Tkinter ttkbootstrap Labelframe Widget Tutorial

The ttkbootstrap Labelframe widget extends standard Tkinter container frames by adding a labeled title border and theme-aware color palettes (`bootstyle`) to group related form controls cleanly.

Tutorial Breakdown:

• Part I: Basic Labelframe Container Setup & Bootstyle Colors (`pack` Manager)
• Part II: Live Dynamic Theme Switcher (Flatly, Superhero, Cosmo, Darkly)
• Part III: SQLite Database Integration (Saving Container Configuration via SQLAlchemy)
• Part IV: Connecting to MySQL using SQLAlchemy

Part I: Basic Labelframe Container Setup & Bootstyle Colors

We grouped widgets inside containers and used Pack layout manager.
Labelframe supports bootstyle=PRIMARY and bootstyle=SUCCESS to color-code border frames.

import ttkbootstrap as ttk
from ttkbootstrap.constants import *

app = ttk.Window(title="Labelframe Bootstyle Demo", themename="flatly")
app.geometry("420x260")

# Labelframe container with primary bootstyle border
lf = ttk.Labelframe(app, text="User Login Credentials", padding=20, bootstyle=PRIMARY)
lf.pack(padx=20, pady=20, fill=BOTH, expand=True)

lbl_user = ttk.Label(lf, text="Username: admin_user", font=("Helvetica", 10))
lbl_user.pack(anchor="w", pady=5)

lbl_role = ttk.Label(lf, text="Access Level: Superuser", font=("Helvetica", 10), bootstyle=SUCCESS)
lbl_role.pack(anchor="w", pady=5)

app.mainloop()

Part II: Live Dynamic Theme Switcher

We used StringVar to track active themes and used Grid layout manager.
Selecting theme radio buttons triggers live style updates across container frames via app.style.theme_use().

import ttkbootstrap as ttk
from ttkbootstrap.constants import *

def change_theme():
    selected_theme = theme_var.get()
    app.style.theme_use(selected_theme)
    label_info.config(text=f"Active Theme: {selected_theme}")

app = ttk.Window(title="Labelframe Theme Switcher", themename="superhero")
app.geometry("460x300")

theme_var = ttk.StringVar(value="superhero")
themes = ["cosmo", "flatly", "superhero", "darkly"]

lbl_title = ttk.Label(app, text="Select Application Theme:", font=("Helvetica", 11, "bold"))
lbl_title.grid(row=0, column=0, columnspan=4, padx=15, pady=10, sticky="w")

for idx, t_name in enumerate(themes):
    rb = ttk.Radiobutton(
        app,
        text=t_name.capitalize(),
        value=t_name,
        variable=theme_var,
        command=change_theme,
        bootstyle="outline-toolbutton"
    )
    rb.grid(row=1, column=idx, padx=5, pady=5)

lf_widget = ttk.Labelframe(app, text="Container Panel", padding=15, bootstyle=WARNING)
lf_widget.grid(row=2, column=0, columnspan=4, padx=15, pady=15, sticky="ew")

lbl_inner = ttk.Label(lf_widget, text="Frame adjusts dynamically to active theme palette.", font=("Helvetica", 10))
lbl_inner.pack(anchor="w")

label_info = ttk.Label(app, text="Active Theme: superhero", bootstyle=SUCCESS, font=("Helvetica", 10))
label_info.grid(row=3, column=0, columnspan=4, padx=15, pady=5)

app.mainloop()

Part III: SQLite Database Integration (Saving Container Title & State)

We used SQLite database and SQLAlchemy to persist panel properties.
Upon startup, the Labelframe loads its header title directly from database records.

1️⃣ Creating SQLite Table & Inserting Container Record

from sqlalchemy import create_engine, text

# Use raw strings r"..." to prevent Unicode escape errors in Windows paths
DATABASE_URL = r"sqlite:///I:\My Drive\testing3\ttkbootstrap\containers_db.db"
engine = create_engine(DATABASE_URL, echo=False)

with engine.connect() as connection:
    connection.execute(text("CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS frames (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, frame_key TEXT UNIQUE NOT NULL, frame_title TEXT NOT NULL)"))
    
    result = connection.execute(text("SELECT COUNT(*) FROM frames WHERE frame_key='main_panel'"))
    if result.scalar() == 0:
        connection.execute(text("INSERT INTO frames (frame_key, frame_title) VALUES ('main_panel', 'Authorized Personnel Portal')"))
        connection.commit()

print("Containers database initial setup completed.")

2️⃣ Dynamic GUI Rendering Labelframe Title from SQLite via SQLAlchemy

import ttkbootstrap as ttk
from ttkbootstrap.constants import *
from sqlalchemy import create_engine, text

DATABASE_URL = r"sqlite:///I:\My Drive\testing3\ttkbootstrap\containers_db.db"
engine = create_engine(DATABASE_URL, echo=False)
connection = engine.connect()

def get_stored_title():
    res = connection.execute(text("SELECT frame_title FROM frames WHERE frame_key='main_panel'"))
    row = res.fetchone()
    return row[0] if row else "Default Panel"

root = ttk.Window(title="Labelframe SQLite Sync", themename="flatly")
root.geometry("440x240")

panel_title = get_stored_title()

lf_db = ttk.Labelframe(root, text=panel_title, padding=20, bootstyle=SUCCESS)
lf_db.pack(padx=20, pady=20, fill=BOTH, expand=True)

lbl_info = ttk.Label(lf_db, text="Labelframe title loaded successfully from SQLite.", font=("Helvetica", 10), bootstyle=INFO)
lbl_info.pack(anchor="w")

root.mainloop()
connection.close()

Part IV: Connecting to MySQL using SQLAlchemy

To connect your Labelframe database application to a centralized MySQL database server, update the SQLAlchemy connection string:

# SQLite Connection (Commented Out)
# DATABASE_URL = r"sqlite:///I:\My Drive	esting3	tkbootstrap\containers_db.db"

# MySQL Connection string using PyMySQL
DATABASE_URL = "mysql+pymysql://username:password@localhost/student_db"

engine = create_engine(DATABASE_URL, echo=False)

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Subhendu Mohapatra

Author & Instructor at plus2net

I write and maintain practical tutorials on Python, PHP, SQL, JavaScript, HTML, jQuery, and web development at plus2net. The tutorials focus on clear explanations, working examples, and code that readers can test and adapt while learning.

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