PythonBeginner · Windows, macOS, Linux; Python 3.12+

Open a scrollable text reader

Show a UTF-8 file in a read-only desktop window with a configurable font size.

Before you begin

  • Python 3.12+
  • An interactive desktop and tkinter; Linux distributions may package tkinter separately.
What this script changesOpens a local desktop window; it does not edit the input. Requires tkinter and a graphical desktop. The report is created after closing the reader.

Set up your example

  1. Save the complete code as desktop-text-reader.py.
  2. Open a terminal in the folder containing the script.
  3. Create the supplied sample files at the shown relative paths.

Sample files in this download:

  • reading.txt

Download the ZIP, extract it, and open a terminal inside the extracted folder. The source file is desktop-text-reader.py.

Run the script

Run command
python desktop-text-reader.py --input "reading.txt" --font-size 22 --output "reader-log.txt"

If your system uses python3 instead of python, use that command for Python examples. Keep paths containing spaces in quotes. Required inputs and optional settings are described in the code and setup steps.

What to expect

Opens a read-only window at 22-point text and saves a session report after the window closes.

The complete script

desktop-text-reader.py
import argparse, ast, collections, difflib, fnmatch, gzip, hashlib, io, json, math, os, random, re, shutil, statistics, string, sys, tarfile, textwrap, time, unicodedata, zipfile
from pathlib import Path
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET

def write_text(path, content):
    path=Path(path)
    path.parent.mkdir(parents=True,exist_ok=True)
    with path.open('x',encoding='utf-8',newline='') as h: h.write(content)
    print('Created',path)

def fresh_dir(path):
    path=Path(path); path.mkdir(parents=True,exist_ok=False); return path

def files_under(root):
    root=Path(root)
    if not root.is_dir(): raise ValueError('Input must be a directory')
    return sorted((p for p in root.rglob('*') if p.is_file() and not p.is_symlink()),key=lambda p:p.as_posix().casefold())

def digest(path):
    h=hashlib.sha256()
    with Path(path).open('rb') as f:
        for b in iter(lambda:f.read(1048576),b''): h.update(b)
    return h.hexdigest()

def positive(n,name):
    if n<=0: raise ValueError(name+' must be positive')

def destination(root,name):
    name=name.replace('\\','/')
    if name.startswith('/') or any(p=='..' or ':' in p for p in name.split('/')): raise ValueError('Unsafe path: '+name)
    p=(root/name).resolve()
    if p!=root.resolve() and root.resolve() not in p.parents: raise ValueError('Path escapes destination')
    return p

def zip_members(z,limit=500000000):
    seen=set(); total=0; result=[]
    for i in z.infolist():
        if i.is_dir(): continue
        destination(Path.cwd(),i.filename)
        key=i.filename.replace('\\','/').casefold()
        if key in seen: raise ValueError('Duplicate/case-colliding member: '+i.filename)
        seen.add(key)
        if ((i.external_attr>>16)&0o170000)==0o120000: raise ValueError('Symlinks unsupported')
        total+=i.file_size
        if total>limit: raise ValueError('Expanded data exceeds limit')
        result.append(i)
    return result

def copy_member(z,i,root):
    p=destination(root,i.filename); p.parent.mkdir(parents=True,exist_ok=True)
    with z.open(i) as src,p.open('xb') as dst: shutil.copyfileobj(src,dst)

def read_input(a): return a.input.read_text(encoding='utf-8-sig')
NS={'w':'http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/wordprocessingml/2006/main','r':'http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships'}
def docx_root(path,member='word/document.xml'):
    with zipfile.ZipFile(path) as z:
        i=z.getinfo(member)
        if i.file_size>30000000: raise ValueError('Document XML exceeds 30 MB')
        return ET.fromstring(z.read(i))
def pdf_reader(path):
    try: from pypdf import PdfReader
    except ImportError as e: raise ValueError('Install dependency: python -m pip install pypdf') from e
    r=PdfReader(path)
    if r.is_encrypted: raise ValueError('Encrypted PDF unsupported')
    return r
def pdf_writer():
    try: from pypdf import PdfWriter
    except ImportError as e: raise ValueError('Install dependency: python -m pip install pypdf') from e
    return PdfWriter()
def save_pdf(w,p):
    Path(p).parent.mkdir(parents=True,exist_ok=True)
    with Path(p).open('xb') as h: w.write(h)
    print('Created',p)

def md_headings(content):
    fence=None
    for number,line in enumerate(content.splitlines(),1):
        mark=re.match(r'^\s{0,3}(`{3,}|~{3,})',line)
        if mark:
            char=mark.group(1)[0]
            if fence is None: fence=char
            elif fence==char: fence=None
            continue
        if fence is None:
            m=re.match(r'^(#{1,6})\s+(.+?)\s*#*\s*$',line)
            if m: yield number,len(m.group(1)),m.group(2)

def main():
    parser=argparse.ArgumentParser(description='Show a UTF-8 file in a read-only desktop window with a configurable font size.')
    parser.add_argument('--output',type=Path,required=True,help='New result path; must not exist')
    parser.add_argument('--input',type=Path,required=True,help='Source file or folder')
    parser.add_argument('--font-size',type=int,default=18)
    args=parser.parse_args()
    import tkinter as tk
    from tkinter.scrolledtext import ScrolledText
    positive(args.font_size,'--font-size');content=read_input(args);root=tk.Tk();root.title(args.input.name)
    box=ScrolledText(root,wrap='word',font=('Arial',args.font_size));box.pack(fill='both',expand=True);box.insert('1.0',content);box.configure(state='disabled')
    root.geometry('800x600');root.mainloop();write_text(args.output,f'Opened: {args.input}\nCharacters: {len(content)}\nFont size: {args.font_size}\n')

if __name__=='__main__':
    try: main()
    except (OSError,ValueError,KeyError,zipfile.BadZipFile,tarfile.TarError,ET.ParseError) as error:
        print('Error:',error,file=sys.stderr); sys.exit(2)

Open source as plain text · Download source and sample files

How it works

  1. Show a UTF-8 file in a read-only desktop window with a configurable font size.
  2. Customization in this script: Change --font-size to set the desktop reader text size in points.
  3. Review the output before using it elsewhere; existing output paths are refused.

Make it your own

Change the task behavior

Change --font-size to set the desktop reader text size in points.

Choose a report path

Change --output to a new local file; existing results are refused.

Inspect available options

Run python desktop-text-reader.py --help to see the task parameters and change their named flags in the example command.

Change one setting at a time, run it again on sample data, and compare the output. The customization guide walks through this process.

If something goes wrong

The chosen source cannot be read.

Check the source path, quote paths with spaces, and confirm the file or folder is readable.

The output already exists.

Use a new --output path; existing results are deliberately preserved.

A task-specific argument is rejected.

Run python desktop-text-reader.py --help, then compare the options with the complete example command and supplied sample format.

Reference & next steps

These official references explain the underlying tools. The Scriptage example and guide are original instructional content. See verification notes for what has been checked and the limits of those checks.

Copies a template for your own notes. It does not send anything.