new window when using tkinter in python

Question

I am creating a game for a user to choose a characters color and proceed to lead them through a maze. Originally I had the user input the name of their character and the direction they wanted them to go, but changed the input to use the arrow keys with tkinter. Now I am running into a problem because the tkinter opens a new window for its input.

import view,datetime,Tkinter as tk

def main():
   global root
   if __name__ == "__main__":
      view.root.update()
      command = raw_input( "choose a player:" )
      run1( command )
      view.root.update()
      while True:
          root = tk.Tk()
          print( "Press a key (Escape key to exit):" )
          root.bind_all( '<Key>', key )
          root.mainloop()
      root.withdraw()
      root.destroy()
      view.root.destroy()

main()

This shows what I imported and my main function.

I'm not sure if this is the issue, but what is the purpose of the while loop in your main function? — Joel Cornett
– Joel Cornett, Commented May 7, 2012 at 1:26
Actually now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure that's the issue. What happens when you close the game window, say, with a mouse? — Joel Cornett
– Joel Cornett, Commented May 7, 2012 at 1:27
I put in the while loop as an infinite loop. I took it out and it still does the same thing. I had it in my original program when I was prompting the user for an input of the character and the direction they wanted them to go so they could move around the game. It became unnecessary when I changed to the arrow keys. — user1378701
– user1378701, Commented May 7, 2012 at 1:40
When I start the game it opens the actual window I want which shows the character and maze but also another smaller window where I have to click in for character movement. When I close the secondary window I am given this error: TclError: can't invoke "wm" command: application has been destroyed — user1378701
– user1378701, Commented May 7, 2012 at 1:50
The line root.mainloop() blocks until the application is destroyed. Where is the code for your secondary window? — Joel Cornett
– Joel Cornett, Commented May 7, 2012 at 2:01

senderle · Accepted Answer · 2012-05-07 01:54:01Z

3

Every time you do this...

root = tk.Tk()
...
root.mainloop()

You're creating a brand new window. So of course when you use bind_all on this new window, that new window is the one that receives the input. I can't really tell what you're trying to do, but it's clear that this is why you see the behavior that you see.

Most of the time, you only want one root -- that's why it's called "root"! It seems like you should use bind_all on the view.root instance, not on this new root.

Also, as a side note, the flow of control is really weird in your code. Why is if __name__ == '__main__' inside the main function? Normally that would be at the top level of the module, and would call main itself.

answered May 7, 2012 at 1:54

senderle

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user1378701 Over a year ago

I was doing a lot of stuff wrong there, thanks for the help. I had gotten the code to use the arrow keys and was using that root instead of the view.root I should have been using. My 16 lines above have now turned into 6 lines. Thanks again.

Carlos · Accepted Answer · 2012-05-07 02:12:59Z

1

The root = tk.Tk() statement actually creates a new window and root.mainloop() maintains the control loop for the windows. If you add this code into a while True: several windows will be opened one by one.

Check the necessity of the while True:

Regards

answered May 7, 2012 at 2:12

Carlos

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