QT Designer Integration

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Qt Integration in GNU Radio

This wiki page aims to guide through the process of integrating Qt GUI components into our GNU Radio projects. Qt provides a powerful framework for creating interactive and visually appealing graphical user interfaces, and integrating it with GNU Radio can enhance the user experience of our flowgraphs.

Introduction

Qt is a cross-platform C++ framework for developing applications with rich graphical user interfaces. Integrating Qt GUI components within your GNU Radio projects enables you to design and customize the appearance and behavior of your flowgraphs' user interfaces.

Dependencies

This feature relies on the following dependencies:

• Qt5
• Qt Designer

Creating Custom Layouts

Creating custom layouts in Qt allows us to arrange and organize our GUI elements in a way that best suits our application's needs. We can create layouts such as grids, stacked widgets, and more, to achieve a well-structured and visually appealing interface.

To create a custom layout:

1. Open your GNU Radio Companion (GRC) flowgraph.

2. Add the desired gr-qtgui widgets to your flowgraph.

3. Save your flowgraph.

4. Generate a .ui file by navigating to "Top Horizontal Bar" > "Generate .ui Form for Flowgraph."

5. Open the generated .ui file in Qt Designer to create and customize your layout.

Editing .ui Files in Qt Designer

Once we have our .ui file, we can open it in Qt Designer to further customize the layout and appearance of our GUI. Qt Designer provides an intuitive interface for adding widgets, arranging elements, and applying formatting options.

Integrating .ui Files

Once you've created and customized your layout in Qt Designer, the generated python file will integrate it into your GNU Radio project:

1. The .ui file is loaded in your Python code using the `uic` module.

       file_path = os.fspath(Path(__file__).resolve().parent / "<your-file-name>.ui")

       if os.path.exists(file_path):
           ui_file = QFile(file_path)
           ui_file.open(QFile.ReadOnly)
           uic.loadUi(ui_file,self)
           ui_file.close()

2. The loaded .ui file to set your main application window.

Running the Custom Layout

Running your custom layout is as simple as executing your Python script. Your GUI will reflect the design and arrangement you created in Qt Designer, providing a user-friendly interface for your flowgraph.

Tips and Considerations

Here are some tips and considerations to keep in mind when working with Qt integration in GNU Radio:

• No Layout : This error might occurs when we do not set a layout for our widget.

To resolve this, ensure that we set a layout for our widget, either by using the default layout or a custom layout.

Source Branch

GitHub

Qt-designer-integration