QGIS plugins open automatically when starting QGIS

Question

I created a plugin using QGIS Plugin Builder Plugin using the Template Tool Button with dock widget. Works fine, but I have to click the associated button each time I start QGIS in order to open the dock widget.

Question: How can I make QGIS open the dock widget at each start, or at least remind its state like those of the core plugins (GPS Information Panel for example)?

Answer 1

1. In your main_plugin.py where you defined your buttons (usually in the initGui() function), make sure you assign it an objectName. For example:

   def initGui(self):
       self.pluginButton = self.add_action(
           ':/plugins/myPlugin/icon.png',
           text=self.tr(u'Start'),
           callback=self.run,
           parent=self.iface.mainWindow())
       self.pluginButton.setObjectName('Run_plugin')
   

   Then in the function which is associated with the button (in the example, run(self)), use some logic to hide everything excluding your plugin toolbar and dockwidget:

   def run(self):
       # Set toolbars visibility to False
       for x in iface.mainWindow().findChildren(QToolBar): 
           if x.objectName() == 'Run_plugin':
               x.setVisible(True)
           else:
               x.setVisible(False)
       # Set panels visibility to False
       for x in iface.mainWindow().findChildren(QDockWidget): 
           x.setVisible(False)
   
       # Define your dockwidget from its class
       self.dockwidget = PluginDockWidget()
       # Make your dockwidget visible
       self.dockwidget.show()
   

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2. Create a startup.py script and use something like the following:

   from qgis.utils import iface
   from PyQt4.QtGui import QAction
   
   def load():
       iface.mainWindow().findChild(QAction, 'Run_plugin').trigger()
   
   iface.initializationCompleted.connect(load)
   

   Once QGIS has fully loaded, it will trigger the button from your plugin toolbar which should then hide everything excluding your plugin toolbar and dockwidget.