wxFilePickerCtrl
Table of Contents

wxFilePickerCtrl

Introduction

The wxFilePickerCtrl (wxWidgets: wxFilePickerCtrl Class Reference) control implements a control to select a file path. A text box is provided where the path can be entered manually but a dialog can also be launched to select the file.

An example of a wxFilePickerCtrl is shown in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1: A wxFilePickerCtrl widget

Example

The wxFilePickerCtrl control is easy to use. Below we show a simple example of a wxFilePickerCtrl with an event handler that updates the value of a wxTextCtrl control when the selected file is changed. The example is a simple modification of the MinimalApp2 example we presented in the minimal application tutorial. The full source for this example is available from our GitHub repository: wxWidgetsTutorials/PickerControls/WxFilePickerCtrl1.

The source files are shown below. The following modifications were made:

A wxTextCtrl and wxFilePickerCtrl have been added to the frame.
The OnPathChanged method is the event handler for the wxFilePickerCtrl. It updates the contents of the wxTextCtrl to match the currently selected path.
The event table links the wxFilePickerCtrl and its event handler.

File: PickerControls/WxFilePickerCtrl1/src/WxFilePickerCtrl1Frame.h

GitHub Copy

#ifndef _TUTORIALS_WXWIDGETS_WXFILEPICKERCTRL1FRAME_H_
#define _TUTORIALS_WXWIDGETS_WXFILEPICKERCTRL1FRAME_H_

#include <wx/frame.h>
#include <wx/filepicker.h>
#include <wx/textctrl.h>

class WxFilePickerCtrl1Frame : public wxFrame
{
public:
    WxFilePickerCtrl1Frame(const wxString& title);

private:
    void OnPathChanged(wxFileDirPickerEvent& evt);

private:
    wxTextCtrl* m_textCtrl;

    wxDECLARE_EVENT_TABLE();
};

#endif

File: PickerControls/WxFilePickerCtrl1/src/WxFilePickerCtrl1Frame.cpp

GitHub Copy

#include "WxFilePickerCtrl1Frame.h"
#include "WindowIDs.h"
#include <wx/panel.h>
#include <wx/stattext.h>
#include <wx/sizer.h>

WxFilePickerCtrl1Frame::WxFilePickerCtrl1Frame(const wxString& title)
    : wxFrame(NULL, wxID_ANY, title), m_textCtrl(0)
{
    // Create a top-level panel to hold all the contents of the frame
    wxPanel* panel = new= wxPanel(this, wxID_ANY);

    // Create a wxFilePickerCtrl control
    wxFilePickerCtrl* filePickerCtrl = new wxFilePickerCtrl(panel, FilePickerID,
        wxEmptyString, wxFileSelectorPromptStr, wxFileSelectorDefaultWildcardStr,
        wxDefaultPosition, wxSize(350, wxDefaultCoord));

    // We add a wxTextCtrl that will contain the same path as
    // the wxFilePickerCtrl. This is done by using the event
    // generated by the wxFilePickerCtrl when the path changes.
    wxStaticText* staticText = new wxStaticText(panel, wxID_ANY, "Selected Path:");
    m_textCtrl = new wxTextCtrl(panel, wxID_ANY);

    // Set up the sizer for the panel
    wxBoxSizer* panelSizer = new wxBoxSizer(wxVERTICAL);
    panelSizer->Add(filePickerCtrl, 0, wxEXPAND | wxALL, 5);
    panelSizer->AddSpacer(15);
    panelSizer->Add(staticText, 0, wxEXPAND | wxLEFT, 5);
    panelSizer->Add(m_textCtrl, 0, wxEXPAND | wxALL, 5);
    panel->SetSizer(panelSizer);

    // Set up the sizer for the frame and resize the frame
    // according to its contents
    wxBoxSizer* topSizer = new wxBoxSizer(wxHORIZONTAL);
    topSizer->Add(panel, 1, wxEXPAND);
    SetSizerAndFit(topSizer);
}

// This event handler will be called when the path
// of the wxFilePickerCtrl has changed
void WxFilePickerCtrl1Frame::OnPathChanged(wxFileDirPickerEvent& evt)
{
    if (m_textCtrl)
    {
        m_textCtrl->SetValue(evt.GetPath());
    }
}

// Add the event handler to the event table. As you can see we use the
// window ID to link the event handler to the wxFilePickerCtrl we created.
wxBEGIN_EVENT_TABLE(WxFilePickerCtrl1Frame, wxFrame)
    EVT_FILEPICKER_CHANGED(FilePickerID, WxFilePickerCtrl1Frame::OnPathChanged)
wxEND_EVENT_TABLE()

The application is shown below. Figure 2 shows the application with the wxFilePickerCtrl and Figure 3 shows the dialog that gets launched if the browse button is pressed.

Figure 2: The WxFilePickerCtrl1 Application

Figure 3: The WxFilePickerCtrl1 Browse Dialog

The rest of the source files don't contain significant changes but are shown here for completeness.

File: PickerControls/WxFilePickerCtrl1/src/WxFilePickerCtrl1App.h

GitHub Copy

#ifndef _TUTORIALS_WXWIDGETS_WXFILEPICKERCTRL1APP_H_
#define _TUTORIALS_WXWIDGETS_WXFILEPICKERCTRL1APP_H_

#include <wx/app.h>

class WxFilePickerCtrl1App : public wxApp
{
public:
    virtual bool OnInit();
};

#endif

File: PickerControls/WxFilePickerCtrl1/src/WxFilePickerCtrl1App.cpp

GitHub Copy

#include "WxFilePickerCtrl1App.h"
#include "WxFilePickerCtrl1Frame.h"

wxIMPLEMENT_APP(WxFilePickerCtrl1App);

bool WxFilePickerCtrl1App::OnInit()
{
    WxFilePickerCtrl1Frame* frame = new WxFilePickerCtrl1Frame("WxFilePickerCtrl1");
    frame->Show(true);
    return true;
}

File: PickerControls/WxFilePickerCtrl1/src/WindowIDs.h

GitHub Copy

#ifndef _TUTORIALS_WXWIDGETS_WINDOWIDS_H_
#define _TUTORIALS_WXWIDGETS_WINDOWIDS_H_

#include <wx/defs.h>

const wxWindowID FilePickerID = wxID_HIGHEST + 1;

#endif