How to Fix TypeError When Using tkinter to Open Files in Python

Learn how to resolve the `TypeError: expected str, bytes or os.PathLike object, not _io.TextIOWrapper` in your `tkinter` file-opening code and successfully print the selected file name.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/66357365/ asked by the user 'Mhcg233366' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/15176796/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/66357411/ provided by the user 'Delrius Euphoria' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/13382000/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Understanding the Problem

If you're working with tkinter in Python to open files, you may run into a frustrating error message that says:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

This error generally indicates that the code is not receiving the expected type of input. When you're trying to print the name of the selected file, you might mistakenly process an object of the wrong type. In this post, we will dissect this issue and offer a straightforward solution.

The Code Causing the Error

Here’s the code snippet that we’re trying to work with:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

What Went Wrong?

In the code above, the line that causes the error is:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Here, file is an instance of _io.TextIOWrapper, which is the result of the askopenfile() function. Instead of passing a string or path-like object, you are inadvertently trying to pass this wrapper object, leading to the TypeError.

Solution: Correcting the Code

To fix this issue, you need to modify the line that retrieves the file name to use the .name attribute of the file object like this:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Updated Code

Here’s the corrected version of your code:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Summary of Changes

Original Line: filename = os.path.basename(file)

Corrected Line: filename = os.path.basename(file.name)

This change ensures you pass the correct type (string path) to os.path.basename(), allowing the code to run without errors and successfully print the selected file's name.

Conclusion

With this simple adjustment, you'll be able to avoid the TypeError when opening files with tkinter and ensure your Python program runs smoothly. Always remember to check the type of the object you are passing when dealing with file paths and storage objects. Happy coding!