[Question] Is there a way to hide a widget without destroying it?

[Column01]

Description:

I'm looking for a way to toggle a widget's visibility on-screen without completely deleting it. Is there some way I can do this?

My project has 2 panels that have data updated in them automatically, and I'd like to allow the user to hide them with a keystroke. The only way I could think of was to delete them, but obviously this breaks the code that updates them automatically and isn't really ideal. Is there some sort of way I can toggle their visibility but still allow this code to update their contents so I can make them visible at a later point?

Affected versions (if applicable)

• master branch (specify commit)
• Latest stable version from pypi
• Other (specify source)

Steps to reproduce (if applicable)

N/A

Expected/actual outcome

N/A

[tonycpsu]

Depends on what the parent widget is. For Pile and Columns you can just delete the widget from the container's contents and as long as you have a reference to it somewhere else, you can update it and then re-add it to the container's contents.

[Column01]

Well, the widgets in question are both inside a single Pile, and then finally they are both inside a LineBox. If I delete them from it, will it not break the code that updates their contents? Ideally, I'd like the entire pile to be invisible without actually deleting them.

[tonycpsu]

Sounds like what you want in that case is a WidgetPlaceholder inside the LineBox, then put the Pile inside the WidgetPlaceholder. When you want the Pile to go away, replace the WidgetPlaceholder's original_widget property with something like urwid.Filler(urwid.Text(""))

[Column01]

It's basically this hierarchy:

• Pile
  • LineBox
    • Text
  • LineBox
    • Custom widget wrapper (WidgetPlaceholder)
      • ListBox
        • SimpleListWalker

The Text box is updated using a direct reference to it and calling set_text()

The ListBox has its contents updated by updating the SimpleListWalker's contents from inside the wrapper (for addition and subtraction of its contents)

[Column01]

Here is an example, but I would like this whole pile to go away and for the console on the left to expand and take its place

[tonycpsu]

Looks like the container widget there is Columns, not Pile.

In this case, it's what I said originally. You want a Columns widget with 2 columns, then you want one column. So just keep a reference to the Pile in the 2nd column inside the containing widget, update it as necessary, etc. then add it to the contents of the Columns. When you want to hide it, delete it from the contents., then when you want to re-add it, insert it into the list again.

[Column01]

Looks like the container widget there is Columns, not Pile.

It isn't a Columns widget, the console window is, but the sidebar is not.

g_sidebar = urwid.Pile((
        ('pack', urwid.AttrMap(urwid.LineBox(self.g_stats, title='stats'), 'stats')),
        urwid.AttrMap(urwid.LineBox(self.g_pmenu, title="players"), 'menu')))
g_main = urwid.Columns((
        urwid.WidgetDisable(urwid.AttrMap(self.g_output_wrap, 'console')),
        ('fixed', 31, g_sidebar)))

[Column01]

Ohhhh I see now

[tonycpsu]

Looks something like this:

https://github.com/tonycpsu/panwid/blob/unstable/panwid/autocomplete.py#L270

[Column01]

So what I'd need to do is keep my reference to g_sidebar and g_main and then when I want to hide the sidebar, remove the second column and when I want it back, add it to the column again?

[Column01]

That appears to have worked! Thank you so much 😄