If you want the user to have a directory set by default the next time he runs your program, then you'll have to 'save state'. Try using a config file, where you write the directory the user chose, and have your program reading that file at the begining and look for that info. The first time the program is executed that information will not be there, but there will be something the next time.

update: below is some code you can adapt to include in your program. Error checking on dealing with the file is not in the script, as I don't know TK (and how to, visually, alert the user in case of errors) and I would have the script dieing. Run the script and look at config.txt's contents, and then modify the value of the variable $new_default, run it again and look for differences.

use strict;
use warnings;

my $file = "config.txt";
my $default_dir = "";
my @config;
my $content;

if (-f $file) {
    open CONF, "<$file"; 
    $content = <CONF>;
    close CONF;

    if ($content =~ /DEFAULT_DIR/) {
        @config = split /:/,$content;
        $default_dir = $config[1];
    }
}


my $new_default = "default_path";

if($new_default ne $default_dir) {
    open CONF, ">$file";
    print CONF "DEFAULT_DIR:".$new_default;
    close CONF;
}
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After all this, do go and take a look at open. It is important that you know how to deal with files.

I've never used a config file before. Do you have any examples on how it could be done?

For something as simple as the program your making (at least you made it appear simple), you can simply write the data in a fashion such as:

initdir:/home/user
initbuttonstate:active
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et cetera.

Of course, then open the config and gather the information. Depending on the complexity of the config file, you can just split each line on a colon, and use the second variable of the array.

<(^.^-<) <(-^.^<) <(-^.^-)> (>^.^-)> (>-^.^)>

thx

Sure mate. But this time you gotta promise you will read open's docs :).

First point: when you read the file, and since you are adding more lines, you have to get all those lines. Also, you are appending a new line to the end of each conf variable, so there is the need to chomp that new line.

if (-f $file) {
    open CONF, "<$file";
    my @contents = <CONF>;
    close CONF;

    foreach $content (@contents) {
        my @config = split /-/,$content;
        if ($content =~ /DEFAULT_IN/) {
            $default_in = $config[1];
            chomp($default_in);
        } elsif ($content =~ /DEFAULT_OUT/) {
            $default_out = $config[1];
            chomp($default_out);
        }
    }
}
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Second point: Writing the info back to the file. I don't know what those browse methods are, but if you need to write in two separate steps, then you'll have to write all the info both times.

print CONF "DEFAULT_IN-$def_path\nDEFAULT_OUT-$def_path_out\n";
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As a side note, you should look for a way of being able to write only if any of the paths actually changed.

if( ($def_path ne $default_in) || ($def_path_out ne $default_out) ) {
    # at least one of the values changed, write both
}
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update lil_v updated his node, so now this doesn't make much sense.

#!/usr/bin/perl
use warnings;
use strict;
use Tk;
use Tk::JPEG;
use Tk::Dialog;

my $def_path;  #defaults to current dir in DATA

# read last stored value
while(<DATA>){
  if($_ =~ /^DIR:(.*)$/){ $def_path = $1 }
}

my $mw = MainWindow->new;

# make sure def_dir gets written when program closes
$SIG{INT} = sub { &close_it_up };
$mw->protocol('WM_DELETE_WINDOW' => sub {
                      &close_it_up
                   });


my $c = $mw->Canvas(
#                 -tile => $tile,
                 qw/-width 1500 -height 750/)->pack(-side => 'left');

my $path = $c->Label(-text => "Default Path For Saving Input Files",
          #-font => 'Arial 18 bold'
          )->place(-relx => 0.23, -rely => 0.4);

my $path_text = $c->Entry(-textvariable => \$def_path,
          -width => 50)->place(-relx => 0.4, -rely => 0.4);

my $path_button = $c->Button(-text => "Browse",
           #-font => 'Arial 8 bold',
           -width => 5,
           -command => [\&browse, $def_path])->place(-relx => 0.65, -r
+ely => 0.4);


MainLoop;

sub browse {
     my $init_dir = shift;

    $def_path = $mw->chooseDirectory(-title => 'Select directory',
                                               -initialdir => $init_di
+r,
                                               #-mustexist => 1 # scre
+ws up on linux
                                               );
    
}

sub close_it_up{

open(SELF,"+<$0")||die $!;
while(<SELF>){last if /^__DATA__/}
 truncate(SELF,tell SELF);

 $def_path ||='.';

 print SELF 'DIR:';
 print SELF "$def_path";
 print SELF $/;
   
 truncate(SELF,tell SELF);
 close SELF;

Tk::exit;
exit;
}

############################################################
__END__
__DATA__
DIR:'.'
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Only a wild guess: maybe the option "-initialdir" in the call to chooseDirectory is what you are looking for?

Well not really, because when the user restarts the program the set Directory is back to blank again. I dont want to set the initial directory for the user, I want the user to set the default directory just once and he must be able to see the set directory next time he starts the program instead of setting it each time he runs the program. I don't know if I'm being clear, let me know if you want me to explain more clearly... thx

Yes, it's clear, but if you want your program to remember the user choice after program termination, you need to store this info outside the program.

Natural choices could be a database (if your application uses one) or a configuration file.

Rule One: "Do not act incautiously when confronting a little bald wrinkly smiling man."