1.

The TurtleScreen class defines graphics windows as a playground for the drawing
turtles. Its constructor needs a tkinter.Canvas or a ScrolledCanvas as argument. It
should be used when turtle is used as part of some application.

The function Screen() returns a singleton object of a TurtleScreen subclass. This

function should be used when turtle is used as a standalone tool for doing
graphics. As a singleton object, inheriting from its class is not possible.

All methods of TurtleScreen/Screen also exist as functions, i.e. as part of the

procedure-oriented interface.

2.RawTurtle (alias: RawPen) defines Turtle objects which draw on a TurtleScreen.

Its constructor needs a Canvas, ScrolledCanvas or TurtleScreen as argument, so the
RawTurtle objects know where to draw.

Derived from RawTurtle is the subclass Turtle (alias: Pen), which draws on “the”
Screen instance which is automatically created, if not already present.

All methods of RawTurtle/Turtle also exist as functions, i.e. part of the

procedure-oriented interface.

The procedural interface provides functions which are derived from the methods of
the classes Screen and Turtle. They have the same names as the corresponding
methods. A screen object is automatically created whenever a function derived from
a Screen method is called. An (unnamed) turtle object is automatically created
whenever any of the functions derived from a Turtle method is called.

To use multiple turtles on a screen one has to use the object-oriented interface.

Note:
In the following documentation the argument list for functions is given. Methods,
of course, have the additional first argument self which is omitted here.

Overview of available Turtle and Screen methods

Turtle methods
Turtle motionMove and draw

forward() | fd()

backward() | bk() | back()

right() | rt()

left() | lt()

goto() | setpos() | setposition()

setx()

sety()

setheading() | seth()
home()

circle()

dot()

stamp()

clearstamp()

clearstamps()

undo()

speed()
Tell Turtle’s state

position() | pos()

towards()

xcor()

ycor()

heading()

distance()
Setting and measurement

degrees()

radians()
Pen controlDrawing state

pendown() | pd() | down()

penup() | pu() | up()

pensize() | width()

pen()

isdown()
Color control

color()

pencolor()

fillcolor()
Filling

filling()

begin_fill()

end_fill()
More drawing control

reset()

clear()

write()
Turtle stateVisibility

showturtle() | st()

hideturtle() | ht()

isvisible()
Appearance

shape()

resizemode()

shapesize() | turtlesize()

shearfactor()

settiltangle()

tiltangle()

tilt()

shapetransform()

get_shapepoly()
Using events

onclick()

onrelease()

ondrag()
Special Turtle methods

begin_poly()

end_poly()

get_poly()

clone()

getturtle() | getpen()

getscreen()

setundobuffer()

undobufferentries()
Methods of TurtleScreen/Screen
Window control

bgcolor()

bgpic()

clearscreen()

resetscreen()

screensize()

setworldcoordinates()
Animation control

delay()

tracer()

update()
Using screen events

listen()

onkey() | onkeyrelease()

onkeypress()

onclick() | onscreenclick()

ontimer()

mainloop() | done()
Settings and special methods

mode()

colormode()

getcanvas()

getshapes()

register_shape() | addshape()

turtles()

window_height()

window_width()
Input methods

textinput()

numinput()
Methods specific to Screen

bye()
exitonclick()

setup()

title()

Methods of RawTurtle/Turtle and corresponding functions

Most of the examples in this section refer to a Turtle instance called turtle.

Turtle motion
turtle.forward(distance)turtle.fd(distance)

Parameters:
distance – a number (integer or float)

Move the turtle forward by the specified distance, in the direction the turtle is
headed.

>>> turtle.position()
(0.00,0.00)
>>> turtle.forward(25)
>>> turtle.position()
(25.00,0.00)
>>> turtle.forward(-75)
>>> turtle.position()
(-50.00,0.00)

turtle.back(distance)turtle.bk(distance)turtle.backward(distance)

Parameters:
distance – a number

Move the turtle backward by distance, opposite to the direction the turtle is
headed. Do not change the turtle’s heading.

>>> turtle.position()
(0.00,0.00)
>>> turtle.backward(30)
>>> turtle.position()
(-30.00,0.00)

turtle.right(angle)turtle.rt(angle)

Parameters:
angle – a number (integer or float)

Turn turtle right by angle units. (Units are by default degrees, but can be set via
the degrees() and radians() functions.) Angle orientation depends on the turtle
mode, see mode().

>>> turtle.heading()
22.0
>>> turtle.right(45)
>>> turtle.heading()
337.0

turtle.left(angle)turtle.lt(angle)

Parameters:
angle – a number (integer or float)

Turn turtle left by angle units. (Units are by default degrees, but can be set via
the degrees() and radians() functions.) Angle orientation depends on the turtle
mode, see mode().

>>> turtle.heading()
22.0
>>> turtle.left(45)
>>> turtle.heading()
67.0

turtle.goto(x, y=None)turtle.setpos(x, y=None)turtle.setposition(x, y=None)

Parameters:
•x – a number or a pair/vector of numbers
•y – a number or None

If y is None, x must be a pair of coordinates or a Vec2D (e.g. as returned by

pos()).

Move turtle to an absolute position. If the pen is down, draw line. Do not change
the turtle’s orientation.

>>> tp = turtle.pos()
>>> tp
(0.00,0.00)
>>> turtle.setpos(60,30)
>>> turtle.pos()
(60.00,30.00)
>>> turtle.setpos((20,80))
>>> turtle.pos()
(20.00,80.00)
>>> turtle.setpos(tp)
 >>> turtle.pos()
(0.00,0.00)

turtle.setx(x)

Parameters:
x – a number (integer or float)

Set the turtle’s first coordinate to x, leave second coordinate unchanged.

>>> turtle.position()
(0.00,240.00)
>>> turtle.setx(10)
>>> turtle.position()
(10.00,240.00)

turtle.sety(y)

Parameters:
y – a number (integer or float)

Set the turtle’s second coordinate to y, leave first coordinate unchanged.

>>> turtle.position()
(0.00,40.00)
>>> turtle.sety(-10)
>>> turtle.position()
(0.00,-10.00)

turtle.setheading(to_angle)turtle.seth(to_angle)

Parameters:
to_angle – a number (integer or float)

Set the orientation of the turtle to to_angle. Here are some common directions in
degrees:

standard mode

logo mode

0 - east 0 - north
90 - north 90 - east
180 - west 180 - south
270 - south 270 - west

>>> turtle.setheading(90)
>>> turtle.heading()
90.0

turtle.home()
Move turtle to the origin – coordinates (0,0) – and set its heading to its start-
orientation (which depends on the mode, see mode()).

>>> turtle.heading()
90.0
>>> turtle.position()
(0.00,-10.00)
>>> turtle.home()
>>> turtle.position()
(0.00,0.00)
>>> turtle.heading()
0.0

turtle.circle(radius, extent=None, steps=None)

Parameters:
•radius – a number
•extent – a number (or None)
•steps – an integer (or None)

Draw a circle with given radius. The center is radius units left of the turtle;
extent – an angle – determines which part of the circle is drawn. If extent is not
given, draw the entire circle. If extent is not a full circle, one endpoint of the
arc is the current pen position. Draw the arc in counterclockwise direction if
radius is positive, otherwise in clockwise direction. Finally the direction of the
turtle is changed by the amount of extent.

As the circle is approximated by an inscribed regular polygon, steps determines the

number of steps to use. If not given, it will be calculated automatically. May be
used to draw regular polygons.

>>> turtle.home()
>>> turtle.position()
(0.00,0.00)
>>> turtle.heading()
0.0
>>> turtle.circle(50)
>>> turtle.position()
(-0.00,0.00)
>>> turtle.heading()
0.0
>>> turtle.circle(120, 180) # draw a semicircle
>>> turtle.position()
(0.00,240.00)
>>> turtle.heading()
180.0

turtle.dot(size=None, *color)

Parameters:
•size – an integer >= 1 (if given)
•color – a colorstring or a numeric color tuple

Draw a circular dot with diameter size, using color. If size is not given, the
maximum of pensize+4 and 2*pensize is used.

>>> turtle.home()
>>> turtle.dot()
>>> turtle.fd(50); turtle.dot(20, "blue"); turtle.fd(50)
>>> turtle.position()
(100.00,-0.00)
>>> turtle.heading()
0.0

turtle.stamp()
Stamp a copy of the turtle shape onto the canvas at the current turtle position.
Return a stamp_id for that stamp, which can be used to delete it by calling
clearstamp(stamp_id).

>>> turtle.color("blue")
>>> turtle.stamp()
11
>>> turtle.fd(50)

turtle.clearstamp(stampid)

Parameters:
stampid – an integer, must be return value of previous stamp() call

Delete stamp with given stampid.

>>> turtle.position()
(150.00,-0.00)
>>> turtle.color("blue")
>>> astamp = turtle.stamp()
>>> turtle.fd(50)
>>> turtle.position()
(200.00,-0.00)
>>> turtle.clearstamp(astamp)
>>> turtle.position()
(200.00,-0.00)

turtle.clearstamps(n=None)
Parameters:
n – an integer (or None)

Delete all or first/last n of turtle’s stamps. If n is None, delete all stamps, if

n > 0 delete first n stamps, else if n < 0 delete last n stamps.

>>> for i in range(8):

... turtle.stamp(); turtle.fd(30)
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
>>> turtle.clearstamps(2)
>>> turtle.clearstamps(-2)
>>> turtle.clearstamps()

turtle.undo()
Undo (repeatedly) the last turtle action(s). Number of available undo actions is
determined by the size of the undobuffer.

>>> for i in range(4):

... turtle.fd(50); turtle.lt(80)
...
>>> for i in range(8):
... turtle.undo()

turtle.speed(speed=None)

Parameters:
speed – an integer in the range 0..10 or a speedstring (see below)

Set the turtle’s speed to an integer value in the range 0..10. If no argument is
given, return current speed.

If input is a number greater than 10 or smaller than 0.5, speed is set to 0.

Speedstrings are mapped to speedvalues as follows:
•“fastest”: 0
•“fast”: 10
•“normal”: 6
•“slow”: 3
•“slowest”: 1

Speeds from 1 to 10 enforce increasingly faster animation of line drawing and

turtle turning.

Attention: speed = 0 means that no animation takes place. forward/back makes turtle
jump and likewise left/right make the turtle turn instantly.

>>> turtle.speed()
3
>>> turtle.speed('normal')
>>> turtle.speed()
6
>>> turtle.speed(9)
>>> turtle.speed()
9

Tell Turtle’s state

turtle.position()turtle.pos()
Return the turtle’s current location (x,y) (as a Vec2D vector).

>>> turtle.pos()
(440.00,-0.00)

turtle.towards(x, y=None)

Parameters:
•x – a number or a pair/vector of numbers or a turtle instance
•y – a number if x is a number, else None

Return the angle between the line from turtle position to position specified by
(x,y), the vector or the other turtle. This depends on the turtle’s start
orientation which depends on the mode - “standard”/”world” or “logo”.

>>> turtle.goto(10, 10)

>>> turtle.towards(0,0)
225.0

turtle.xcor()
Return the turtle’s x coordinate.

>>> turtle.home()
>>> turtle.left(50)
>>> turtle.forward(100)
>>> turtle.pos()
(64.28,76.60)
>>> print(round(turtle.xcor(), 5))
64.27876

turtle.ycor()
Return the turtle’s y coordinate.

>>> turtle.home()
>>> turtle.left(60)
>>> turtle.forward(100)
>>> print(turtle.pos())
(50.00,86.60)
>>> print(round(turtle.ycor(), 5))
86.60254

turtle.heading()
Return the turtle’s current heading (value depends on the turtle mode, see mode()).

>>> turtle.home()
>>> turtle.left(67)
>>> turtle.heading()
67.0

turtle.distance(x, y=None)

Parameters:
•x – a number or a pair/vector of numbers or a turtle instance
•y – a number if x is a number, else None

Return the distance from the turtle to (x,y), the given vector, or the given other
turtle, in turtle step units.

>>> turtle.home()
>>> turtle.distance(30,40)
50.0
>>> turtle.distance((30,40))
50.0
>>> joe = Turtle()
>>> joe.forward(77)
>>> turtle.distance(joe)
77.0

Settings for measurement

turtle.degrees(fullcircle=360.0)

Parameters:
fullcircle – a number

Set angle measurement units, i.e. set number of “degrees” for a full circle.
Default value is 360 degrees.

>>> turtle.home()
>>> turtle.left(90)
>>> turtle.heading()
90.0
Change angle measurement unit to grad (also known as gon,
grade, or gradian and equals 1/100-th of the right angle.)
>>> turtle.degrees(400.0)
>>> turtle.heading()
100.0
>>> turtle.degrees(360)
>>> turtle.heading()
90.0

turtle.radians()
Set the angle measurement units to radians. Equivalent to degrees(2*math.pi).

>>> turtle.home()
>>> turtle.left(90)
>>> turtle.heading()
90.0
>>> turtle.radians()
>>> turtle.heading()
1.5707963267948966

Pen control

Drawing state
turtle.pendown()turtle.pd()turtle.down()
Pull the pen down – drawing when moving.
turtle.penup()turtle.pu()turtle.up()
Pull the pen up – no drawing when moving.
turtle.pensize(width=None)turtle.width(width=None)

Parameters:
width – a positive number

Set the line thickness to width or return it. If resizemode is set to “auto” and
turtleshape is a polygon, that polygon is drawn with the same line thickness. If no
argument is given, the current pensize is returned.

>>> turtle.pensize()
1
>>> turtle.pensize(10) # from here on lines of width 10 are drawn

turtle.pen(pen=None, **pendict)

Parameters:
•pen – a dictionary with some or all of the below listed keys
•pendict – one or more keyword-arguments with the below listed keys as keywords

Return or set the pen’s attributes in a “pen-dictionary” with the following

key/value pairs:
•“shown”: True/False
•“pendown”: True/False
•“pencolor”: color-string or color-tuple
•“fillcolor”: color-string or color-tuple
•“pensize”: positive number
•“speed”: number in range 0..10
•“resizemode”: “auto” or “user” or “noresize”
•“stretchfactor”: (positive number, positive number)
•“outline”: positive number
•“tilt”: number

This dictionary can be used as argument for a subsequent call to pen() to restore
the former pen-state. Moreover one or more of these attributes can be provided as
keyword-arguments. This can be used to set several pen attributes in one statement.

>>> turtle.pen(fillcolor="black", pencolor="red", pensize=10)

>>> sorted(turtle.pen().items())
[('fillcolor', 'black'), ('outline', 1), ('pencolor', 'red'),
('pendown', True), ('pensize', 10), ('resizemode', 'noresize'),
('shearfactor', 0.0), ('shown', True), ('speed', 9),
('stretchfactor', (1.0, 1.0)), ('tilt', 0.0)]
>>> penstate=turtle.pen()
>>> turtle.color("yellow", "")
>>> turtle.penup()
>>> sorted(turtle.pen().items())[:3]
[('fillcolor', ''), ('outline', 1), ('pencolor', 'yellow')]
>>> turtle.pen(penstate, fillcolor="green")
>>> sorted(turtle.pen().items())[:3]
[('fillcolor', 'green'), ('outline', 1), ('pencolor', 'red')]

turtle.isdown()
Return True if pen is down, False if it’s up.

>>> turtle.penup()
>>> turtle.isdown()
False
>>> turtle.pendown()
>>> turtle.isdown()
True

Color control
turtle.pencolor(*args)
Return or set the pencolor.

Four input formats are allowed:

pencolor()Return the current pencolor as color specification string or as a tuple
(see example). May be used as input to another color/pencolor/fillcolor
call.pencolor(colorstring)Set pencolor to colorstring, which is a Tk color
specification string, such as "red", "yellow", or "#33cc8c".pencolor((r, g, b))Set
pencolor to the RGB color represented by the tuple of r, g, and b. Each of r, g,
and b must be in the range 0..colormode, where colormode is either 1.0 or 255 (see
colormode()).pencolor(r, g, b)Set pencolor to the RGB color represented by r, g,
and b. Each of r, g, and b must be in the range 0..colormode.
If turtleshape is a polygon, the outline of that polygon is drawn with the newly
set pencolor.

>>> colormode()
1.0
>>> turtle.pencolor()
'red'
>>> turtle.pencolor("brown")
>>> turtle.pencolor()
'brown'
>>> tup = (0.2, 0.8, 0.55)
>>> turtle.pencolor(tup)
>>> turtle.pencolor()
(0.2, 0.8, 0.5490196078431373)
>>> colormode(255)
>>> turtle.pencolor()
(51.0, 204.0, 140.0)
>>> turtle.pencolor('#32c18f')
>>> turtle.pencolor()
(50.0, 193.0, 143.0)

turtle.fillcolor(*args)
Return or set the fillcolor.

Four input formats are allowed:

fillcolor()Return the current fillcolor as color specification string, possibly in
tuple format (see example). May be used as input to another
color/pencolor/fillcolor call.fillcolor(colorstring)Set fillcolor to colorstring,
which is a Tk color specification string, such as "red", "yellow", or
"#33cc8c".fillcolor((r, g, b))Set fillcolor to the RGB color represented by the
tuple of r, g, and b. Each of r, g, and b must be in the range 0..colormode, where
colormode is either 1.0 or 255 (see colormode()).fillcolor(r, g, b)Set fillcolor to
the RGB color represented by r, g, and b. Each of r, g, and b must be in the range
0..colormode.
If turtleshape is a polygon, the interior of that polygon is drawn with the newly
set fillcolor.

>>> turtle.fillcolor("violet")
>>> turtle.fillcolor()
'violet'
>>> turtle.pencolor()
(50.0, 193.0, 143.0)
>>> turtle.fillcolor((50, 193, 143)) # Integers, not floats
>>> turtle.fillcolor()
(50.0, 193.0, 143.0)
>>> turtle.fillcolor('#ffffff')
>>> turtle.fillcolor()
(255.0, 255.0, 255.0)

turtle.color(*args)
Return or set pencolor and fillcolor.

Several input formats are allowed. They use 0 to 3 arguments as follows:

color()Return the current pencolor and the current fillcolor as a pair of color
specification strings or tuples as returned by pencolor() and
fillcolor().color(colorstring), color((r,g,b)), color(r,g,b)Inputs as in
pencolor(), set both, fillcolor and pencolor, to the given
value.color(colorstring1, colorstring2), color((r1,g1,b1), (r2,g2,b2))Equivalent to
pencolor(colorstring1) and fillcolor(colorstring2) and analogously if the other
input format is used.
If turtleshape is a polygon, outline and interior of that polygon is drawn with the
newly set colors.

>>> turtle.color("red", "green")

>>> turtle.color()
('red', 'green')
>>> color("#285078", "#a0c8f0")
>>> color()
((40.0, 80.0, 120.0), (160.0, 200.0, 240.0))

See also: Screen method colormode().

Filling
turtle.filling()
Return fillstate (True if filling, False else).

>>> turtle.begin_fill()
>>> if turtle.filling():
... turtle.pensize(5)
... else:
... turtle.pensize(3)

turtle.begin_fill()
To be called just before drawing a shape to be filled.
turtle.end_fill()
Fill the shape drawn after the last call to begin_fill().

Whether or not overlap regions for self-intersecting polygons or multiple shapes

are filled depends on the operating system graphics, type of overlap, and number of
overlaps. For example, the Turtle star above may be either all yellow or have some
white regions.

>>> turtle.color("black", "red")

>>> turtle.begin_fill()
>>> turtle.circle(80)
>>> turtle.end_fill()

More drawing control

turtle.reset()
Delete the turtle’s drawings from the screen, re-center the turtle and set
variables to the default values.

>>> turtle.goto(0,-22)
>>> turtle.left(100)
>>> turtle.position()
(0.00,-22.00)
>>> turtle.heading()
100.0
>>> turtle.reset()
>>> turtle.position()
(0.00,0.00)
>>> turtle.heading()
0.0

turtle.clear()
Delete the turtle’s drawings from the screen. Do not move turtle. State and
position of the turtle as well as drawings of other turtles are not affected.
turtle.write(arg, move=False, align='left', font=('Arial', 8, 'normal'))

Parameters:
•arg – object to be written to the TurtleScreen
•move – True/False
•align – one of the strings “left”, “center” or right”
•font – a triple (fontname, fontsize, fonttype)

Write text - the string representation of arg - at the current turtle position
according to align (“left”, “center” or “right”) and with the given font. If move
is true, the pen is moved to the bottom-right corner of the text. By default, move
is False.

>>> turtle.write("Home = ", True, align="center")

>>> turtle.write((0,0), True)

Turtle state

Visibility
turtle.hideturtle()turtle.ht()
Make the turtle invisible. It’s a good idea to do this while you’re in the middle
of doing some complex drawing, because hiding the turtle speeds up the drawing
observably.

>>> turtle.hideturtle()

turtle.showturtle()turtle.st()
Make the turtle visible.

>>> turtle.showturtle()

turtle.isvisible()
Return True if the Turtle is shown, False if it’s hidden.

>>> turtle.hideturtle()
>>> turtle.isvisible()
False
>>> turtle.showturtle()
>>> turtle.isvisible()
True
Appearance
turtle.shape(name=None)

Parameters:
name – a string which is a valid shapename

Set turtle shape to shape with given name or, if name is not given, return name of
current shape. Shape with name must exist in the TurtleScreen’s shape dictionary.
Initially there are the following polygon shapes: “arrow”, “turtle”, “circle”,
“square”, “triangle”, “classic”. To learn about how to deal with shapes see Screen
method register_shape().

>>> turtle.shape()
'classic'
>>> turtle.shape("turtle")
>>> turtle.shape()
'turtle'

turtle.resizemode(rmode=None)

Parameters:
rmode – one of the strings “auto”, “user”, “noresize”

Set resizemode to one of the values: “auto”, “user”, “noresize”. If rmode is not
given, return current resizemode. Different resizemodes have the following effects:
•“auto”: adapts the appearance of the turtle corresponding to the value of pensize.
•“user”: adapts the appearance of the turtle according to the values of
stretchfactor and outlinewidth (outline), which are set by shapesize().
•“noresize”: no adaption of the turtle’s appearance takes place.

resizemode("user") is called by shapesize() when used with arguments.

>>> turtle.resizemode()
'noresize'
>>> turtle.resizemode("auto")
>>> turtle.resizemode()
'auto'

turtle.shapesize(stretch_wid=None, stretch_len=None,
outline=None)turtle.turtlesize(stretch_wid=None, stretch_len=None, outline=None)

Parameters:
•stretch_wid – positive number
•stretch_len – positive number
•outline – positive number
Return or set the pen’s attributes x/y-stretchfactors and/or outline. Set
resizemode to “user”. If and only if resizemode is set to “user”, the turtle will
be displayed stretched according to its stretchfactors: stretch_wid is
stretchfactor perpendicular to its orientation, stretch_len is stretchfactor in
direction of its orientation, outline determines the width of the shapes’s outline.

>>> turtle.shapesize()
(1.0, 1.0, 1)
>>> turtle.resizemode("user")
>>> turtle.shapesize(5, 5, 12)
>>> turtle.shapesize()
(5, 5, 12)
>>> turtle.shapesize(outline=8)
>>> turtle.shapesize()
(5, 5, 8)

turtle.shearfactor(shear=None)

Parameters:
shear – number (optional)

Set or return the current shearfactor. Shear the turtleshape according to the given
shearfactor shear, which is the tangent of the shear angle. Do not change the
turtle’s heading (direction of movement). If shear is not given: return the current
shearfactor, i. e. the tangent of the shear angle, by which lines parallel to the
heading of the turtle are sheared.

>>> turtle.shape("circle")
>>> turtle.shapesize(5,2)
>>> turtle.shearfactor(0.5)
>>> turtle.shearfactor()
0.5

turtle.tilt(angle)

Parameters:
angle – a number

Rotate the turtleshape by angle from its current tilt-angle, but do not change the
turtle’s heading (direction of movement).

>>> turtle.reset()
>>> turtle.shape("circle")
>>> turtle.shapesize(5,2)
>>> turtle.tilt(30)
>>> turtle.fd(50)
>>> turtle.tilt(30)
>>> turtle.fd(50)
turtle.settiltangle(angle)

Parameters:
angle – a number

Rotate the turtleshape to point in the direction specified by angle, regardless of

its current tilt-angle. Do not change the turtle’s heading (direction of movement).

>>> turtle.reset()
>>> turtle.shape("circle")
>>> turtle.shapesize(5,2)
>>> turtle.settiltangle(45)
>>> turtle.fd(50)
>>> turtle.settiltangle(-45)
>>> turtle.fd(50)

Deprecated since version 3.1.

turtle.tiltangle(angle=None)

Parameters:
angle – a number (optional)

Set or return the current tilt-angle. If angle is given, rotate the turtleshape to
point in the direction specified by angle, regardless of its current tilt-angle. Do
not change the turtle’s heading (direction of movement). If angle is not given:
return the current tilt-angle, i. e. the angle between the orientation of the
turtleshape and the heading of the turtle (its direction of movement).

>>> turtle.reset()
>>> turtle.shape("circle")
>>> turtle.shapesize(5,2)
>>> turtle.tilt(45)
>>> turtle.tiltangle()
45.0

turtle.shapetransform(t11=None, t12=None, t21=None, t22=None)

Parameters:
•t11 – a number (optional)
•t12 – a number (optional)
•t21 – a number (optional)
•t12 – a number (optional)

Set or return the current transformation matrix of the turtle shape.

If none of the matrix elements are given, return the transformation matrix as a
tuple of 4 elements. Otherwise set the given elements and transform the turtleshape
according to the matrix consisting of first row t11, t12 and second row t21, t22.
The determinant t11 * t22 - t12 * t21 must not be zero, otherwise an error is
raised. Modify stretchfactor, shearfactor and tiltangle according to the given
matrix.

>>> turtle = Turtle()

>>> turtle.shape("square")
>>> turtle.shapesize(4,2)
>>> turtle.shearfactor(-0.5)
>>> turtle.shapetransform()
(4.0, -1.0, -0.0, 2.0)

turtle.get_shapepoly()
Return the current shape polygon as tuple of coordinate pairs. This can be used to
define a new shape or components of a compound shape.

>>> turtle.shape("square")
>>> turtle.shapetransform(4, -1, 0, 2)
>>> turtle.get_shapepoly()
((50, -20), (30, 20), (-50, 20), (-30, -20))

Using events
turtle.onclick(fun, btn=1, add=None)

Parameters:
•fun – a function with two arguments which will be called with the coordinates of
the clicked point on the canvas
•btn – number of the mouse-button, defaults to 1 (left mouse button)
•add – True or False – if True, a new binding will be added, otherwise it will
replace a former binding

Bind fun to mouse-click events on this turtle. If fun is None, existing bindings
are removed. Example for the anonymous turtle, i.e. the procedural way:

>>> def turn(x, y):

... left(180)
...
>>> onclick(turn) # Now clicking into the turtle will turn it.
>>> onclick(None) # event-binding will be removed

turtle.onrelease(fun, btn=1, add=None)

Parameters:
•fun – a function with two arguments which will be called with the coordinates of
the clicked point on the canvas
•btn – number of the mouse-button, defaults to 1 (left mouse button)
•add – True or False – if True, a new binding will be added, otherwise it will
replace a former binding

Bind fun to mouse-button-release events on this turtle. If fun is None, existing

bindings are removed.

>>> class MyTurtle(Turtle):

... def glow(self,x,y):
... self.fillcolor("red")
... def unglow(self,x,y):
... self.fillcolor("")
...
>>> turtle = MyTurtle()
>>> turtle.onclick(turtle.glow) # clicking on turtle turns fillcolor red,
>>> turtle.onrelease(turtle.unglow) # releasing turns it to transparent.

turtle.ondrag(fun, btn=1, add=None)

Parameters:
•fun – a function with two arguments which will be called with the coordinates of
the clicked point on the canvas
•btn – number of the mouse-button, defaults to 1 (left mouse button)
•add – True or False – if True, a new binding will be added, otherwise it will
replace a former binding

Bind fun to mouse-move events on this turtle. If fun is None, existing bindings are
removed.

Remark: Every sequence of mouse-move-events on a turtle is preceded by a mouse-

click event on that turtle.

>>> turtle.ondrag(turtle.goto)

Subsequently, clicking and dragging the Turtle will move it across the screen
thereby producing handdrawings (if pen is down).

Special Turtle methods

turtle.begin_poly()
Start recording the vertices of a polygon. Current turtle position is first vertex
of polygon.
turtle.end_poly()
Stop recording the vertices of a polygon. Current turtle position is last vertex of
polygon. This will be connected with the first vertex.
turtle.get_poly()
Return the last recorded polygon.

>>> turtle.home()
>>> turtle.begin_poly()
>>> turtle.fd(100)
>>> turtle.left(20)
>>> turtle.fd(30)
>>> turtle.left(60)
>>> turtle.fd(50)
>>> turtle.end_poly()
>>> p = turtle.get_poly()
>>> register_shape("myFavouriteShape", p)

turtle.clone()
Create and return a clone of the turtle with same position, heading and turtle
properties.

>>> mick = Turtle()

>>> joe = mick.clone()

turtle.getturtle()turtle.getpen()
Return the Turtle object itself. Only reasonable use: as a function to return the
“anonymous turtle”:

>>> pet = getturtle()

>>> pet.fd(50)
>>> pet
<turtle.Turtle object at 0x...>

turtle.getscreen()
Return the TurtleScreen object the turtle is drawing on. TurtleScreen methods can
then be called for that object.

>>> ts = turtle.getscreen()
>>> ts
<turtle._Screen object at 0x...>
>>> ts.bgcolor("pink")

turtle.setundobuffer(size)

Parameters:
size – an integer or None

Set or disable undobuffer. If size is an integer, an empty undobuffer of given size

is installed. size gives the maximum number of turtle actions that can be undone by
the undo() method/function. If size is None, the undobuffer is disabled.

>>> turtle.setundobuffer(42)

turtle.undobufferentries()
Return number of entries in the undobuffer.

>>> while undobufferentries():

... undo()
Compound shapes

To use compound turtle shapes, which consist of several polygons of different

color, you must use the helper class Shape explicitly as described below:

1.Create an empty Shape object of type “compound”.

2.Add as many components to this object as desired, using the addcomponent()

method.

For example:

>>> s = Shape("compound")
>>> poly1 = ((0,0),(10,-5),(0,10),(-10,-5))
>>> s.addcomponent(poly1, "red", "blue")
>>> poly2 = ((0,0),(10,-5),(-10,-5))
>>> s.addcomponent(poly2, "blue", "red")

3.Now add the Shape to the Screen’s shapelist and use it:

>>> register_shape("myshape", s)
>>> shape("myshape")

Note:
The Shape class is used internally by the register_shape() method in different
ways. The application programmer has to deal with the Shape class only when using
compound shapes like shown above!

Methods of TurtleScreen/Screen and corresponding functions

Most of the examples in this section refer to a TurtleScreen instance called

screen.

Window control
turtle.bgcolor(*args)

Parameters:
args – a color string or three numbers in the range 0..colormode or a 3-tuple of
such numbers

Set or return background color of the TurtleScreen.

>>> screen.bgcolor("orange")
>>> screen.bgcolor()
'orange'
>>> screen.bgcolor("#800080")
>>> screen.bgcolor()
(128.0, 0.0, 128.0)

turtle.bgpic(picname=None)

Parameters:
picname – a string, name of a gif-file or "nopic", or None

Set background image or return name of current backgroundimage. If picname is a

filename, set the corresponding image as background. If picname is "nopic", delete
background image, if present. If picname is None, return the filename of the
current backgroundimage.

>>> screen.bgpic()
'nopic'
>>> screen.bgpic("landscape.gif")
>>> screen.bgpic()
"landscape.gif"

turtle.clear()
Note:
This TurtleScreen method is available as a global function only under the name
clearscreen. The global function clear is a different one derived from the Turtle
method clear.

turtle.clearscreen()
Delete all drawings and all turtles from the TurtleScreen. Reset the now empty
TurtleScreen to its initial state: white background, no background image, no event
bindings and tracing on.
turtle.reset()
Note:
This TurtleScreen method is available as a global function only under the name
resetscreen. The global function reset is another one derived from the Turtle
method reset.

turtle.resetscreen()
Reset all Turtles on the Screen to their initial state.
turtle.screensize(canvwidth=None, canvheight=None, bg=None)

Parameters:
•canvwidth – positive integer, new width of canvas in pixels
•canvheight – positive integer, new height of canvas in pixels
•bg – colorstring or color-tuple, new background color

If no arguments are given, return current (canvaswidth, canvasheight). Else resize

the canvas the turtles are drawing on. Do not alter the drawing window. To observe
hidden parts of the canvas, use the scrollbars. With this method, one can make
visible those parts of a drawing which were outside the canvas before.

>>> screen.screensize()
(400, 300)
>>> screen.screensize(2000,1500)
>>> screen.screensize()
(2000, 1500)

e.g. to search for an erroneously escaped turtle ;-)

turtle.setworldcoordinates(llx, lly, urx, ury)

Parameters:
•llx – a number, x-coordinate of lower left corner of canvas
•lly – a number, y-coordinate of lower left corner of canvas
•urx – a number, x-coordinate of upper right corner of canvas
•ury – a number, y-coordinate of upper right corner of canvas

Set up user-defined coordinate system and switch to mode “world” if necessary. This
performs a screen.reset(). If mode “world” is already active, all drawings are
redrawn according to the new coordinates.

ATTENTION: in user-defined coordinate systems angles may appear distorted.

>>> screen.reset()
>>> screen.setworldcoordinates(-50,-7.5,50,7.5)
>>> for _ in range(72):
... left(10)
...
>>> for _ in range(8):
... left(45); fd(2) # a regular octagon

Animation control
turtle.delay(delay=None)

Parameters:
delay – positive integer

Set or return the drawing delay in milliseconds. (This is approximately the time
interval between two consecutive canvas updates.) The longer the drawing delay, the
slower the animation.

Optional argument:

>>> screen.delay()
10
>>> screen.delay(5)
>>> screen.delay()
5

turtle.tracer(n=None, delay=None)

Parameters:
•n – nonnegative integer
•delay – nonnegative integer

Turn turtle animation on/off and set delay for update drawings. If n is given, only
each n-th regular screen update is really performed. (Can be used to accelerate the
drawing of complex graphics.) When called without arguments, returns the currently
stored value of n. Second argument sets delay value (see delay()).

>>> screen.tracer(8, 25)

>>> dist = 2
>>> for i in range(200):
... fd(dist)
... rt(90)
... dist += 2

turtle.update()
Perform a TurtleScreen update. To be used when tracer is turned off.

See also the RawTurtle/Turtle method speed().

Using screen events

turtle.listen(xdummy=None, ydummy=None)
Set focus on TurtleScreen (in order to collect key-events). Dummy arguments are
provided in order to be able to pass listen() to the onclick method.
turtle.onkey(fun, key)turtle.onkeyrelease(fun, key)

Parameters:
•fun – a function with no arguments or None
•key – a string: key (e.g. “a”) or key-symbol (e.g. “space”)

Bind fun to key-release event of key. If fun is None, event bindings are removed.
Remark: in order to be able to register key-events, TurtleScreen must have the
focus. (See method listen().)

>>> def f():

... fd(50)
... lt(60)
...
>>> screen.onkey(f, "Up")
>>> screen.listen()

turtle.onkeypress(fun, key=None)
Parameters:
•fun – a function with no arguments or None
•key – a string: key (e.g. “a”) or key-symbol (e.g. “space”)

Bind fun to key-press event of key if key is given, or to any key-press-event if no

key is given. Remark: in order to be able to register key-events, TurtleScreen must
have focus. (See method listen().)

>>> def f():

... fd(50)
...
>>> screen.onkey(f, "Up")
>>> screen.listen()

turtle.onclick(fun, btn=1, add=None)turtle.onscreenclick(fun, btn=1, add=None)

Parameters:
•fun – a function with two arguments which will be called with the coordinates of
the clicked point on the canvas
•btn – number of the mouse-button, defaults to 1 (left mouse button)
•add – True or False – if True, a new binding will be added, otherwise it will
replace a former binding

Bind fun to mouse-click events on this screen. If fun is None, existing bindings
are removed.

Example for a TurtleScreen instance named screen and a Turtle instance named
turtle:

>>> screen.onclick(turtle.goto) # Subsequently clicking into the TurtleScreen will

>>> # make the turtle move to the clicked point.
>>> screen.onclick(None) # remove event binding again

Note:
This TurtleScreen method is available as a global function only under the name
onscreenclick. The global function onclick is another one derived from the Turtle
method onclick.

turtle.ontimer(fun, t=0)

Parameters:
•fun – a function with no arguments
•t – a number >= 0
Install a timer that calls fun after t milliseconds.

>>> running = True

>>> def f():
... if running:
... fd(50)
... lt(60)
... screen.ontimer(f, 250)
>>> f() ### makes the turtle march around
>>> running = False

turtle.mainloop()turtle.done()
Starts event loop - calling Tkinter’s mainloop function. Must be the last statement
in a turtle graphics program. Must not be used if a script is run from within IDLE
in -n mode (No subprocess) - for interactive use of turtle graphics.

>>> screen.mainloop()

Input methods
turtle.textinput(title, prompt)

Parameters:
•title – string
•prompt – string

Pop up a dialog window for input of a string. Parameter title is the title of the
dialog window, prompt is a text mostly describing what information to input. Return
the string input. If the dialog is canceled, return None.

>>> screen.textinput("NIM", "Name of first player:")

turtle.numinput(title, prompt, default=None, minval=None, maxval=None)

Parameters:
•title – string
•prompt – string
•default – number (optional)
•minval – number (optional)
•maxval – number (optional)

Pop up a dialog window for input of a number. title is the title of the dialog
window, prompt is a text mostly describing what numerical information to input.
default: default value, minval: minimum value for input, maxval: maximum value for
input The number input must be in the range minval .. maxval if these are given. If
not, a hint is issued and the dialog remains open for correction. Return the number
input. If the dialog is canceled, return None.

>>> screen.numinput("Poker", "Your stakes:", 1000, minval=10, maxval=10000)

Settings and special methods

turtle.mode(mode=None)

Parameters:
mode – one of the strings “standard”, “logo” or “world”

Set turtle mode (“standard”, “logo” or “world”) and perform reset. If mode is not
given, current mode is returned.

Mode “standard” is compatible with old turtle. Mode “logo” is compatible with most
Logo turtle graphics. Mode “world” uses user-defined “world coordinates”.
Attention: in this mode angles appear distorted if x/y unit-ratio doesn’t equal 1.

Mode

Initial turtle heading

positive angles

“standard” to the right (east) counterclockwise

“logo” upward (north) clockwise

>>> mode("logo") # resets turtle heading to north

>>> mode()
'logo'

turtle.colormode(cmode=None)

Parameters:
cmode – one of the values 1.0 or 255

Return the colormode or set it to 1.0 or 255. Subsequently r, g, b values of color

triples have to be in the range 0..cmode.

>>> screen.colormode(1)
>>> turtle.pencolor(240, 160, 80)
Traceback (most recent call last):
...
TurtleGraphicsError: bad color sequence: (240, 160, 80)
>>> screen.colormode()
1.0
>>> screen.colormode(255)
>>> screen.colormode()
255
>>> turtle.pencolor(240,160,80)

turtle.getcanvas()
Return the Canvas of this TurtleScreen. Useful for insiders who know what to do
with a Tkinter Canvas.

>>> cv = screen.getcanvas()
>>> cv
<turtle.ScrolledCanvas object ...>

turtle.getshapes()
Return a list of names of all currently available turtle shapes.

>>> screen.getshapes()
['arrow', 'blank', 'circle', ..., 'turtle']

turtle.register_shape(name, shape=None)turtle.addshape(name, shape=None)

There are three different ways to call this function:

1.name is the name of a gif-file and shape is None: Install the corresponding image
shape.

>>> screen.register_shape("turtle.gif")

Note:
Image shapes do not rotate when turning the turtle, so they do not display the
heading of the turtle!

2.name is an arbitrary string and shape is a tuple of pairs of coordinates: Install

the corresponding polygon shape.

>>> screen.register_shape("triangle", ((5,-3), (0,5), (-5,-3)))

3.name is an arbitrary string and shape is a (compound) Shape object: Install the
corresponding compound shape.

Add a turtle shape to TurtleScreen’s shapelist. Only thusly registered shapes can
be used by issuing the command shape(shapename).
turtle.turtles()
Return the list of turtles on the screen.

>>> for turtle in screen.turtles():

... turtle.color("red")

turtle.window_height()
Return the height of the turtle window.

>>> screen.window_height()
480

turtle.window_width()
Return the width of the turtle window.

>>> screen.window_width()
640

Methods specific to Screen, not inherited from TurtleScreen

turtle.bye()
Shut the turtlegraphics window.
turtle.exitonclick()
Bind bye() method to mouse clicks on the Screen.

If the value “using_IDLE” in the configuration dictionary is False (default value),

also enter mainloop. Remark: If IDLE with the -n switch (no subprocess) is used,
this value should be set to True in turtle.cfg. In this case IDLE’s own mainloop is
active also for the client script.
turtle.setup(width=_CFG['width'], height=_CFG['height'], startx=_CFG['leftright'],
starty=_CFG['topbottom'])
Set the size and position of the main window. Default values of arguments are
stored in the configuration dictionary and can be changed via a turtle.cfg file.

Parameters:
•width – if an integer, a size in pixels, if a float, a fraction of the screen;
default is 50% of screen
•height – if an integer, the height in pixels, if a float, a fraction of the
screen; default is 75% of screen
•startx – if positive, starting position in pixels from the left edge of the
screen, if negative from the right edge, if None, center window horizontally
•starty – if positive, starting position in pixels from the top edge of the screen,
if negative from the bottom edge, if None, center window vertically

>>> screen.setup (width=200, height=200, startx=0, starty=0)

>>> # sets window to 200x200 pixels, in upper left of screen
>>> screen.setup(width=.75, height=0.5, startx=None, starty=None)
>>> # sets window to 75% of screen by 50% of screen and centers

turtle.title(titlestring)
Parameters:
titlestring – a string that is shown in the titlebar of the turtle graphics window

Set title of turtle window to titlestring.

>>> screen.title("Welcome to the turtle zoo!")

Public classes
class turtle.RawTurtle(canvas)class turtle.RawPen(canvas)

Parameters:
canvas – a tkinter.Canvas, a ScrolledCanvas or a TurtleScreen

Create a turtle. The turtle has all methods described above as “methods of
Turtle/RawTurtle”.
class turtle.Turtle
Subclass of RawTurtle, has the same interface but draws on a default Screen object
created automatically when needed for the first time.
class turtle.TurtleScreen(cv)

Parameters:
cv – a tkinter.Canvas

Provides screen oriented methods like setbg() etc. that are described above.
class turtle.Screen
Subclass of TurtleScreen, with four methods added.
class turtle.ScrolledCanvas(master)

Parameters:
master – some Tkinter widget to contain the ScrolledCanvas, i.e. a Tkinter-canvas
with scrollbars added

Used by class Screen, which thus automatically provides a ScrolledCanvas as

playground for the turtles.
class turtle.Shape(type_, data)

Parameters:
type_ – one of the strings “polygon”, “image”, “compound”

Data structure modeling shapes. The pair (type_, data) must follow this
specification:
type_

data

“polygon” a polygon-tuple, i.e. a tuple of pairs of coordinates

“image” an image (in this form only used internally!)
“compound” None (a compound shape has to be constructed using the addcomponent()
method)
addcomponent(poly, fill, outline=None)

Parameters:
•poly – a polygon, i.e. a tuple of pairs of numbers
•fill – a color the poly will be filled with
•outline – a color for the poly’s outline (if given)

Example:

>>> poly = ((0,0),(10,-5),(0,10),(-10,-5))

>>> s = Shape("compound")
>>> s.addcomponent(poly, "red", "blue")
>>> # ... add more components and then use register_shape()

See Compound shapes.

class turtle.Vec2D(x, y)
A two-dimensional vector class, used as a helper class for implementing turtle
graphics. May be useful for turtle graphics programs too. Derived from tuple, so a
vector is a tuple!

Provides (for a, b vectors, k number):

•a + b vector addition
•a - b vector subtraction
•a * b inner product
•k * a and a * k multiplication with scalar
•abs(a) absolute value of a
•a.rotate(angle) rotation

Help and configuration

How to use help

The public methods of the Screen and Turtle classes are documented extensively via
docstrings. So these can be used as online-help via the Python help facilities:

•When using IDLE, tooltips show the signatures and first lines of the docstrings of
typed in function-/method calls.

•Calling help() on methods or functions displays the docstrings:

>>> help(Screen.bgcolor)
Help on method bgcolor in module turtle:

bgcolor(self, *args) unbound turtle.Screen method

Set or return backgroundcolor of the TurtleScreen.

Arguments (if given): a color string or three numbers

in the range 0..colormode or a 3-tuple of such numbers.

>>> screen.bgcolor("orange")
>>> screen.bgcolor()
"orange"
>>> screen.bgcolor(0.5,0,0.5)
>>> screen.bgcolor()
"#800080"

>>> help(Turtle.penup)
Help on method penup in module turtle:

penup(self) unbound turtle.Turtle method

Pull the pen up -- no drawing when moving.

Aliases: penup | pu | up

No argument

>>> turtle.penup()

•The docstrings of the functions which are derived from methods have a modified
form:

>>> help(bgcolor)
Help on function bgcolor in module turtle:

bgcolor(*args)
Set or return backgroundcolor of the TurtleScreen.

Arguments (if given): a color string or three numbers

in the range 0..colormode or a 3-tuple of such numbers.

Example::

>>> bgcolor("orange")
>>> bgcolor()
"orange"
>>> bgcolor(0.5,0,0.5)
>>> bgcolor()
"#800080"

>>> help(penup)
Help on function penup in module turtle:

penup()
 Pull the pen up -- no drawing when moving.

Aliases: penup | pu | up

No argument

Example:
>>> penup()

These modified docstrings are created automatically together with the function
definitions that are derived from the methods at import time.

Translation of docstrings into different languages

There is a utility to create a dictionary the keys of which are the method names
and the values of which are the docstrings of the public methods of the classes
Screen and Turtle.
turtle.write_docstringdict(filename='turtle_docstringdict')

Parameters:
filename – a string, used as filename

Create and write docstring-dictionary to a Python script with the given filename.
This function has to be called explicitly (it is not used by the turtle graphics
classes). The docstring dictionary will be written to the Python script
filename.py. It is intended to serve as a template for translation of the
docstrings into different languages.

If you (or your students) want to use turtle with online help in your native
language, you have to translate the docstrings and save the resulting file as e.g.
turtle_docstringdict_german.py.

If you have an appropriate entry in your turtle.cfg file this dictionary will be
read in at import time and will replace the original English docstrings.

At the time of this writing there are docstring dictionaries in German and in
Italian. (Requests please to [email protected].)

How to configure Screen and Turtles

The built-in default configuration mimics the appearance and behaviour of the old
turtle module in order to retain best possible compatibility with it.

If you want to use a different configuration which better reflects the features of
this module or which better fits to your needs, e.g. for use in a classroom, you
can prepare a configuration file turtle.cfg which will be read at import time and
modify the configuration according to its settings.

The built in configuration would correspond to the following turtle.cfg:

width = 0.5
height = 0.75
leftright = None
topbottom = None
canvwidth = 400
canvheight = 300
mode = standard
colormode = 1.0
delay = 10
undobuffersize = 1000
shape = classic
pencolor = black
fillcolor = black
resizemode = noresize
visible = True
language = english
exampleturtle = turtle
examplescreen = screen
title = Python Turtle Graphics
using_IDLE = False

Short explanation of selected entries:

•The first four lines correspond to the arguments of the Screen.setup() method.
•Line 5 and 6 correspond to the arguments of the method Screen.screensize().
•shape can be any of the built-in shapes, e.g: arrow, turtle, etc. For more info
try help(shape).
•If you want to use no fillcolor (i.e. make the turtle transparent), you have to
write fillcolor = "" (but all nonempty strings must not have quotes in the cfg-
file).
•If you want to reflect the turtle its state, you have to use resizemode = auto.
•If you set e.g. language = italian the docstringdict
turtle_docstringdict_italian.py will be loaded at import time (if present on the
import path, e.g. in the same directory as turtle.
•The entries exampleturtle and examplescreen define the names of these objects as
they occur in the docstrings. The transformation of method-docstrings to function-
docstrings will delete these names from the docstrings.
•using_IDLE: Set this to True if you regularly work with IDLE and its -n switch
(“no subprocess”). This will prevent exitonclick() to enter the mainloop.

There can be a turtle.cfg file in the directory where turtle is stored and an
additional one in the current working directory. The latter will override the
settings of the first one.

The Lib/turtledemo directory contains a turtle.cfg file. You can study it as an

example and see its effects when running the demos (preferably not from within the
demo-viewer).