Desktop Notepad App using Tkinter

1) Project Overview

This project will teach you how to create your own desktop notepad application — similar to the Windows Notepad — using Python's Tkinter library.

The Notepad app will allow users to:

Create a new file
Open and edit existing text files
Save files with a custom name
Cut, copy, and paste text
Exit the application safely

This is a GUI-based project, helping you move beyond console-based programs into desktop software development.

2) Learning Objectives

By completing this project, you will learn to:

Use the Tkinter library to build GUI applications
Implement menus, text areas, and file dialogs in Tkinter
Handle file operations such as open, save, and new file creation
Use events, functions, and classes together to make modular code
Work with clipboard operations like cut, copy, and paste

3) Step-by-Step Explanation

Follow these steps to build the notepad app:

Import Tkinter modules – You'll need tkinter, filedialog, and messagebox
Create the main window – Initialize the Tkinter app and set window title and size
Add a Text widget – This serves as the main typing area
Create a Menu bar – Add options like "File", "Edit", and "Help"
Implement File Menu Functions – Add commands for New, Open, Save, and Exit
Implement Edit Menu Functions – Add Cut, Copy, Paste actions using clipboard methods
Link the menu to the window – Use config(menu=menubar) to attach it
Run the main event loop – Keep the GUI running with root.mainloop()

4) Complete Verified Python Code

You can copy this into a file named notepad_app.py and run it.

Try it Yourself »

# ------------------------------
# Desktop Notepad App using Tkinter
# Verified and Tested Code
# ------------------------------

import tkinter as tk
from tkinter import filedialog, messagebox
import os

class NotepadApp:
    def __init__(self, root):
        self.root = root
        self.root.title("Python Notepad")
        self.root.geometry("700x500")
        self.root.iconbitmap("")  # You can add a .ico file path here if desired
        
        self.filename = None
        
        # Create Text Area
        self.text_area = tk.Text(self.root, undo=True, wrap='word')
        self.text_area.pack(fill=tk.BOTH, expand=1)
        
        # Create Menu Bar
        self.menubar = tk.Menu(self.root)
        self.root.config(menu=self.menubar)
        
        # --- File Menu ---
        filemenu = tk.Menu(self.menubar, tearoff=0)
        self.menubar.add_cascade(label="File", menu=filemenu)
        filemenu.add_command(label="New", command=self.new_file)
        filemenu.add_command(label="Open", command=self.open_file)
        filemenu.add_command(label="Save", command=self.save_file)
        filemenu.add_separator()
        filemenu.add_command(label="Exit", command=self.exit_app)
        
        # --- Edit Menu ---
        editmenu = tk.Menu(self.menubar, tearoff=0)
        self.menubar.add_cascade(label="Edit", menu=editmenu)
        editmenu.add_command(label="Cut", command=self.cut_text)
        editmenu.add_command(label="Copy", command=self.copy_text)
        editmenu.add_command(label="Paste", command=self.paste_text)
        
        # --- Help Menu ---
        helpmenu = tk.Menu(self.menubar, tearoff=0)
        self.menubar.add_cascade(label="Help", menu=helpmenu)
        helpmenu.add_command(label="About", command=self.show_about)
    
    # ---------------- File Menu Functions ----------------
    def new_file(self):
        self.text_area.delete(1.0, tk.END)
        self.filename = None
        self.root.title("Untitled - Python Notepad")
    
    def open_file(self):
        file_path = filedialog.askopenfilename(defaultextension=".txt",
                                               filetypes=[("Text Documents", "*.txt"), ("All Files", "*.*")])
        if file_path:
            self.filename = file_path
            self.root.title(os.path.basename(file_path) + " - Python Notepad")
            with open(file_path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as file:
                content = file.read()
                self.text_area.delete(1.0, tk.END)
                self.text_area.insert(1.0, content)
    
    def save_file(self):
        if self.filename:
            content = self.text_area.get(1.0, tk.END)
            with open(self.filename, "w", encoding="utf-8") as file:
                file.write(content)
        else:
            self.filename = filedialog.asksaveasfilename(initialfile="Untitled.txt",
                                                         defaultextension=".txt",
                                                         filetypes=[("Text Documents", "*.txt"), ("All Files", "*.*")])
            if self.filename:
                with open(self.filename, "w", encoding="utf-8") as file:
                    file.write(self.text_area.get(1.0, tk.END))
                self.root.title(os.path.basename(self.filename) + " - Python Notepad")
    
    def exit_app(self):
        ask = messagebox.askyesno("Exit", "Do you want to exit Notepad?")
        if ask:
            self.root.destroy()
    
    # ---------------- Edit Menu Functions ----------------
    def cut_text(self):
        self.text_area.event_generate("<>")
    
    def copy_text(self):
        self.text_area.event_generate("<>")
    
    def paste_text(self):
        self.text_area.event_generate("<>")
    
    # ---------------- Help Menu ----------------
    def show_about(self):
        messagebox.showinfo("About Notepad", "Python Notepad v1.0\nDeveloped using Tkinter\nBy: Tajammul Hussain")

# ---------------- Main Application ----------------
if __name__ == "__main__":
    root = tk.Tk()
    app = NotepadApp(root)
    root.mainloop()

✅ Tested on: Python 3.10 and above
✅ Libraries used: tkinter (built-in)
✅ Verified: No syntax errors, full GUI functionality working (New, Open, Save, Cut, Copy, Paste, Exit)

5) Output Example

When you run the program, a window titled "Python Notepad" appears with:

A large text area to type notes
Menus: File, Edit, and Help at the top

Example usage:
1. Type some text.
2. Click File → Save, name it my_notes.txt.
3. Close and re-open with File → Open.
4. Use Edit → Cut/Copy/Paste as needed.

💡 A pop-up appears when you click "About" in the Help menu.

6) Extension Challenge

Make your notepad more advanced

Goal: Add one or more of these features to make your app more professional and user-friendly:

Add Dark Mode / Light Mode toggle
Add a Find & Replace tool using simpledialog
Add font customization (bold, italic, font size)
Add autosave after every few seconds using after() method

7) Summary

You've now built a fully functional desktop notepad using Python's Tkinter library.

Through this project, you've practiced:

GUI development
Event handling
File I/O
Code modularization using classes

This project bridges the gap between console applications and real desktop software — preparing you for more advanced GUI frameworks like PyQt or Kivy in the future.

Keep building — your next step could be a Text Editor with Syntax Highlighting or Auto-Save!

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