Tkinter is Python's de-facto standard GUI (Graphical User Interface) package. It is a thin object-oriented layer on top of Tcl/[http://sourceforge.net/projects/tktoolkit/ Tk].

Tkinter is not the only GuiProgramming toolkit for Python. It is however the most commonly used one, and almost the only one that is portable between Unix, Mac and Windows. CameronLaird calls the yearly decision to keep TkInter "one of the minor traditions of the Python world."

The Tkinter wiki: http://tkinter.unpythonic.net/wiki/

Tkinter Documentation

• [http://www.pythonware.com/library/index.htm An Introduction To Tkinter] (online) by FredrikLundh

• [http://infohost.nmt.edu/tcc/help/pubs/tkinter/ Tkinter reference: a GUI for Python] (online or [http://infohost.nmt.edu/tcc/help/pubs/tkinter/tkinter.pdf pdf]) by John W. Shipman, New Mexico Tech Computer Center

• [wiki:1884777813 Python and Tkinter Programming] by John Grayson (see also GuiBooks)

• [http://www.astro.washington.edu/owen/TkinterSummary.html Tkinter Summary]

• [http://www.astro.washington.edu/owen/ROTKFolklore.html Tkinter Folklore]

David McNab recommended the latter two as particularly "pythonic" in not insisting that readers think in Tcl.

• [http://www.ferg.org/thinking_in_tkinter/index.html Thinking in Tkinter] is an introduction to some basic Tkinter programming concepts.

• [http://docs.python.org/lib/tkinter.html Graphical User Interfaces with Tk], a chapter from the [http://docs.python.org/lib/lib.html Python Library Reference]..

• [http://www.tcl.tk/man/ Online Tcl/Tk Manual Pages] - the official man pages at the Tcl Developer Xchange.

• The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology created its own Tkinter manual. It is available in [http://www.nmt.edu/tcc/help/pubs/tkinter/ HTML] and [http://www.nmt.edu/tcc/help/pubs/tkinter.pdf PDF].

• The Tkinter Life Preserver, by Matt Conway is still useful, though way out of date. It's the only document that explains how to read the Tcl/Tk manuals and translate the information there to Tkinter calls. [http://python.fyxm.net/doc/life-preserver/index.html HTML version], converted by Ken Manheimer.

• The source: when all else fails: Read The Source, Luke!

  • Demo/tkinter/ in the Python source distribution.

    • This contains many helpful examples, including updated versions of Matt Conway's examples.

  • Lib/lib-tk/Tkinter.py in any Python distribution.

• Other prominent Tcl/Tk sites:

  • [http://www.tcl.tk Tcl Developer Xchange]

  • [http://sourceforge.net/projects/tcl Tcl project at SourceForge]

  • [http://sourceforge.net/foundry/tcl-foundry Tcl foundry at SourceForge]

Tkinter Extensions

• ["Pmw"] (http://pmw.sourceforge.net)

• ["Tix"] (http://www.python.org/doc/current/lib/module-Tix.html)

• ["TkZinc"] (http://www.tkzinc.org)

• ["Tkinter3000"] (http://tkinter.effbot.org)

• ["How Tkinter can exploit Tcl/Tk extensions"]

Comments

MythDebunking: TkInter is ugly on Windows (http://wiki.tcl.tk/TkWidgetsLookFine)

Checking your Tkinter support

A good way to systematically check whether your Tkinter support is working is the following.

Enter an interactive Python interpreter in a shell on an X console.

Step 1 - can _tkinter be imported?

Try the following command at the Python prompt:

>>> import _tkinter # with underscore, and lowercase 't'

• If it works, skip to the next step.
• If it fails with "No module named _tkinter", your Python configuration needs to be modified to include this module (which is an extension module implemented in C). Do **not** edit Modules/Setup (it is out of date). You may have to install Tcl and Tk (when using RPM, install the -devel RPMs as well) and/or edit the setup.py script to point to the right locations where Tcl/Tk is installed. If you install Tcl/Tk in the default locations, simply rerunning "make" should build the _tkinter extension.
• If it fails with an error from the dynamic linker, see above (for Unix, check for a header/library file mismatch; for Windows, check that the TCL/TK DLLs can be found).

Step 2 - can Tkinter be imported?

Try the following command at the Python prompt:

>>> import Tkinter # no underscore, uppercase 'T'

• If it works, skip to the next step.
• If it fails with "No module named Tkinter", your Python configuration need to be changed to include the directory that contains Tkinter.py in its default module search path. You have probably forgotten to define TKPATH in the Modules/Setup file. A temporary workaround would be to find that directory and add it to your PYTHONPATH environment variable. It is the subdirectory named "lib-tk" of the Python library directory (when using Python 1.4 or before, it is named "tkinter").

Step 3 - does Tkinter work?

Try the following command at the Python prompt:

>>> Tkinter._test() # note underscore in _test()

• This should pop up a small window with two buttons. Clicking the "Quit" button makes it go away and the command return. If this works, you're all set. (When running this test on Windows, from Python run in a MS-DOS console, the new window somehow often pops up *under* the console window. Move it aside or locate the Tk window in the Taskbar.)

• If this doesn't work, study the error message you get; if you can't see how to fix the problem, [news:comp.lang.python ask for help].