How do I require that a user hit <RETURN>, when editing a Trait value, before change notifications are sent out?

Question

I find myself waiting for the GUI of my Traits/UI application to update, with each backspace and/or digit entry in a particular field. How can I get the Traits/UI notification system to wait until I press RETURN before it sends out change notifications?

Answer 1

You want to use the auto_set and enter_set attributes of a TextEditor. auto_set=False stops updating the trait on every keystroke, and enter_set=True causes it to update on Enter. See here for docs.

For example: from traits.api import HasTraits, Str from traitsui.api import View, TextEditor, Group, Item

class Foo(HasTraits):
    my_str = Str()

    traits_view = View(
        Item('my_str',
            style='custom',
            editor=TextEditor(
                auto_set=False,
                enter_set=True,
                ),
        ),
        Item('my_str',
            style='readonly'
        ),
    )


if __name__ == '__main__':
    f = Foo()
    f.configure_traits()