Configuration

A Guitares GUI is described in a YAML configuration file. The file has two top-level keys: window and element.

Window properties

The window key defines global properties of the main window.

Key	Type	Default	Description
title	str		Window title bar text
width	int		Window width in pixels
height	int		Window height in pixels
module	str		Default callback module (Python module name, without .py)
variable_group	str		Default variable group inherited by all elements
icon	str		Path to a window icon image file

Example:

window:
  title: My Application
  width: 1000
  height: 700
  module: callbacks
  variable_group: myapp

Elements list

The element key holds a list of UI elements to place in the window. Each item in the list is a dict with at minimum a style and position.

element:
- style: edit
  position: {x: 100, y: 40, width: 200, height: 24}
  variable: my_variable
  method: my_callback

- style: pushbutton
  position: {x: 100, y: 10, width: 100, height: 24}
  text: Run
  method: run_model

See Elements for the full list of available styles and their options.

Menu

An optional menu key adds a drop-down menu bar. See Menu for details.

Splitting config across files

For large applications it is common to split the element list across multiple YAML files. Tab panels support an element key that references an external file:

element:
- style: tabpanel
  position: {x: 10, y: 10, width: -10, height: 160}
  tab:
  - text: Settings
    module: settings_callbacks
    element: settings.yml     # loaded from the same directory
  - text: Results
    module: results_callbacks
    element: results.yml

See Using tab panels for more information.

Common element keys

The following keys are shared by most element types:

Key	Type	Default	Description
style	str		Widget type (edit, pushbutton, popupmenu, etc.)
position	dict		Placement; see Positioning elements
variable	str		Name of the GUI variable this element reads/writes
variable_group	str	inherited	Variable group; overrides the window default
module	str	inherited	Callback module; overrides the window default
method	str		Callback function called on user interaction
text	str or dict	""	Label string, or {variable, variable_group} for a dynamic label
text_position	str	"left"	Label placement: left, right, above, above-center, above-left
tooltip	str or dict	""	Tooltip text, or {variable, variable_group} for a dynamic tooltip
enable	bool	true	Whether the element is interactive
dependency	list		Conditional enable/visible rules; see Element dependencies