Box

__init__(
    self,
    master,
    layout="auto",
    grid=None,
    align=None,
    visible=True,
    enabled=None,
    width=None,
    height=None,
    border=None)

What is it?

The Box object is an invisible container which can contain other widgets. It is the only object other than App and Window which can act as the master for other objects and can have its own layout manager.

You can use the Box object to group other objects within your GUI.

How do I make one?

Create a Box object like this:

from guizero import App, Box
app = App()
box = Box(app)
app.display()

Starting parameters

When you create a Box object you must specify a master, and you can specify any of the optional parameters. Specify parameters in the brackets like this: box = Box(app, layout="grid")

Parameter	Data type	Default	Compulsory	Description
master	App, Window or Box	-	Yes	The container to which this widget belongs
align	string	None	-	Alignment of this widget within its container. Possible values: "top", "bottom", "left", "right".
grid	List	None	-	[x,y] coordinates of this widget. This parameter is only required if the master object has a grid layout.
layout	string	"auto"	-	Whether widgets inside this box pack themselves ("auto") or you specify their position on a grid ("grid")
visible	boolean	True	No	If the widget should be visible.
enabled	boolean	None	No	If the widget should be enabled. If None (the default) the enabled property will be inherited from the master
width	size	None	No	Set the width of the widget in pixels or to "fill"
height	size	None	No	Set the height of the widget in pixels or to "fill"
border	int	None	No	Sets the border thickness. 0 or False is no border. True or value > 1 sets a border.

Methods

You can call the following methods on a Box object.

Method	Takes	Returns	Description
add_tk_widget(tk_widget, grid=None, align=None, visible=True, enabled=None, width=None, height=None)	tk_widget (tk), grid (list), align (str), visible (bool), enabled (bool), width (int), height (int)	Widget	Adds a tk widget into a guizero container. Note - this is an advanced feature see Using tk for more information.
after(time, command, args=None)	time (int), command (function name), args (list of arguments)	-	Schedules a single call to command after time milliseconds. (To repeatedly call the same command, use repeat())
cancel(command)	command (function name)	-	Cancels a scheduled call to command
disable()	-	-	Disables all the widgets in the box so that they cannot be interacted with
destroy()	-	-	Destroys the widget
enable()	-	-	Enables all the widgets in the box
focus()	-	-	Gives focus to the widget (e.g. focusing a TextBox so that the user can type inside it)
hide()	-	-	Hides the widget from view. This method will unpack the widget from the layout manager.
repeat(time, command, args=None)	time (int), command (function name), args (list of arguments)	-	Repeats command every time milliseconds. This is useful for scheduling a function to be regularly called, for example updating a value read from a sensor.
resize(width, height)	width (int), height (int)	-	Sets the width and height of the widget
set_border(thickness, color)	thickness (int), color (color)	-	Sets the border thickness and color. Setting thickness to 0 will result in no border.
show()	-	-	Displays the widget if it was previously hidden

Properties

You can set and get the following properties:

Method	Data type	Description
align	string	The alignment of this widget within its container
border	int	The border thickness, setting to 0 or False (the default) there is no border.
bg	color	The background colour of the widget
children	List	A list of widgets in this container
enabled	boolean	True if the box is enabled
grid	List	[x,y] coordinates of this widget. This parameter is only required if the master object has a grid
font	string	The font that widgets should use
height	size	Set the height of the widget in pixels or to "fill"
layout	string	The layout being used by the Box ("auto") or ("grid")
master	App	The App object to which this box belongs
text_size	int	The size of the text widgets should use
text_color	color	The colour of the text widgets should use
tk	tkinter.Frame	The internal tkinter object, see Using tkinter
visible	boolean	If this widget is visible
width	size	Set the width of the widget in pixels or to "fill"

Examples

Putting widgets in a Box

A Box object is invisible, but it can contain other widgets. In this example, there are two Text objects. One has box as its master, the other has app as its master.

from guizero import App, Box, Text
app = App(title="My app", height=300, width=400)
box = Box(app)
text1 = Text(box, text="Hello from the box", size=14, color="red", font="Arial")
text2 = Text(app, text="Hello from the app", size=14, color="blue", font="Courier New")
app.display()

Grouping objects within a Box

It is useful to put objects in a box to group them together. For example here we have given the app a grid layout, then placed some text at [0,0] and the Box object at [1,0]. This means that the text will appear on the left, and the contents of the Box will appear on the right.

The Box object itself has a grid layout and contains six buttons which are positioned on a separate grid layout belonging to the box.

from guizero import App, Text, Box, PushButton
def do_nothing():
    return 0

app = App(title="My app", height=300, width=300, layout="grid")
text = Text(app, text="Some text here", grid=[0,0])
box = Box(app, layout="grid", grid=[1,0])
button1 = PushButton(box, command=do_nothing, text="1", grid=[0,0])
button2 = PushButton(box, command=do_nothing, text="2", grid=[1,0])
button3 = PushButton(box, command=do_nothing, text="3", grid=[2,0])
button4 = PushButton(box, command=do_nothing, text="4", grid=[0,1])
button5 = PushButton(box, command=do_nothing, text="5", grid=[1,1])
button6 = PushButton(box, command=do_nothing, text="6", grid=[2,1])
app.display()