Opening layer properties dialog using PyQGIS

Question

I'm building a plugin that lists layers from the database (yes, I need this workaround). When right-clicking on a listed layer, I want an action that opens the layer properties dialog.

This dialog:

layer properties dialog

Not the dialog with layer properties that can be opened when right-clicking on a layer placed in Layers Panel (tree view)!

Not this dialog:

layer properties dialog with red x sign

The solution using iface.actionLayerProperties().trigger() is not suitable for me because in this scenario:

1. I need to add a layer to the tree view, which I want to avoid as it can cause QGIS to freeze when the layer has a lot of features.
2. It opens the default, extensive layer properties window with all the tabs like Information, Source, Labels, etc., which is not what I need.

Another solution using the showLayerProperties() method from this question is also not suitable for my case because it still requires adding the layer to the interface, which I want to avoid.

I've found another solution, but it's still not what I want because it opens the layer properties dialog, which I don't need (as mentioned in point 2 above).

dlg = QgsVectorLayerProperties(iface.mapCanvas(), iface.messageBar(), vlayer)
dlg.exec_()

So maybe my question is more like this: Is there a PyQGIS method that opens the Layer Properties dialog shown in the screen above, or do I need to create this dialog from scratch using some qgis.gui classes? If so, which ones?

• thipa: showLayerProperties() seems to fit your purpose besides the fact that it adds it to the interface. It is possible to add a layer to the interface but not show that it is there. Would that be a solution? addToLegend=False in qgis.org/pyqgis/master/core/…
• Maryla: Unfortunately, it won't be the perfect solution I’m looking for. It opens the layer properties dialog, but not the one I need for my plugin – I've added a picture to clarify which dialog I don't need. And even when the layer isn't added to the legend, it still freezes QGIS for a while if the layer has a lot of features. However, if there is no other way to open the dialog I want, I'll use the solution you mentioned. I wasn't aware of the addToLegend argument, thanks for the tip.

Answer 1

When you have highlighted element in Browser panel you can open "Layer Properties" dialog using:

browser = iface.mainWindow().findChild(QDockWidget, 'Browser')
browser.showProperties()