📝 simple_checklist

simple_checklist is a customizable, frameless desktop checklist application I built using Pygame, designed for productivity and flexibility. It lets me (or you!) load CSV files as interactive task tables with smooth scrolling, animated UI elements, and fully custom window controls.

I made this project to emphasize clean design, animation-rich interaction, and native usability without relying on traditional OS window frames.

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🔧 Features

• Frameless Window Design

  • Custom title bar with manual drag & resize behavior
  • Fully custom buttons: Minimize, Maximize/Restore, Close

• Data-Driven Task Management

  • Load CSV files via a native file explorer popup
  • Display tasks as a scrollable, wrap-enabled table
  • Checkboxes to mark tasks complete, saved in memory

• Smooth UI & Visual Effects

  • Gradient vertical scrollbar with hover behavior
  • Button animations with color transitions
  • Text wrapping for long entries in each cell

• Keyboard & Mouse Friendly

  • Scrollwheel support for long lists
  • Hover-based UI highlighting for interactive elements

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📦 Prerequisites

Make sure Python 3.6 or newer is installed, along with these packages:

pip install pygame pywin32

I use pywin32 for handling Windows API functions that control the window behavior.

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▶️ How I Run the App

1. I install Python and the required packages.
2. Then I clone or download the repo to my machine.
3. I place the following image assets in the same folder as checklist.py:

checklist.png
close_black.png
close_white.png
maximize_black.png
maximize_white.png
minimize_white.png
minimize-black.png
restore_black.png
restore_white.png

4. I launch the script from my terminal or command prompt:

python checklist.py

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🛠️ How I Build a Standalone Executable (Windows)

To turn the script into a .exe (no terminal window), here’s what I do:

1. Install PyInstaller:

pip install pyinstaller

2. (Optional) I create a .ico file for the app icon (like checklist.ico).

3. Then I run this build command:

python -m PyInstaller --onefile --noconsole --icon=checklist.ico \
--add-data "checklist.png;." \
--add-data "close_black.png;." --add-data "close_white.png;." \
--add-data "maximize_black.png;." --add-data "maximize_white.png;." \
--add-data "minimize_white.png;." --add-data "minimize-black.png;." \
--add-data "restore_black.png;." --add-data "restore_white.png;." \
checklist.py

4. The final executable shows up in the dist/ folder.

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🖼️ Required Image Assets

Here’s a list of the image files I include for the UI:

checklist.png             # App icon/logo
close_black.png           # Close button (dark mode)
close_white.png           # Close button (light mode)
maximize_black.png        # Maximize button (dark mode)
maximize_white.png        # Maximize button (light mode)
minimize_white.png        # Minimize button (light mode)
minimize-black.png        # Minimize button (dark mode)
restore_black.png         # Restore button (dark mode)
restore_white.png         # Restore button (light mode)

All of these go in the same folder as checklist.py, or I include them with --add-data when using PyInstaller.

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💡 Potential Improvements

Here’s what I might add in future versions:

• Dark mode toggle
• Theme and color customization
• Drag-and-drop task ordering
• CSV editing and saving
• Configurable column widths
• Auto-save checkbox states

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📜 License

I’m using the MIT License for this project.

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🙌 Credits

This project was built by me — Zane — a student and aspiring software engineer who loves Python and making things simple and intuitive.

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🔗 Related Tools

• Pygame Documentation
• PyInstaller Docs
• pywin32 on PyPI

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