Python Tkinter text editor app with file operations

Last update on August 19 2025 11:25:23 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

Write a Python Tkinter application with a text widget that lets users edit and save text files. Include options to create, open, and save files.

Sample Solution:

Python Code:

import tkinter as tk
from tkinter import filedialog

class TextEditorApp:
    def __init__(self, root):
        self.root = root
        self.root.title("Text Editor")

        # Create a Text widget
        self.text_widget = tk.Text(root)
        self.text_widget.pack(fill=tk.BOTH, expand=True)

        # Create a Menu bar
        menubar = tk.Menu(root)
        root.config(menu=menubar)

        # File Menu
        file_menu = tk.Menu(menubar, tearoff=0)
        menubar.add_cascade(label="File", menu=file_menu)
        file_menu.add_command(label="New", command=self.new_file)
        file_menu.add_command(label="Open", command=self.open_file)
        file_menu.add_command(label="Save", command=self.save_file)
        file_menu.add_separator()
        file_menu.add_command(label="Exit", command=root.destroy)

        # Initialize file path
        self.file_path = None

    def new_file(self):
        # Clear the Text widget
        self.text_widget.delete(1.0, tk.END)
        # Reset the file path
        self.file_path = None

    def open_file(self):
        file_path = filedialog.askopenfilename(filetypes=[("Text Files", "*.txt"), ("All Files", "*.*")])
        if file_path:
            with open(file_path, "r") as file:
                content = file.read()
                self.text_widget.delete(1.0, tk.END)
                self.text_widget.insert(tk.END, content)
            self.file_path = file_path

    def save_file(self):
        if self.file_path:
            content = self.text_widget.get(1.0, tk.END)
            with open(self.file_path, "w") as file:
                file.write(content)
        else:
            self.save_file_as()

    def save_file_as(self):
        file_path = filedialog.asksaveasfilename(defaultextension=".txt", filetypes=[("Text Files", "*.txt"), ("All Files", "*.*")])
        if file_path:
            content = self.text_widget.get(1.0, tk.END)
            with open(file_path, "w") as file:
                file.write(content)
            self.file_path = file_path

if __name__ == "__main__":
    root = tk.Tk()
    app = TextEditorApp(root)
    root.mainloop()

Explanation:

In the exercise above -

Import the "tkinter" library to create a graphical user interface (GUI).
Create a class "TextEditorApp" to represent our text editor application.
In the init method, initialize the main application window (root) and set its title to "Text Editor."
Create a 'Text' widget called 'text_widget', which is a multi-line text area where users can edit and view text.
Create a menu bar (menubar) to hold our file-related operations.
In the "File" menu, we create options for "New," "Open," "Save," and "Exit." These options are linked to methods that perform the corresponding actions.
Initialize a variable 'self.file_path' to keep track of the currently opened or saved file's path. It starts as 'None' to indicate that there's no file associated with the editor yet.
The "new_file()" method clears the 'Text' widget and resets the 'self.file_path' to None.
The "open_file()" method opens a file dialog, allowing the user to select and open an existing text file. The file's content is read and displayed in the 'Text' widget.
The "save_file()" method saves the current content in the 'Text' widget to the file specified by 'self.file_path'. If 'self.file_path' is None (i.e., a new file), it calls the "save_file_as()" method.
The "save_file_as()" method opens a file dialog, allowing the user to specify a file path to save the content. It then writes the content to the chosen file and updates 'self.file_path'.
In the if name == "__main__": block, start the Tkinter main loop with "root.mainloop()".