Tkinter ttkbootstrap OptionMenu Widget Tutorial

The ttkbootstrap OptionMenu widget provides a stylish dropdown selection menu that integrates seamlessly with theme-aware color palettes (`bootstyle`) and tracking variables.

Tutorial Breakdown:

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

Part I: Basic OptionMenu Setup & Bootstyle Colors

We tracked selection using StringVar and used Pack layout manager.
OptionMenu supports bootstyle=SUCCESS to color-code dropdown toggle actions.

import ttkbootstrap as ttk
from ttkbootstrap.constants import *

def on_select(val):
    lbl_status.config(text=f"Selected Option: {val}")

app = ttk.Window(title="OptionMenu Demo", themename="flatly")
app.geometry("400x220")

selected_var = ttk.StringVar(value="Python")
options = ["Python", "JavaScript", "PHP", "C++"]

# OptionMenu widget with success bootstyle
opt_menu = ttk.OptionMenu(
    app,
    selected_var,
    "Python",
    *options,
    command=on_select,
    bootstyle=SUCCESS
)
opt_menu.pack(padx=20, pady=25, fill=X)

lbl_status = ttk.Label(app, text="Selected Option: Python", font=("Helvetica", 11, "bold"), bootstyle=INFO)
lbl_status.pack(padx=20, pady=10)

app.mainloop()

Part II: Live Dynamic Theme Switcher

We used StringVar to track themes and used Grid layout manager.
Selecting theme radio buttons applies runtime updates across the application window 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="OptionMenu Theme Switcher", themename="superhero")
app.geometry("460x260")

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)

opt_widget = ttk.OptionMenu(app, ttk.StringVar(value="Option A"), "Option A", "Option A", "Option B", "Option C", bootstyle=WARNING)
opt_widget.grid(row=2, column=0, columnspan=4, padx=15, pady=20, sticky="ew")

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 Selected Option)

We used SQLite database and SQLAlchemy to persist the selected choice.
Upon startup, the OptionMenu loads its default value from SQLite and commits updates when saved.

1️⃣ Creating SQLite Table & Inserting Default Setting

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\preferences_db.db"
engine = create_engine(DATABASE_URL, echo=False)

with engine.connect() as connection:
    connection.execute(text("CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS preferences (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, pref_key TEXT UNIQUE NOT NULL, pref_value TEXT NOT NULL)"))
    
    result = connection.execute(text("SELECT COUNT(*) FROM preferences WHERE pref_key='preferred_language'"))
    if result.scalar() == 0:
        connection.execute(text("INSERT INTO preferences (pref_key, pref_value) VALUES ('preferred_language', 'Python')"))
        connection.commit()

print("Preferences database initial setup completed.")

2️⃣ Dynamic GUI Syncing OptionMenu with 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\preferences_db.db"
engine = create_engine(DATABASE_URL, echo=False)
connection = engine.connect()

def get_stored_preference():
    res = connection.execute(text("SELECT pref_value FROM preferences WHERE pref_key='preferred_language'"))
    row = res.fetchone()
    return row[0] if row else "Python"

def save_preference_db():
    val = opt_var.get()
    connection.execute(
        text("UPDATE preferences SET pref_value = :val WHERE pref_key='preferred_language'"),
        {"val": val}
    )
    connection.commit()
    lbl_status.config(text=f"Saved to DB: {val}")

root = ttk.Window(title="OptionMenu SQLite Sync", themename="flatly")
root.geometry("420x240")

init_val = get_stored_preference()
opt_var = ttk.StringVar(value=init_val)
choices = ["Python", "JavaScript", "PHP", "C++"]

opt_menu = ttk.OptionMenu(root, opt_var, init_val, *choices, bootstyle=PRIMARY)
opt_menu.pack(padx=20, pady=20, fill=X)

btn_save = ttk.Button(root, text="Save Preference", command=save_preference_db, bootstyle=SUCCESS)
btn_save.pack(pady=5)

lbl_status = ttk.Label(root, text=f"Loaded from DB: {init_val}", bootstyle=INFO, font=("Helvetica", 10))
lbl_status.pack(pady=10)

root.mainloop()
connection.close()

Part IV: Connecting to MySQL using SQLAlchemy

To connect your OptionMenu preference tracker to a centralized MySQL database server, update the SQLAlchemy connection string:

# SQLite Connection (Commented Out)
# DATABASE_URL = r"sqlite:///I:\My Drive\testing3\ttkbootstrap\preferences_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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