User Tabs

A user tab is your own page inside Probe Basic, laid out in Qt Designer.

Each one is a folder holding two files:

File	Whose	What it is
`<name>.ui`	Yours	The layout. Edit it in Qt Designer.
`<name>.py`	Ours	A small loader that finds and loads the `.ui`. Do not edit it.

Important

Edit the .ui in Qt Designer. Leave the .py alone. It is generic – it works out the .ui filename from its own name – so the same file works in every folder. If you modify it you are on your own, and a future Probe Basic update may overwrite it.

Everything a normal tab needs is available in Designer. Widgets such as ActionButton, MDIButton, HalButton and HalLabel are wired up entirely through their properties, with no Python at all.

Creating a User Tab

USER_TABS_PATH is commented out in the shipped INI files. Uncomment it, or add it, pointing at a folder that holds your tabs:

[DISPLAY]
USER_TABS_PATH = user_tabs/

Copy one of the shipped templates and rename it. The folder, the .py and the .ui must all share the same name:

user_tabs/
    shop_page/
        shop_page.py      <- copied from template_main.py, renamed
        shop_page.ui      <- copied from template_main.ui, renamed

Use template_main for a full page and template_sidebar for the narrow panel beside the plot.

Naming the Tab

Open the .ui in Designer and select the root widget – the top entry in the Object Inspector, not one of its children. Two of its properties control how the tab appears:

Property	Effect
`objectName`	The text shown on the tab. Underscores become spaces, so `SHOP_PAGE` shows as `SHOP PAGE`. The built-in tabs are uppercase, so use uppercase if you want yours to match.
`sidebar`	`false` puts the tab on the main tab strip. `true` puts it in the sidebar beside the plot. Only one sidebar tab can be loaded.

sidebar is a dynamic property, at the bottom of Designer’s property panel. The templates already have it set.

Both shipped templates name their root widget USER, so rename yours as soon as you copy it – otherwise every tab you add is labelled USER.

When a Tab Does Not Appear

Check that the folder, the .py and the .ui are all named the same, and that USER_TABS_PATH is uncommented in the INI file you are running.

A .ui on its own does not make a tab. Qt Designer only writes .ui files; the .py has to be copied from a template.

Warning

A user tab that cannot be loaded will stop Probe Basic from starting, not just hide that one tab. If Probe Basic will not open after you add a tab, comment out USER_TABS_PATH to get back in, then check the folder and file names.