COMPILE_NOTES.md

Compiling Notes

Compile a qrc file

To load an icon from a Qt resource file, you'll first need to compile the resource file, and then you can use the resource path to access and load the icon. Here's a step-by-step guide:

1. Creating the Resource File:

   If you haven't created a resource file yet, follow these steps:

   • Open Qt Designer.
   • Go to File -> New and select Qt Resource File from the dialog, then click "Create".
   • Save this resource file with a name, for instance, resources.qrc.
   • Add a prefix, e.g., /icons.
   • With the prefix selected, click "Add Files" and locate your icon, e.g., icon.png.
   • Save the resources.qrc file.

2. Compile the Resource File:

   Use the pyrcc5 tool (for PyQt5) to compile the .qrc file into a Python file:

   pyrcc5 resources.qrc -o resources_rc.py
   

3. Loading the Icon in Python:

   Now in your Python script, you can load the icon from the compiled resource:

   from PyQt5.QtGui import QIcon
   
   # Make sure to import the generated resource module
   import resources_rc
   
   # Load the icon using the resource path
   icon = QIcon(":/icons/icon.png")

   The path :/icons/icon.png corresponds to the prefix and filename you added to the .qrc file. The initial colon : indicates that the path refers to a resource path.

4. Using the Icon:

   You can now use the loaded icon for any widget or purpose in your PyQt application. For example:

   button = QPushButton("Click Me")
   button.setIcon(icon)

By using Qt's resource system, you embed external files directly into your application, making deployment and distribution easier since you don't need to worry about file paths or missing files.