How to handle a matplotlib pick Artist event within a dynamically created QMdiAreaSubWindow? (Example Given - Partially Working!)

Question

I am trying to create a Qt4 application using python and matplotlib, but I got stuck in a behaviour, which is not quite clear to me.

This application has a QMdiArea which holds the dynamically created graphs in idividual subWindows. Everything seems to work fine but the Artist Picking Events which are previously defined while plotting the data. Apparently the "pick_event" mpl_connection is wiped out when creating a QMdiAreaSubWindow instance within the MainWindow class.

Curiously, if the same piece of code is executed outside the MainWinddow application.

I wrote a simplified version of my code in order to reproduce the behaviour and maybe someone could give me a clue of what I am doing wrong.

Cheers!

#!/usr/bin/python
import sys
from PyQt4.QtGui import QWidget, QPushButton, QMainWindow, QMdiArea, QVBoxLayout, QApplication
from PyQt4.QtCore import Qt

from pylab import *
from matplotlib.backends.backend_qt4agg import (
    FigureCanvasQTAgg as FigureCanvas,
    NavigationToolbar2QTAgg as NavigationToolbar)
from matplotlib.backend_bases import key_press_handler


class MyMainWindow(QMainWindow):
    """ Defines a simple MainWindow with a QPushButton that plots a Random Wave Fucntion
    which must be shown in a Window within a QMdiArea Widget.
    """

    def __init__(self, parent=None):
        """
        """

        super(MyMainWindow,self).__init__(parent)
        self.setWidgets()

    def setWidgets(self, ):
        """ Createsthe QPushButton and QMdiArea Widgets, organising them in 
        QVBoxLayout as a central Widget of the MainWindow
        """

        vBox = QVBoxLayout()
        mainFrame = QWidget()

        self._plotGraphButton = QPushButton("Plot Graph")
        self._plotGraphButton.clicked.connect(self.plotRandom)

        self._mdiArea = QMdiArea()
        vBox.addWidget(self._plotGraphButton)
        vBox.addWidget(self._mdiArea)

        mainFrame.setLayout(vBox)
        self.setCentralWidget(mainFrame)


    # This is the function called when the Plot Graph Button is pressed
    #and where the Picking event does not work.
    # When the button is pressed a new window with the plot is shown, but
    #it is not possible to drag the rectangle patch with the mouse.
    def plotRandom(self, ):
        """ Generates and Plots a random wave function (+noise) embedding into a 
        QMdiAreaSubWindow.
        """
        print "Plotting!!"
        x = linspace(0,10,1000)
        w = rand(1)*10
        y = 100*rand(1)*sin(2*pi*w*x)+rand(1000)

        p = PlotGraph(x,y)
        child = self._mdiArea.addSubWindow(p.plotQtCanvas())
        child.show()



class PlotGraph(object):
    """
    """

    def __init__(self, x,y):
        """ This class plots the data and encapsulates the figure instance in a FigureCanvasQt4Agg,
        which can be used to create a QMdiArea SubWindow.
         A rectangle patch is added to the plot and linked to the methods that
        can drag it horizontally in the graph.

        Arguments:
        - `x`: Data
        - `y`: Data
        """
        self._x = x
        self._dx = x[1]-x[0]
        self._y = y


    def _createPlotWidget(self, ):
        """ Creates a figure and a NavigationBar organising them vertically into a QWidget,
        which can be used by a QMdiArea.addSubWindow method.
        """
        self._mainFrame = QWidget()

        self._fig = figure(facecolor="white")
        self._canvas = FigureCanvas(self._fig)
        self._canvas.setParent(self._mainFrame)
        self._canvas.setFocusPolicy(Qt.StrongFocus)

        # Standard NavigationBar and button press management
        self._mplToolbar = NavigationToolbar(self._canvas, self._mainFrame)
        self._canvas.mpl_connect('key_press_event', self.on_key_press)

        # Layouting
        vbox = QVBoxLayout()
        vbox.addWidget(self._canvas)  # the matplotlib canvas
        vbox.addWidget(self._mplToolbar)
        self._mainFrame.setLayout(vbox)

    def plotQtCanvas(self, ):
        """ Plots data using matplotlib, adds a draggable Rectangle and connects the dragging
        methods to the mouse events
        """
        self._createPlotWidget()
        ax = self._fig.add_subplot(111)
        ax.plot(self._x,self._y)
        ax.set_xlim(self._x[0],self._x[-1])
        ax.set_ylim(-max(self._y)*1.1,max(self._y)*1.1)

        xlim = ax.get_xlim()
        ylim = ax.get_ylim()

        wd = (xlim[1]-xlim[0])*0.1
        ht = (ylim[1]-ylim[0])

        rect = Rectangle((xlim[0],ylim[0]),wd,ht,alpha=0.3,color="g",picker=True)
        ax.add_patch(rect)


        # Connecting Events to Rectangle dragging methods
        self._canvas.mpl_connect("pick_event",self.on_pick)
        self._canvas.mpl_connect("button_release_event",self.on_release)

        return self._mainFrame

    def on_pick(self,event):
        """ Manages the Artist Picking event. This method register which 
        Artist was picked and connects the rectOnMove method to the mouse
        motion_notify_event SIGNAL.

        Arguments:
        - `event`:
        """
        if isinstance(event.artist, Rectangle):

            rectWd = event.artist.get_width()
            if event.mouseevent.button == 1:
                self._dragged = event.artist
                self._id = self._canvas.mpl_connect("motion_notify_event",self.rectOnMove)


    def rectOnMove(self, event):
        """ After being picked, updates the new position of the Artist.

        Arguments:
        - `event`:
        """
        rectWd = self._dragged.get_width()
        if event.xdata:
            i = event.xdata
            n2 = rectWd/2.0
            if i>=n2 and i<(self._x[-1]-n2):
                self._dragged.set_x(i-n2)
                self._canvas.draw()

    def on_release(self,event):
        """ When the mouse button is released, simply disconnect the
        SIGNAL motion_notify_event and the rectOnMove method.

        Arguments:
        - `event`:
        """
        self._canvas.mpl_disconnect(self._id)


    def on_key_press(self, event):
        # implement the default mpl key press events described at
        # http://matplotlib.org/users/navigation_toolbar.html#navigation-keyboard-shortcuts
        key_press_handler(event, self._canvas, self._mplToolbar)



if __name__ == '__main__':
    qApp = QApplication(sys.argv)
    MainWindow = MyMainWindow()

    # By calling the piece of code bellow everything works fine and the
    # the rectangle patch can be dragged, as expected.

    # This piece of code "theoretically" does the same thing as the 
    # method plotRandom() defined in the class MyMainWindow.
    print "Plotting!!"
    x = linspace(0,10,1000)
    w = rand(1)*10
    y = 100*rand(1)*sin(2*pi*w*x)
    ####################################################################

    p = PlotGraph(x,y)
    child = MainWindow._mdiArea.addSubWindow(p.plotQtCanvas())
    child.show()

    MainWindow.show()
    sys.exit(qApp.exec_())

Answer 1

This does not work:

p = PlotGraph(x,y)
child = MainWindow._mdiArea.addSubWindow(p.plotQtCanvas())
child.show()
p = PlotGraph(x,y)
child = MainWindow._mdiArea.addSubWindow(p.plotQtCanvas())
child.show()

This works:

p = PlotGraph(x,y)
child = MainWindow._mdiArea.addSubWindow(p.plotQtCanvas())
child.show()
p2 = PlotGraph(x,y)
child2 = MainWindow._mdiArea.addSubWindow(p2.plotQtCanvas())
child2.show()

Edit: Solution:

do this in setwidgets

self.plotList = []

and this in plotRandom

self.plotList.append(p)

And this solves another problem i encountered:

Add this in the on_release function

Not every mouseclick will trigger a picker event, so you can't disconnect it if it did not fire.

try:
    self._canvas.mpl_disconnect(self._id)
except AttributeError:
    pass