Wednesday, June 29, 2011

wxPython AuiManager

I recently switched AnyBackup to use wx.AUI for pane management instead of just using plain old panels and sizers. First off, let me just say that SplitterWindows can go jump in a lake. They are painful to tweak, the end result isn't all that pretty, etc. Using the AuiManager, on the other hand, is very pleasant once your get your head around a few things!

A few benefits:
  • Prettier
  • Dockable, floatable, maximizable, closeable panels
  • Dead easy layout management
  • Did I mention it's pretty?
There are a few concepts you need to understand for AuiManager layout management

  • Direction (Left,Right,Center,Top,Bottom)
    • If you've ever used the BorderLayout in Java with Swing this shouldn't be too hard to understand
    • Each position represents a part of your frame, the top will add an item to the top, bottom to bottom, etc
    • The code for the below test application can be found here: http://pastebin.com/RTZjqfwp
  • Position
    • Position lets you place multiple items in a single area
    • If you're using left,center, or right position will stack items vertically
    • For top or bottom position will stack items horizontally
    • The code for the below test application can be found here: http://fpaste.org/HQ7E/
  • Row
    • Like positions, rows also let you stack multiple items in one area
    • Rows behave opposite positions, in left, center, and right items stack horizontally, etc
    • The code for the below test application can be found here: http://pastebin.com/sJLTyVsL

  • Layer
    • Notice in the above examples that when the left label is given a higher layer it takes up a global left position instead of a local left position, this is what I meant by higher layers 'trumping' lower ones

For those of you who haven't guessed yet, let me put this right out there for you, you can combine layers, positions, rows, and directions any which way you please. What does this mean? It means you can easily organize your content pretty much anyway you can think to mix and match these various control features.

Consider the below example:
We've created three sets of rows with two positions so we can stack both horizontally and vertically in one area. You can combine most any of these features. Experiment! Get a feel for how the various properties combine, it's the best way to learn. Code for the above example can be found here. I hope this example helps!



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