User Defined Controls

Creating custom wxPython controls for Pytigon's native GUI.

Creating a Custom Control

Extend SchBaseCtrl from guictrl.basectrl:

from pytigon_gui.guictrl.basectrl import SchBaseCtrl
import wx

class ColorPickerCtrl(SchBaseCtrl):
    """Custom color picker control."""

    def __init__(self, parent, **kwargs):
        super().__init__(parent, **kwargs)
        self._create_widgets()

    def _create_widgets(self):
        sizer = wx.BoxSizer(wx.HORIZONTAL)

        self.color_display = wx.Panel(self, size=(40, 40))
        self.color_display.SetBackgroundColour(wx.Colour(255, 0, 0))
        sizer.Add(self.color_display, 0, wx.ALL, 5)

        self.pick_btn = wx.Button(self, label="Pick...")
        self.pick_btn.Bind(wx.EVT_BUTTON, self._on_pick)
        sizer.Add(self.pick_btn, 0, wx.ALL, 5)

        self.SetSizer(sizer)

    def _on_pick(self, event):
        dialog = wx.ColourDialog(self, wx.ColourData())
        if dialog.ShowModal() == wx.ID_OK:
            color = dialog.GetColourData().GetColour()
            self.set_value(color)
            self.color_display.SetBackgroundColour(color)
            self.color_display.Refresh()
            self.fire_event('color_changed', color=color)

    def get_value(self):
        return self.color_display.GetBackgroundColour()

    def set_value(self, color):
        self.color_display.SetBackgroundColour(color)
        self.color_display.Refresh()

## Registering the Control

Register with the control factory so it can be used in tag definitions:

```python
from pytigon_gui.guictrl.factory import register_control

register_control('colorpicker', ColorPickerCtrl)

Now you can use it in tag syntax:

<colorpicker field="bg_color" on_change="update_preview" />

Control Patterns

Attribute Handling

Override set_attr() to handle tag attributes:

def set_attr(self, name, value):
    if name == 'alpha':
        self.alpha_enabled = value
    else:
        super().set_attr(name, value)

Event System

Fire custom events that bubble up through the control tree:

self.fire_event('value_changed', old_value=old, new_value=new)

Layout Integration

Use wxPython sizers for automatic layout:

sizer = wx.BoxSizer(wx.VERTICAL)
sizer.Add(self.child1, 1, wx.EXPAND)
sizer.Add(self.child2, 0, wx.ALIGN_CENTER)
self.SetSizer(sizer)

Data Binding

Connect to Pytigon's data binding system:

# Control updates model
def on_change(self):
    self.set_field_value(self.field_name, self.get_value())

# Model updates control
def refresh_from_model(self):
    value = self.get_field_value(self.field_name)
    self.set_value(value)

Control Composition

Complex controls can compose simpler ones:

class AddressCtrl(SchBaseCtrl):
    def __init__(self, parent, **kwargs):
        super().__init__(parent, **kwargs)
        sizer = wx.FlexGridSizer(cols=2, vgap=5, hgap=5)

        sizer.Add(wx.StaticText(self, label="Street:"))
        self.street = wx.TextCtrl(self)
        sizer.Add(self.street, 1, wx.EXPAND)

        sizer.Add(wx.StaticText(self, label="City:"))
        self.city = wx.TextCtrl(self)
        sizer.Add(self.city, 1, wx.EXPAND)

        self.SetSizer(sizer)

    def get_value(self):
        return f"{self.street.GetValue()}, {self.city.GetValue()}"

    def set_value(self, address_str):
        parts = address_str.split(', ')
        if len(parts) == 2:
            self.street.SetValue(parts[0])
            self.city.SetValue(parts[1])

register_control('address', AddressCtrl)

Control Registration with Plugins

Custom controls can also be distributed as plugins. In a plugin's init_plugin():

def init_plugin(app, frame, panels):
    from pytigon_gui.guictrl.factory import register_control
    from .mycontrols import MyCustomCtrl

    register_control('mycustom', MyCustomCtrl)

This approach allows distributing custom control libraries without modifying Pytigon's core code.

?: UserDefinedControls ?: UserDefinedControls