QFunnyWidgets

Definition. A library of 35 custom-painted, animated Qt widgets with a sense of humour, written on top of ManyQt so the same code runs on PyQt5, PyQt6, PySide6 (and the other bindings ManyQt supports), under Python 2.7 and Python 3.

Goal. Give serious applications a little personality: every widget is a drop-in, fully configurable QWidget that behaves like a normal control (signals, properties, keyboard support) but animates like a cartoon. Pure Python: ManyQt + one Qt binding, nothing else.

Contents:

Interactive controls:

Feedback & indicators:

Banners & placeholders:

Containers:

Identity:

Decorative / mascots:

Key features:

• 60 fps animation driven by QTimer + QElapsedTimer (frame-rate independent physics); timers stop when the widget is hidden.
• Everything painted with QPainter and antialiasing, scales cleanly to any size.
• Every option is a constructor kwarg, a getX()/setX() pair (setters are @pyqtSlots) and a pyqtProperty.
• Every event is a pyqtSignal, also accepted as a callable kwarg (toggled=self.onToggled).
• Colours accept QColor, Qt.GlobalColor, hex strings or ints. Painted text follows the palette, so widgets work on light and dark themes.
• Each package is standalone: copy one folder into your project and it works.
• One code base for every Qt binding (through ManyQt) and for Python 2.7 / 3.x (see Compatibility).
• Every widget ships its own icon, <widget>/logo.png, right beside its module (used as the demo window icon).
• Qt Designer plugins for 33 widgets in a single plugins/ directory (PyQt and PySide6 Designer), with live property editing and uic support.
• Installable with pip (universal Python 2/3 wheel), with funnywidgets-mainwindow and funnywidgets-designer commands.

Installation:

QFunnyWidgets needs ManyQt and one Qt binding. From the project folder (the one containing setup.py):

pip install .[pyqt5]          # library + a binding; or .[pyqt6], .[pyside6], .[pyside2]
pip install .                 # library only, when a binding is already installed
pip install -e .[pyqt5]       # editable install for development

To build distributable archives (a universal py2.py3 wheel and a source archive):

pip wheel . --no-deps -w dist     # dist/QFunnyWidgets-1.0.0-py2.py3-none-any.whl
python setup.py sdist             # dist/QFunnyWidgets-1.0.0.tar.gz

Python 2.7 installs the same way; enum34 is pulled in automatically there (it backs the four widgets that use enums). Installing also adds two commands:

Before publishing, fill in author, url and a license in setup.py (and add a LICENSE file); they are left empty on purpose.

Run:

Installed:

funnywidgets-mainwindow
QT_API=pyqt6 funnywidgets-mainwindow           # pick a backend explicitly (pyqt4/pyqt5/pyqt6/pyside/pyside2/pyside6)

From a source checkout (no install needed, just pip install ManyQt PyQt5):

python QFunnyWidgets/main.py                 # the full gallery
python QFunnyWidgets/googlyeyes/main.py      # any single widget demo

Qt Designer:

All Designer plugins live in one directory, plugins/ (installed as QFunnyWidgets.plugins):

Easiest: funnywidgets-designer (or python -m QFunnyWidgets.designer from a checkout) finds the plugins, sets the environment and starts the first Designer it finds: pyside6-designer (comes with PySide6), pyqt5-tools designer / pyqt6-tools designer, or a system designer. Set QT_API to prefer one. funnywidgets-designer --print-env prints the variables if you prefer to start Designer yourself:

export PYQTDESIGNERPATH=/path/to/plugins         # PyQt Designer
export PYSIDE_DESIGNER_PLUGINS=/path/to/plugins  # PySide6 Designer
export PYTHONPATH=/path/to/project               # only for a source checkout

In Designer the widgets appear in six groups (QFunnyWidgets: Inputs, Buttons, Navigation, Feedback, Containers & helpers, Mascots) with their logos as icons. Every option shows up in the property editor (they are pyqtPropertys), and saved forms compile normally: pyuic5, pyuic6 and pyside6-uic generate from QFunnyWidgets.<package> import <Class>.

Notes:

• PigeonToast and RocketBackToTop are not in Designer: they are overlays that attach to a parent widget or a scroll area when created, so create them in code.
• Each plugin makes ManyQt use the binding of the Designer that loads it (the PySide6 file selects pyside6), so widgets never load a second Qt binding into Designer.
• If a widget does not appear, start Designer with FUNNYWIDGETS_DESIGNER_DEBUG=1 to see what the plugins did.
• PyQt's Designer comes from pyqt5-tools / pyqt6-tools, which currently publish no wheels for Python 3.12; use Python 3.11 or earlier for those, or PySide6 Designer.

Compatibility:

How the code stays neutral:

• Imports come from ManyQt.QtCore / QtGui / QtWidgets; pyqtSignal, pyqtSlot and pyqtProperty are provided by ManyQt under every binding.
• APIs that differ between Qt versions are feature-detected: mouse positions through a small eventPos(e) helper ( position() on Qt 6, localPos() on Qt 5, posF() on Qt 4), QWidget.screen() vs QDesktopWidget, QButtonGroup.idClicked vs buttonClicked[int], Qt-5-only HiDPI attributes.
• Properties use types every binding can register (QObject, object, 'QString', 'QStringList').

Known issue (ManyQt 0.4.8 + PySide6 >= 6.8 on Python >= 3.11). import ManyQt.QtCore raises AttributeError: <enum 'RegexFlag'> cannot set attribute 'NOFLAG' from ManyQt/_fixes.py (lift_enum_namespace calls setattr on Python's own re.RegexFlag). It happens before any QFunnyWidgets code runs. Wrapping that setattr(type_, name, value) in try/except AttributeError fixes it; until ManyQt ships a fix, use PyQt5 or PyQt6, or patch locally.

Integration:

1. pip install .[pyqt5] (see Installation), or copy the QFunnyWidgets package folder (or a single widget folder such as jellyswitch/) into your project and pip install ManyQt plus a binding.
2. Design forms in Qt Designer with the plugins (see Qt Designer), or create widgets in code.
3. Import and use it like any other widget:

from QFunnyWidgets import JellySwitchWidget, HamsterLoaderWidget, MoodSliderWidget, NervousHoldButtonWidget

switch = JellySwitchWidget(checked=True, onColor='#5E60CE', toggled=lambda on: print('on' if on else 'off'))
loader = HamsterLoaderWidget(progress=0.0, finished=lambda: print('done'))
loader.setProgress(0.42)                  # 0..1, or -1 for indeterminate
mood = MoodSliderWidget(value=50, moodChanged=print)
delete = NervousHoldButtonWidget(holdDuration=2000, confirmed=self.deleteEverything)

from QFunnyWidgets import PigeonToast
toast = PigeonToast(self.centralWidget())   # overlay, follows the parent's size
toast.showMessage('File saved successfully.')
layout.addWidget(switch)

Logos:

Each package contains logo.png (256 x 256, transparent corners) right beside its module, e.g. heartlike/heartlike.py + heartlike/logo.png, so copying the folder copies the icon too. Use it anywhere:

from os.path import dirname, join
from ManyQt.QtGui import QIcon
import QFunnyWidgets.googlyeyes as pkg
icon = QIcon(join(dirname(pkg.__file__), 'logo.png'))

The logos are rendered from the real widgets by makelogos.py, which puts each widget in its most characteristic state, crops to the character and places it on a rounded-square tile. After changing a widget, regenerate them with python QFunnyWidgets/makelogos.py (optionally python QFunnyWidgets/makelogos.py 512).

Options at a glance:

• GooglyEyesWidget: eyeCount, eyeColor, pupilColor, lidColor, wobble (0..1), gravity, blinkInterval, autoBlink; signals poked(int), gotAngry(); slots blink(), makeDizzy().
• RunawayButtonWidget: text, tiredText, color, textColor, dodgeRadius, maxEscapes (0 = never gives up), taunts, autoReset; signals clicked(), escaped(int), caught(int); slot reset().
• JellySwitchWidget: checked, onColor, offColor, knobColor, wobbliness, showFace; signal toggled(bool); slot toggle(). Space/Enter toggles.
• HamsterLoaderWidget: progress, speed, hamsterColor, wheelColor, accentColor, messages, messageInterval, doneText, showPercent; signals finished(), progressChanged(float); slot reset().
• StarRatingWidget: rating, maxRating, starColor, emptyColor, labels, placeholder, showLabel, allowClear; signals ratingChanged(int), hovered(int). Arrow and number keys.
• NervousHoldButtonWidget: stages, doneText, reliefText, holdDuration, color, textColor, autoReset; signals confirmed(), cancelled(float); slot reset(). Hold Space works too.
• PanicBellWidget: count, color, badgeColor, panicThreshold, maxDisplay, clearOnClick; signals clicked(), countChanged(int); slots increment(), clear(), ring().
• RubberDuckWidget: duckColor, beakColor, waterColor, advice, adviceOnClick, adviceDuration, squeakText; signals squeaked(int), adviceGiven(str); slots squeak(), listen(text).
• PasswordJudgeWidget: text, placeholder, minLength, showToggle, revealed; signals strengthChanged(int) (-1 empty, 0 terrible .. 4 strong), textChanged(str), returnPressed(); getLineEdit() / getFace() give access to the children.
• CookieConsentWidget: title, message, acceptText, declineText, acceptedMessage, declinedMessage, accentColor, panelColor, textColor, cookieColor, autoReset; signals accepted(), declined(); slots accept(), decline(), reset().
• TypingIndicatorWidget: state (Typing, Thinking, Deleting, Sleeping), name, bubbleColor, dotColor, autoCycle; signal stateChanged(int).
• EmptyStateWidget: title, subtitle, actionText (empty hides the button), accentColor, sandColor, speed; signal actionClicked().
• VolumeKnobWidget: value (0..100), knobColor, trackColor, showLabel; signal valueChanged(int); slot toggleMute().
• PigeonToast: create with the widget to cover, e.g. PigeonToast(self.centralWidget()); duration, bannerColor, textColor, pigeonColor, caption, margin; slots showMessage(text, duration=-1), dismiss(); signals messageShown(str), messageFinished(str).
• DropZoneMonsterWidget: acceptedExtensions (empty = all), hint, subtitle, monsterColor, accentColor, clickToBrowse; signals filesDropped(list), filesRejected(list); slots feed(paths), browse().
• BatteryBuddyWidget: level (0..100), charging, lowThreshold, caseColor, showLabel; signals levelChanged(int), chargingChanged(bool), lowBattery().
• PresenceAvatarWidget: name, status (Online, Away, Busy, Offline), color (default derived from the name), badgeBorderColor; signals clicked(), statusChanged(int).
• DucklingPagerWidget: count, current, ducklings (0..6), wrap, duckColor, ducklingColor, padColor; signal currentChanged(int); slots next(), previous().
• DeadlineCountdownWidget: duration (s), title, timeScale, accentColor; signals expired(), remainingChanged(int); slots start(seconds=-1), pause(), resume(), extend(seconds).
• SearchDetectiveWidget: text, placeholder, debounce (ms), searchFunction (text -> count); signals searchRequested(str), textChanged(str), returnPressed(); slot setResultCount(int). DetectiveFaceWidget is usable on its own.
• RobotCheckWidget: text, verifiedText, failChance, panelColor, textColor, robotColor; signals verified(), failed(); slots verify(), reset().
• ChameleonColorPickerWidget: color, colors, columns, showHex, branchColor; signal colorChanged(QColor). Arrow keys move between swatches.
• ErrorGremlinWidget: severity (Info, Warning, Error, Critical), title, message, retryText (empty hides it), closable, panelColor, textColor; signals retryClicked(), dismissed(); slots showAlert(severity, title, message), dismiss().
• SnailStepperWidget: steps, current, speed (px/s), clickable, accentColor, shellColor; signals currentChanged(int), arrived(int); slots next(), previous().
• PancakeStepperWidget: value, minimum, maximum (<= 20), unit, accentColor; signal valueChanged(int); slots increment(), decrement(). Wheel, arrows, +/-.
• HeartLikeButtonWidget: liked, count, color, showCount; signals likedChanged(bool), countChanged(int); slot toggle().
• CopyBlobButtonWidget: text (copied), label (shown, optional), prompt, blobColor, chipColor, textColor; signal copied(str); slot copy(). Ctrl+C works when focused.
• RocketBackToTop: create with the scroll area, e.g. RocketBackToTop(myScrollArea); threshold (px), color, bodyColor, label; signal launched(); slot launch().
• SleepyCatSectionWidget: title, expanded, contentWidget (or content= kwarg), header colours via kwargs catColor, barColor, textColor; signal toggled(bool); slots toggle(), setExpanded(bool). For accordion behaviour, collapse the others on toggled(True).
• DachshundTabsWidget: tabs, current, dogColor, trackColor; signal currentChanged(int). Left/Right keys.
• PufferCounterWidget: text, placeholder, maxLength, enforceLimit; signals textChanged(str), limitExceeded(bool); getEditor() returns the QPlainTextEdit. PufferFooterWidget is usable alone.
• HelpOwlWidget: helpText, title, owlColor; signals shown(), hidden(); slots showHelp(), hideHelp(). F1/Space toggles, Esc closes. HelpBubble is usable alone.
• AntBreadcrumbWidget: path, crumbColor, antColor, marchingAnts; signals crumbClicked(int), pathChanged(list); slots push(name), navigateTo(index), setPath(list).
• AutosaveSquirrelWidget: status (Saved, Unsaved, Saving, Error), autosaveDelay, retryDelay, squirrelColor; signals saveRequested(), statusChanged(int); slots markDirty(), requestSave(), saveFinished(ok). Wire your editor's change signal to markDirty and your save routine to saveRequested.
• MoodSliderWidget: value, minimum, maximum, labels, showLabel, trackColor; signals valueChanged(int), moodChanged(str). Mouse drag, wheel, arrows, PageUp/Down, Home/End.

Support:

If QFunnyWidgets is useful to you, feel free to support its development:

• ba9chich: https://ba9chich.com/fr/IninouUsama
• Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/usamatn

Thank you :)

License:

See LICENSE.md.