[Rd] tcltk::tk_select.list has bad width (PR#9410)

[Jeffrey J. Hallman]

Peter Dalgaard <p.dalgaard at biostat.ku.dk> wrote:

  pd> jhallman at frb.gov wrote:
  >> The window put up by tcltk::tk_select.list appears to be of fixed width (20
  >> chars), and is not wide enough to accomodate strings longer than 20 characters
  >> long.  This can be easily fixed by setting the option "width = 0" in the calls
  >> to tklistbox().  Width = 0 tells tk to make the listbox just wide enough to
  >> accomodate the items contained in the list.
  >> 
  >> 

  pd> Hmm, maybe, but probably not unconditionally: What if someone puts in an item
  pd> that is supercalifragilisticexpialidosiously long?

The listbox comes up as wide as my screen, but no wider. Seems like
acceptable behavior to me.  

  pd> You can already scroll sideways using the arrow keys.

Yes, but the width of 20 is still a pain.  I grew annoyed enough to
track this down and fix it when I had a help document for 'lag()' in my
local package as well as the one in the 'stats' package.  When I entered 

?lag

at the R prompt, I'd get a menu offering me a choice of which document
to show, but the strings identifying the choices were so truncated that
it was difficult to know which one was which.  20 characters is just too
few.

Do you not agree that sending "width = 0" and letting Tk handle it
automagically is better than what's in there now? 

Jeff