dialog-generator

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Generate modal and modeless dialog windows for Tkinter applications. Use when creating dialogs, popups, or secondary windows, when user mentions "dialog", "popup", "modal", or when working with files in views/dialogs/ directory.

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[Code Generation]

When & Why to Use This Skill

This Claude skill is a specialized tool for Python developers designed to automate the creation of professional Tkinter dialog windows. It generates boilerplate-free, best-practice code for modal and modeless dialogs, including input forms, confirmation prompts, and progress bars. By handling complex UI logic like window centering, focus management, and event protocols, it significantly accelerates desktop application development and ensures a consistent user experience.

Use Cases

  • Rapidly generating custom modal forms to collect structured user data with built-in validation and 'OK/Cancel' logic.
  • Implementing standard confirmation and warning popups for critical user actions like deleting records or exiting without saving.
  • Creating modeless tool palettes or secondary windows that allow users to interact with the main application while keeping tools accessible.
  • Integrating visual progress indicators for long-running background tasks to improve application responsiveness and user feedback.
  • Building specialized input dialogs for quick text or configuration retrieval using standardized Tkinter and ttkbootstrap components.
namedialog-generator
descriptionGenerate modal and modeless dialog windows for Tkinter applications. Use when creating dialogs, popups, or secondary windows, when user mentions "dialog", "popup", "modal", or when working with files in views/dialogs/ directory.
allowed-toolsRead, Write

You are a Tkinter dialog expert. You create modal and modeless dialogs following best practices.

Dialog Types

1. Modal Dialog (blocks parent until closed)

"""<Description> dialog."""

import tkinter as tk
from typing import Any

import ttkbootstrap as ttk
from ttkbootstrap.constants import *


class <DialogName>Dialog(tk.Toplevel):
    """Modal <description> dialog."""

    def __init__(self, parent: tk.Tk, title: str = "Dialog") -> None:
        super().__init__(parent)
        self.title(title)
        self.result: Any | None = None

        # Make modal
        self.transient(parent)
        self.grab_set()

        # Build UI
        self._build_ui()

        # Center on parent
        self._center_on_parent(parent)

        # Handle window close
        self.protocol("WM_DELETE_WINDOW", self.on_cancel)

    def _build_ui(self) -> None:
        """Build dialog UI."""
        main_frame = ttk.Frame(self, padding=20)
        main_frame.pack(fill=BOTH, expand=True)

        # Dialog content here

        # Button frame
        button_frame = ttk.Frame(main_frame)
        button_frame.pack(side=BOTTOM, fill=X, pady=(15, 0))

        ttk.Button(
            button_frame,
            text="OK",
            command=self.on_ok,
            bootstyle=PRIMARY,
            width=10,
        ).pack(side=RIGHT, padx=(5, 0))

        ttk.Button(
            button_frame,
            text="Cancel",
            command=self.on_cancel,
            width=10,
        ).pack(side=RIGHT)

    def _center_on_parent(self, parent: tk.Tk) -> None:
        """Center dialog on parent."""
        self.update_idletasks()
        x = parent.winfo_x() + (parent.winfo_width() - self.winfo_width()) // 2
        y = parent.winfo_y() + (parent.winfo_height() - self.winfo_height()) // 2
        self.geometry(f"+{x}+{y}")

    def on_ok(self) -> None:
        """Handle OK button."""
        self.result = self.get_result()
        self.destroy()

    def on_cancel(self) -> None:
        """Handle Cancel button."""
        self.result = None
        self.destroy()

    def get_result(self) -> Any:
        """Get dialog result."""
        # Return form data or result
        return {}

    @staticmethod
    def show_dialog(parent: tk.Tk) -> Any | None:
        """Show dialog and return result."""
        dialog = <DialogName>Dialog(parent)
        parent.wait_window(dialog)
        return dialog.result

2. Input Dialog (get user input)

class InputDialog(tk.Toplevel):
    """Simple input dialog."""

    def __init__(self, parent: tk.Tk, title: str, prompt: str):
        super().__init__(parent)
        self.title(title)
        self.result: str | None = None

        self.transient(parent)
        self.grab_set()

        # Build UI
        frame = ttk.Frame(self, padding=20)
        frame.pack(fill=BOTH, expand=True)

        ttk.Label(frame, text=prompt).pack(pady=(0, 10))

        self.entry_var = tk.StringVar()
        self.entry = ttk.Entry(frame, textvariable=self.entry_var, width=30)
        self.entry.pack(fill=X, pady=(0, 15))
        self.entry.focus()
        self.entry.bind("<Return>", lambda e: self.on_ok())

        # Buttons
        btn_frame = ttk.Frame(frame)
        btn_frame.pack()

        ttk.Button(
            btn_frame,
            text="OK",
            command=self.on_ok,
            bootstyle=PRIMARY,
        ).pack(side=LEFT, padx=5)

        ttk.Button(
            btn_frame,
            text="Cancel",
            command=self.on_cancel,
        ).pack(side=LEFT, padx=5)

        self._center_on_parent(parent)
        self.protocol("WM_DELETE_WINDOW", self.on_cancel)

    def _center_on_parent(self, parent: tk.Tk) -> None:
        self.update_idletasks()
        x = parent.winfo_x() + (parent.winfo_width() - self.winfo_width()) // 2
        y = parent.winfo_y() + (parent.winfo_height() - self.winfo_height()) // 2
        self.geometry(f"+{x}+{y}")

    def on_ok(self) -> None:
        self.result = self.entry_var.get()
        self.destroy()

    def on_cancel(self) -> None:
        self.result = None
        self.destroy()

    @staticmethod
    def get_input(parent: tk.Tk, title: str, prompt: str) -> str | None:
        """Show input dialog and return result."""
        dialog = InputDialog(parent, title, prompt)
        parent.wait_window(dialog)
        return dialog.result

3. Confirmation Dialog

from tkinter import messagebox

# Simple confirmation
if messagebox.askyesno("Confirm", "Are you sure?"):
    perform_action()

# With warning style
if messagebox.askokcancel("Confirm Delete", "This cannot be undone"):
    delete_item()

4. Progress Dialog

from tkinter_app.utils import ProgressDialog

# Built-in progress dialog
result, error = ProgressDialog.run_with_dialog(
    parent=self,
    task=long_running_function,
    title="Processing",
    message="Please wait..."
)

5. Modeless Dialog (non-blocking)

class ToolPalette(tk.Toplevel):
    """Modeless tool palette."""

    def __init__(self, parent: tk.Tk):
        super().__init__(parent)
        self.title("Tools")

        # Don't make modal (no grab_set)
        self.transient(parent)  # Keep on top of parent

        # Build UI
        self._build_ui()

        # Handle close
        self.protocol("WM_DELETE_WINDOW", self.on_close)

    def _build_ui(self) -> None:
        # Tool buttons
        pass

    def on_close(self) -> None:
        """Hide instead of destroy."""
        self.withdraw()

    def show(self) -> None:
        """Show dialog."""
        self.deiconify()

Dialog Patterns

Form Dialog

class FormDialog(tk.Toplevel):
    """Dialog with form fields."""

    def _build_ui(self) -> None:
        frame = ttk.Frame(self, padding=20)
        frame.pack(fill=BOTH, expand=True)

        # Name field
        ttk.Label(frame, text="Name:").grid(row=0, column=0, sticky=W, pady=5)
        self.name_var = tk.StringVar()
        ttk.Entry(frame, textvariable=self.name_var).grid(
            row=0, column=1, sticky=EW, pady=5, padx=(10, 0)
        )

        # Email field
        ttk.Label(frame, text="Email:").grid(row=1, column=0, sticky=W, pady=5)
        self.email_var = tk.StringVar()
        ttk.Entry(frame, textvariable=self.email_var).grid(
            row=1, column=1, sticky=EW, pady=5, padx=(10, 0)
        )

        frame.columnconfigure(1, weight=1)

        # Buttons...

    def get_result(self) -> dict:
        return {
            "name": self.name_var.get(),
            "email": self.email_var.get(),
        }

Best Practices

  1. Always make modal: Use transient() and grab_set() for modal dialogs
  2. Center on parent: Calculate position relative to parent window
  3. Handle window close: Set protocol("WM_DELETE_WINDOW") handler
  4. Keyboard shortcuts: Bind Enter to OK, Escape to Cancel
  5. Focus management: Set focus to primary input field
  6. Return vs Cancel: Distinguish between OK (return data) and Cancel (return None)
  7. Static helper method: Provide show_dialog() for easy usage
  8. Validation: Validate form data before accepting

This skill helps you create professional, well-behaved dialog windows for your Tkinter application.