QSplitter becoming undistinguishable between QWidget and QTabWidget

Question

I am puting a QWidget and a QTabWidget next to each other in one horisontal splitter. And the splitter loses it's shape, you can know that there is a splitter only by hovering mouse on it. How to make it visible?

Thanks.

Answer 1

This is true for every splitter at least with WinXP and the default Luna thema (changing to classic solves the problem). If you want to stay with Luna you may change the way the splitters are rendered, e.g. by changing the background color of the handle.

int main(int argc, char *argv[])    {

    QApplication a(argc, argv);
    a.setStyleSheet("QSplitter::handle { background-color: gray }");
    MainWindow w;
    w.show();
    return a.exec();
}

You may find more on Qt style sheets at http://doc.trolltech.com/4.6/stylesheet-reference.html

Answer 2

Since the QSplitterHandle (which is what most people think of as the 'splitter') is derived from QWidget, you can add other widgets to it. Here is what I have done to solve this exact problem in the past:

// Now add the line to the splitter handle
// Note: index 0 handle is always hidden, index 1 is between the two widgets
QSplitterHandle *handle = pSplitter->handle(1);
QVBoxLayout *layout = new QVBoxLayout(handle);
layout->setSpacing(0);
layout->setMargin(0);

QFrame *line = new QFrame(handle);
line->setFrameShape(QFrame::HLine);
line->setFrameShadow(QFrame::Sunken);
layout->addWidget(line);

This adds a sunken line to the splitter handle. You can, of course, choose another style for the frame line or use something entirely different as the widget you add to the splitter handle.