Zenity enables you to create the following types of simple dialog:

When you write scripts, you can use Zenity to create simple dialogs that interact graphically with the user, as follows:

When the user closes the dialog, Zenity prints the text produced by the dialog to standard error.

zenity --calendar --title="Holiday Planner"

zenity --calendar --title=Holiday Planner

"_Choose a name".

Use the --calendar option to create a calendar dialog. Zenity returns the selected date to standard error. If no date is specified on the command line, the dialog uses the current date.

The calendar dialog supports the following options:

The following example script shows how to create a calendar dialog:

        #!/bin/sh


        if zenity --calendar \
        --title="Select a Date" \
        --text="Click on a date to select that date." \
        --day=10 --month=8 --year=2004
          then echo $?
          else echo "No date selected"
        fi
      

Figure 1 Calendar Dialog Example

Use the --file-selection option to create a file selection dialog. Zenity returns the selected files or directories to standard error. The default mode of the file selection dialog is open.

The file selection dialog supports the following options:

The following example script shows how to create a file selection dialog:

        #!/bin/sh

        FILE=`zenity --file-selection --title="Select a File"`

        case $? in
                 0)
                        echo "\"$FILE\" selected.";;
                 1)
                        echo "No file selected.";;
                -1)
                        echo "No file selected.";;
        esac
      

Figure 2 File Selection Dialog Example

The following example script shows how to create a notification icon:

        #!/bin/sh

        zenity --notification\
          --window-icon="info" \
          --text="There are system updates necessary!"
      

Figure 3 Notification Icon Example

Use the --list option to create a list dialog. Zenity returns the entries in the first column of text of selected rows to standard error.

Data for the dialog must specified column by column, row by row. Data can be provided to the dialog through standard input. Each entry must be separated by a newline character.

If you use the --checklist or --radiolist options, each row must start with either 'TRUE' or 'FALSE'.

The list dialog supports the following options:

The following example script shows how to create a list dialog:

        #!/bin/sh

        zenity --list \
          --title="Choose the Bugs You Wish to View" \
          --column="Bug Number" --column="Severity" --column="Description" \
            992383 Normal "GtkTreeView crashes on multiple selections" \
            293823 High "GNOME Dictionary does not handle proxy" \
            393823 Critical "Menu editing does not work in GNOME 2.0"
      

Figure 4 List Dialog Example

Zenity can create four types of message dialog:

For each type, use the --text option to specify the text that is displayed in the dialog.

7.1. Error Dialog

Use the --error option to create an error dialog.

The following example script shows how to create an error dialog:

          #!/bin/bash

          zenity --error \
          --text="Could not find /var/log/syslog."
        

Figure 5 Error Dialog Example

7.2. Information Dialog

Use the --info option to create an information dialog.

The following example script shows how to create an information dialog:

          #!/bin/bash

          zenity --info \
          --text="Merge complete. Updated 3 of 10 files."
        

Figure 6 Information Dialog Example

7.3. Question Dialog

Use the --question option to create a question dialog.

The following example script shows how to create a question dialog:

          #!/bin/bash

          zenity --question \
          --text="Are you sure you wish to proceed?"
        

Figure 7 Question Dialog Example

7.4. Warning Dialog

Use the --warning option to create a warning dialog.

The following example script shows how to create a warning dialog:

          #!/bin/bash
        
          zenity --warning \
          --text="Disconnect the power cable to avoid electrical shock."
        

Figure 8 Warning Dialog Example

Use the --progress option to create a progress dialog.

Zenity reads data from standard input line by line. If a line is prefixed with #, the text is updated with the text on that line. If a line contains only a number, the percentage is updated with that number.

The progress dialog supports the following options:

The following example script shows how to create a progress dialog:

        #!/bin/sh
        (
        echo "10" ; sleep 1
        echo "# Updating mail logs" ; sleep 1
        echo "20" ; sleep 1
        echo "# Resetting cron jobs" ; sleep 1
        echo "50" ; sleep 1
        echo "This line will just be ignored" ; sleep 1
        echo "75" ; sleep 1
        echo "# Rebooting system" ; sleep 1
        echo "100" ; sleep 1
        ) |
        zenity --progress \
          --title="Update System Logs" \
          --text="Scanning mail logs..." \
          --percentage=0

        if [ "$?" = -1 ] ; then
                zenity --error \
                  --text="Update canceled."
        fi

      

Figure 9 Progress Dialog Example

Use the -entry option to create a text entry dialog. Zenity returns the contents of the text entry to standard error.

The text entry dialog supports the following options:

The following example script shows how to create a text entry dialog:

        #!/bin/sh

        if zenity --entry \
        --title="Add an Entry" \
        --text="Enter your _password:" \
        --entry-text "password" \
        --hide-text
          then echo $?
          else echo "No password entered"
        fi
      

Figure 10 Text Entry Dialog Example

Use the --text-info option to create a text information dialog.

The text information dialog supports the following options:

The following example script shows how to create a text information dialog:

        #!/bin/sh

        FILE=`zenity --file-selection \
          --title="Select a File"`

        case $? in
                 0)
                        zenity --text-info \
                          --title=$FILE \
                          --filename=$FILE \
                          --editable 2>/tmp/tmp.txt;;
                 1)
                        echo "No file selected.";;
                -1)
                        echo "No file selected.";;
        esac
      

Figure 11 Text Information Dialog Example