How to create a combobox in tkinter

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Here we have delivered a complimentary video on How to create a graphical user interface in Tkinter .

It will demonstrate how a Combobox can be used to select values and then validate the entry chosen.

Using a Combobox in the computer programming world has been around for some time.

It is a useful way to select from a choice and could in many ways in data analytics help as the following examples show:

• Select a date to filter a data set down to values that are in the dataset.
• Using matplotlib to plot data points in charts, you could have dynamic values that change the diagram based on values chosen from the Combobox.
• Utilizing data analytics reports that the user accesses, the Combobox could be used to change the data shown dynamically to allow comparisons.
• When looking to fix data quality issues, use the Combobox to select values for a date that needs to be fixed, apply the fixes on screen, and then save back to the database.

Developing a Tkinter GUI and the possibilities it brings

In this video, we use ttk, written to help split the behavior of code from the code implementing its appearance.

You can see plenty more on it here ttk information. This is a handy piece of functionality as styling an object can interfere with how it works.

We also have a function that helps with the validation. In the below, it accomplishes the following:

• Allows the combobox value selected to be retrieved.
• Validates the entry chosen in the combobox using an if statement.

def checkifireland ():
    x = combolist.get() # asssigns the value inside the combobox to x so it can be processed
    if x == "Ireland":
        messagebox.showinfo("Correct answer", "You will love it in Ireland")
    else:
        messagebox.showinfo("Incorrect answer", "You should visit Ireland first!")

The effectiveness is especially handy as it helps to ensure that the code returned from the Combobox to the function is correct

The below video will take through this step by step and explain the concepts discussed above.

The next steps

We are looking to bring them in and show them on a graphical user interface tutorial.

To see how to load a set of values into a combobox from an SQLite database table, have a look at how to load values into a combobox