How to Style and Customize the tkinterguizero Menu Bar?

Tkinter and Guizero are popular Python libraries for creating GUIs, and when it comes to enhancing the user experience, customizing the menu bar is a key consideration. In this tutorial, we'll highlight the techniques for styling and customizing the menu bar in Tkinter and Guizero.

Understanding Tkinter and Guizero

Before diving into customization, let's have a brief overview of Tkinter and Guizero.

• Tkinter − Tkinter is the standard GUI toolkit that comes with Python. It provides a set of tools for creating graphical user interfaces and is widely used for developing desktop applications. Tkinter includes various widgets, and the menu bar is a crucial component for organizing and accessing different functionalities.

• Guizero − Guizero is a simpler and lightweight GUI library for Python. It is built on top of Tkinter and designed to be beginner-friendly. Guizero provides easy-to-use functions for creating windows, buttons, and menu bars, making it a great choice for small to medium-sized projects.

Creating a Basic Menu Bar

Before customizing, let's create a basic menu bar using Tkinter and Guizero.

Example: Tkinter Menu Bar

Take a look at the following example −

import tkinter as tk

def dummy_command():
   print("This is a dummy command.")

root = tk.Tk()
root.geometry("720x250")
root.title("Tkinter Menu Bar")

# Creating a menu bar
menu_bar = tk.Menu(root)

# Adding File menu
file_menu = tk.Menu(menu_bar, tearoff=0)
file_menu.add_command(label="Open", command=dummy_command)
file_menu.add_command(label="Save", command=dummy_command)
file_menu.add_separator()
file_menu.add_command(label="Exit", command=root.destroy)
menu_bar.add_cascade(label="File", menu=file_menu)

# Adding Edit menu
edit_menu = tk.Menu(menu_bar, tearoff=0)
edit_menu.add_command(label="Cut", command=dummy_command)
edit_menu.add_command(label="Copy", command=dummy_command)
edit_menu.add_command(label="Paste", command=dummy_command)
menu_bar.add_cascade(label="Edit", menu=edit_menu)

# Displaying the menu bar
root.config(menu=menu_bar)

# Running the GUI
root.mainloop()

Output

Running the above script will give you the following Tkinter window with a basic menu bar −

Example: Guizero Menu Bar

Take a look at the following example −

from guizero import App, MenuBar

def dummy_command():
   print("This is a dummy command.")

app = App("Guizero Menu Bar")

# Creating a menu bar
menu_bar = MenuBar(
   app, toplevel=["File", "Edit"], 
   options=[
      [ ["Open", dummy_command], ["Save", dummy_command], ["Exit", app.destroy] ],
      [ ["Cut", dummy_command], ["Copy", dummy_command], ["Paste", dummy_command] ]
   ]
)

# Displaying the menu bar
app.display()

Output

Running the above script will give you the following Guizero window with a basic menu bar −

These basic examples create a window with a menu bar containing File and Edit menus. Now, let's move on to customizing these menu bars.

Styling the Tkinter Menu Bar

Let's understand how you can style and customize the Tkinter menu bar.

Changing the Colors

Tkinter allows you to change the background and foreground colors of the menu bar and menu items. The following snippet demonstrates how to customize colors −

# Changing menu bar color
menu_bar.config(bg="lightblue")

# Changing menu item colors
file_menu.config(bg="lightblue", fg="black")
edit_menu.config(bg="lightblue", fg="black")

Adding Icons

Tkinter allows you to add icons to menu items, providing a more visually appealing interface. To add icons, you can use the compound option with the label attribute −

from tkinter import PhotoImage

# Create an image object
icon = PhotoImage(file="icon.png")

# Adding icon to a menu item
file_menu.add_command(label="Open", command=dummy_command, image=icon, compound="left")

Customizing the Guizero Menu Bar

Guizero simplifies the customization process by offering a limited set of options. However, you can still achieve a visually pleasing menu bar.

Changing Colors

Guizero allows you to set the background color of the menu bar. The following snippet demonstrates how to customize the color −

# Changing menu bar color
menu_bar.bg = "lightblue"

Adding Icons

Guizero doesn't have built-in support for icons in menu items, but you can achieve a similar effect by creating custom buttons with images −

from guizero import PushButton

# Create an image object
icon = "icon.png"

# Adding icon to a menu item
open_button = PushButton(app, image=icon, command=dummy_command)

Conclusion

Customizing the menu bar in Tkinter and Guizero significantly contribute to the visual appeal and user experience of your Python GUI applications. Whether you choose Tkinter's extensive customization options or Guizero's simplicity, finding the right balance between aesthetics and functionality is crucial.