TTKBootstrap FontDialog: Select and Apply Fonts in Your Application

The FontDialog in ttkbootstrap is a versatile tool that enhances user experience by allowing dynamic font customization within applications. This dialog enables users to select font families, styles, and sizes, providing flexibility and personalization.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction to FontDialog
• Implementing FontDialog in Your Application
• Extracting Font Details from TTKBootstrap FontDialog
• Use Cases for FontDialog
• Handling User Selections and Edge Cases
• Conclusion

Introduction to FontDialog 🔝

The FontDialog is a modal dialog that presents various font options to the user. Upon selection, it returns a Font object that can be applied to any widget supporting font configurations. This functionality is particularly useful in applications requiring user input customization, such as text editors or design tools.

Implementing FontDialog in Your Application 🔝

To integrate the FontDialog into your ttkbootstrap application, follow these steps:

1. Import Necessary Modules:

from tkinter import *
import ttkbootstrap as tb
from ttkbootstrap.dialogs import FontDialog

2. Define a Function to Open the Font Dialog:

def open_font_dialog():
    fd = FontDialog()
    fd.show()
    if fd.result:
        label.config(font=fd.result)

3. Set Up the Main Application Window:

root = tb.Window(themename="superhero")
root.title("Font Dialog Example")
root.geometry("400x200")

4. Create Widgets and Bind the Font Dialog:

label = tb.Label(root, text="Sample Text")
label.pack(pady=20)

button = tb.Button(root, text="Choose Font", command=open_font_dialog)
button.pack(pady=10)

5. Run the Application Loop:

root.mainloop()

This implementation allows users to select a font, which is then applied to the label widget, updating its appearance dynamically.

from tkinter import *
import ttkbootstrap as tb
from ttkbootstrap.dialogs import FontDialog

def open_font_dialog():
    fd = FontDialog()
    fd.show()
    if fd.result:
        label.config(font=fd.result)

root = tb.Window(themename="superhero")
root.title("Font Dialog Example")
root.geometry("400x200")

label = tb.Label(root, text="Sample Text")
label.pack(pady=20)

button = tb.Button(root, text="Choose Font", command=open_font_dialog)
button.pack(pady=10)

root.mainloop()

Extracting Font Details from TTKBootstrap FontDialog 🔝

When using TTKBootstrap's FontDialog, the selected font is returned as a named font object (e.g., "font1"). However, we often need to extract details like font family, size, weight, slant, underline, and overstrike. The .actual() method helps retrieve these attributes.

Complete Code to Display Font Attributes

from tkinter import *
import ttkbootstrap as tb
from ttkbootstrap.dialogs import FontDialog

def open_font_dialog():
    fd = FontDialog()
    fd.show()
    if fd.result:
        label.config(font=fd.result)
        font_details = fd.result.actual()  # Extract font properties
        
        print("Font Family:", font_details["family"])
        print("Font Size:", font_details["size"])
        print("Weight (Bold/Normal):", font_details["weight"])
        print("Slant (Italic/Normal):", font_details["slant"])
        print("Underline:", font_details["underline"])
        print("Overstrike:", font_details["overstrike"])

root = tb.Window(themename="superhero")
root.title("Font Dialog Example")
root.geometry("400x200")

label = tb.Label(root, text="Sample Text")
label.pack(pady=20)

button = tb.Button(root, text="Choose Font", command=open_font_dialog)
button.pack(pady=10)

root.mainloop()

Explanation of fd.result.actual() Output

• family → Font name (e.g., "Arial", "Times New Roman")
• size → Font size (integer)
• weight → "bold" or "normal"
• slant → "italic" or "roman"
• underline → 1 (True) or 0 (False)
• overstrike → 1 (True) or 0 (False)

Example Console Output

Font Family: Arial
Font Size: 12
Weight (Bold/Normal): normal
Slant (Italic/Normal): roman
Underline: 0
Overstrike: 0

Function to Open Font Dialog and Display Font Properties

This function allows users to select a font using the FontDialog. Once a font is chosen, it updates the label and prints the font properties as a dictionary.

def open_font_dialog():
    # Create and display the FontDialog
    fd = FontDialog()
    fd.show()

    # Check if a font is selected
    if fd.result:
        # Apply the selected font to the label
        label.config(font=fd.result)

        # Extract font properties as a dictionary
        font_details = fd.result.actual()

        # Iterate through key-value pairs and print them
        for key, value in font_details.items():
            print(key, '=>', value)  # Display font attributes and values
    

Explanation

• fd = FontDialog(): Creates an instance of FontDialog.
• fd.show(): Opens the font selection dialog.
• fd.result: Stores the selected font.
• label.config(font=fd.result): Applies the selected font to the label.
• fd.result.actual(): Returns a dictionary with font properties.
• for key, value in font_details.items(): Loops through the dictionary by using items() and prints each font property.

Example Console Output

family => Arial
size => 12
weight => normal
slant => roman
underline => 0
overstrike => 0

Use Case

This function helps in dynamically selecting and applying fonts in a GUI application while also displaying the selected font attributes for debugging or logging purposes.

Key Takeaways

• Use fd.result to apply the selected font.
• Call fd.result.actual() to extract detailed font attributes.
• Customize the output based on user selections.

Use Cases for FontDialog 🔝

• Text Editors: Enable users to customize the font of their documents, enhancing readability and personalization.
• Design Applications: Allow designers to experiment with different fonts, aiding in the creation of visually appealing content.
• Accessibility Features: Provide options for users with visual impairments to select fonts that improve legibility.
• Educational Tools: Let educators and students choose fonts that suit their preferences, facilitating a better learning experience.

Handling User Selections and Edge Cases 🔝

It's crucial to manage user interactions with the FontDialog effectively:

Detecting Dialog Closure:

fd.show()
if fd.result:
    widget.config(font=fd.result)

Applying the Selected Font:

if fd.result:
    widget.config(font=fd.result)

Handling Cancellations:

if fd.result:
    widget.config(font=fd.result)
else:
    print("No font selected.")

Proper handling of user interactions ensures a robust and user-friendly application.

Conclusion 🔝

Integrating the FontDialog from ttkbootstrap into your application enhances user experience by offering customizable font selections. This feature is particularly valuable in applications where text presentation is crucial. By following the implementation steps and considering various use cases, you can effectively incorporate font customization into your projects.

Note: Ensure you have the latest version of ttkbootstrap installed to access the FontDialog feature.