How to create a file dialog in Tkinter Python

by vinitha@openweaver.com Updated: Aug 10, 2023

Solution Kit

A Tkinter file dialog is a GUI component. It helps select files from their system. It offers a reliable way to browse the file system and choose files or directories. Tkinter provides a file dialog module that offers several types of file dialogs. They are:

Open File Dialog
Save File Dialog
Directory Dialog

Using a Tkinter file dialog involves the following steps:

Import the Tkinter module.
Open a file dialog.
Process the selected file.

A Tkinter file dialog can open the following common file types:

Txt files,
Image files,
Document files,
Audio and video files, and
Custom file extensions.

The layout of a file dialog library provides an interface for file selection. Here are the key elements found in a Tkinter file dialog are:

Title Bar,
File List,
File Input Field,
File Navigation Buttons,
Open Buttons,
File Type Filters,
Path Navigation Bar.

To open the file dialog window using the method from the filedialog module in tkinter,

Filedialog.askopenfilename() for selecting a single file.
Filedialog.askopenfilenames() for selecting many files.

You can use the functions based on your requirements. To create an instance of the file dialog from the tkinter module, you can follow these steps:

Import the necessary modules.
Create a Tkinter root window.
Create an instance of the file dialog.
Configure the file dialog options.
Open the file dialog.

There are several options available to customize its appearance like

Setting the initial directory,
Filtering files by extension,
Specifying file types to display.

By using these options, you can enhance the usability of the file dialog in your application. The tkinter file dialog is useful for creating file selection in GUI applications. Proper error handling ensures the handling of file access issues.

Here is an example of How to create a file dialog in Tkinter Python.

Fig : Preview of the output that you will get on running this code from your IDE.

Code

In this solution we used Tkinter libraries of Python.

How To Create a File Dialog Using Python

PythonLines of Code : 78License : Strong Copyleft (CC BY-SA 4.0)

import tkinter as tk
from tkinter import ttk
from tkinter import filedialog as fd
from tkinter.messagebox import showinfo

# create the root window
root = tk.Tk()
root.title('Tkinter Dialog')
root.resizable(False, False)
root.geometry('300x150')

# helper function to select a file to open
def select_file():
    filetypes = (
        ('text files', '*.txt'),
        ('All files', '*.*')
    )
    filename = fd.askopenfilename(
        title='Open a file',
        initialdir='/',
        filetypes=filetypes)
    showinfo(
        title='Selected File',
        message=filename
    )

# helper function to save a file
def file_save():
    filetypes = (
    ('text files', '*.txt'),
    ('All files', '*.*')
    )
    f = fd.asksaveasfile(
        title='Save a file',
        mode='w', 
        defaultextension=".txt")
    if f is None: # asksaveasfile return `None` if dialog closed with "cancel".
        return

# helper function to save a file
def file_save_as():
    filetypes = (
    ('text files', '*.txt'),
    ('All files', '*.*')
    )
    f = fd.asksaveasfile(
        title='Save a file',
        mode='w', 
        defaultextension=".txt")
    if f is None: # asksaveasfile return `None` if dialog closed with "cancel".
        return

def Click(e, var):
    def VG(var):
        select_file()
    def G(var):
        file_save()
    def P(var):
        file_save_as()
    e.widget.focus()
    nclst=[(' Open', lambda var = var: VG(var)),
            (' Save', lambda var = var: G(var)),
            (' Save As', lambda var = var: P(var)),]

    my_menu = tk.Menu(None, tearoff=0, takefocus=0)
    for (txt, cmd) in nclst:
            my_menu.add_command(label=txt, command=cmd)
    my_menu.tk_popup(e.x_root+40, e.y_root+10,entry="0")

l_var = tk.StringVar()
lab = tk.Label(root, textvariable = l_var, width = 10)
l_var.set("File")
lab.bind('<Button-1>', lambda e, var = l_var: Click(e, var)) 
lab.pack()

# run the application
root.mainloop()

Instructions

Follow the steps carefully to get the output easily.

Download and Install the PyCharm Community Edition on your computer.
Open the terminal and install the required libraries with the following commands.
Install Tkinter - pip install Tkinter
Create a new Python file on your IDE.
Copy the snippet using the 'copy' button and paste it into your Python file.
Run the current file to generate the output.

I hope you found this useful.

I found this code snippet by searching for ' Create a File Dialog Using Python' in Kandi. You can try any such use case!

Environment Tested

I tested this solution in the following versions. Be mindful of changes when working with other versions.

PyCharm Community Edition 2023.1
The solution is created in Python 3.11.1 Version
Tkinter 1.0.7 Version

Using this solution, we can able to create a filedialog in Tkinter Python with simple steps. This process also facilities an easy way to use, hassle-free method to create a hands-on working version of code which would help us to create a filedialog in Tkinter Python.

Dependent Library

Tkinter-Designerby ParthJadhav

Python

5885

Version:v1.0.7

License: Permissive (BSD-3-Clause)

An easy and fast way to create a Python GUI 🐍

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Tkinter-Designerby ParthJadhav

Python 5885 Version:v1.0.7 License: Permissive (BSD-3-Clause)

An easy and fast way to create a Python GUI 🐍

Support

Quality

Security

License

Reuse

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FAQ:

1. What is the Tkinter file dialog?

The tkinter file dialog is a module in the tkinter library. Which is a standard Python library for creating graphical user interfaces (GUI).

This module provides functionality for displaying a file selection dialog window. You can use this dialog window to look at folders and do things with files. It provides an interface for file selection, enabling users to navigate the system.

2. How can I create a file dialog box in Python Tkinter?

To create a file dialog box in Python Tkinter, you can follow these steps:

Importing the required modules from Tkinter, including tkinter itself and the filedialog module.
Before creating the file dialog, you need to create a Tkinter root window. This window will serve as the parent window for the file dialog.
Use the filedialog class from the filedialog module to create an instance of the file dialog. Pass the root window as an argument to associate the file dialog with the root window.
You can further customize the file dialog by setting options. Modify the attributes of the file dialog instance to customize its behavior.
Call the appropriate method on the file dialog instance to open the file dialog window.
Once the user picks file(s) from the dialog, you can get the file path(s) for more work. This involves capturing the returned file path(s) and storing them in a variable.

3. How does the filedialog module work in Python?

The filedialog module provides a way to work with file dialogs in GUI applications. It is part of the tkinter library, which is the standard GUI library in Python. The filedialog module offers classes and functions. That allows you to display file dialogs for file and directory selection and save files.

Here are the key components and their functionalities:

FileDialog class
askopenfilename() function
askopenfilenames() function
asksaveasfilename() function
askdirectory() function

4. Are there any unique dialogs available with the tkinter file dialog?

The tkinter.filedialog module provides a unique dialog to the standard file dialogs. These unique dialogs offer specialized functionality for specific use cases.

Here are a couple of notable examples:

The tkinter.filedialog module has a function called askcolor(). This function opens a dialog where you can choose a color. It helps select a color from a palette or enter specific color values.
The askfont() function opens a dialog for choosing a font. This dialog lets the user select the font type, size, and style. The askfont() function returns a Font object representing the selected font.

5. What are the different ways to select a Python file using the tkinter file dialog?

The tkinter.filedialog module in Python provides a way to select a Python file using the file dialog. Here are the different options available:

Single Python file selection
Multiple Python file selection

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