How to Change the position of MessageBox using Python Tkinter

When creating dialogue boxes in Python Tkinter, you often need to control where they appear on the screen. The Toplevel widget creates a new window that appears on top of the main window, and you can position it precisely using the geometry() method.

Understanding MessageBox Positioning

The Toplevel widget creates a separate window that appears above the main application window. To control its position, we use the geometry() method with the format: "widthxheight+x_position+y_position".

Example

Here's how to create a positioned message box using Tkinter ?

import tkinter as tk
from tkinter import *

def messagebox():
    # Create MessageBox dialog that appears on top of the screen
    top = Toplevel(win)
    top.title("Click Me")
    
    # Define the position of the MessageBox
    x_position = 600
    y_position = 400
    top.geometry(f"600x200+{x_position}+{y_position}")
    
    # Add content to the messageBox
    label = Label(top, text="Hello! TutorialsPoint", bg="green", fg="white",
                  font=('Times New Roman', 24), height=5, width=30)
    label.pack(pady=50)

# Create the main tkinter window
win = Tk()
win.geometry("600x200")
win.title("Window-1")

# Create button to trigger message box
Button(win, text="Click Me", command=messagebox, width=8).pack(pady=80)

win.mainloop()

How the Positioning Works

The geometry() method accepts a string in the format:

• Width x Height: Sets the size of the window (600x200 pixels)
• +X Position: Distance from left edge of screen (+600 pixels)
• +Y Position: Distance from top edge of screen (+400 pixels)

Customizing Position

You can position the message box anywhere on screen by changing the x and y coordinates ?

import tkinter as tk
from tkinter import *

def center_messagebox():
    top = Toplevel(win)
    top.title("Centered MessageBox")
    
    # Center the message box on screen
    screen_width = top.winfo_screenwidth()
    screen_height = top.winfo_screenheight()
    
    window_width = 400
    window_height = 150
    
    x = (screen_width // 2) - (window_width // 2)
    y = (screen_height // 2) - (window_height // 2)
    
    top.geometry(f"{window_width}x{window_height}+{x}+{y}")
    
    Label(top, text="I'm centered!", font=('Arial', 16)).pack(pady=50)

# Create main window
win = Tk()
win.geometry("400x200")
win.title("Position Demo")

Button(win, text="Center MessageBox", command=center_messagebox).pack(pady=70)

win.mainloop()

Key Points

• Toplevel() creates a new window on top of the main window
• geometry() controls both size and position of the window
• Coordinates start from the top-left corner of the screen
• Use winfo_screenwidth() and winfo_screenheight() for dynamic positioning

Conclusion

Use the geometry() method with Toplevel to precisely position message boxes. The format "widthxheight+x+y" gives you complete control over window placement on screen.