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Agmenor
Asked: 2012-06-21 02:06:39 +0800 CST

How do I create and use keyboard shortcuts in a Gtk app that I am developing?

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I am creating an application for the Ubuntu App Showdown in Python + Gtk with quickly. I am calling it Discvur. I would have liked to include some keyboard shortcuts.

Searching the web, I found this page about AccelGroup and this page about gtk_widget_add_accelerator but I don't understand how to start with it. Could you tell me how I would define an appropriate signal and then use it in my application?

python

3 Answers

  1. Here's some bits of code from one of my Python + Gtk apps, further extended according to the comments to this answer:

    self.my_accelerators = Gtk.AccelGroup()
self.entry = Gtk.builder.get_object("entry1")
self.add_accelerator(self.entry, "<Control>b", signal="backspace")
...

def add_accelerator(self, widget, accelerator, signal="activate"):
    """Adds a keyboard shortcut"""
    if accelerator is not None:
        #if DEBUG:
            #print accelerator, widget.get_tooltip_text()
        key, mod = Gtk.accelerator_parse(accelerator)
        widget.add_accelerator(signal, self.my_accelerators, key, mod, Gtk.AccelFlags.VISIBLE)
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  2. Best Answer

    Here is the code that finally worked. As it depends highly on my development environment Quickly + Glade + Python + Gtk, I make it an independent answer. Bryce's answer helped a lot, and so did my exchanges with aking1012.

    The actual code, in a text editor:

    # Accelerators
self.my_accelerators = Gtk.AccelGroup()
self.window = self.builder.get_object("discvur_window")
self.window.add_accel_group(self.my_accelerators)
self.entry = self.builder.get_object("entry1")
self.add_accelerator(self.entry, "<Control>b", signal="backspace")

…

def add_accelerator(self, widget, accelerator, signal="activate"):
    """Adds a keyboard shortcut"""
    if accelerator is not None:
        #if DEBUG:
            #print accelerator, widget.get_tooltip_text()
        key, mod = Gtk.accelerator_parse(accelerator)
        widget.add_accelerator(signal, self.my_accelerators, key, mod, Gtk.AccelFlags.VISIBLE)
        print "The accelerator is well added with the signal " + signal

def on_erasing(self, widget):
    print "It works."

    In Glade, I created a GtkEntry called "entry1" in my window called "discvur_window". In the 'Signals' tab, I gave the signal "backspace" a handler called "on_erasing".

    Now, hitting Backspace or Ctrl+B makes the terminal print "It works.".

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  3. I've repackaged the given answers in this thread into a standalone example:

    #!/usr/bin/env python2

import signal

from gi.repository import Gtk

def bind_accelerator(accelerators, widget, accelerator, signal='clicked'):
    key, mod = Gtk.accelerator_parse(accelerator)
    widget.add_accelerator(signal, accelerators, key, mod, Gtk.AccelFlags.VISIBLE)

def on_recompute_base_encryption_key_hash(widget):
    print 'Thinking... (This could take forever)'

def main():

    if 'gtk':
        window = Gtk.Window()
        window.connect("delete-event", Gtk.main_quit)

        if 'accelerator-demo':
            # Accelerators
            accelerators = Gtk.AccelGroup()
            window.add_accel_group(accelerators)

            # Widget
            target_widget = Gtk.Button('Recompute Base Encryption Key Hash')
            target_widget.connect('clicked', on_recompute_base_encryption_key_hash)
            window.add(target_widget)

            # Bind
            bind_accelerator(accelerators, target_widget, '<Control>b')

        window.show_all()
        signal.signal(signal.SIGINT, signal.SIG_DFL)
        Gtk.main()

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

    Also available as a gist: https://gist.github.com/thorsummoner/230bed5bbd3380bd5949

    Note: The default signal is clicked, not activate because Applications should never connect to the ::activate signal, but use the Gtk.Button ::clicked signal.

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