Web Analytics Made Easy - Statcounter
Skip to content

Removed

Looking for a GUI package?

Are you

  • looking to take your Python code from the world of command lines and into the convenience of a GUI?
  • sitting on a Raspberry Pi with a touchscreen that's going to waste because you don't have the time to learn a GUI SDK?
  • into Machine Learning and are sick of the command line?
  • an IT guy/gal that has written some cool tools but due to corporate policies are unable to share unless it is an EXE file?
  • wanting to share your program with your friends or families (that aren't so freakish that they have Python running)
  • wanting to run a program in your system tray?
  • a teacher wanting to teach your students how to program using a GUI?
  • a student that wants to put a GUI onto your project that will blow away your teacher?
  • looking for a GUI package that is "supported" and is being constantly developed to improve it?
  • longing for documentation and scores of examples?

Look no further, you've found your GUI package.

The Basics

  • Create windows that look and operate identically to those created directly with tkinter, Qt, WxPython, and Remi.
  • Requires 1/2 to 1/10th the amount of code as underlying frameworks.
  • One afternoon is all that is required to learn the PySimpleGUI package and write your first custom GUI.
  • Students can begin using within their first week of Python education.
  • No callback functions. You do not need to write the word class anywhere in your code.
  • Access to nearly every underlying GUI Framework's Widgets.
  • Supports both Python 2.7 & 3 when using tkinter.
  • Supports both PySide2 and PyQt5 (limited support).
  • Effortlessly move across tkinter, Qt, WxPython, and the Web (Remi) by changing only the import statement.
  • The only way to write both desktop and web-based GUIs at the same time in Python.
  • Developed from nothing as a pure Python implementation with Python friendly interfaces.
  • Run your program in the System Tray using WxPython. Or, change the import and run it on Qt with no other changes.
  • Works with Qt Designer.
  • Built in Debugger.
  • Actively maintained and enhanced - 4 ports are underway, all being used by users.
  • Corporate as well as home users.
  • Appealing to both newcomers to Python and experienced Pythonistas.
  • The focus is entirely on the developer (you) and making their life easier, simplified, and in control.
  • 170+ Demo Programs teach you how to integrate with many popular packages like OpenCV, Matplotlib, PyGame, etc.
  • 200 pages of documentation, a Cookbook, and built-in help using docstrings. In short it's heavily documented.

GUI Development does not have to be difficult nor painful. It can be (and is) FUN

Features

While simple to use, PySimpleGUI has significant depth to be explored by more advanced programmers. The feature set goes way beyond the requirements of a beginner programmer, and into the required features needed for complex multi-windowed GUIs.

The SIMPLE part of PySimpleGUI is how much effort you expend to write a GUI, not the complexity of the program you are able to create. It's literally "simple" to do... and it is not limited to simple problems.

Features of PySimpleGUI include:

  • Support for Python versions 2.7 and 3
  • Text
  • Single Line Input
  • Buttons including these types:
    • File Browse
    • Files Browse
    • Folder Browse
    • SaveAs
    • Normal button that returns event
    • Close window
    • Realtime
    • Calendar chooser
    • Color chooser
    • Button Menu
  • TTK Buttons or "normal" TK Buttons
  • Checkboxes
  • Radio Buttons
  • Listbox
  • Option Menu
  • Menubar
  • Button Menu
  • Slider
  • Spinner
  • Dial
  • Graph
  • Frame with title
  • Icons
  • Multi-line Text Input
  • Scroll-able Output
  • Images
  • Tables
  • Trees
  • Progress Bar Async/Non-Blocking Windows
  • Tabbed windows
  • Paned windows
  • Persistent Windows
  • Multiple Windows - Unlimited number of windows can be open at the same time
  • Redirect Python Output/Errors to scrolling window
  • 'Higher level' APIs (e.g. MessageBox, YesNobox, ...)
  • Single-Line-Of-Code Progress Bar & Debug Print
  • Complete control of colors, look and feel
  • Selection of pre-defined palettes
  • Button images
  • Horizontal and Vertical Separators
  • Return values as dictionary
  • Set focus
  • Bind return key to buttons
  • Group widgets into a column and place into window anywhere
  • Scrollable columns
  • Keyboard low-level key capture
  • Mouse scroll-wheel support
  • Get Listbox values as they are selected
  • Get slider, spinner, combo as they are changed
  • Update elements in a live window
  • Bulk window-fill operation
  • Save / Load window to/from disk
  • Borderless (no titlebar) windows (very classy looking)
  • Always on top windows
  • Menus with ALT-hotkey
  • Right click pop-up menu
  • Tooltips
  • Clickable text
  • Transparent windows
  • Movable windows
  • Animated GIFs
  • No async programming required (no callbacks to worry about)
  • Built-in debugger and REPL
  • User expandable by accessing underlying GUI Framework widgets directly
  • Exec APIs - wrapper for subprocessing and threading
  • UserSettings APIs - wrapper for JSON and INI files

Polishing Your Windows = Building "Beautiful Windows"

And STILL the Zen of Python fits:

Beautiful is better than ugly.

but this fits too:

Although practicality beats purity.

Find a balance that works for you.

"But tkinter sucks" "It looks like the 1990s" (this one is often said by people that were not alive in the 1990s) "What Python GUI SDK will make my window look beautiful?" (posted to Reddit at least every 2 weeks)

These windows below were ALL made using PySimpleGUI, the tkinter version and they look good enough to not be simply scoffed at and dismissed. Remember, developer, you have a rather significant hand in how your application looks and operates. You certainly cannot pin it all on the GUIs you're using.

So many posts on Reddit asking which GUI is going to result in a "beautiful window", as if there's a magic GUI library that pretties things up for you. There are some calls in PySimpleGUI that will help you. For example, you can make a single call to "Chang the look and feel" which loads predefined color pallets so your windows can have some instant color and it matches.

Beautiful windows are created, not simply given to you. There are people that design and create artwork for user interfaces, you know that right? Artists draw buttons, artwork that you include in the window to make it nicer.

Some of these have been "polished", others like the Matplotlib example is more a functional example to show you it works.

batterup

Uno

This chess program is capable of running multiple AI chess engines and was written by another user using PySimpleGUI.

image

This downloader can download files as well as YouTube videos and metadata. If you're worried about multiple windows working, don't. Worried your project is "too much" or "too complex" for PySimpleGUI? Do an initial assessment if you want. Check out what others have done.

Your program have 2 or 3 windows and you're concerned? Below you'll see 11 windows open, each running independently with multiple tabs per window and progress meters that are all being updated concurrently.

concurrent_windows

pyplot 1

Just because you can't match a pair of socks doesn't mean your windows have to all look the same gray color. Choose from over 100 different "Themes". Add 1 line call to theme to instantly transform your window from gray to something more visually pleasing to interact with. If you misspell the theme name badly or specify a theme name is is missing from the table of allowed names, then a theme will be randomly assigned for you. Who knows, maybe the theme chosen you'll like and want to use instead of your original plan.

In PySimpleGUI release 4.6 the number of themes was dramatically increased from a couple dozen to over 100. To use the color schemes shown in the window below, add a call to theme('Theme Name) to your code, passing in the name of the desired color theme. To see this window and the list of available themes on your release of software, call the function theme_previewer(). This will create a window with the frames like those below. It will shows you exactly what's available in your version of PySimpleGUI.

In release 4.9 another 32 Color Themes were added... here are the current choices

Dec 2019 Look And Feel Themes

Make beautiful looking, alpha-blended (partially transparent) Rainmeter-style Desktop Widgets that run in the background.

cpumeter

Want to build a Crossword Puzzle? No problem, the drawing primitives are there for you.

snag-0185

There are built-in drawing primitives

snag-0168

Frame from integration with a YOLO Machine Learning program that does object identification in realtime while allowing the user to adjust the algorithms settings using the sliders under the image. This level of interactivity with an AI algorithm is still unusual to find due to difficulty of merging the technologies of AI and GUI. It's no longer difficult. This program is under 200 lines of code.

snag-0278

Pi Windows

Perhaps you're looking for a way to interact with your Raspberry Pi in a more friendly way. Your PySimpleGUI code will run on a Pi with no problem. Tkinter is alive and well on the Pi platform. Here is a selection of some of the Elements shown on the Pi. You get the same Elements on the Pi as you do Windows and Linux.

raspberry pi everything demo

You can add custom artwork to make it look nice, like the Demo Program - Weather Forecast shown in this image:

weather pi

weather alone

One thing to be aware of with Pi Windows, you cannot make them semi-transparent. This means that the Window.Disappear method will not work. Your window will not disappear. Setting the Alpha Channel will have no effect.

Don't forget that you can use custom artwork anywhere, including on the Pi. The weather application looks beautiful on the Pi. Notice there are no buttons or any of the normal looking Elements visible. It's possible to build nice looking applications, even on the lower-end platforms.

Games

It's possible to create some cool games by simply using the built-in PySimpleGUI graphic primitives' like those used in this game of pong. PyGame can also be embedded into a PySimpleGUI window and code is provided to you demonstrating how. There is also a demonstration of using the pymunk physics package that can also be used for games.

Games haven't not been explored much, yet, using PySimpleGUI.

pong

What users are saying about PySimpleGUI

(None of these comments were solicited & were not paid endorsements - other than a huge thank-you they received!)

"I've been working to learn PyQT for the past week in my off time as an intro to GUI design and how to apply it to my existing scripts... Took me ~30 minutes to figure out PySimpleGUI and get my scripts working with a GUI."

"Python has been an absolute nightmare for me and I've avoided it like the plague. Until I saw PySimpleGUI."

"I've been pretty amazed at how much more intuitive it is than raw tk/qt. The dude developing it is super active on the project too, so if you come across situations that you just can't get the code to do what you want you can make bug/enhancement issues that are almost assured to get a meaningful response."

"This library is the easiest way of GUI programming in python! I'm totally in love with it"

"Wow that readme is extensive and great." (hear the love for docs often)

"Coming from R, Python is absolutely slick for GUIs. PySimpleGUI is a dream."

"I have been writing Python programs for about 4 or 5 months now. Up until this week, I never had luck with any UI libraries like Tkinter, Qt and Kivy. I went from not even being able to load a window in Tkinter reliably to making a loading screen, and full program in one night with PySimpleGUI."

"I love PySimpleGUI! I've been teaching it in my Python classes instead of Tkinter."

"I wish PySimpleGUI was available for every friggin programming language"

Homepage - Lastest Readme and Code - GitHub Easy to remember: PySimpleGUI.com

Announcements of Latest Developments, Release news, Misc

COOKBOOK!

Trinket an online Cookbook

Brief Tutorial

Latest Demos and Master Branch on GitHub

Repl.it Home for PySimpleGUI

Lots of screenshots

How to submit an Issue

The YouTube videos - If you like instructional videos, there are over 15 videos made by PySimpleGUI project over the first 18 months. In 2020 a new series was begun. As of May 2020 there are 12 videos completed so far with many more to go.... - PySimpleGUI 2020 - The most up to date information about PySimpleGUI - 5 part series of basics - 10 part series of more detail - The Naked Truth (An update on the technology) - There are numerous short videos also on that channel that demonstrate PySimpleGUI being used

YouTube Videos made by others. These have much higher production values than the above videos.

The Documentation System

https://www.pysimplegui.org (this website) hosts the documentation of PySimpleGUI. The tabs at the top of the page link to various sections.

The Home tab is the main documentation. Every aspect of the project is explained here.
The Call Reference is documentation taken from the code of the module itself. The module's classes and functions are outlined in this section.
The Cookbook contains various examples that might be helpful to you.
The eCookbook contains further examples, but are included as interactive versions in Trinkets.
The Demo Screenshots is a page allowing you to visually see what the PySimpleGUI Demo Programs produce.
The GitHub Readme provides a copy of the README file that is hosted on the project's GitHub page.

If you are a professional or skilled in how to develop software, then you understand the role of documentation in the world of technology development. Use it, please.

It WILL be required, at times, for you to read or search this document in order to be successful.

Using Stack Overflow and other sites to post your questions has resulted in advice given by a lot of users that have never looked at the package and are sometimes just flat bad advice. When possible, post an Issue on this GitHub. Definitely go through the Issue checklist. Take a look through the docs again.

There are 5 resources that work together to provide you with the fastest path to success. They are:

  1. This User's Manual
  2. The Cookbook
  3. The 170+ Demo Programs
  4. Docstrings enable you to access help directly from Python or your IDE
  5. Searching the GitHub Issues as a last resort (search both open and closed issues)

Pace yourself. The initial progress is exciting and FAST PACED. However, GUIs take time and thought to build. Take a deep breath and use the provided materials and you'll do fine. Don't skip the design phase of your GUI after you run some demos and get the hang of things. If you've tried other GUI frameworks before, successful or not, then you know you're already way ahead of the game using PySimpleGUI versus the underlying GUI frameworks. It may feel like the 3 days you've been working on your code has been forever, but by comparison of 3 days learning Qt, PySimpleGUI will look trivial to learn.

It is not by accident that this section, about documentation, is at the TOP of this document.

This documentation is not HUGE in length for a package this size. In fact it's still one document and it's the readme for the GitHub. It's not written in complex English. It is understandable by complete beginners. And pressing Control+F is all you need to do to search this document. USUALLY you'll find less than 6 matches.

Documentation and Demos Get Out of Date

Sometimes the documentation doesn't match exactly the version of the code you're running. Sometimes demo programs haven't been updated to match a change made to the SDK. Things don't happen simultaneously generally speaking. So, it may very well be that you find an error or inconsistency or something no longer works with the latest version of an external library.

If you've found one of these problems, and you've searched to make sure it's not a simple mistake on your part, then by ALL means log an Issue on the GitHub. Don't be afraid to report problems if you've taken the simple steps of checking out the docs first.