How To Make The Tkinter Text Widget Read Only?

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The Tkinter library in Python provides a powerful and flexible way to create GUI applications. One of the widgets available in Tkinter is the Text widget, which is used for displaying and editing multi-line text. However, there might be situations where you want the Text widget to be read-only, preventing users from modifying its content. This article will guide you through the steps to make a Tkinter Text widget read-only in Python.

Steps to Make a Tkinter Text Widget Read-Only

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to make a text widget read-only.

Import Tkinter Module

First, you need to import the Tkinter module. In Python 3.x, the module is imported as tkinter.

import tkinter as tk

Create the Main Application Window

Next, create the main application window using tk.Tk() class. It is the parent window which will contain all other tkinter widgets. Here we provide a title and dimensions to the Tkinter window.

root = tk.Tk()
root.title("Read-Only Text Widget Example")
root.geometry("400x300")

Create the Text Widget

Next, create the Text widget by providing it a height and width. By default, the Text widget is editable.

text_widget = tk.Text(root, wrap='word', height=10, width=40)
text_widget.pack(padx=10, pady=10)

Insert Text into the Text Widget

You can insert some text into the Text widget using the insert method. This step is optional but helps demonstrate the read-only functionality.

sample_text = """This is an example of a read-only Text widget.
You can display multiple lines of text here.
However, users won't be able to modify this text."""
text_widget.insert(tk.END, sample_text)

Disable the Text Widget to Make It Read-Only

The simplest way to make the Text widget read-only is by setting its state to DISABLED. This prevents users from modifying the text but also prevents programmatic changes unless the state is temporarily set to NORMAL. This is done using the config() function of the tkinter module and the state is passed as a parameter to it.

text_widget.config(state=tk.DISABLED)

Run the Main Event Loop

Finally, run the main event loop to display the window and make the application responsive to user interactions.

root.mainloop()

Complete Code Example

Here is the complete code for making a Tkinter Text widget read-only:

Python

# import tkinter module
import tkinter as tk

# Create the main application window
root = tk.Tk()
root.title("Read-Only Text Widget Example")
root.geometry("400x300")

# Create the Text widget
text_widget = tk.Text(root, wrap='word', height=10, width=40)
text_widget.pack(padx=10, pady=10)

# Insert some text into the Text widget
sample_text = """This is an example of a read-only Text widget.You can display multiple lines of text here.
                 However, users won't be able to modify this text.
              """
text_widget.insert(tk.END, sample_text)

# Make the Text widget read-only
text_widget.config(state=tk.DISABLED)

# Run the main event loop
root.mainloop()

Output:

Read-only Text Widget

Conclusion

Making a Tkinter Text widget read-only is a straightforward process that involves configuring the widget’s state to DISABLED. This ensures that users cannot modify the content while allowing the program to update it as needed. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can effectively create a read-only Text widget for your Tkinter applications.

Tags:

#Python-tkinter #Python #python