pyqt widgets

Python hosting: Host, run, and code Python in the cloud!

Delve into the extensive world of PyQt4 widgets that are essential for creating interactive GUI applications in Python. These widgets add functionalities to your applications, making them interactive and user-friendly.

If you’ve ever thought about creating desktop applications with Python, PyQt4 has you covered with an array of widgets. Among the most commonly used ones are:

Textbox: Every application needs input fields for user interaction, and PyQt4 offers the QLineEdit() function for this.
Combobox: This widget helps users select an item from a dropdown list.
Calendar: To incorporate date selection in your application, the QCalendarWidget() is the way to go.

For a broader collection of widgets, consider exploring the GUI creation tool, which is elaborated in our next tutorial.

Related course: Create GUI Apps with PyQt5

Textbox in PyQt4

A staple in GUI applications, the textbox allows for user input. In PyQt4, this is achieved using the QLineEdit() function. Here’s a glimpse of how to integrate a textbox into your PyQt4 application:

#! /usr/bin/env python
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
import sys
from PyQt4.QtGui import *

a = QApplication(sys.argv)
w = QMainWindow()
w.resize(320, 100)
w.setWindowTitle("PyQT Python Widget!")
textbox = QLineEdit(w)
textbox.move(20, 20)
textbox.resize(280,40)
w.show()
sys.exit(a.exec_())

PyQT Textbox Widget

Enhance your GUI by including a Qt textbox to showcase text information.

Combobox in PyQt4

Allowing users to choose from a list, the combobox is indispensable in GUI applications. Here’s a quick peek into creating a combobox in PyQt4:

#! /usr/bin/env python
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
import sys
from PyQt4.QtGui import *

a = QApplication(sys.argv)
w = QMainWindow()
w.resize(320, 100)
w.setWindowTitle("PyQT Python Widget!")
combo = QComboBox(w)
combo.addItem("Python")
combo.addItem("Perl")
combo.addItem("Java")
combo.addItem("C++")
combo.move(20,20)
w.show()
sys.exit(a.exec_())

PyQT Combobox Widget

Calendar in PyQt4

Date selection is made easy with PyQt4’s calendar widget. Check out how you can seamlessly integrate a calendar into your application:

#! /usr/bin/env python
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
import sys
from PyQt4.QtGui import *

a = QApplication(sys.argv)
w = QMainWindow()
w.resize(320, 240)
w.setWindowTitle("PyQT Python Widget!")
cal = QCalendarWidget(w)
cal.setGridVisible(True)
cal.move(0, 0)
cal.resize(320,240)
w.show()
sys.exit(a.exec_())

PyQT Calendar Widget

Supercharge your Python GUI development by downloading our comprehensive PyQT Code Collection.

Previous Tutorial | Next Tutorial

Posted in qt4

2015-05-03

Leave a Reply:

Max Wong • Fri, 29 May 2015

Just pointing out a very minor commenting mistake. In the first example with a text box, the comment says "# Create calendar" instead of "# Create textbox"

Frank • Fri, 29 May 2015

Thanks Max! I updated it :-)

Matt • Tue, 23 Jun 2015

I apologize if you have answered this in the tutorial, but how would you display text on the window? For example, if I wanted to make a simple calculator that let the user input two numbers and display the sum, what would I use to display the sum?

Frank • Tue, 23 Jun 2015

Hi Matt, it depends on how you want to display the text on the window. If you want to display in a textbox you could use the .setText() method.
A textbox is often used in calculators.

import sys
from PyQt4.QtCore import pyqtSlot
from PyQt4.QtGui import *
 
# create our window
app = QApplication(sys.argv)
w = QWidget()
w.setWindowTitle('Textbox example @pythonspot.com')
 
# Create textbox
textbox = QLineEdit(w)
textbox.move(20, 20)
textbox.resize(280,40)

# Set window size. 
w.resize(320, 150)

# Create a button in the window
button = QPushButton('Click me', w)
button.move(20,80)

# Create the actions 
@pyqtSlot()
def on_click():
    textbox.setText("Button clicked.")
 
@pyqtSlot()
def on_press():
    print('pressed')
 
@pyqtSlot()
def on_release():
    print('released')
 
# connect the signals to the slots
button.clicked.connect(on_click)
button.pressed.connect(on_press)
button.released.connect(on_release)
 
# Show the window and run the app
w.show()
app.exec_()

Output:
<img src="https://pythonspot.com/wp-c..." alt="PyQT Textbox"/>

The same principle works with a label:

import sys
from PyQt4.QtCore import pyqtSlot
from PyQt4.QtGui import *
 
# create our window
app = QApplication(sys.argv)
w = QWidget()
w.setWindowTitle('Label example @pythonspot.com')
 
# Create textbox
label = QLabel('Output here.',w)
label.move(20,20)
label.resize(280,40)
label.show()

# Set window size. 
w.resize(320, 150)

# Create a button in the window
button = QPushButton('Click me', w)
button.move(20,80)

# Create the actions 
@pyqtSlot()
def on_click():
    label.setText("Button clicked.")
 
@pyqtSlot()
def on_press():
    print('pressed')
 
@pyqtSlot()
def on_release():
    print('released')
 
# connect the signals to the slots
button.clicked.connect(on_click)
button.pressed.connect(on_press)
button.released.connect(on_release)
 
# Show the window and run the app
w.show()
app.exec_()

Hope that helps.If you have any more questions let me know :-)

Matt • Wed, 24 Jun 2015

That does exactly what I wanted, thank you.

Matt • Fri, 26 Jun 2015

What is the best way to get the size of a widget? I would like to place a button to the right of a combobox I've placed. I'm adding items to the box from a file, so I don't know the length of the strings it holds ahead of time. As the box expands to fit the length of its items I also don't know its size, but I would still like to be able to set the space between the button and the box.

I've tried using combobox.iconSize(), which appears to return a different value than the size of the box.

Frank • Sat, 27 Jun 2015

Hi Matt, you can get the size of a widget using:

print combo.x()
print combo.y() 
print combo.size().width()
print combo.size().height()

Resizing components with components next to it does not seem to be a standard thing for a Qt to do. The code below is a bit of a workaround. The example below shows a combobox with an initial width. When the button is pressed a new item is added and the combobox is resized.

#! /usr/bin/env python
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
#
import sys
from PyQt4.QtGui import *
from PyQt4.QtCore import pyqtSlot
from PyQt4.QtCore import QTimer
import time
 
# Create an PyQT4 application object.
a = QApplication(sys.argv)       
 
# The QWidget widget is the base class of all user interface objects in PyQt4.
w = QMainWindow()
 
# Set window size. 
w.resize(340, 100)
 
# Set window title  
w.setWindowTitle("PyQT Python Widget!") 
 
# Create combobox
combo = QComboBox(w)
combo.addItem("Python")
combo.addItem("Perl")
combo.addItem("Java")
combo.addItem("C++")
combo.move(20,20)
combo.setSizePolicy(QSizePolicy.Preferred, QSizePolicy.Expanding)
combo.setSizeAdjustPolicy(QComboBox.AdjustToContents)
combo.setMinimumHeight(combo.height())


# Action when button is pressed
@pyqtSlot()
def on_click():
    startWidth = combo.size().width() 
    combo.addItem("This is a very long element")
    combo.resize(combo.size())
    combo.update()
    combo.repaint()
    qApp.processEvents()
    moveButton()

def moveButton():
    btn.move( combo.x() + combo.size().width() + padding, combo.y())
    btn.repaint()
    #print combo.x() + combo.size().width()
    qApp.processEvents()
    

# Add a button
padding = 5
btn = QPushButton('Pythonspot', w)
btn.setToolTip('Click to quit!')
btn.move( combo.x() + combo.size().width() + padding, combo.y())       
btn.clicked.connect(on_click)

# Create a QTimer. This timer will be a watchdog
# that checks if the combobox has resized.
timer = QTimer()
timer.timeout.connect(moveButton)
timer.start(10)

# Show window
w.show() 
sys.exit(a.exec_())

Output:
<img src="https://pythonspot.com/wp-c..." alt="PyQT"/>
After click:
<img src="https://pythonspot.com/wp-c..." alt="PyQT"/>

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any questions

Matt • Mon, 29 Jun 2015

Thank you!