3. tk LabelFrame

See: https://docs.python.org/3/library/tkinter.html#tkinter.LabelFrame

3.1. Usage

The tkinter.LabelFrame widget is a container used to group related widgets.
It is similar to a Frame but displays a text label along its border, making it useful for visually grouping related controls.
To create a LabelFrame widget the general syntax is
(assuming import via "import tkinter as tk"):

labelframe_widget = tk.LabelFrame(parent, option=value): parent is the window or frame object.

Options can be passed as parameters separated by commas.

3.2. Sample LabelFrame

The code below creates a labelled frame that could be used to group several related widgets.

The title appears in the upper border of the LabelFrame.

import tkinter as tk

root = tk.Tk()
root.title("LabelFrame Widget Example")
root.geometry("320x220")

settings = tk.LabelFrame(
    root,
    text="User Settings",
    font=("Arial", 10),
    padx=10,
    pady=10,
    bd=2,
    relief="groove"
)

settings.pack(padx=20, pady=20, fill="both", expand=True)

root.mainloop()

3.3. When to use a LabelFrame

A LabelFrame is useful when related widgets should be grouped together and identified with a descriptive title.

Typical uses include:

User details
Network settings
Display options
File selection controls
Search filters
Preferences and configuration dialogs

3.4. Parameter syntax

The main options are below.

Note

The width and height options only specify the requested size. If the LabelFrame contains widgets, it will normally resize itself to fit them. To force the LabelFrame to keep its specified size, disable geometry propagation.

labelframe.pack_propagate(False)
# or
labelframe.grid_propagate(False)

labelframe_widget = tk.LabelFrame(parent, option=value)

Parameters:

background

bg: Syntax: labelframe_widget = tk.LabelFrame(parent, bg="color")

Description: Sets the background color of the LabelFrame.

Default: SystemButtonFace

borderwidth

bd: Syntax: labelframe_widget = tk.LabelFrame(parent, bd=width)

Description: Sets the width of the LabelFrame border.

Default: 0

cursor: Syntax: labelframe_widget = tk.LabelFrame(parent, cursor="cursor_type")

Description: Changes the mouse cursor when it hovers over the LabelFrame.

font: Syntax: labelframe_widget = tk.LabelFrame(parent, font=("Arial", 10, "bold"))

Description: Sets the font used for the LabelFrame title.

Default: System default font.

foreground

fg: Syntax: labelframe_widget = tk.LabelFrame(parent, fg="blue")

Description: Sets the color of the LabelFrame title.

height: Syntax: labelframe_widget = tk.LabelFrame(parent, height=height_in_pixels)

Description: Sets the height of the LabelFrame in pixels.

Default: 0

highlightbackground: Syntax: labelframe_widget = tk.LabelFrame(parent, highlightbackground="color")

Description: Sets the color of the focus highlight when the LabelFrame does not have focus.

highlightcolor: Syntax: labelframe_widget = tk.LabelFrame(parent, highlightcolor="color")

Description: Sets the color of the focus highlight when the LabelFrame has focus.

highlightthickness: Syntax: labelframe_widget = tk.LabelFrame(parent, highlightthickness=thickness)

Description: Sets the thickness of the focus highlight.

Default: 0

labelanchor

Syntax: labelframe_widget = tk.LabelFrame(parent, labelanchor="nw")
Description: Specifies the position of the LabelFrame title around the border.
Default: "nw"

Valid values:

Value	Position
`n`	Top centre.
`ne`	Top right.
`nw`	Top left (default).
`e`	Right side.
`w`	Left side.
`s`	Bottom centre.
`se`	Bottom right.
`sw`	Bottom left.

padx: Syntax: labelframe_widget = tk.LabelFrame(parent, padx=padding)

Description: Sets the horizontal padding inside the LabelFrame.

pady: Syntax: labelframe_widget = tk.LabelFrame(parent, pady=padding)

Description: Sets the vertical padding inside the LabelFrame.

relief: Syntax: labelframe_widget = tk.LabelFrame(parent, relief="relief_type")

Description: Sets the border style of the LabelFrame.

Values include "flat", "raised", "sunken", "ridge", "solid", and "groove".

Default: "groove"

takefocus: Syntax: labelframe_widget = tk.LabelFrame(parent, takefocus=True)

Description: Determines whether the LabelFrame can receive keyboard focus.

Default: 0

text: Syntax: labelframe_widget = tk.LabelFrame(parent, text="Settings")

Description: Sets the text displayed as the LabelFrame title.

Default: ""

width: Syntax: labelframe_widget = tk.LabelFrame(parent, width=width_in_pixels)

Description: Sets the width of the LabelFrame in pixels.

Default: 0

3.5. Default options

Code to display the default values for each LabelFrame option is shown below.

import tkinter as tk

root = tk.Tk()

labelframe = tk.LabelFrame(root)
labelframe_options = labelframe.keys()

for option in labelframe_options:
    print(f"{option}: {labelframe.cget(option)}")