Qt Designer
===========

.. _install_designer:

Installing the Qt Designer
--------------------------

In a terminal, install Qt Designer 5 with
::

	sudo apt install qttools5-dev-tools

.. note:: The Qt6 Designer is not required nor better; Qt5 Designer is fine.

.. _build_gui:

Building a GUI
--------------

Run the Qt Designer from the Applications > Programming menu and create a new
`Main Window`

.. image:: /images/designer-01.png
   :align: center

To add a Tool Bar, right click on the main window and select `Add Tool Bar`

.. image:: /images/designer-02.png
   :align: center

To add a Menu, type in the menu area and press enter

.. image:: /images/designer-03.png
   :align: center

When you create a Menu item it creates an action; this action can be dragged to
the Tool Bar to create a tool bar button

.. image:: /images/designer-04.png
   :align: center

Adding items from the Widget Box is drag-and-drop. To create a basic layout from
Containers, add two Frames and a Tab Widget

.. image:: /images/designer-05.png
   :align: center

Right click in the QMainWindow and select Lay out --> Lay out Vertically

.. image:: /images/designer-06.png
   :align: center

.. image:: /images/designer-07.png
   :align: center

Add a Push Button to the QFrame, then right click on the frame or the QFrame in
the Object Inspector and set the lay out to `grid`

.. image:: /images/designer-08.png
   :align: center

.. image:: /images/designer-09.png
   :align: center


After dragging a widget into the window, make sure you use the correct
objectName for that widget. For example the E-Stop button is called estop_pb.

.. note:: Each object name must be unique; designer will not allow duplicate
   names.

Save the GUI in the configuration directory alongside your .ini file.

You can start Qt5 Designer from a terminal with `designer &` which spawns a new
process (gives you back the terminal prompt.)

.. note:: There is an documented issue with Qt5 Designer and bold fonts not
   appearing properly.


Qt6 Designer
------------

Qt6 Designer can be installed from a terminal with
::

	sudo apt install designer-qt6

To run Qt6 Designer you must use the full path to the executable
::

	/usr/lib/qt6/bin/designer