Python Tkinter: Opening a file dialog for file selection

Last update on December 21 2024 07:47:46 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

Write a Python program that opens a file dialog to allow the user to select a file for processing using Tkinter.

Sample Solution:

Python Code:

import tkinter as tk
from tkinter import filedialog

def open_file_dialog():
    file_path = filedialog.askopenfilename(title="Select a File", filetypes=[("Text files", "*.txt"), ("All files", "*.*")])
    if file_path:
        selected_file_label.config(text=f"Selected File: {file_path}")
        process_file(file_path)

def process_file(file_path):
    # Implement your file processing logic here
    # For demonstration, let's just display the contents of the selected file
    try:
        with open(file_path, 'r') as file:
            file_contents = file.read()
            file_text.delete('1.0', tk.END)
            file_text.insert(tk.END, file_contents)
    except Exception as e:
        selected_file_label.config(text=f"Error: {str(e)}")

root = tk.Tk()
root.title("File Dialog Example")

open_button = tk.Button(root, text="Open File", command=open_file_dialog)
open_button.pack(padx=20, pady=20)

selected_file_label = tk.Label(root, text="Selected File:")
selected_file_label.pack()

file_text = tk.Text(root, wrap=tk.WORD, height=10, width=40)
file_text.pack(padx=20, pady=20)

root.mainloop()

Explanation:

In the exercise above -

• Import tkinter as tk and filedialog for creating the GUI components and opening the file dialog.
• Define the open_file_dialog() function, which opens the file dialog using filedialog.askopenfilename(). This dialog allows the user to select a file with specified file types. If a file is selected, it updates a label with the selected file path and calls the "process_file()" function.
• Define the "process_file()" function as a placeholder for your file processing logic. In this example, it reads the contents of the selected file and displays them in a "Text" widget.
• Create the main Tkinter window, set its title, and create the "Open File" button, which calls the open_file_dialog() function when clicked.
• Create a label to display the selected file path.
• Create a "Text" widget to display the contents of the selected file.
• The main event loop, root.mainloop(), starts the Tkinter application.

Sample Output:

Flowchart:

Python Code Editor:

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