GTK+ 3 Reference Manual: GtkFileChooserDialog

## GtkFileChooserDialog GtkFileChooserDialog — A file chooser dialog, suitable for "File/Open" or "File/Save" commands |

## Functions

GtkWidget * | gtk_file_chooser_dialog_new ()

## Types and Values

struct | GtkFileChooserDialog

## Object Hierarchy

        GObject
        ╰── GInitiallyUnowned
            ╰── GtkWidget
                ╰── GtkContainer
                    ╰── GtkBin
                        ╰── GtkWindow
                            ╰── GtkDialog
                                ╰── GtkFileChooserDialog

## Implemented Interfaces

GtkFileChooserDialog implements AtkImplementorIface, GtkBuildable and GtkFileChooser.

## Includes

    #include <gtk/gtk.h>

## Description

GtkFileChooserDialog is a dialog box suitable for use with "File/Open" or "File/Save as" commands. This widget works by putting a GtkFileChooserWidget inside a GtkDialog. It exposes the GtkFileChooser interface, so you can use all of the GtkFileChooser functions on the file chooser dialog as well as those for GtkDialog.

Note that GtkFileChooserDialog does not have any methods of its own. Instead, you should use the functions that work on a GtkFileChooser.

Example 58. Typical usage

In the simplest of cases, you can the following code to use GtkFileChooserDialog to select a file for opening:

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    GtkWidget *dialog;

    dialog = gtk_file_chooser_dialog_new ("Open File",
                                          parent_window,
                                          GTK_FILE_CHOOSER_ACTION_OPEN,
                                          _("_Cancel"), GTK_RESPONSE_CANCEL,
                                          _("_Open"), GTK_RESPONSE_ACCEPT,
                                          NULL);

    if (gtk_dialog_run (GTK_DIALOG (dialog)) == GTK_RESPONSE_ACCEPT)
      {
        char *filename;

        filename = gtk_file_chooser_get_filename (GTK_FILE_CHOOSER (dialog));
        open_file (filename);
        g_free (filename);
      }

    gtk_widget_destroy (dialog);

To use a dialog for saving, you can use this:

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    GtkWidget *dialog;

    dialog = gtk_file_chooser_dialog_new ("Save File",
                                          parent_window,
                                          GTK_FILE_CHOOSER_ACTION_SAVE,
                                          _("_Cancel"), GTK_RESPONSE_CANCEL,
                                          _("_Save"), GTK_RESPONSE_ACCEPT,
                                          NULL);
    gtk_file_chooser_set_do_overwrite_confirmation (GTK_FILE_CHOOSER (dialog), TRUE);

    if (user_edited_a_new_document)
      gtk_file_chooser_set_current_name (GTK_FILE_CHOOSER (dialog), "Untitled document");
    else
      gtk_file_chooser_set_filename (GTK_FILE_CHOOSER (dialog), filename_for_existing_document);

    if (gtk_dialog_run (GTK_DIALOG (dialog)) == GTK_RESPONSE_ACCEPT)
      {
        char *filename;

        filename = gtk_file_chooser_get_filename (GTK_FILE_CHOOSER (dialog));
        save_to_file (filename);
        g_free (filename);
      }

    gtk_widget_destroy (dialog);

## Setting up a file chooser dialog

There are various cases in which you may need to use a GtkFileChooserDialog:

- To select a file for opening, as for a File/Open command. Use GTK_FILE_CHOOSER_ACTION_OPEN.
- To save a file for the first time, as for a File/Save command. Use GTK_FILE_CHOOSER_ACTION_SAVE, and suggest a name such as "Untitled" with `gtk_file_chooser_set_current_name()`.
- To save a file under a different name, as for a File/Save As command. Use GTK_FILE_CHOOSER_ACTION_SAVE, and set the existing filename with `gtk_file_chooser_set_filename()`.
- To choose a folder instead of a file. Use GTK_FILE_CHOOSER_ACTION_SELECT_FOLDER.

Old versions of the file chooser's documentation suggested using `gtk_file_chooser_set_current_folder()` in various situations, with the intention of letting the application suggest a reasonable default folder. This is no longer considered to be a good policy, as now the file chooser is able to make good suggestions on its own. In general, you should only cause the file chooser to show a specific folder when it is appropriate to use `gtk_file_chooser_set_filename()`, i.e. when you are doing a File/Save As command and you already have a file saved somewhere.

## Response Codes

GtkFileChooserDialog inherits from GtkDialog, so buttons that go in its action area have response codes such as GTK_RESPONSE_ACCEPT and GTK_RESPONSE_CANCEL. For example, you could call `gtk_file_chooser_dialog_new()` as follows:

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    GtkWidget *dialog;

    dialog = gtk_file_chooser_dialog_new ("Open File",
                                          parent_window,
                                          GTK_FILE_CHOOSER_ACTION_OPEN,
                                          _("_Cancel"), GTK_RESPONSE_CANCEL,
                                          _("_Open"), GTK_RESPONSE_ACCEPT,
                                          NULL);

This will create buttons for "Cancel" and "Open" that use stock response identifiers from GtkResponseType. For most dialog boxes you can use your own custom response codes rather than the ones in GtkResponseType, but GtkFileChooserDialog assumes that its "accept"-type action, e.g. an "Open" or "Save" button, will have one of the following response codes:

GTK_RESPONSE_ACCEPT
GTK_RESPONSE_OK
GTK_RESPONSE_YES
GTK_RESPONSE_APPLY

This is because GtkFileChooserDialog must intercept responses and switch to folders if appropriate, rather than letting the dialog terminate — the implementation uses these known response codes to know which responses can be blocked if appropriate.

To summarize, make sure you use a stock response code when you use GtkFileChooserDialog to ensure proper operation.

## Functions

### gtk_file_chooser_dialog_new ()

    GtkWidget *
    gtk_file_chooser_dialog_new (const gchar *title,
                                 GtkWindow *parent,
                                 GtkFileChooserAction action,
                                 const gchar *first_button_text,
                                 ...);

Creates a new GtkFileChooserDialog. This function is analogous to `gtk_dialog_new_with_buttons()`.

#### Parameters

title | Title of the dialog, or `NULL`. | [allow-none]
parent | Transient parent of the dialog, or `NULL`. | [allow-none]
action | Open or save mode for the dialog |
first_button_text | stock ID or text to go in the first button, or `NULL`. | [allow-none]
... | response ID for the first button, then additional (button, id) pairs, ending with `NULL` |

#### Returns

a new GtkFileChooserDialog

Since 2.4

## Types and Values

### struct GtkFileChooserDialog

    struct GtkFileChooserDialog;

## See Also

GtkFileChooser, GtkDialog