Multi-select menu in bash script [closed]
I'm a bash newbie but I would like to create a script in which I'd like to allow the user to select multiple options from a list of options.
Essentially what I would like is something similar to the example below:
#!/bin/bash
OPTIONS="Hello Quit"
select opt in $OPTIONS; do
if [ "$opt" = "Quit" ]; then
echo done
exit
elif [ "$opt" = "Hello" ]; then
echo Hello World
else
clear
echo bad option
fi
done
(Sourced from http://www.faqs.org/docs/Linux-HOWTO/Bash-Prog-Intro-HOWTO.html#ss9.1)
However my script would have more options, and I'd like to allow multiples to be selected. So something like this:
1) Option 1
2) Option 2
3) Option 3
4) Option 4
5) Done
Having feedback on the ones they have selected would also be great, eg plus signs next to ones they have already selected. Eg if you select "1" I'd like to page to clear and reprint:
1) Option 1 +
2) Option 2
3) Option 3
4) Option 4
5) Done
Then if you select "3":
1) Option 1 +
2) Option 2
3) Option 3 +
4) Option 4
5) Done
Also, if they again selected (1) I'd like it to "deselect" the option:
1) Option 1
2) Option 2
3) Option 3 +
4) Option 4
5) Done
And finally when Done is pressed I'd like a list of the ones that were selected to be displayed before the program exits, eg if the current state is:
1) Option 1
2) Option 2 +
3) Option 3 +
4) Option 4 +
5) Done
Pressing 5 should print:
Option 2, Option 3, Option 4
...and the script terminate.
So my question - is this possible in bash, and if so is anyone able to provide a code sample?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
I think you should take a look at dialog or whiptail.
Edit:
Here's an example script using the options from your question:
#!/bin/bash
cmd=(dialog --separate-output --checklist "Select options:" 22 76 16)
options=(1 "Option 1" off # any option can be set to default to "on"
2 "Option 2" off
3 "Option 3" off
4 "Option 4" off)
choices=$("${cmd[@]}" "${options[@]}" 2>&1 >/dev/tty)
clear
for choice in $choices
do
case $choice in
1)
echo "First Option"
;;
2)
echo "Second Option"
;;
3)
echo "Third Option"
;;
4)
echo "Fourth Option"
;;
esac
done
If you think whiptail is complex, here it goes a bash-only code that does exactly what you want. It's short (~20 lines), but a bit cryptic for a begginner. Besides showing "+" for checked options, it also provides feedback for each user action ("invalid option", "option X was checked"/unchecked, etc).
That said, there you go!
Hope you enjoy... its was quite a fun challenge to make it :)
#!/bin/bash
# customize with your own.
options=("AAA" "BBB" "CCC" "DDD")
menu() {
echo "Avaliable options:"
for i in ${!options[@]}; do
printf "%3d%s) %s\n" $((i+1)) "${choices[i]:- }" "${options[i]}"
done
if [[ "$msg" ]]; then echo "$msg"; fi
}
prompt="Check an option (again to uncheck, ENTER when done): "
while menu && read -rp "$prompt" num && [[ "$num" ]]; do
[[ "$num" != *[![:digit:]]* ]] &&
(( num > 0 && num <= ${#options[@]} )) ||
{ msg="Invalid option: $num"; continue; }
((num--)); msg="${options[num]} was ${choices[num]:+un}checked"
[[ "${choices[num]}" ]] && choices[num]="" || choices[num]="+"
done
printf "You selected"; msg=" nothing"
for i in ${!options[@]}; do
[[ "${choices[i]}" ]] && { printf " %s" "${options[i]}"; msg=""; }
done
echo "$msg"
Here's a way to do exactly what you want using only Bash features with no external dependencies. It marks the current selections and allows you to toggle them.
#!/bin/bash
# Purpose: Demonstrate usage of select and case with toggleable flags to indicate choices
# 2013-05-10 - Dennis Williamson
choice () {
local choice=$1
if [[ ${opts[choice]} ]] # toggle
then
opts[choice]=
else
opts[choice]=+
fi
}
PS3='Please enter your choice: '
while :
do
clear
options=("Option 1 ${opts[1]}" "Option 2 ${opts[2]}" "Option 3 ${opts[3]}" "Done")
select opt in "${options[@]}"
do
case $opt in
"Option 1 ${opts[1]}")
choice 1
break
;;
"Option 2 ${opts[2]}")
choice 2
break
;;
"Option 3 ${opts[3]}")
choice 3
break
;;
"Option 4 ${opts[4]}")
choice 4
break
;;
"Done")
break 2
;;
*) printf '%s\n' 'invalid option';;
esac
done
done
printf '%s\n' 'Options chosen:'
for opt in "${!opts[@]}"
do
if [[ ${opts[opt]} ]]
then
printf '%s\n' "Option $opt"
fi
done
For ksh, change the first two lines of the function:
function choice {
typeset choice=$1
and the shebang to #!/bin/ksh.
Here's a bash function that allows user to select multiple options with arrow keys and Space, and confirm with Enter. It has a nice menu-like feel. I wrote it with the help of https://unix.stackexchange.com/a/415155. It can be called like this:
multiselect result "Option 1;Option 2;Option 3" "true;;true"
The result is stored as an array in a variable with the name supplied as the first argument. Last argument is optional and is used for making some options selected by default. It looks like this.
function prompt_for_multiselect {
# little helpers for terminal print control and key input
ESC=$( printf "\033")
cursor_blink_on() { printf "$ESC[?25h"; }
cursor_blink_off() { printf "$ESC[?25l"; }
cursor_to() { printf "$ESC[$1;${2:-1}H"; }
print_inactive() { printf "$2 $1 "; }
print_active() { printf "$2 $ESC[7m $1 $ESC[27m"; }
get_cursor_row() { IFS=';' read -sdR -p $'\E[6n' ROW COL; echo ${ROW#*[}; }
key_input() {
local key
IFS= read -rsn1 key 2>/dev/null >&2
if [[ $key = "" ]]; then echo enter; fi;
if [[ $key = $'\x20' ]]; then echo space; fi;
if [[ $key = $'\x1b' ]]; then
read -rsn2 key
if [[ $key = [A ]]; then echo up; fi;
if [[ $key = [B ]]; then echo down; fi;
fi
}
toggle_option() {
local arr_name=$1
eval "local arr=(\"\${${arr_name}[@]}\")"
local option=$2
if [[ ${arr[option]} == true ]]; then
arr[option]=
else
arr[option]=true
fi
eval $arr_name='("${arr[@]}")'
}
local retval=$1
local options
local defaults
IFS=';' read -r -a options <<< "$2"
if [[ -z $3 ]]; then
defaults=()
else
IFS=';' read -r -a defaults <<< "$3"
fi
local selected=()
for ((i=0; i<${#options[@]}; i++)); do
selected+=("${defaults[i]}")
printf "\n"
done
# determine current screen position for overwriting the options
local lastrow=`get_cursor_row`
local startrow=$(($lastrow - ${#options[@]}))
# ensure cursor and input echoing back on upon a ctrl+c during read -s
trap "cursor_blink_on; stty echo; printf '\n'; exit" 2
cursor_blink_off
local active=0
while true; do
# print options by overwriting the last lines
local idx=0
for option in "${options[@]}"; do
local prefix="[ ]"
if [[ ${selected[idx]} == true ]]; then
prefix="[x]"
fi
cursor_to $(($startrow + $idx))
if [ $idx -eq $active ]; then
print_active "$option" "$prefix"
else
print_inactive "$option" "$prefix"
fi
((idx++))
done
# user key control
case `key_input` in
space) toggle_option selected $active;;
enter) break;;
up) ((active--));
if [ $active -lt 0 ]; then active=$((${#options[@]} - 1)); fi;;
down) ((active++));
if [ $active -ge ${#options[@]} ]; then active=0; fi;;
esac
done
# cursor position back to normal
cursor_to $lastrow
printf "\n"
cursor_blink_on
eval $retval='("${selected[@]}")'
}