Develop Reference

App's icon is not show in taskbar because of Custom title bar?

I am creating an code editor in which I want to custom title bar to match my app theme and I have created an custom title bar but my app is not showing in taskbar
If any external libraries are for this, Please tell me
What libraries I have to learn to solve my problem please tell me
how to show app icon on taskbar, Actually I have no idea about it
if you can solve it
Please help me to solve my problem
this is my full code(not full code but short version of real one):-
from tkinter import*
def move(e):
xwin = root.winfo_x()
ywin = root.winfo_y()
startx = e.x_root
starty = e.y_root
ywin -= starty
xwin -= startx
def move_(e):
root.geometry(f"+{e.x_root + xwin}+{e.y_root + ywin}")
startx = e.x_root
starty = e.y_root
frame.bind("<B1-Motion>",move_)
def minieme1_(event=None):
root.update_idletasks()
root.overrideredirect(False)
root.state("iconic")
def frame_map(event=None):
root.update_idletasks()
root.overrideredirect(True)
root.state("normal")
root.call()
def minimefunction(event=None):
global size
if size:
root.geometry(f"{screen_width}x{screen_height-40}+0+0")
minimsi.config(text=" \u2752 ")
size = False
else:
root.geometry(f"{app_width}x{app_height}+{int(x)}+{int(y)}")
minimsi.config(text=" \u25a0 ")
size = True
def quitApp():
root.destroy()
def close_blink(event=None):
close_button.config(bg="red")
def close_blink1(event=None):
close_button.config(bg="gray19")
def minimsi_blink(event=None):
minimsi.config(bg="gray29")
def minimsi_blink1(event=None):
minimsi.config(bg="gray19")
def minimsi1_blink(event=None):
minimsi1.config(bg="gray29")
def minimsi1_blink1(event=None):
minimsi1.config(bg="gray19")
root = Tk()
size = True
app_width = 600
app_height = 500
screen_width = root.winfo_screenwidth()
screen_height = root.winfo_screenheight()
print(screen_width,screen_height)
x = (screen_width/2) - (app_width/2)
y = (screen_height/2) - (app_height/2)
root.geometry(f"{app_width}x{app_height}+{int(x)}+{int(y)}")
root.overrideredirect(True)
frame = Frame(root,bg="gray29")
Label(frame,text="My App",font="Consolas 15",bg="gray29",fg="white").pack(side=LEFT,padx=10)
close_button = Button(frame,text=" X ",font="Consolas 15",bg="gray19",fg="white",relief=GROOVE,borderwidth=0,command=quitApp)
close_button.pack(side=RIGHT)
minimsi = Button(frame,text=" \u25a0 ",font="Consolas 15",bg="gray19",fg="white",relief=GROOVE,borderwidth=0,command=minimefunction)
minimsi.pack(side=RIGHT)
minimsi1 = Button(frame,text=" - ",font="Consolas 15",bg="gray19",fg="white",relief=GROOVE,borderwidth=0,command=minieme1_)
minimsi1.pack(side=RIGHT)
frame.pack(fill=X)
yscroll = Scrollbar(orient=VERTICAL)
yscroll.pack(side=RIGHT,fill=Y)
editor = Text(font="Consolas 15",bg="gray19",fg="white",insertbackground="white",borderwidth=0,yscrollcommand=yscroll.set)
yscroll.config(command=editor.yview)
editor.pack(expand=True,fill=BOTH)
root.config(bg="gray19")
frame.bind("<Button-1>",move)
frame.bind("<B1-Motion>",move)
# minimsi1.bind("<Button-1>",minieme1_)
frame.bind("<Map>",frame_map)
close_button.bind("<Enter>",close_blink)
close_button.bind("<Leave>",close_blink1)
minimsi.bind("<Enter>",minimsi_blink)
minimsi.bind("<Leave>",minimsi_blink1)
minimsi1.bind("<Enter>",minimsi1_blink)
minimsi1.bind("<Leave>",minimsi1_blink1)
root.mainloop()
You can see the problem in this image:-

Disclaimer, this may not be the best approach to achieve OP`s goal, but I'm sticking to this example because:
There are several question with this example on StackOverflow
It shows a basic knowledge that is important for deeper digging.
The improvement of this code to the original is that the style applies again after you iconify it and bring that windows back up.
See the twitch of this example is how the taskbar keeps track of the application. There is a good article of Raymond Chen (Ms-Developer) where he quotes this:
“If you want to dynamically change a window’s style to one that
doesn’t support visible taskbar buttons, you must hide the window
first (by calling ShowWindow with SW_HIDE), change the window style,
and then show the window.”
And also points out a weak point of some programs and why they lose or get a blank taskbar icon:
Window is taskbar-eligible.
Window becomes visible ? taskbar button created.
Window goes taskbar-ineligible.
Window becomes hidden ? since the window is not taskbar-eligible at this point, the taskbar ignores it.
Anyway, the basic idea is the following:
Get the handle of the window. (Parent window of the root in this case for tkinter related reasons)
get the current style in a hexadecimal code
alter the hexadecimal code to your need with a bitwise operation
apply the altered style to the window
I added the following code at the beginning of your script:
from ctypes import windll
GWL_EXSTYLE=-20
WS_EX_APPWINDOW=0x00040000
WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW=0x00000080
def set_appwindow():
global hasstyle
if not hasstyle:
hwnd = windll.user32.GetParent(root.winfo_id())
style = windll.user32.GetWindowLongW(hwnd, GWL_EXSTYLE)
style = style & ~WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW
style = style | WS_EX_APPWINDOW
res = windll.user32.SetWindowLongW(hwnd, GWL_EXSTYLE, style)
root.withdraw()
root.after(100, lambda:root.wm_deiconify())
hasstyle=True
This code at the end of your script:
hasstyle = False
root.update_idletasks()
root.withdraw()
set_appwindow()
and added the line set_appwindow() in def frame_map(event=None):. Als I had to implement another additional two lines in def minieme1_(event=None): to update the hasstylevariable.
So the overall implementation of this approach was possible to have your window ready and withdrawn for described reason. An additional variable to avoid a infinite loop while you alter the style of your window that is either True while it is shown or False while it is iconyfied, alongside with your overrideredirect method.
Full Code
from tkinter import*
from ctypes import windll
GWL_EXSTYLE=-20
WS_EX_APPWINDOW=0x00040000
WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW=0x00000080
def set_appwindow():
global hasstyle
if not hasstyle:
hwnd = windll.user32.GetParent(root.winfo_id())
style = windll.user32.GetWindowLongW(hwnd, GWL_EXSTYLE)
style = style & ~WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW
style = style | WS_EX_APPWINDOW
res = windll.user32.SetWindowLongW(hwnd, GWL_EXSTYLE, style)
root.withdraw()
root.after(100, lambda:root.wm_deiconify())
hasstyle=True
def move(e):
xwin = root.winfo_x()
ywin = root.winfo_y()
startx = e.x_root
starty = e.y_root
ywin -= starty
xwin -= startx
def move_(e):
root.geometry(f"+{e.x_root + xwin}+{e.y_root + ywin}")
startx = e.x_root
starty = e.y_root
frame.bind("<B1-Motion>",move_)
def minieme1_(event=None):
global hasstyle
root.update_idletasks()
root.overrideredirect(False)
root.state("iconic")
hasstyle = False
def frame_map(event=None):
root.overrideredirect(True)
root.update_idletasks()
set_appwindow()
root.state("normal")
def minimefunction(event=None):
global size
if size:
root.geometry(f"{screen_width}x{screen_height-40}+0+0")
minimsi.config(text=" \u2752 ")
size = False
else:
root.geometry(f"{app_width}x{app_height}+{int(x)}+{int(y)}")
minimsi.config(text=" \u25a0 ")
size = True
def quitApp():
root.destroy()
def close_blink(event=None):
close_button.config(bg="red")
def close_blink1(event=None):
close_button.config(bg="gray19")
def minimsi_blink(event=None):
minimsi.config(bg="gray29")
def minimsi_blink1(event=None):
minimsi.config(bg="gray19")
def minimsi1_blink(event=None):
minimsi1.config(bg="gray29")
def minimsi1_blink1(event=None):
minimsi1.config(bg="gray19")
root = Tk()
size = True
app_width = 600
app_height = 500
screen_width = root.winfo_screenwidth()
screen_height = root.winfo_screenheight()
print(screen_width,screen_height)
x = (screen_width/2) - (app_width/2)
y = (screen_height/2) - (app_height/2)
root.geometry(f"{app_width}x{app_height}+{int(x)}+{int(y)}")
root.overrideredirect(True)
frame = Frame(root,bg="gray29")
Label(frame,text="My App",font="Consolas 15",bg="gray29",fg="white").pack(side=LEFT,padx=10)
close_button = Button(frame,text=" X ",font="Consolas 15",bg="gray19",fg="white",relief=GROOVE,borderwidth=0,command=quitApp)
close_button.pack(side=RIGHT)
minimsi = Button(frame,text=" \u25a0 ",font="Consolas 15",bg="gray19",fg="white",relief=GROOVE,borderwidth=0,command=minimefunction)
minimsi.pack(side=RIGHT)
minimsi1 = Button(frame,text=" - ",font="Consolas 15",bg="gray19",fg="white",relief=GROOVE,borderwidth=0,command=minieme1_)
minimsi1.pack(side=RIGHT)
frame.pack(fill=X)
yscroll = Scrollbar(orient=VERTICAL)
yscroll.pack(side=RIGHT,fill=Y)
editor = Text(font="Consolas 15",bg="gray19",fg="white",insertbackground="white",borderwidth=0,yscrollcommand=yscroll.set)
yscroll.config(command=editor.yview)
editor.pack(expand=True,fill=BOTH)
root.config(bg="gray19")
frame.bind("<Button-1>",move)
frame.bind("<B1-Motion>",move)
# minimsi1.bind("<Button-1>",minieme1_)
frame.bind("<Map>",frame_map)
close_button.bind("<Enter>",close_blink)
close_button.bind("<Leave>",close_blink1)
minimsi.bind("<Enter>",minimsi_blink)
minimsi.bind("<Leave>",minimsi_blink1)
minimsi1.bind("<Enter>",minimsi1_blink)
minimsi1.bind("<Leave>",minimsi1_blink1)
hasstyle = False
root.update_idletasks()
root.withdraw()
set_appwindow()
root.mainloop()
Tested with python 3.10 and windows 11

You can use a hidden root window to let the system window manager to show an icon in the taskbar, and make the custom window as a transient child window of the hidden root window in order to simulate those iconify and deiconify effect.
You need to bind <Button> event on the custom window so to bring it to the front when it is clicked. Also need to bind <FocusIn> event on the hidden root window to move the focus to the custom window instead.
Below is the required changes:
...
def minieme1_(event=None):
# iconify hidden root window will iconify the custom window as well
hidden_root.iconify()
...
def quitApp():
# destroy the hidden root window will destroy the custom window as well
hidden_root.destroy()
...
def on_focus(event):
# bring custom window to front
root.lift()
# create a hidden root window
hidden_root = Tk()
hidden_root.attributes('-alpha', 0)
hidden_root.title('My App')
# you can use hidden_root.iconbitmap(...) or hidden_root.iconphoto(...) to set the icon image
# use Toplevel instead of Tk for the custom window
root = Toplevel(hidden_root)
# make it a transient child window of hidden root window
root.transient(hidden_root)
root.bind('<Button>', on_focus)
hidden_root.bind('<FocusIn>', on_focus)
...
#frame.bind("<Map>",frame_map) # it is not necessary and frame_map() is removed as well
...

The short answer is: you can't do this purely with Tkinter. You can set the window's icon via self.iconbitmap(path_to_icon), but in order to have a unique taskbar icon, you'll need to compile your app into a Windows executable.
See here
Edit: Unrelated, but as a matter of practice it's best to avoid star imports, e.g. from tkinter import * - it's much better to use something like import tkinter as tk and then prefix your Tkinter objects with tk. to avoid namespace pollution!

Unable to hide Tkinter window while I am setting its geometry

I have a root window and I want to create a Toplevel window positioned in a specific place on the screen (centralized over the root window). So far I have been unable to accomplish this without seeing the Toplevel window quickly build itself in its default location and then hop over to the position I want it. I would prefer not to see this because it's weird and jarring.
Is there a way to build, then reposition a window in Tkinter without seeing it reposition itself?
Here's some example code with a sleep thrown in to simulate a complex window being rendered:
from tkinter import *
import time
def centralize_over_root(window_to_centralize):
root_geometry = root.winfo_geometry()
root_width_height = root_geometry.split('+')[0]
root_width = root_width_height.split('x')[0]
root_height = root_width_height.split('x')[1]
root_x_y = root_geometry.split(f'{root_height}+')[1]
root_x = root_x_y.split('+')[0]
root_y = root_x_y.split('+')[1]
window_to_centralize.update()
time.sleep(0.5)
window_width = window_to_centralize.winfo_width()
window_height = window_to_centralize.winfo_height()
window_x = int(root_x) + round((int(root_width) - int(window_width)) / 2.0)
window_y = int(root_y) + round((int(root_height) - int(window_height)) / 2.0)
result = f'+{window_x}+{window_y}'
return result
def new_window():
new_window = Toplevel(root)
Label(new_window, text='Something').pack(padx=20, pady=20)
new_window.geometry(centralize_over_root(new_window))
root = Tk()
Button(root, text='Make new window', command=new_window).pack(padx=50, pady=50)
root.mainloop()

You can hide the window using withdraw() and show it after reposition using deiconify():
def new_window():
new_window = Toplevel(root)
new_window.withdraw() # hide the window
Label(new_window, text='Something').pack(padx=20, pady=20)
new_window.geometry(centralize_over_root(new_window))
new_window.deiconify() # show the window

I think the following will do what you want. There are comments showing where I made changes. The problem was the time.sleep() was interfering with the mainloop() and your window_to_centralize.update() which makes it appear before you're finished configuring it.
from tkinter import *
import time
def centralize_over_root(window_to_centralize):
root_geometry = root.winfo_geometry()
root_width_height = root_geometry.split('+')[0]
root_width = root_width_height.split('x')[0]
root_height = root_width_height.split('x')[1]
root_x_y = root_geometry.split(f'{root_height}+')[1]
root_x = root_x_y.split('+')[0]
root_y = root_x_y.split('+')[1]
# window_to_centralize.update() # Don't do this - will happen automatically.
# time.sleep(0.5)
root.after(500) # This pauses without interfering with mainloop.
window_width = window_to_centralize.winfo_width()
window_height = window_to_centralize.winfo_height()
window_x = int(root_x) + round((int(root_width) - int(window_width)) / 2.0)
window_y = int(root_y) + round((int(root_height) - int(window_height)) / 2.0)
result = f'+{window_x}+{window_y}'
return result
def new_window():
new_window = Toplevel(root)
Label(new_window, text='Something').pack(padx=20, pady=20)
new_window.geometry(centralize_over_root(new_window))
root = Tk()
Button(root, text='Make new window', command=new_window).pack(padx=50, pady=50)
root.mainloop()

Switch between multiple windows in Tkinter

I have created few windows using Tkinter. I need help in the implementation of switching from one window to another when the button has been clicked.
All windows that are created should have the same size.
And also I want to clear existing window data and show next window data.

If you want to have multiple windows opened and want to switch between each window with all of their widgets intact then I don't think destroying a window each time you switch is a good idea instead you can try to withdraw and deiconify the windows.
I've created something like this which can switch between windows and maintain the same geometry of the previous window as you said.
import tkinter as tk
class Window(tk.Toplevel):
# List to keep the reference of all the toplevel windows
_info_pages = []
def __init__(self, master=None, cnf={}, **kw):
kw = tk._cnfmerge( (cnf,kw) )
width = kw.pop('width', master.winfo_width()) # 250x250 will be the standard size of the window
height = kw.pop('height', master.winfo_height())
title = kw.pop('title', 'Win %s' %(len(self._info_pages)+1) )
super(Window, self).__init__(master=master, cnf=cnf, **kw)
for i in self._info_pages: i.wm_withdraw() # Hide the previous windows
if self._info_pages and width == master.winfo_width():
self.wm_geometry(self._info_pages[-1].winfo_geometry())
else:
self.wm_geometry("%dx%d+%d+%d" % (width, height,
master.winfo_rootx()+master.winfo_width(), master.winfo_rooty()))
self._info_pages.append(self)
self.title(title)
self.B1 = tk.Button(self, text='◀ Prev', padx=5, command=self.switch_to_prev)
self.B1.place(relx=0, rely=1, anchor='sw')
self.B2 = tk.Button(self, text='Next ▶', padx=5, command=self.switch_to_next)
self.B2.place(relx=1, rely=1, anchor='se')
self.enable_disable_button()
def enable_disable_button(self):
"""Enable and disable the buttons accordingly if there is no window."""
for i in self._info_pages:
if i == self._info_pages[0]: i.B1['state'] = 'disabled'
else: i.B1['state'] = 'normal'
if i == self._info_pages[-1]: i.B2['state'] = 'disabled'
else: i.B2['state'] = 'normal'
def switch_to_prev(self):
"""Switch to the previous window"""
index = self._info_pages.index(self)
if index != 0:
for i in self._info_pages:
i.wm_withdraw()
self._info_pages[index-1].geometry(self.winfo_geometry())
self._info_pages[index-1].wm_deiconify()
def switch_to_next(self):
"""Switch to the next window"""
index = self._info_pages.index(self)
if index+1 != len(self._info_pages):
for i in self._info_pages:
i.wm_withdraw()
self._info_pages[index+1].geometry(self.winfo_geometry())
self._info_pages[index+1].wm_deiconify()
def destroy(self):
"""if a window is destroyed this will open the last window in the list"""
self._info_pages.remove(self)
if self._info_pages:
self._info_pages[-1].geometry(self.winfo_geometry())
self._info_pages[-1].wm_deiconify()
self.enable_disable_button()
return super().destroy()
# This is just a demo
if __name__ == '__main__':
import random as rnd
root = tk.Tk()
root.geometry('250x250')
root.title("I'm the main window")
colorlist = ['beige','bisque','black','blanchedalmond','blue','blueviolet',
'burlywood', 'cadetblue','chartreuse','chocolate' ]
def create_window():
Window(root, bg=rnd.choice(colorlist))
tk.Button(root, text='Create Window', command=create_window).pack()
root.mainloop()

Tkinter Toplevel Window Not Movable

In my Tkinter app I have a button that opens a Toplevel Window which dispays an event log. There are a few things I need the Toplevel Window to be able to do:
Show previous log entries when opened, as well as update with new ones.
Disable the user's ability to move the window around the while also making the user able to close the window
Have the window always be anchored with it's top right corner being at the root window's top right corner
I have figured out #1. I am able to have the window open and display previous entries as well as update those entries while the window is open. My problem is with #2 and #3.
For #2 I am not sure how to disable the user's ability to move the window. I am assuming this may also disable the user's ability to close the window so I am not sure how to keep that functionality intact. Maybe a button with self.quit() as it's command?
As for #3, I have no idea how to go about doing this. Maybe I suck as Googling but I can't seem to find out how to accomplish this.
This is the code I have at the moment, which is able to properly implement feature #1.
import tkinter as tk
class guiapp(tk.Frame):
def __init__(self, master):
tk.Frame.__init__(self, master)
self.master = master
self.value = 0.0
self.alive = True
self.list_for_toplevel = []
btn = tk.Button(self.master, text = "Click", command = self.TextWindow)
btn.pack()
def TextWindow(self):
self.textWindow = tk.Toplevel(self.master)
self.textFrame = tk.Frame(self.textWindow)
self.textFrame.pack()
self.textArea = tk.Text(self.textWindow, height = 10, width = 30)
self.textArea.pack(side = "left", fill = "y")
bar = tk.Scrollbar(self.textWindow)
bar.pack(side = "right", fill = "y")
bar.config(command = self.textArea.yview)
self.alive = True
self.timed_loop()
def timed_loop(self):
if self.alive == True and tk.Toplevel.winfo_exists(self.textWindow):
self.master.after(1000, self.timed_loop)
self.value += 1
self.list_for_toplevel.append(self.value)
self.textArea.delete(1.0, "end-1c")
for item in self.list_for_toplevel:
self.textArea.insert('end', "{}\n".format(item))
self.textArea.see('end')
else:
self.alive = False
if __name__ == "__main__":
root = tk.Tk()
root.geometry("800x480")
myapp = guiapp(root)
root.mainloop()

We can remove the tool bar from the top of the toplevel window and prevent the user from moving the window with self.textWindow.overrideredirect(True).
Then we can make sure that the toplevel window is positioned in the top right corner by getting the root windows location and then setting the toplevel window to the same location with self.master.winfo_x() and self.master.winfo_y().
Last I would add a button that closes the window because we no longer have the tool bar for the toplevel window.
UPDATE: I have added the ability for the toplevel window to stay on top of the root window and to move around with the root window when root is dragged.
we can use bind() to track when the root window is moved and then have a function that will update the toplevel windows position to match the root windows.
We can also use self.textWindow.attributes("-topmost", True) to tell tkinter to keep out toplevel window on top of all other windows.
Take a look at the modified version of your code below. Let me know what you think or if you have any questions.
import tkinter as tk
class guiapp(tk.Frame):
def __init__(self, master):
tk.Frame.__init__(self, master)
self.master = master
self.textWindow = None
self.master.bind("<Configure>", self.move_me)
self.value = 0.0
self.list_for_toplevel = []
btn = tk.Button(self.master, text = "Click", command = self.TextWindow)
btn.pack()
def TextWindow(self):
x = self.master.winfo_x()
y = self.master.winfo_y()
self.textWindow = tk.Toplevel(self.master)
self.textFrame = tk.Frame(self.textWindow)
self.textWindow.overrideredirect(True)
self.textFrame.pack()
self.textWindow.attributes("-topmost", True)
self.textWindow.geometry('+{}+{}'.format(x+10, y+30))
self.close_toplevel = tk.Button(self.textWindow, text = "close", command = self.close_textWindow)
self.close_toplevel.pack()
self.textArea = tk.Text(self.textWindow, height = 10, width = 30)
self.textArea.pack(side = "left", fill = "y")
bar = tk.Scrollbar(self.textWindow)
bar.pack(side = "right", fill = "y")
bar.config(command = self.textArea.yview)
self.alive = True
self.timed_loop()
def close_textWindow(self):
self.textWindow.destroy()
self.textWindow = None
def move_me(self, event):
if self.textWindow != None:
x = self.master.winfo_x()
y = self.master.winfo_y()
self.textWindow.geometry('+{}+{}'.format(x+10, y+30))
def timed_loop(self):
if self.textWindow != None:
self.master.after(1000, self.timed_loop)
self.value += 1
self.list_for_toplevel.append(self.value)
self.textArea.delete(1.0, "end-1c")
for item in self.list_for_toplevel:
self.textArea.insert('end', "{}\n".format(item))
self.textArea.see('end')
if __name__ == "__main__":
root = tk.Tk()
root.geometry("800x480")
myapp = guiapp(root)
root.mainloop()

Display message when hovering over something with mouse cursor in Python

I have a GUI made with TKinter in Python. I would like to be able to display a message when my mouse cursor goes, for example, on top of a label or button. The purpose of this is to explain to the user what the button/label does or represents.
Is there a way to display text when hovering over a tkinter object in Python?

I think this would meet your requirements.
Here's what the output looks like:
First, A class named ToolTip which has methods showtip and hidetip is defined as follows:
from tkinter import *
class ToolTip(object):
def __init__(self, widget):
self.widget = widget
self.tipwindow = None
self.id = None
self.x = self.y = 0
def showtip(self, text):
"Display text in tooltip window"
self.text = text
if self.tipwindow or not self.text:
return
x, y, cx, cy = self.widget.bbox("insert")
x = x + self.widget.winfo_rootx() + 57
y = y + cy + self.widget.winfo_rooty() +27
self.tipwindow = tw = Toplevel(self.widget)
tw.wm_overrideredirect(1)
tw.wm_geometry("+%d+%d" % (x, y))
label = Label(tw, text=self.text, justify=LEFT,
background="#ffffe0", relief=SOLID, borderwidth=1,
font=("tahoma", "8", "normal"))
label.pack(ipadx=1)
def hidetip(self):
tw = self.tipwindow
self.tipwindow = None
if tw:
tw.destroy()
def CreateToolTip(widget, text):
toolTip = ToolTip(widget)
def enter(event):
toolTip.showtip(text)
def leave(event):
toolTip.hidetip()
widget.bind('<Enter>', enter)
widget.bind('<Leave>', leave)
The widget is where you want to add the tip. For example, if you want the tip when you hover over a button or entry or label, the instance of the same should be provided at the call time.
Quick note: the code above uses from tkinter import *
which is not suggested by some of the programmers out there, and they have valid points. You might want to make necessary changes in such case.
To move the tip to your desired location, you can change x and y in the code.
The function CreateToolTip() helps to create this tip easily. Just pass the widget and string you want to display in the tipbox to this function, and you're good to go.
This is how you call the above part:
button = Button(root, text = 'click mem')
button.pack()
CreateToolTip(button, text = 'Hello World\n'
'This is how tip looks like.'
'Best part is, it\'s not a menu.\n'
'Purely tipbox.')
Do not forget to import the module if you save the previous outline in different python file, and don't save the file as CreateToolTip or ToolTip to avoid confusion.
This post from Fuzzyman shares some similar thoughts, and worth checking out.

You need to set a binding on the <Enter> and <Leave> events.
Note: if you choose to pop up a window (ie: a tooltip) make sure you don't pop it up directly under the mouse. What will happen is that it will cause a leave event to fire because the cursor leaves the label and enters the popup. Then, your leave handler will dismiss the window, your cursor will enter the label, which causes an enter event, which pops up the window, which causes a leave event, which dismisses the window, which causes an enter event, ... ad infinitum.
For simplicity, here's an example that updates a label, similar to a statusbar that some apps use. Creating a tooltip or some other way of displaying the information still starts with the same core technique of binding to <Enter> and <Leave>.
import Tkinter as tk
class Example(tk.Frame):
def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
tk.Frame.__init__(self, *args, **kwargs)
self.l1 = tk.Label(self, text="Hover over me")
self.l2 = tk.Label(self, text="", width=40)
self.l1.pack(side="top")
self.l2.pack(side="top", fill="x")
self.l1.bind("<Enter>", self.on_enter)
self.l1.bind("<Leave>", self.on_leave)
def on_enter(self, event):
self.l2.configure(text="Hello world")
def on_leave(self, enter):
self.l2.configure(text="")
if __name__ == "__main__":
root = tk.Tk()
Example(root).pack(side="top", fill="both", expand="true")
root.mainloop()

You can refer to this- HoverClass
It is exactly what you need. Nothing more, nothing less
from Tkinter import *
import re
class HoverInfo(Menu):
def __init__(self, parent, text, command=None):
self._com = command
Menu.__init__(self,parent, tearoff=0)
if not isinstance(text, str):
raise TypeError('Trying to initialise a Hover Menu with a non string type: ' + text.__class__.__name__)
toktext=re.split('\n', text)
for t in toktext:
self.add_command(label = t)
self._displayed=False
self.master.bind("<Enter>",self.Display )
self.master.bind("<Leave>",self.Remove )
def __del__(self):
self.master.unbind("<Enter>")
self.master.unbind("<Leave>")
def Display(self,event):
if not self._displayed:
self._displayed=True
self.post(event.x_root, event.y_root)
if self._com != None:
self.master.unbind_all("<Return>")
self.master.bind_all("<Return>", self.Click)
def Remove(self, event):
if self._displayed:
self._displayed=False
self.unpost()
if self._com != None:
self.unbind_all("<Return>")
def Click(self, event):
self._com()
Example app using HoverInfo:
from Tkinter import *
from HoverInfo import HoverInfo
class MyApp(Frame):
def __init__(self, parent=None):
Frame.__init__(self, parent)
self.grid()
self.lbl = Label(self, text='testing')
self.lbl.grid()
self.hover = HoverInfo(self, 'while hovering press return \n for an exciting msg', self.HelloWorld)
def HelloWorld(self):
print('Hello World')
app = MyApp()
app.master.title('test')
app.mainloop()
Screenshot:

I have a very hacky solution but it has some advantages over the current answers so I figured I would share it.
lab=Label(root,text="hover me")
lab.bind("<Enter>",popup)
def do_popup(event):
# display the popup menu
root.after(1000, self.check)
popup = Menu(root, tearoff=0)
popup.add_command(label="Next")
popup.tk_popup(event.x_root, event.y_root, 0)
def check(event=None):
x, y = root.winfo_pointerxy()
widget = root.winfo_containing(x, y)
if widget is None:
root.after(100, root.check)
else:
leave()
def leave():
popup.delete(0, END)
The only real issue with this is it leaves behind a small box that moves focus away from the main window
If anyone knows how to solve these issues let me know

If anyone is on Mac OSX and tool tip isn't working, check out the example in:
https://github.com/python/cpython/blob/master/Lib/idlelib/tooltip.py
Basically, the two lines that made it work for me on Mac OSX were:
tw.update_idletasks() # Needed on MacOS -- see #34275.
tw.lift() # work around bug in Tk 8.5.18+ (issue #24570)

Here is a simple solution to your problem that subclasses the tk.Button object. We make a special class that tk.Button inherits from, giving it tooltip functionality. The same for tk.Labels.
I don't know what would be cleanest and the easiest way to maintain code for keeping track of the text that goes into the tooltips. I present here one way, in which I pass unique widget IDs to MyButtons, and access a dictionary for storing the tooltip texts. You could store this file as a JSON, or as a class attribute, or as a global variable (as below). Alternatively, perhaps it would be better to define a setter method in MyButton, and just call this method every time you create a new widget that should have a tooltip. Although you would have to store the widget instance in a variable, adding one extra line for all widgets to include.
One drawback in the code below is that the self.master.master syntax relies on determining the "widget depth". A simple recursive function will catch most cases (only needed for entering a widget, since by definition you leave somewhere you once were).
Anyway, below is a working MWE for anyone interested.
import tkinter as tk
tooltips = {
'button_hello': 'Print a greeting message',
'button_quit': 'Quit the program',
'button_insult': 'Print an insult',
'idle': 'Hover over button for help',
'error': 'Widget ID not valid'
}
class ToolTipFunctionality:
def __init__(self, wid):
self.wid = wid
self.widet_depth = 1
self.widget_search_depth = 10
self.bind('<Enter>', lambda event, i=1: self.on_enter(event, i))
self.bind('<Leave>', lambda event: self.on_leave(event))
def on_enter(self, event, i):
if i > self.widget_search_depth:
return
try:
cmd = f'self{".master"*i}.show_tooltip(self.wid)'
eval(cmd)
self.widget_depth = i
except AttributeError:
return self.on_enter(event, i+1)
def on_leave(self, event):
cmd = f'self{".master" * self.widget_depth}.hide_tooltip()'
eval(cmd)
class MyButton(tk.Button, ToolTipFunctionality):
def __init__(self, parent, wid, **kwargs):
tk.Button.__init__(self, parent, **kwargs)
ToolTipFunctionality.__init__(self, wid)
class MyLabel(tk.Label, ToolTipFunctionality):
def __init__(self, parent, wid, **kwargs):
tk.Label.__init__(self, parent, **kwargs)
ToolTipFunctionality.__init__(self, wid)
class Application(tk.Tk):
def __init__(self):
tk.Tk.__init__(self)
self.tooltip = tk.StringVar()
self.tooltip.set(tooltips['idle'])
self.frame = tk.Frame(self, width=50)
self.frame.pack(expand=True)
MyLabel(self.frame, '', text='One Cool Program').pack()
self.subframe = tk.Frame(self.frame, width=40)
self.subframe.pack()
MyButton(self.subframe, 'button_hello', text='Hello!', command=self.greet, width=20).pack()
MyButton(self.subframe, 'button_insutl', text='Insult', command=self.insult, width=20).pack()
MyButton(self.subframe, 'button_quit', text='Quit', command=self.destroy, width=20).pack()
tk.Label(self.subframe, textvar=self.tooltip, width=20).pack()
def show_tooltip(self, wid):
try:
self.tooltip.set(tooltips[wid])
except KeyError:
self.tooltip.set(tooltips['error'])
def hide_tooltip(self):
self.tooltip.set(tooltips['idle'])
def greet(self):
print('Welcome, Fine Sir!')
def insult(self):
print('You must be dead from the neck up')
if __name__ == '__main__':
app = Application()
app.mainloop()

The best way I have found to create a popup help window is to use the tix.Balloon. I have modified it below to make it look better and show an example (note the use of tix.Tk):
import tkinter as tk
import tkinter.tix as tix
class Balloon(tix.Balloon):
# A modified tix popup balloon (to change the default delay, bg and wraplength)
init_after = 1250 # Milliseconds
wraplength = 300 # Pixels
def __init__(self, master):
bg = root.cget("bg")
# Call the parent
super().__init__(master, initwait=self.init_after)
# Change background colour
for i in self.subwidgets_all():
i.config(bg=bg)
# Modify the balloon label
self.message.config(wraplength=self.wraplength)
root = tix.Tk()
l = tk.Label(root, text="\n".join(["text"] * 5))
l.pack()
b = Balloon(root.winfo_toplevel())
b.bind_widget(l, balloonmsg="Some random text")
root.mainloop()
OLD ANSWER:
Here is an example using <enter> and <leave> as #bryanoakley suggested with a toplevel (with overridedirect set to true). Use the hover_timer class for easy use of this. This needs the widget and help-text (with an optional delay argument - default 0.5s) and can be easily called just by initiating the class and then cancelling it.
import threading, time
from tkinter import *
class hover_window (Toplevel):
def __init__ (self, coords, text):
super ().__init__ ()
self.geometry ("+%d+%d" % (coords [0], coords [1]))
self.config (bg = "white")
Label (self, text = text, bg = "white", relief = "ridge", borderwidth = 3, wraplength = 400, justify = "left").grid ()
self.overrideredirect (True)
self.update ()
self.bind ("<Enter>", lambda event: self.destroy ())
class hover_timer:
def __init__ (self, widget, text, delay = 2):
self.wind, self.cancel_var, self.widget, self.text, self.active, self.delay = None, False, widget, text, False, delay
threading.Thread (target = self.start_timer).start ()
def start_timer (self):
self.active = True
time.sleep (self.delay)
if not self.cancel_var: self.wind = hover_window ((self.widget.winfo_rootx (), self.widget.winfo_rooty () + self.widget.winfo_height () + 20), self.text)
self.active = False
def delayed_stop (self):
while self.active: time.sleep (0.05)
if self.wind:
self.wind.destroy ()
self.wind = None
def cancel (self):
self.cancel_var = True
if not self.wind: threading.Thread (target = self.delayed_stop).start ()
else:
self.wind.destroy ()
self.wind = None
def start_help (event):
# Create a new help timer
global h
h = hover_timer (l, "This is some additional information.", 0.5)
def end_help (event):
# If therre is one, end the help timer
if h: h.cancel ()
if __name__ == "__main__":
# Create the tkinter window
root = Tk ()
root.title ("Hover example")
# Help class not created yet
h = None
# Padding round label
Frame (root, width = 50).grid (row = 1, column = 0)
Frame (root, height = 50).grid (row = 0, column = 1)
Frame (root, width = 50).grid (row = 1, column = 2)
Frame (root, height = 50).grid (row = 2, column = 1)
# Setup the label
l = Label (root, text = "Hover over me for information.", font = ("sans", 32))
l.grid (row = 1, column = 1)
l.bind ("<Enter>", start_help)
l.bind ("<Leave>", end_help)
# Tkinter mainloop
root.mainloop ()

I wanted to contribute to the answer of #squareRoot17 as he inspired me to shorten his code while providing the same functionality:
import tkinter as tk
class ToolTip(object):
def __init__(self, widget, text):
self.widget = widget
self.text = text
def enter(event):
self.showTooltip()
def leave(event):
self.hideTooltip()
widget.bind('<Enter>', enter)
widget.bind('<Leave>', leave)
def showTooltip(self):
self.tooltipwindow = tw = tk.Toplevel(self.widget)
tw.wm_overrideredirect(1) # window without border and no normal means of closing
tw.wm_geometry("+{}+{}".format(self.widget.winfo_rootx(), self.widget.winfo_rooty()))
label = tk.Label(tw, text = self.text, background = "#ffffe0", relief = 'solid', borderwidth = 1).pack()
def hideTooltip(self):
tw = self.tooltipwindow
tw.destroy()
self.tooltipwindow = None
This class can then be imported and used as:
import tkinter as tk
from tooltip import ToolTip
root = tk.Tk()
your_widget = tk.Button(root, text = "Hover me!")
ToolTip(widget = your_widget, text = "Hover text!")
root.mainloop()