pythonpyqtclicksignals-slotsdisconnect

PyQt Widget connect() and disconnect()


Depending on a conditions I would like to connect/re-connect a button to a different function.

Let's say I have a button:

myButton = QtGui.QPushButton()

For this example let's say I check if there is an internet connection.

if connected == True:
    myButton.clicked.connect(function_A)

elif connected == False:
    myButton.clicked.connect(function_B)

First of all I would like to disconnect a button from any function it was already connected before the button is being re-assigned/re-connected to another function (function_A or function_B). Secondly, I have already noticed that after the button is re-connected it takes an extra click for the button to pick up a new function. After the button is re-connected to another function it still attempts to run a previous function - a function to which a button was connected earlier (before a re-connection). Please advice. Thanks in advance!

EDITED LATER:

It appears a widget's .disconnect() method can be used to disconnect a button from a function it it is connected.

myButton.disconnect()

Unfortunately .disconnect() throws an error if a widget is not connected to any function. To get around it I am using Try/Except. But I would rather use a more elegant solution...

try: myButton.clicked.disconnect() 
except Exception: pass

Solution

  • If you need to reconnect signals in many places, then you could define a generic utility function like this:

    def reconnect(signal, newhandler=None, oldhandler=None):        
        try:
            if oldhandler is not None:
                while True:
                    signal.disconnect(oldhandler)
            else:
                signal.disconnect()
        except TypeError:
            pass
        if newhandler is not None:
            signal.connect(newhandler)
    
    ...
    
    if connected:
        reconnect(myButton.clicked, function_A)
    else:
        reconnect(myButton.clicked, function_B)
    

    (NB: the loop is needed for safely disconnecting a specific handler, because it may have been connected multple times, and disconnect(slot) only removes one connection at a time.).