the cell might occur). This is now our first ``real'' widget. Of course we don't want the label to read label1 (even though we might leave it's name--as distinct from it's label text--as label1 for now). We can change the label text through the Properties window where you will find the fields relevant to this widget (assuming it is still the selected widget). Change the Label field to be `File:' (replacing label1). For good measure set the X Pad field to be 10 (so that the widgets won't look so cramped). You will see the effect of these immediately.

r0.3

To summarise so far. A basic Gnome Application Window has been created with the default menu bar and toolbar and a Gnome Application Bar at the bottom. We have added a 3 row Vertical Box and in the top row of this a 2 column Horizontal Box. In the resulting top left cell we have added a Label widget and changed the text to be `File:.' It also has it's X Padding set to 10 to give a less cramped layout.