Python Tkinter ŌĆō How to Position a topLevel() Widget Relative to the Root Window?

When it comes to GUI programming in Python, Tkinter is a popular and simple-to-use library that comes pre-installed with Python. It provides various widgets that allow developers to create windows, buttons, labels, and many more. One of these widgets is the topLevel() widget, which creates a new window that can be positioned relative to the root window or the parent window. This article will show you how to position a topLevel() widget relative to the root window using Python Tkinter.

The Positioning Options

Before we dive into the code, let’s first understand the different positioning options available for the topLevel() widget. There are four positioning values available for the geometry() method in Tkinter:

1. +x+y: This option positions the window x pixels to the right and y pixels down from the top-left corner of the screen. For example, geometry("+50+100") will move the window 50 pixels to the right and 100 pixels down from the top-left corner.

2. -x+y: This option positions the window x pixels to the left and y pixels down from the top-left corner of the screen. For example, geometry("-50+100") will move the window 50 pixels to the left and 100 pixels down from the top-left corner.

3. +x-y: This option positions the window x pixels to the right and y pixels up from the top-left corner of the screen. For example, geometry("+50-100") will move the window 50 pixels to the right and 100 pixels up from the top-left corner.

4. -x-y: This option positions the window x pixels to the left and y pixels up from the top-left corner of the screen. For example, geometry("-50-100") will move the window 50 pixels to the left and 100 pixels up from the top-left corner.

Note that the positioning values are relative to the top-left corner of the screen, and not the root window. If you want to position the topLevel() widget relative to the root window, you need to calculate the x and y positions based on the root window’s position on the screen.

Getting the Root Window Position

To position a topLevel() widget relative to the root window, we first need to get the root window’s position on the screen. We can do that using the winfo_x() and winfo_y() methods of the root window. These methods return the x and y positions of the root window relative to the screen’s top-left corner.

Here’s some sample code that demonstrates how to get the root window’s position:

import tkinter as tk

# Create the root window
root = tk.Tk()
root.title("Root Window")

# Print the root window position
print("Root window position:", root.winfo_x(), root.winfo_y())

# Start the main event loop
root.mainloop()

This code creates a root window and prints its position using the winfo_x() and winfo_y() methods. You can run this code and check the console output to see the root window’s position.

Positioning the topLevel() Widget

Now that we know how to get the root window’s position, we can use it to position the topLevel() widget relative to the root window. Here’s some sample code that demonstrates how to do that:

import tkinter as tk

# Create the root window
root = tk.Tk()
root.title("Root Window")

# Get the root window position
x = root.winfo_x()
y = root.winfo_y()

# Create the topLevel() widget
top = tk.Toplevel(root)
top.title("Top Level Window")

# Set the position of the topLevel() widget relative to the root window
top.geometry("+{}+{}".format(x + 50, y + 50))

# Start the main event loop
root.mainloop()

This code creates a root window and a topLevel() widget. It then gets the root window’s position using the winfo_x() and winfo_y() methods and positions the topLevel() widget 50 pixels to the right and 50 pixels down from the root window’s position. You can modify the +50+50 values to position the topLevel() widget wherever you want relative to the root window.

Conclusion

In this article, we learned about the different positioning options available for the topLevel() widget in Tkinter. We also learned how to get the root window’s position using the winfo_x() and winfo_y() methods and how to position the topLevel() widget relative to the root window using the geometry()method. This will allow you to create more complex GUI applications with multiple windows that can be positioned relative to each other. Happy coding!