Python Tkinter file explorer - Browse and display folder contents

Last update on December 21 2024 07:47:54 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

Write a Python program that implements a file explorer application using Tkinter. Allow users to select a folder, and when a folder is selected, display its contents in a Listbox.

Sample Solution:

Python Code:

import tkinter as tk
from tkinter import filedialog
import os

# Function to update the Listbox with folder contents
def browse_folder():
    folder_path = filedialog.askdirectory()  # Open a folder selection dialog
    if folder_path:
        folder_contents.delete(0, tk.END)  # Clear the Listbox
        for item in os.listdir(folder_path):
            folder_contents.insert(tk.END, item)  # Insert folder contents into Listbox

# Create the main window
root = tk.Tk()
root.title("File Explorer")

# Create a button to browse for a folder
browse_button = tk.Button(root, text="Browse Folder", command=browse_folder)
browse_button.pack(pady=10)

# Create a Listbox to display folder contents
folder_contents = tk.Listbox(root, selectmode=tk.SINGLE)
folder_contents.pack(fill=tk.BOTH, expand=True)

# Create a scrollbar for the Listbox
scrollbar = tk.Scrollbar(folder_contents, orient=tk.VERTICAL)
scrollbar.config(command=folder_contents.yview)
scrollbar.pack(side=tk.RIGHT, fill=tk.Y)
folder_contents.config(yscrollcommand=scrollbar.set)

# Start the Tkinter main loop
root.mainloop()

Explanation:

In the exercise above -

• Import the "tkinter" library and other necessary modules ("filedialog" and "os").
• Define a function "browse_folder()" that opens a folder selection dialog using "filedialog.askdirectory()". If a folder is selected, it clears the 'Listbox'(folder_contents) and populates it with the contents of the selected folder using "os.listdir".
• Create the main window and set its title.
• Create a "Browse Folder" button that, when clicked, calls the "browse_folder()" function to select a folder.
• Create a Listbox (folder_contents) to display the folder's contents, allowing single selection (selectmode=tk.SINGLE).
• Create a scrollbar for the Listbox and configure it to work with the Listbox's y-axis scrolling.
• Finally, start the Tkinter main loop with "root.mainloop()".

Output:

Flowchart:

Python Code Editor:

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