The EntryBuffer object attaches to an :doc:`entry` widget, and provides a store for text entered. It is commonly not explicitly required as an Entry stores its own text in an automatically constructed buffer.
Construction of the EntryBuffer is made using:
GtkEntryBuffer *entrybuffer = gtk_entry_buffer_new(text, length);
The text parameter allows setting of the text to be stored within the EntryBuffer immediately after construction. A length parameter is also required indicating how many characters are to be stored, however this can be set to -1 if no limit is required.
The text held by the EntryBuffer can be set after construction using:
gtk_entry_buffer_set_text(GTK_ENTRY_BUFFER(entrybuffer), text, length);
Retrieval of the text from the EntryBuffer is done via:
gtk_entry_buffer_get_text(GTK_ENTRY_BUFFER(entrybuffer));
To obtain the length of the text within the EntryBuffer call:
gtk_entry_buffer_get_length(GTK_ENTRY_BUFFER(entrybuffer));
Limiting the amount of text which is allowed to be stored in the EntryBuffer is done with the method:
gtk_entry_buffer_set_max_length(GTK_ENTRY_BUFFER(entrybuffer), length);
Text can also be inserted into the EntryBuffer rather than overwriting the existing text:
gtk_entry_buffer_insert_text(GTK_ENTRY_BUFFER(entrybuffer), position, chars, length);
The position value indicates the location within the existing buffer where the new text should be inserted. Using 0 indicates the start of the string. The chars argument specifies the text which will be added. Finally, the length parameter sets how long the string being added is, with -1 defining an unspecified length.
Text within the buffer can also be deleted with:
gtk_entry_buffer_delete_text(GTK_ENTRY_BUFFER(entrybuffer), position, length);
The position value sets where the text should be deleted from with the *length parameter defining the number of characters from position to delete.
Below is an example of an EntryBuffer:
.. literalinclude:: _examples/entrybuffer.c