WxPython switch between multiple panels

Question

I am new to wxpython and working on my first app. I know there is a lot about this topic but I haven't seen anything helpful specificaly to my issue. I want to have more then two panels and switch like this

def switch(self, newactpanel) 
    self.actpanel.Hide()
    self.actpanel=newactpanel
    self.actpanel.Show()

So far this does not work. The app starts, the buttons appear but both panel views appear at once, or only one appears and I can not switch. How to build a def to switch between more panels?

Thank a lot for answers.

Here is my code:

import wx

ID_EXIT=200
ID_ADDKEYWORDS = 301
ID_WRITEINTERP = 302
h_frame = 750
w_frame = 325

class SubPanel(wx.Panel):
    """"""
    def __init__(self, parent):
        """Constructor"""
         wx.Panel.__init__(self, parent=parent)

class AddKeyWordsPanel(wx.Panel):
    def __init__(self, parent,size):
        wx.Panel.__init__ ( self, parent, id = wx.ID_ANY, pos = wx.DefaultPosition, size = size)
        panel1 = SubPanel(self)

        some_val = "Add KeyWords"
        something = wx.TextCtrl(panel1, -1,some_val, size=(h_frame,24), style=wx.TE_READONLY|wx.SIMPLE_BORDER|wx.TE_CENTRE)
        box = wx.BoxSizer(wx.VERTICAL)
        box.Add(panel1, 1, wx.EXPAND)

        self.SetAutoLayout(True)
        self.SetSizer(box)


class WritePanel(wx.Panel):
    def __init__(self, parent,size):
        wx.Panel.__init__ ( self, parent, id = wx.ID_ANY, pos = wx.DefaultPosition, size = size)
        panel1 = SubPanel(self)
        panel2 = SubPanel(self)
        panel3 = SubPanel(self)

        keys_val = self.GetKeyNames()
        keys = wx.TextCtrl(panel1, -1,keys_val, size=(h_frame,24), style=wx.TE_READONLY|wx.SIMPLE_BORDER|wx.TE_CENTRE)
        font = wx.Font(14, wx.DEFAULT, wx.NORMAL, wx.NORMAL)
        keys.SetFont(font)

        keywords1_val = self.GetKeyWords(keys_val)
        keywords1 = wx.TextCtrl(panel2, -1,keywords1_val, size=(h_frame,100), style=wx.TE_READONLY|wx.BORDER_NONE)

        txtentry_val = ""
        txtentry = wx.TextCtrl(panel3, -1, txtentry_val, size=(h_frame, 200))
        txtentry.SetBackgroundColour("WHITE")
        txtentry.SetInsertionPoint(0)

        box = wx.BoxSizer(wx.VERTICAL)
        box.Add(panel1, 3, wx.EXPAND)
        box.Add(panel2, 2, wx.EXPAND)
        box.Add(panel3, 1, wx.EXPAND)

        self.SetAutoLayout(True)
        self.SetSizer(box)



    def GetKeyNames(self):
        return "Blabla1"

    def GetKeyWords(self,keys):
        return "Blabla2"


class MainFrame(wx.Frame):
    def __init__(self, parent, ID, title):
        wx.Frame.__init__(self, parent, ID, title, size=(h_frame, w_frame))

        self.CreateStatusBar()

        menu= wx.Menu()
        menu.Append(ID_ADDKEYWORDS,"&Add KeyWords"," Add Keywords")
        menu.Append(ID_WRITEINTERP,"&Write Interpretations"," Write Interpretations")
        menu.Append(ID_EXIT,"E&xit"," Terminate the program")
        menuBar = wx.MenuBar()
        menuBar.Append(menu,"&Menu")
        self.SetMenuBar(menuBar)

        self.wrtpnl = WritePanel(self,(h_frame,w_frame))
        self.addkeywpnl = AddKeyWordsPanel(self,(h_frame,w_frame))

        self.panel = self.wrtpnl
        self.panel.Layout()

        wx.EVT_MENU(self, ID_ADDKEYWORDS, self.SwitchPanel(self.addkeywpnl))
        wx.EVT_MENU(self, ID_WRITEINTERP, self.SwitchPanel(self.wrtpnl))
        wx.EVT_MENU(self, ID_EXIT, self.OnExit)

        self.doiexit = wx.MessageDialog( self, " Exit - R U Sure? \n","GOING away ...", wx.YES_NO)




    def SwitchPanel(self,show_pnl):
        self.panel.Hide()
        self.panel = show_pnl
        self.panel.Layout()
        self.panel.Show()
        self.Layout()

    def OnExit(self,e):
        igot = self.doiexit.ShowModal()
        if igot == wx.ID_YES:
            self.Close(True)

app = None
app = wx.App()
frame = MainFrame(None, -1, "KeyWordTool")
frame.Show()
app.MainLoop()

Answer 1

Ok, I think I solved it with a combination of all three suggestions. It's not exactly what I wanted but very close. It works and this way I don't need to have a specific switch function for each button/panel. My solution is this:

    self.wrtpnl = WritePanel(self,(h_frame,w_frame))
    self.addkeywpnl = AddKeyWordsPanel(self,(h_frame,w_frame))

    self.pnldic = {ID_ADDKEYWORDS:self.addkeywpnl, ID_WRITEINTERP:self.wrtpnl}

    wx.EVT_MENU(self, ID_ADDKEYWORDS, self.SwitchPanel)
    wx.EVT_MENU(self, ID_WRITEINTERP, self.SwitchPanel)
    wx.EVT_MENU(self, ID_EXIT, self.OnExit)


def SwitchPanel(self,event):
    self.panel.Hide()
    self.panel = self.pnldic[event.GetId()]
    self.panel.Layout()
    self.panel.Show()
    self.Layout()

Thanks a lot for the ideas!

Answer 2

You do not require to pass both panel object while creating event for menu item.

wx.EVT_MENU(self, ID_ADDKEYWORDS, self.SwitchPanel)
wx.EVT_MENU(self, ID_WRITEINTERP, self.SwitchPanel)

Get menu item ID by using event.GetId() method to identify which panel to hide and show.

def SwitchPanel(self,event):
    self.panel.Hide()
    if event.GetId() == ID_ADDKEYWORDS:
        self.panel = self.addkeywpnl
    elif event.GetId() == ID_WRITEINTERP:
        self.panel = self.wrtpnl
    self.panel.Layout()
    self.panel.Show()
    self.Layout()

Answer 3

I actually wrote a tutorial on the topic some time ago. Here's the code:

import wx
import wx.grid as gridlib

########################################################################
class PanelOne(wx.Panel):
    """"""

    #----------------------------------------------------------------------
    def __init__(self, parent):
        """Constructor"""
        wx.Panel.__init__(self, parent=parent)
        txt = wx.TextCtrl(self)

########################################################################
class PanelTwo(wx.Panel):
    """"""

    #----------------------------------------------------------------------
    def __init__(self, parent):
        """Constructor"""
        wx.Panel.__init__(self, parent=parent)

        grid = gridlib.Grid(self)
        grid.CreateGrid(25,12)

        sizer = wx.BoxSizer(wx.VERTICAL)
        sizer.Add(grid, 0, wx.EXPAND)
        self.SetSizer(sizer)

########################################################################
class MyForm(wx.Frame):

    #----------------------------------------------------------------------
    def __init__(self):
        wx.Frame.__init__(self, None, wx.ID_ANY, 
                          "Panel Switcher Tutorial")

        self.panel_one = PanelOne(self)
        self.panel_two = PanelTwo(self)
        self.panel_two.Hide()

        self.sizer = wx.BoxSizer(wx.VERTICAL)
        self.sizer.Add(self.panel_one, 1, wx.EXPAND)
        self.sizer.Add(self.panel_two, 1, wx.EXPAND)
        self.SetSizer(self.sizer)


        menubar = wx.MenuBar()
        fileMenu = wx.Menu()
        switch_panels_menu_item = fileMenu.Append(wx.ID_ANY, 
                                                  "Switch Panels", 
                                                  "Some text")
        self.Bind(wx.EVT_MENU, self.onSwitchPanels, 
                  switch_panels_menu_item)
        menubar.Append(fileMenu, '&File')
        self.SetMenuBar(menubar)

    #----------------------------------------------------------------------
    def onSwitchPanels(self, event):
        """"""
        if self.panel_one.IsShown():
            self.SetTitle("Panel Two Showing")
            self.panel_one.Hide()
            self.panel_two.Show()
        else:
            self.SetTitle("Panel One Showing")
            self.panel_one.Show()
            self.panel_two.Hide()
        self.Layout()


# Run the program
if __name__ == "__main__":
    app = wx.App(False)
    frame = MyForm()
    frame.Show()
    app.MainLoop()

You might also want to take a look at using one of wxPython's "Book" controls, such as the wx.Notebook.

Answer 4

The trouble is that on the lines:

    wx.EVT_MENU(self, ID_ADDKEYWORDS, self.SwitchPanel(self.addkeywpnl))
    wx.EVT_MENU(self, ID_WRITEINTERP, self.SwitchPanel(self.wrtpnl))

you are calling the function SwitchPanel already. The result of the call is None (SwitchPanel does not return anything), so it is the same thing as if you did:

    wx.EVT_MENU(self, ID_ADDKEYWORDS, None)
    wx.EVT_MENU(self, ID_WRITEINTERP, None)

Probably the most understandable solution is:

    wx.EVT_MENU(self, ID_ADDKEYWORDS, self.SwitchPanel1)
    wx.EVT_MENU(self, ID_WRITEINTERP, self.SwitchPanel2)
    # [...]

def SwitchPanel1(self, evt):
    evt.Skip()
    self.SwitchPanel(self.addkeywpnl)

def SwitchPanel2(self, evt):
    evt.Skip()
    self.SwitchPanel(self.wrtpnl)