Creating a table look-a-like Tkinter

Question

I am looking to create something that resembles a table in Tkinter but it doesn't necessarily have to be one.

I would like to create headers 'Name1', 'Name2', 'Value' for example and beneath each one I wish to have several blank rows.

These rows I then wish to fill in later (therefore a Label) with values I have calculated or string values for names.

For 'Name2' I would actually like for the entire column to be a drop down menu. I have already created the code for one on it's own but am not sure how to incorporate it into this 'table'.

Is it for example possible to create a border around a Label widget so it looks like a 'table'?

Any pointers towards what would be possible in this situation would be very much appreciated. If you require any of my code to have a go at something, just ask. Thank you!

Answer 1

What problem are you having? The simple solution is to lay out widgets using grid. You can put whatever type of widget you want in each cell. And yes, labels can have borders. Though, a simple way to do grid lines is to use a padding around each cell, so that the color of the frame will show through the gaps.

Do this in a frame. If you need to be able to scroll the table, put the frame inside a canvas and add scrollbars. There are examples all over the web for how to create a scrollable frame using a canvas.

Here's a really quick example that uses just labels, and doesn't scroll. I'll leave the exact implementation of what you need as an exercise for the reader.

import Tkinter as tk

class ExampleApp(tk.Tk):
    def __init__(self):
        tk.Tk.__init__(self)
        t = SimpleTable(self, 10,2)
        t.pack(side="top", fill="x")
        t.set(0,0,"Hello, world")

class SimpleTable(tk.Frame):
    def __init__(self, parent, rows=10, columns=2):
        # use black background so it "peeks through" to 
        # form grid lines
        tk.Frame.__init__(self, parent, background="black")
        self._widgets = []
        for row in range(rows):
            current_row = []
            for column in range(columns):
                label = tk.Label(self, text="%s/%s" % (row, column), 
                                 borderwidth=0, width=10)
                label.grid(row=row, column=column, sticky="nsew", padx=1, pady=1)
                current_row.append(label)
            self._widgets.append(current_row)

        for column in range(columns):
            self.grid_columnconfigure(column, weight=1)


    def set(self, row, column, value):
        widget = self._widgets[row][column]
        widget.configure(text=value)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    app = ExampleApp()
    app.mainloop()