ComboBoxes
Populating the ComboBox
Populating the content of a ComboBox based on a users choice is a powerful tool for applications. I’ve seen many applications that have a ComboBox with way too many choices to pick from when using this method would simplify the UI (User Interface) greatly.
First we will add the code that creates the liststore. I won’t go into great detail as this is covered in Gtk ComboBox. Add the following to the init of main class.
class main:
def __init__(self):
# create an instance of the Builder
self.builder = gtk.Builder()
self.builder.add_from_file('lib/main.glade')
self.builder.connect_signals(self)
# create the cell renderer
self.cell = gtk.CellRendererText()
# create the liststores for our combobox
self.furry_list = gtk.ListStore(int, str)
self.furry_list.append([0, 'None'])
self.furry_list.append([1, 'Rabbit'])
self.furry_list.append([2, 'Cat'])
self.furry_list.append([3, 'Hamster'])
self.slimy_list = gtk.ListStore(int, str)
self.slimy_list.append([0, 'None'])
self.slimy_list.append([1, 'Snake'])
self.slimy_list.append([2, 'Fish'])
self.slimy_list.append([3, 'Slug'])
#populate the default choice into the combobox
self.cb1 = self.builder.get_object('combobox1')
self.cb1.set_model(self.furry_list)
self.cb1.pack_start(self.cell, True)
self.cb1.add_attribute(self.cell, 'text', 1)
self.cb1.set_active(0)
# setup the main window
self.window = self.builder.get_object("window1")
self.window.set_title("ComboBoxes")
self.window.show_all()Next we need to change the toggled modules to change the contents of the combo box. The main thing is to clear the combo box before trying to add a new liststore to it.
def on_radiobutton1_toggled(self, widget):
if widget.get_active():
self.cb1.clear()
self.cb1.set_model(self.furry_list)
self.cb1.pack_start(self.cell, True)
self.cb1.add_attribute(self.cell, 'text', 1)
self.cb1.set_active(0)
def on_radiobutton2_toggled(self, widget):
if widget.get_active():
self.cb1.clear()
self.cb1.set_model(self.slimy_list)
self.cb1.pack_start(self.cell, True)
self.cb1.add_attribute(self.cell, 'text', 1)
self.cb1.set_active(0)Now when you run main.py and select a radio button it will populate the combobox with the liststore you chose with the radio button. This makes the UI much less crowded and easier to navigate.
