New Face
Use PiMenu to build a menu-based graphical interface optimized for small LCD touchscreens.
Adapting to a small touchscreen monitor with PiMenu
Lead Image © Noppadol Anaporn, 123RF.com
Adding a small LCD touchscreen to Raspberry Pi seems like a terrific idea (see the "Choosing a Touchscreen" box) – until you realize that the default desktop environment is not optimized for tiny displays. The tendency of programmers to design for an old-style computer desktop means launching applications and performing actions on a tiny touchscreen is often fiddly at best. In most cases, though, you might just be using the touchscreen for a few specific tasks, and building your own graphical interface might seem like too much trouble.
Enter PiMenu [1] – a simple solution written in Python and TkInter that lets you build tile-based graphical interfaces with consummate ease. PiMenu was originally designed by Andreas Gohr of DokuWiki fame for his paper backup project [2]. Thanks to its simplicity and versatility, however, PiMenu can be easily adapted for any other project requiring a simple graphical interface.
Better still, PiMenu relies on components that are installed by default on Raspbian. You only need to add the python-yaml package using the
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