Using CySelect

Documentation / CySelect

• Overview of CySelect
  • What It Does
  • What It Is Not
• Using CySelect
  • Calling From A Script
  • Modes You Will Use
  • Filters And Last Directory
  • Selecting In The Dialog
• Command Line
  • Modes
  • Options
  • Keys
  • Exit Status
• Copyright

Using CySelect

You rarely open cyselect from a menu. Other Blueprint programs exec it when a dialog needs a path, and shell scripts can do the same.

Calling From A Script

Pick a mode, wait, read stdout:

path=$(cyselect --file-selector --title 'Open image' --type='*.png')
echo "chose: $path"

Exit status is the contract:

• 0 -- success; one absolute path per stdout line
• 1 -- cancel; no path lines
• 2 -- usage or error; message on stderr

Multi modes print one path per line, still absolute.

cyselect --multi-file --start=/tmp --app-id=mytool

Modes You Will Use

• --file-selector -- open one file
• --directory-selector -- choose one directory
• --multi-file / --multi-dir / --multi -- one or more (files, dirs, or either)
• --save -- Save As (name field and overwrite confirm)

Exactly one mode flag per run. --multi-file-selector is an alias for --multi-file.

Filters And Last Directory

--type=GLOB is repeatable. Each glob becomes a Filter menu row; with two or more, an "All matching" union row is added first. The path field shows the directory plus the active glob (for example /tmp/*.jpg). Edit the path or navigate icons to change it; directories stay visible for navigation.

--app-id=ID remembers the last directory per caller (default cyselect). --start=PATH overrides the initial directory for this run. --default-name=NAME seeds the Save As name field.

Selecting In The Dialog

A single click seats a path (or the Save name) but does not commit. Double-click, Enter, or the Open/Choose/Select button commits: files open, directories navigate. Multi modes keep CyFiler's grammar -- Ctrl-click, Shift-range, empty-canvas lasso. Esc cancels.

See Also

• Overview of CySelect
• Command Line