Menu Integration Examples

This section shows how to integrate menus and toolbars with ThreePaneWindows layouts.

Basic Menu Integration

Add a menu bar to a three-pane layout:

import tkinter as tk
from tkinter import messagebox
from threepanewindows import FixedThreePaneLayout

def create_menu_example():
    root = tk.Tk()
    root.title("Three-Pane Window with Menu")
    root.geometry("900x600")

    def create_menu():
        """Create the application menu."""
        menubar = tk.Menu(root)

        # File menu
        file_menu = tk.Menu(menubar, tearoff=0)
        file_menu.add_command(label="New", accelerator="Ctrl+N",
                            command=lambda: messagebox.showinfo("Menu", "New File"))
        file_menu.add_command(label="Open", accelerator="Ctrl+O",
                            command=lambda: messagebox.showinfo("Menu", "Open File"))
        file_menu.add_command(label="Save", accelerator="Ctrl+S",
                            command=lambda: messagebox.showinfo("Menu", "Save File"))
        file_menu.add_separator()
        file_menu.add_command(label="Exit", command=root.quit)
        menubar.add_cascade(label="File", menu=file_menu)

        # Edit menu
        edit_menu = tk.Menu(menubar, tearoff=0)
        edit_menu.add_command(label="Undo", accelerator="Ctrl+Z")
        edit_menu.add_command(label="Redo", accelerator="Ctrl+Y")
        edit_menu.add_separator()
        edit_menu.add_command(label="Cut", accelerator="Ctrl+X")
        edit_menu.add_command(label="Copy", accelerator="Ctrl+C")
        edit_menu.add_command(label="Paste", accelerator="Ctrl+V")
        menubar.add_cascade(label="Edit", menu=edit_menu)

        # View menu
        view_menu = tk.Menu(menubar, tearoff=0)
        view_menu.add_checkbutton(label="Show Left Panel", variable=tk.BooleanVar(value=True))
        view_menu.add_checkbutton(label="Show Right Panel", variable=tk.BooleanVar(value=True))
        view_menu.add_separator()
        view_menu.add_command(label="Zoom In", accelerator="Ctrl++")
        view_menu.add_command(label="Zoom Out", accelerator="Ctrl+-")
        menubar.add_cascade(label="View", menu=view_menu)

        # Help menu
        help_menu = tk.Menu(menubar, tearoff=0)
        help_menu.add_command(label="About",
                            command=lambda: messagebox.showinfo("About", "ThreePaneWindows Example"))
        menubar.add_cascade(label="Help", menu=help_menu)

        return menubar

    # Create the menu
    menu = create_menu()

    # Create layout with menu integration
    layout = FixedThreePaneLayout(root, side_width=200, menu_bar=menu)
    layout.pack(fill=tk.BOTH, expand=True)

    # Add content to demonstrate menu integration
    layout.set_label_texts(
        left="📁 Explorer",
        center="📝 Editor",
        right="🔧 Properties"
    )

    # Left panel content
    tk.Label(layout.frame_left, text="File Explorer",
            font=("Arial", 11, "bold")).pack(pady=10)

    files = ["document.txt", "image.png", "script.py", "data.csv"]
    for file in files:
        tk.Label(layout.frame_left, text=f"📄 {file}", anchor="w").pack(
            fill=tk.X, padx=10, pady=2)

    # Center panel content
    tk.Label(layout.frame_center, text="Text Editor",
            font=("Arial", 12, "bold")).pack(pady=10)

    text_editor = tk.Text(layout.frame_center, wrap=tk.WORD, font=("Consolas", 11))
    text_editor.pack(fill=tk.BOTH, expand=True, padx=10, pady=10)

    sample_text = '''# Sample Document

This is a sample document in the text editor.

The menu bar above provides standard application functionality: - File operations (New, Open, Save) - Edit operations (Undo, Redo, Cut, Copy, Paste) - View options (Panel visibility, Zoom) - Help and About information

Try using the menu items to see how they integrate with the three-pane layout!’’’

text_editor.insert(“1.0”, sample_text)

# Right panel content tk.Label(layout.frame_right, text=”Properties”,

font=(“Arial”, 11, “bold”)).pack(pady=10)

properties = [

(“File:”, “document.txt”), (“Size:”, “1.2 KB”), (“Lines:”, “15”), (“Words:”, “89”), (“Characters:”, “456”)

]

for prop, value in properties:

prop_frame = tk.Frame(layout.frame_right) prop_frame.pack(fill=tk.X, padx=10, pady=2)

tk.Label(prop_frame, text=prop, font=(“Arial”, 9, “bold”)).pack(side=tk.LEFT) tk.Label(prop_frame, text=value, font=(“Arial”, 9)).pack(side=tk.RIGHT)

return root

if __name__ == “__main__”:

app = create_menu_example() app.mainloop()

Toolbar Integration

Add toolbars to enhance the interface:

import tkinter as tk
from tkinter import ttk
from threepanewindows import DockableThreePaneWindow

def create_toolbar_example():
    root = tk.Tk()
    root.title("Three-Pane Window with Toolbar")
    root.geometry("1000x700")

    def create_menu_and_toolbar():
        """Create menu and toolbar."""
        # Menu bar
        menubar = tk.Menu(root)

        file_menu = tk.Menu(menubar, tearoff=0)
        file_menu.add_command(label="New Project")
        file_menu.add_command(label="Open Project")
        file_menu.add_command(label="Save Project")
        menubar.add_cascade(label="File", menu=file_menu)

        edit_menu = tk.Menu(menubar, tearoff=0)
        edit_menu.add_command(label="Undo")
        edit_menu.add_command(label="Redo")
        menubar.add_cascade(label="Edit", menu=edit_menu)

        # Toolbar frame
        toolbar = tk.Frame(root, bg="#f0f0f0", height=40, relief=tk.RAISED, bd=1)
        toolbar.pack(fill=tk.X)
        toolbar.pack_propagate(False)

        # Toolbar buttons
        toolbar_buttons = [
            ("📄 New", "#4CAF50"),
            ("📂 Open", "#2196F3"),
            ("💾 Save", "#FF9800"),
            ("|", None),  # Separator
            ("↶ Undo", "#9E9E9E"),
            ("↷ Redo", "#9E9E9E"),
            ("|", None),  # Separator
            ("▶️ Run", "#4CAF50"),
            ("⏹️ Stop", "#F44336"),
            ("🔧 Debug", "#FF9800")
        ]

        for btn_text, color in toolbar_buttons:
            if btn_text == "|":  # Separator
                separator = tk.Frame(toolbar, width=2, bg="#d0d0d0")
                separator.pack(side=tk.LEFT, fill=tk.Y, padx=5, pady=5)
            else:
                btn = tk.Button(toolbar, text=btn_text, bg=color, fg="white",
                              font=("Arial", 9), relief="flat", padx=10, pady=5)
                btn.pack(side=tk.LEFT, padx=2, pady=5)

        # Status info on right side of toolbar
        status_frame = tk.Frame(toolbar, bg="#f0f0f0")
        status_frame.pack(side=tk.RIGHT, padx=10, pady=5)

        tk.Label(status_frame, text="Ready", bg="#f0f0f0",
                font=("Arial", 9)).pack(side=tk.RIGHT)

        return menubar

    def build_project_tree(frame):
        """Build project tree panel."""
        tk.Label(frame, text="📁 Project Explorer",
                font=("Arial", 11, "bold")).pack(pady=5)

        # Project tree
        tree = ttk.Treeview(frame)
        tree.pack(fill=tk.BOTH, expand=True, padx=5, pady=5)

        # Sample project structure
        project = tree.insert("", "end", text="📁 MyProject", open=True)
        src = tree.insert(project, "end", text="📁 src", open=True)
        tree.insert(src, "end", text="📄 main.py")
        tree.insert(src, "end", text="📄 utils.py")
        tree.insert(src, "end", text="📄 config.py")

        tests = tree.insert(project, "end", text="📁 tests")
        tree.insert(tests, "end", text="📄 test_main.py")

        tree.insert(project, "end", text="📄 README.md")

    def build_code_editor(frame):
        """Build code editor panel."""
        # Editor toolbar
        editor_toolbar = tk.Frame(frame, bg="#e0e0e0", height=30)
        editor_toolbar.pack(fill=tk.X)
        editor_toolbar.pack_propagate(False)

        # File tabs
        tabs = ["main.py", "utils.py", "config.py"]
        for i, tab in enumerate(tabs):
            tab_color = "#ffffff" if i == 0 else "#e0e0e0"
            tab_btn = tk.Button(editor_toolbar, text=tab, bg=tab_color,
                              font=("Arial", 9), relief="flat", padx=15)
            tab_btn.pack(side=tk.LEFT, padx=1, pady=2)

        # Editor area
        editor_frame = tk.Frame(frame)
        editor_frame.pack(fill=tk.BOTH, expand=True)

        # Line numbers
        line_frame = tk.Frame(editor_frame, bg="#f8f8f8", width=40)
        line_frame.pack(side=tk.LEFT, fill=tk.Y)
        line_frame.pack_propagate(False)

        line_numbers = tk.Text(line_frame, width=4, bg="#f8f8f8", fg="#666",
                             font=("Consolas", 10), state=tk.DISABLED, wrap=tk.NONE)
        line_numbers.pack(fill=tk.BOTH, expand=True)

        # Code editor
        code_editor = tk.Text(editor_frame, wrap=tk.NONE, font=("Consolas", 11),
                            bg="white", fg="black", insertbackground="black")
        code_editor.pack(side=tk.LEFT, fill=tk.BOTH, expand=True)

        # Sample code
        sample_code = '''#!/usr/bin/env python3

“”” Main application module. “””

import tkinter as tk from threepanewindows import DockableThreePaneWindow

def create_application():

“””Create the main application window.””” root = tk.Tk() root.title(“My Application”) root.geometry(“1000x600”)

# Create three-pane layout layout = DockableThreePaneWindow(root) layout.pack(fill=tk.BOTH, expand=True)

return root

def main():

“””Main entry point.””” app = create_application() app.mainloop()

if __name__ == “__main__”:

main()’’’

code_editor.insert(“1.0”, sample_code)

# Update line numbers lines = sample_code.count(’n’) + 1 line_numbers.config(state=tk.NORMAL) line_numbers.insert(“1.0”, ‘n’.join(str(i) for i in range(1, lines + 1))) line_numbers.config(state=tk.DISABLED)

def build_output_panel(frame):

“””Build output panel.””” # Output toolbar output_toolbar = tk.Frame(frame, bg=”#2d2d2d”, height=30) output_toolbar.pack(fill=tk.X) output_toolbar.pack_propagate(False)

tk.Label(output_toolbar, text=”🖥️ Output”, font=(“Arial”, 10, “bold”),

bg=”#2d2d2d”, fg=”white”).pack(side=tk.LEFT, padx=10, pady=5)

# Clear button clear_btn = tk.Button(output_toolbar, text=”🗑️ Clear”, bg=”#666”, fg=”white”,

font=(“Arial”, 8), relief=”flat”, padx=8)

clear_btn.pack(side=tk.RIGHT, padx=10, pady=5)

# Output area output = tk.Text(frame, bg=”black”, fg=”lime”, font=(“Consolas”, 10)) output.pack(fill=tk.BOTH, expand=True, padx=5, pady=5)

output_text = ‘’’Python 3.9.0 (default, Oct 9 2020, 15:07:54)

[GCC 9.3.0] on linux Type “help”, “copyright”, “credits” or “license” for more information. >>> print(“Hello from ThreePaneWindows!”) Hello from ThreePaneWindows! >>> import threepanewindows >>> print(“Library loaded successfully!”) Library loaded successfully! >>> ‘’’

output.insert(“1.0”, output_text)

# Create menu and toolbar menu = create_menu_and_toolbar()

# Create dockable layout dockable = DockableThreePaneWindow(

root, side_width=250, left_builder=build_project_tree, center_builder=build_code_editor, right_builder=build_output_panel, menu_bar=menu

) dockable.pack(fill=tk.BOTH, expand=True)

# Status bar status_bar = tk.Label(root, text=”Ready | Line 1, Column 1 | Python”,

relief=tk.SUNKEN, anchor=tk.W, font=(“Arial”, 9))

status_bar.pack(side=tk.BOTTOM, fill=tk.X)

return root

if __name__ == “__main__”:

app = create_toolbar_example() app.mainloop()

Context Menus

Add context menus to panes:

import tkinter as tk
from threepanewindows import FixedThreePaneLayout

def create_context_menu_example():
    root = tk.Tk()
    root.title("Three-Pane Window with Context Menus")
    root.geometry("800x600")

    def create_file_context_menu(widget):
        """Create context menu for file operations."""
        context_menu = tk.Menu(root, tearoff=0)
        context_menu.add_command(label="📂 Open",
                               command=lambda: print("Open file"))
        context_menu.add_command(label="✏️ Edit",
                               command=lambda: print("Edit file"))
        context_menu.add_separator()
        context_menu.add_command(label="📋 Copy",
                               command=lambda: print("Copy file"))
        context_menu.add_command(label="✂️ Cut",
                               command=lambda: print("Cut file"))
        context_menu.add_command(label="📌 Paste",
                               command=lambda: print("Paste file"))
        context_menu.add_separator()
        context_menu.add_command(label="🗑️ Delete",
                               command=lambda: print("Delete file"))
        context_menu.add_command(label="🏷️ Rename",
                               command=lambda: print("Rename file"))

        def show_context_menu(event):
            try:
                context_menu.tk_popup(event.x_root, event.y_root)
            finally:
                context_menu.grab_release()

        widget.bind("<Button-3>", show_context_menu)  # Right-click
        return context_menu

    def create_editor_context_menu(widget):
        """Create context menu for editor operations."""
        context_menu = tk.Menu(root, tearoff=0)
        context_menu.add_command(label="↶ Undo",
                               command=lambda: widget.event_generate("<<Undo>>"))
        context_menu.add_command(label="↷ Redo",
                               command=lambda: widget.event_generate("<<Redo>>"))
        context_menu.add_separator()
        context_menu.add_command(label="✂️ Cut",
                               command=lambda: widget.event_generate("<<Cut>>"))
        context_menu.add_command(label="📋 Copy",
                               command=lambda: widget.event_generate("<<Copy>>"))
        context_menu.add_command(label="📌 Paste",
                               command=lambda: widget.event_generate("<<Paste>>"))
        context_menu.add_separator()
        context_menu.add_command(label="🔍 Find",
                               command=lambda: print("Find"))
        context_menu.add_command(label="🔄 Replace",
                               command=lambda: print("Replace"))

        def show_context_menu(event):
            try:
                context_menu.tk_popup(event.x_root, event.y_root)
            finally:
                context_menu.grab_release()

        widget.bind("<Button-3>", show_context_menu)
        return context_menu

    # Create layout
    layout = FixedThreePaneLayout(root, side_width=200)
    layout.pack(fill=tk.BOTH, expand=True)

    layout.set_label_texts(
        left="📁 Files (Right-click for menu)",
        center="📝 Editor (Right-click for menu)",
        right="🔧 Properties"
    )

    # Left panel with file context menu
    file_listbox = tk.Listbox(layout.frame_left, font=("Arial", 10))
    file_listbox.pack(fill=tk.BOTH, expand=True, padx=5, pady=5)

    files = ["📄 document.txt", "🖼️ image.png", "🐍 script.py", "📊 data.csv"]
    for file in files:
        file_listbox.insert(tk.END, file)

    # Add context menu to file list
    create_file_context_menu(file_listbox)

    # Center panel with editor context menu
    text_editor = tk.Text(layout.frame_center, wrap=tk.WORD, font=("Arial", 11))
    text_editor.pack(fill=tk.BOTH, expand=True, padx=10, pady=10)

    editor_text = '''Right-click anywhere in this text editor to see the context menu.

The context menu provides common editing operations: - Undo/Redo - Cut/Copy/Paste - Find/Replace

Try selecting some text and right-clicking to see the options.

Context menus provide quick access to frequently used commands without cluttering the interface with buttons.’’’

text_editor.insert(“1.0”, editor_text)

# Add context menu to editor create_editor_context_menu(text_editor)

# Right panel tk.Label(layout.frame_right, text=”Properties Panel”,

font=(“Arial”, 11, “bold”)).pack(pady=10)

tk.Label(layout.frame_right, text=”Context menus provide:nn”

“• Quick access to commandsn” “• Context-sensitive optionsn” “• Reduced interface cluttern” “• Improved user experience”,

justify=tk.LEFT, anchor=”w”).pack(padx=10, pady=10)

return root

if __name__ == “__main__”:

app = create_context_menu_example() app.mainloop()

Best Practices for Menu Integration

1. Consistent Menu Structure: Follow standard menu conventions

2. Keyboard Shortcuts: Provide accelerator keys for common actions

3. Context Sensitivity: Enable/disable menu items based on current state

4. Logical Grouping: Group related menu items together

5. Clear Labels: Use descriptive, action-oriented menu labels

Menu Integration Features

ThreePaneWindows supports:

• Menu Bar Integration: Pass menu to layout constructors

• Toolbar Support: Add toolbars above or below the layout

• Context Menus: Right-click menus for pane-specific actions

• Status Bar: Information display at the bottom

• Keyboard Shortcuts: Full keyboard navigation support

Configuration Example

Complete menu integration setup:

# Create menu
menubar = create_application_menu()

# Create layout with menu
layout = FixedThreePaneLayout(
    root,
    menu_bar=menubar,  # Integrate menu
    side_width=200
)

# Add toolbar
toolbar = create_toolbar(root)
toolbar.pack(fill=tk.X)

# Add layout
layout.pack(fill=tk.BOTH, expand=True)

# Add status bar
status_bar = create_status_bar(root)
status_bar.pack(side=tk.BOTTOM, fill=tk.X)

Next Steps

Explore more integration examples:

• Status Bar Integration Examples - Adding status bars and notifications

• Custom Widgets Examples - Creating custom panel content

• Real-World Applications - Complete application examples