QDockWidget¶

PyQt6.QtWidgets.QDockWidget: Inherits from QWidget.

Description¶

The QDockWidget class provides a widget that can be docked inside a QMainWindow or floated as a top-level window on the desktop.

QDockWidget provides the concept of dock widgets, also know as tool palettes or utility windows. Dock windows are secondary windows placed in the dock widget area around the centralWidget() in a QMainWindow.

Dock windows can be moved inside their current area, moved into new areas and floated (e.g., undocked) by the end-user. The QDockWidget API allows the programmer to restrict the dock widgets ability to move, float and close, as well as the areas in which they can be placed.

Appearance¶

A QDockWidget consists of a title bar and the content area. The title bar displays the dock widgets windowTitle(), a float button and a close button. Depending on the state of the QDockWidget, the float and close buttons may be either disabled or not shown at all.

The visual appearance of the title bar and buttons is dependent on the QStyle in use.

A QDockWidget acts as a wrapper for its child widget, set with setWidget(). Custom size hints, minimum and maximum sizes and size policies should be implemented in the child widget. QDockWidget will respect them, adjusting its own constraints to include the frame and title. Size constraints should not be set on the QDockWidget itself, because they change depending on whether it is docked; a docked QDockWidget has no frame and a smaller title bar.

Note: On macOS, if the QDockWidget has a native window handle (for example, if winId() is called on it or the child widget), then due to a limitation it will not be possible to drag the dock widget when undocking. Starting the drag will undock the dock widget, but a second drag will be needed to move the dock widget itself.

See also

QMainWindow.

Enums¶

DockWidgetFeature

Member	Value	Description
DockWidgetClosable	0x01	The dock widget can be closed.
DockWidgetFloatable	0x04	The dock widget can be detached from the main window, and floated as an independent window.
DockWidgetMovable	0x02	The dock widget can be moved between docks by the user.
DockWidgetVerticalTitleBar	0x08	The dock widget displays a vertical title bar on its left side. This can be used to increase the amount of vertical space in a QMainWindow.
NoDockWidgetFeatures	0x00	The dock widget cannot be closed, moved, or floated.

Methods¶

__init__(parent: QWidget = None, flags: WindowType = Qt.WindowFlags()): Constructs a QDockWidget with parent parent and window flags flags. The dock widget will be placed in the left dock widget area.

__init__(Optional[str], parent: QWidget = None, flags: WindowType = Qt.WindowFlags())

Constructs a QDockWidget with parent parent and window flags flags. The dock widget will be placed in the left dock widget area.

The window title is set to title. This title is used when the QDockWidget is docked and undocked. It is also used in the context menu provided by QMainWindow.

See also

setWindowTitle().

allowedAreas() → DockWidgetArea: See also

setAllowedAreas().

changeEvent(QEvent): TODO

closeEvent(QCloseEvent): TODO

dockLocation() → DockWidgetArea: See also

setDockLocation().

event(QEvent) → bool: TODO

features() → DockWidgetFeature: See also

setFeatures().

initStyleOption(QStyleOptionDockWidget): Initialize option with the values from this QDockWidget. This method is useful for subclasses when they need a QStyleOptionDockWidget, but don’t want to fill in all the information themselves.

See also

initFrom().

isAreaAllowed(DockWidgetArea) → bool: Returns true if this dock widget can be placed in the given area; otherwise returns false.

isFloating() → bool: TODO

paintEvent(QPaintEvent): TODO

setAllowedAreas(DockWidgetArea): See also

allowedAreas().

setDockLocation(DockWidgetArea)

Assigns this dock widget to area. If docked at another dock location, it will move to area. If floating or part of floating tabs, the next call of setFloating()(false) will dock it at area.

Note: setDockLocation(Qt::NoDockLocation) is equivalent to setFloating()(true).

See also

dockLocation(), dockLocationChanged.

setFeatures(DockWidgetFeature): See also

features().

setFloating(bool): See also

isFloating().

setTitleBarWidget(QWidget)

Sets an arbitrary widget as the dock widget’s title bar. If widget is nullptr, any custom title bar widget previously set on the dock widget is removed, but not deleted, and the default title bar will be used instead.

If a title bar widget is set, QDockWidget will not use native window decorations when it is floated.

Here are some tips for implementing custom title bars:

Mouse events that are not explicitly handled by the title bar widget must be ignored by calling QMouseEvent::ignore(). These events then propagate to the QDockWidget parent, which handles them in the usual manner, moving when the title bar is dragged, docking and undocking when it is double-clicked, etc.

When DockWidgetVerticalTitleBar is set on QDockWidget, the title bar widget is repositioned accordingly. In resizeEvent(), the title bar should check what orientation it should assume:

# QDockWidget *dockWidget = qobject_cast<QDockWidget*>(parentWidget());
# if (dockWidget->features() & QDockWidget::DockWidgetVerticalTitleBar) {
#     // I need to be vertical
# } else {
#     // I need to be horizontal
# }

The title bar widget must have a valid sizeHint() and minimumSizeHint(). These functions should take into account the current orientation of the title bar.
It is not possible to remove a title bar from a dock widget. However, a similar effect can be achieved by setting a default constructed QWidget as the title bar widget.

Using qobject_cast() as shown above, the title bar widget has full access to its parent QDockWidget. Hence it can perform such operations as docking and hiding in response to user actions.

See also

titleBarWidget(), DockWidgetVerticalTitleBar.

setWidget(QWidget)

Sets the widget for the dock widget to widget.

If the dock widget is visible when widget is added, you must show() it explicitly.

Note that you must add the layout of the widget before you call this function; if not, the widget will not be visible.

See also

widget().

titleBarWidget() → QWidget: Returns the custom title bar widget set on the QDockWidget, or nullptr if no custom title bar has been set.

See also

setTitleBarWidget().

toggleViewAction() → QAction

Returns a checkable action that can be added to menus and toolbars so that the user can show or close this dock widget.

The action’s text is set to the dock widget’s window title.

The QAction object is owned by the QDockWidget. It will be automatically deleted when the QDockWidget is destroyed.

Note: The action can not be used to programmatically show or hide the dock widget. Use the visible property for that.

See also

text(), windowTitle().

widget() → QWidget: Returns the widget for the dock widget. This function returns zero if the widget has not been set.

See also

setWidget().

Signals¶

allowedAreasChanged(DockWidgetArea): This signal is emitted when the allowedAreas() property changes. The allowedAreas parameter gives the new value of the property.

dockLocationChanged(DockWidgetArea): This signal is emitted when the dock widget is moved to another dock area, or is moved to a different location in its current dock area. This happens when the dock widget is moved programmatically or is dragged to a new location by the user.

See also

dockLocation(), setDockLocation().

featuresChanged(DockWidgetFeature): This signal is emitted when the features() property changes. The features parameter gives the new value of the property.

topLevelChanged(bool): This signal is emitted when the floating property changes. The topLevel parameter is true if the dock widget is now floating; otherwise it is false.

See also

isWindow().

visibilityChanged(bool)

This signal is emitted when the dock widget becomes visible (or invisible). This happens when the widget is hidden or shown, as well as when it is docked in a tabbed dock area and its tab becomes selected or unselected.

Note: The signal can differ from isVisible(). This can be the case, if a dock widget is minimized or tabified and associated to a non-selected or inactive tab.