Model/View Tutorial

An introduction to ModelView programming

Every UI developer should know about ModelView programming and the goal of this tutorial is to provide you with an easily understandable introduction to this topic.

Table, list and tree widgets are components frequently used in GUIs. There are 2 different ways how these widgets can access their data. The traditional way involves widgets which include internal containers for storing data. This approach is very intuitive, however, in many non-trivial applications, it leads to data synchronization issues. The second approach is model/view programming, in which widgets do not maintain internal data containers. They access external data through a standardized interface and therefore avoid data duplication. This may seem complicated at first, but once you take a closer look, it is not only easy to grasp, but the many benefits of model/view programming also become clearer.

In the process, we will learn about some basic technologies provided by Qt, such as:

You will also learn whether your new application can be written easier with model/view programming or if classic widgets will work just as well.

This tutorial includes example code for you to edit and integrate into your project. The tutorial’s source code is located in Qt’s examples/widgets/tutorials/modelview directory.

For more detailed information you may also want to look at the reference documentation

1. Introduction

Model/View is a technology used to separate data from views in widgets that handle data sets. Standard widgets are not designed for separating data from views and this is why Qt has two different types of widgets. Both types of widgets look the same, but they interact with data differently.

Standard widgets use data that is part of the widget.
View classes operate on external data (the model)

1.1 Standard Widgets

Let’s have a closer look at a standard table widget. A table widget is a 2D array of the data elements that the user can change. The table widget can be integrated into a program flow by reading and writing the data elements that the table widget provides. This method is very intuitive and useful in many applications, but displaying and editing a database table with a standard table widget can be problematic. Two copies of the data have to be coordinated: one outside the widget; one inside the widget. The developer is responsible for synchronizing both versions. Besides this, the tight coupling of presentation and data makes it harder to write unit tests.

1.2 Model/View to the Rescue

Model/view stepped up to provide a solution that uses a more versatile architecture. Model/view eliminates the data consistency problems that may occur with standard widgets. Model/view also makes it easier to use more than one view of the same data because one model can be passed on to many views. The most important difference is that model/view widgets do not store data behind the table cells. In fact, they operate directly from your data. Since view classes do not know your data’s structure, you need to provide a wrapper to make your data conform to the QAbstractItemModel interface. A view uses this interface to read from and write to your data. Any instance of a class that implements QAbstractItemModel is said to be a model. Once the view receives a pointer to a model, it will read and display its content and be its editor.

1.3 Overview of the Model/View Widgets

Here is an overview of the model/view widgets and their corresponding standard widgets.

Widget	Standard Widget (an item based convenience class)	Model/View View Class (for use with external data)
	QListWidget	QListView
	QTableWidget	QTableView
	QTreeWidget	QTreeView
		QColumnView shows a tree as a hierarchy of lists
	QComboBox can work as both a view class and also as a traditional widget

1.4 Using Adapters between Forms and Models

Having adapters between forms and models can come in handy.

We can edit data stored in tables directly from within the table itself, but it’s much more comfortable to edit data in text fields. There is no direct model/view counterpart that separates data and views for widgets that operate on one value ( QLineEdit , QCheckBox …) instead of a dataset, so we need an adapter in order to connect the form to the source of data.

QDataWidgetMapper is a great solution because it maps form widgets to a table row and makes it very easy to build forms for database tables.

Another example of an adapter is QCompleter . Qt has QCompleter for providing auto-completions in Qt widgets such as QComboBox and, as shown below, QLineEdit . QCompleter uses a model as its data source.

2. A Simple Model/View Application

If you want to develop a model/view application, where should you start? We recommend starting with a simple example and extending it step-by-step. This makes understanding the architecture a lot easier. Trying to understand the model/view architecture in detail before invoking the IDE has proven to be less convenient for many developers. It is substantially easier to start with a simple model/view application that has demo data. Give it a try! Simply replace the data in the examples below with your own.

Below are 7 very simple and independent applications that show different sides of model/view programming. The source code can be found inside the examples/widgets/tutorials/modelview directory.

2.1 A Read Only Table

We start with an application that uses a QTableView to show data. We will add editing capabilities later.

(file source: examples/widgets/tutorials/modelview/1_readonly/main.cpp)

# main.cpp
from PySide6.QtWidgets import QApplication
from PySide6.QtWidgets import QTableView
from mymodel import *
if __name__ == "__main__":

    a = QApplication(argc, argv)
    tableView = QTableView()
    myModel = MyModel()
    tableView.setModel(myModel)
    tableView.show()
    return a.exec()

We have the usual main() function:

Here is the interesting part: We create an instance of MyModel and use setModel(&myModel); to pass a pointer of it to tableView . tableView will invoke the methods of the pointer it has received to find out two things:

• How many rows and columns should be displayed.

• What content should be printed into each cell.

The model needs some code to respond to this.

We have a table data set, so let’s start with QAbstractTableModel since it is easier to use than the more general QAbstractItemModel .

(file source: examples/widgets/tutorials/modelview/1_readonly/mymodel.h)

# mymodel.h
from PySide6.QtCore import QAbstractTableModel
class MyModel(QAbstractTableModel):

    Q_OBJECT
# public
    MyModel(QObject parent = None)
    rowCount = int(QModelIndex parent = QModelIndex())
    columnCount = int(QModelIndex parent = QModelIndex())
    data = QVariant(QModelIndex index, int role = Qt.DisplayRole)

QAbstractTableModel requires the implementation of three abstract methods.

(file source: examples/widgets/tutorials/modelview/1_readonly/mymodel.cpp)

# mymodel.cpp
from mymodel import *
def __init__(self, parent):
    QAbstractTableModel.__init__(self, parent)


def rowCount(self, QModelIndex  /parent/):

   return 2

def columnCount(self, QModelIndex  /parent/):

    return 3

def data(self, QModelIndex index, int role):

    if (role == Qt.DisplayRole)
       def QString("Row%1,Column%2"):
                   .arg(index.row() + 1)
                   .arg(index.column() +1)
    def QVariant():

The number of rows and columns is provided by rowCount() and columnCount() . When the view has to know what the cell’s text is, it calls the method data() . Row and column information is specified with parameter index and the role is set to DisplayRole . Other roles are covered in the next section. In our example, the data that should be displayed is generated. In a real application, MyModel would have a member called MyData, which serves as the target for all reading and writing operations.

This small example demonstrates the passive nature of a model. The model does not know when it will be used or which data is needed. It simply provides data each time the view requests it.

What happens when the model’s data needs to be changed? How does the view realize that data has changed and needs to be read again? The model has to emit a signal that indicates what range of cells has changed. This will be demonstrated in section 2.3.

2.2 Extending the Read Only Example with Roles

In addition to controlling what text the view displays, the model also controls the text’s appearance. When we slightly change the model, we get the following result:

In fact, nothing except for the data() method needs to be changed to set fonts, background colour, alignment and a checkbox. Below is the data() method that produces the result shown above. The difference is that this time we use parameter int role to return different pieces of information depending on its value.

(file source: examples/widgets/tutorials/modelview/2_formatting/mymodel.cpp)

# mymodel.cpp
def data(self, QModelIndex index, int role):

    row = index.row()
    col = index.column()
    # generate a log message when this method gets called
    print(QString("row %1, col%2, role %3"))
            .arg(row).arg(col).arg(role)
    switch (role) {
    Qt.DisplayRole: = case()
        if (row == 0 and col == 1) return QString("<--left")
        if (row == 1 and col == 1) return QString("right-.")
        def QString("Row%1,Column%2"):
                .arg(row + 1)
                .arg(col +1)
    Qt.FontRole: = case()
        if (row == 0 and col == 0) { //change font only for cell(0,0)
            boldFont = QFont()
            boldFont.setBold(True)
            return boldFont

        break
    Qt.BackgroundRole: = case()
        if (row == 1 and col == 2) //change background only for cell(1,2)
            def QBrush(Qt.red):
        break
    Qt.TextAlignmentRole: = case()
        if (row == 1 and col == 1) //change text alignment only for cell(1,1)
            def int(Qt.AlignVCenter):
        break
    Qt.CheckStateRole: = case()
        if (row == 1 and col == 0) //add a checkbox to cell(1,0)
            return Qt.Checked
        break

    def QVariant():

Each formatting property will be requested from the model with a separate call to the data() method. The role parameter is used to let the model know which property is being requested:

ItemDataRole	Meaning	Type
Qt.ItemDataRole DisplayRole	text	QString
FontRole	font	QFont
BackgroundRole	brush for the background of the cell	QBrush
TextAlignmentRole	text alignment	AlignmentFlag
CheckStateRole	suppresses checkboxes with QVariant() , sets checkboxes with Checked or Unchecked	ItemDataRole

Refer to the Qt namespace documentation to learn more about the ItemDataRole enum’s capabilities.

Now we need to determine how using a separated model impacts the application’s performance, so let’s trace how often the view calls the data() method. In order to track how often the view calls the model, we have put a debug statement in the data() method, which logs onto the error output stream. In our small example, data() will be called 42 times. Each time you hover the cursor over the field, data() will be called again – 7 times for each cell. That’s why it is important to make sure that your data is available when data() is invoked and expensive lookup operations are cached.

2.3 A Clock inside a Table Cell

We still have a read only table, but this time the content changes every second because we are showing the current time.

(file source: examples/widgets/tutorials/modelview/3_changingmodel/mymodel.cpp)

<Code snippet "tutorials/modelview/3_changingmodel/mymodel.cpp:quoting mymodel_QVariant" not found>

Something is missing to make the clock tick. We need to tell the view every second that the time has changed and that it needs to be read again. We do this with a timer. In the constructor, we set its interval to 1 second and connect its timeout signal.

(file source: examples/widgets/tutorials/modelview/3_changingmodel/mymodel.cpp)

def __init__(self, parent):
    QAbstractTableModel.__init__(self, parent)
    , timer(QTimer(self))

    timer.setInterval(1000)
    connect(timer, QTimer.timeout , self, MyModel.timerHit)
    timer.start()

Here is the corresponding slot:

(file source: examples/widgets/tutorials/modelview/3_changingmodel/mymodel.cpp)

<Code snippet "tutorials/modelview/3_changingmodel/mymodel.cpp:quoting mymodel_b" not found>

We ask the view to read the data in the top left cell again by emitting the dataChanged() signal. Note that we did not explicitly connect the dataChanged() signal to the view. This happened automatically when we called setModel() .

2.4 Setting up Headers for Columns and Rows

Headers can be hidden via a view method: tableView->verticalHeader()->hide();

The header content, however, is set via the model, so we reimplement the headerData() method:

(file source: examples/widgets/tutorials/modelview/4_headers/mymodel.cpp)

MyModel.headerData = QVariant(int section, Qt.Orientation orientation, int role)

    if (role == Qt.DisplayRole and orientation == Qt.Horizontal) {
        switch (section) {
        case 0:
            def QString("first"):
        case 1:
            def QString("second"):
        case 2:
            def QString("third"):


    def QVariant():

Note that method headerData() also has a parameter role which has the same meaning as in data() .

2.5 The Minimal Editing Example

In this example, we are going to build an application that automatically populates a window title with content by repeating values entered into table cells. To be able to access the window title easily we put the QTableView in a QMainWindow .

The model decides whether editing capabilities are available. We only have to modify the model in order for the available editing capabilities to be enabled. This is done by reimplementing the following virtual methods: setData() and flags() .

(file source: examples/widgets/tutorials/modelview/5_edit/mymodel.h)

# mymodel.h
from PySide6.QtCore import QAbstractTableModel

COLS = 3
ROWS = 2
class MyModel(QAbstractTableModel):

    Q_OBJECT
# public
    MyModel(QObject parent = None)
    rowCount = int(QModelIndex parent = QModelIndex())
    columnCount = int(QModelIndex parent = QModelIndex())
    data = QVariant(QModelIndex index, int role = Qt.DisplayRole)
    setData = bool(QModelIndex index, QVariant value, int role = Qt.EditRole)
    Qt.ItemFlags flags(QModelIndex index) override
# private
    m_gridData[ROWS][COLS] = QString()
signals:
    def editCompleted():

We use the two-dimensional array QString m_gridData to store our data. This makes m_gridData the core of MyModel. The rest of MyModel acts like a wrapper and adapts m_gridData to the QAbstractItemModel interface. We have also introduced the editCompleted() signal, which makes it possible to transfer the modified text to the window title.

(file source: examples/widgets/tutorials/modelview/5_edit/mymodel.cpp)

def setData(self, QModelIndex index, QVariant value, int role):

    if (role == Qt.EditRole) {
        if (not checkIndex(index))
            return False
        #save value from editor to member m_gridData
        m_gridData[index.row()][index.column()] = value.toString()
        #for presentation purposes only: build and emit a joined string
        result = QString()
        for row in range(0, ROWS):
            for col in range(0, COLS):
                result += m_gridData[row][col] + ' '

        editCompleted.emit(result)
        return True

    return False

setData() will be called each time the user edits a cell. The index parameter tells us which field has been edited and value provides the result of the editing process. The role will always be set to EditRole because our cells only contain text. If a checkbox were present and user permissions are set to allow the checkbox to be selected, calls would also be made with the role set to CheckStateRole .

(file source: examples/widgets/tutorials/modelview/5_edit/mymodel.cpp)

Qt.ItemFlags MyModel.flags(QModelIndex index)

    return Qt.ItemIsEditable | QAbstractTableModel.flags(index)

Various properties of a cell can be adjusted with flags() .

Returning ItemIsEnabled is enough to show an editor that a cell can be selected.

If editing one cell modifies more data than the data in that particular cell, the model must emit a dataChanged() signal in order for the data that has been changed to be read.

3. Intermediate Topics

3.1 TreeView

You can convert the example above into an application with a tree view. Simply replace QTableView with QTreeView , which results in a read/write tree. No changes have to be made to the model. The tree won’t have any hierarchies because there aren’t any hierarchies in the model itself.

QListView , QTableView and QTreeView all use a model abstraction, which is a merged list, table and tree. This makes it possible to use several different types of view classes from the same model.

This is how our example model looks so far:

We want to present a real tree. We have wrapped our data in the examples above in order to make a model. This time we use QStandardItemModel , which is a container for hierarchical data that also implements QAbstractItemModel . To show a tree, QStandardItemModel must be populated with QStandardItem s, which are able to hold all the standard properties of items like text, fonts, checkboxes or brushes.

(file source: examples/widgets/tutorials/modelview/6_treeview/mainwindow.cpp)

# modelview.cpp
from mainwindow import *
from PySide6.QtWidgets import QTreeView
from PySide6.QtGui import QStandardItemModel
from PySide6.QtGui import QStandardItem
def __init__(self, parent):
    QMainWindow.__init__(self, parent)
    , treeView(QTreeView(self))
    , standardModel(QStandardItemModel(self))

    setCentralWidget(treeView)
    > preparedRow = prepareRow("first", "second", "third")
    item = standardModel.invisibleRootItem()
    # adding a row to the invisible root item produces a root element
    item.appendRow(preparedRow)
    > secondRow = prepareRow("111", "222", "333")
    # adding a row to an item starts a subtree
    preparedRow.first().appendRow(secondRow)
    treeView.setModel(standardModel)
    treeView.expandAll()

*> = QList<QStandardItem()
                                              second, = QString()
                                              third) = QString()

    return {QStandardItem(first),
            QStandardItem(second),
            QStandardItem(third)}

We simply instantiate a QStandardItemModel and add a couple of QStandardItems to the constructor. We can then make a hierarchical data structure because a QStandardItem can hold other QStandardItems . Nodes are collapsed and expanded within the view.

3.2 Working with Selections

We want to access a selected item’s content in order to output it into the window title together with the hierarchy level.

So let’s create a couple of items:

(file source: examples/widgets/tutorials/modelview/7_selections/mainwindow.cpp)

from mainwindow import *
from PySide6.QtWidgets import QTreeView
from PySide6.QtGui import QStandardItemModel
from PySide6.QtCore import QItemSelectionModel
def __init__(self, parent):
    QMainWindow.__init__(self, parent)
    , treeView(QTreeView(self))
    , standardModel(QStandardItemModel(self))

    setCentralWidget(treeView)
    rootNode = standardModel.invisibleRootItem()
    #defining a couple of items
    americaItem = QStandardItem("America")
    mexicoItem = QStandardItem("Canada")
    usaItem = QStandardItem("USA")
    bostonItem = QStandardItem("Boston")
    europeItem = QStandardItem("Europe")
    italyItem = QStandardItem("Italy")
    romeItem = QStandardItem("Rome")
    veronaItem = QStandardItem("Verona")
    #building up the hierarchy
    rootNode. appendRow(americaItem)
    rootNode. appendRow(europeItem)
    americaItem. appendRow(mexicoItem)
    americaItem. appendRow(usaItem)
    usaItem. appendRow(bostonItem)
    europeItem. appendRow(italyItem)
    italyItem. appendRow(romeItem)
    italyItem. appendRow(veronaItem)
    #register the model
    treeView.setModel(standardModel)
    treeView.expandAll()
    #selection changes shall trigger a slot
    selectionModel = treeView.selectionModel()
    connect(selectionModel, QItemSelectionModel.selectionChanged,
            self, MainWindow::selectionChangedSlot)

Views manage selections within a separate selection model, which can be retrieved with the selectionModel() method. We retrieve the selection Model in order to connect a slot to its selectionChanged() signal.

(file source: examples/widgets/tutorials/modelview/7_selections/mainwindow.cpp)

def selectionChangedSlot(self, /newSelection/, /oldSelection/):

    #get the text of the selected item
    index = treeView.selectionModel().currentIndex()
    selectedText = index.data(Qt.DisplayRole).toString()
    #find out the hierarchy level of the selected item
    hierarchyLevel = 1
    seekRoot = index
    while (seekRoot.parent() != QModelIndex()) {
        seekRoot = seekRoot.parent()
        hierarchyLevel = hierarchyLevel + 1

    showString = QString("%1, Level %2").arg(selectedText)
                         .arg(hierarchyLevel)
    setWindowTitle(showString)

We get the model index that corresponds to the selection by calling treeView->selectionModel()->currentIndex() and we get the field’s string by using the model index. Then we just calculate the item’s hierarchyLevel. Top level items do not have parents and the parent() method will return a default constructed QModelIndex() . This is why we use the parent() method to iterate to the top level while counting the steps performed during iteration.

The selection model (as shown above) can be retrieved, but it can also be set with setSelectionModel . This is how it’s possible to have 3 view classes with synchronized selections because only one instance of a selection model is used. To share a selection model between 3 views use selectionModel() and assign the result to the second and third view class with setSelectionModel() .

3.3 Predefined Models

The typical way to use model/view is to wrap specific data to make it usable with view classes. Qt, however, also provides predefined models for common underlying data structures. If one of the available data structures is suitable for your application, a predefined model can be a good choice.

QStringListModel	Stores a list of strings
QStandardItemModel	Stores arbitrary hierarchical items
QFileSystemModel	Encapsulate the local file system
QSqlQueryModel	Encapsulate an SQL result set
QSqlTableModel	Encapsulates an SQL table
QSqlRelationalTableModel	Encapsulates an SQL table with foreign keys
QSortFilterProxyModel	Sorts and/or filters another model

3.4 Delegates

In all examples so far, data is presented as text or a checkbox in a cell and is edited as text or a checkbox. The component that provides these presentation and editing services is called a delegate. We are only just beginning to work with the delegate because the view uses a default delegate. But imagine that we want to have a different editor (e.g., a slider or a drop down list) Or imagine that we want to present data as graphics. Let’s take a look at an example called Star Delegate , in which stars are used to show a rating:

The view has a setItemDelegate() method that replaces the default delegate and installs a custom delegate. A new delegate can be written by creating a class that inherits from QStyledItemDelegate . In order to write a delegate that displays stars and has no input capabilities, we only need to override 2 methods.

class StarDelegate : public QStyledItemDelegate
{
    Q_OBJECT
public:
    StarDelegate(QWidget *parent = nullptr);
    void paint(QPainter *painter, const QStyleOptionViewItem &option,
               const QModelIndex &index) const;
    QSize sizeHint(const QStyleOptionViewItem &option,
                   const QModelIndex &index) const;
};

paint() draws stars depending on the content of the underlying data. The data can be looked up by calling data() . The delegate’s sizeHint() method is used to obtain each star’s dimensions, so the cell will provide enough height and width to accommodate the stars.

Writing custom delegates is the right choice if you want to show your data with a custom graphical representation inside the grid of the view class. If you want to leave the grid, you would not use a custom delegate but a custom view class.

Other references to delegates in Qt Documentation:

• Spin Box Delegate Example

• QAbstractItemDelegate Class Reference

• QSqlRelationalDelegate Class Reference

• QStyledItemDelegate Class Reference

• QItemDelegate Class Reference

3.5 Debugging with ModelTest

The passive nature of models provides new challenges for programmers. Inconsistencies in the model can cause the application to crash. Since the model is hit by numerous calls from the view, it is hard to find out which call has crashed the application and which operation has introduced the problem.

Qt Labs provides software called ModelTest , which checks models while your programming is running. Every time the model is changed, ModelTest scans the model and reports errors with an assert. This is especially important for tree models, since their hierarchical nature leaves many possibilities for subtle inconsistencies.

Unlike view classes, ModelTest uses out of range indexes to test the model. This means your application may crash with ModelTest even if it runs perfectly without it. So you also need to handle all of the indexes that are out of range when using ModelTest.

4. Good Sources of Additional Information

4.1 Books

Model/View programming is covered quite extensively in the documentation of Qt but also in several good books.

1. C++ GUI Programming with Qt 4 / Jasmin Blanchette, Mark Summerfield, Prentice Hall, 2nd edition, ISBN 0-13-235416-0. Also available in German: C++ GUI Programmierung mit Qt 4: Die offizielle Einführung, Addison-Wesley, ISBN 3-827327-29-6

2. The Book of Qt4, The Art of Building Qt Applications / Daniel Molkentin, Open Source Press, ISBN 1-59327-147-6. Translated from Qt 4, Einführung in die Applikationsentwicklung, Open Source Press, ISBN 3-937514-12-0.

3. Foundations of Qt Development / Johan Thelin, Apress, ISBN 1-59059-831-8.

4. Advanced Qt Programming / Mark Summerfield, Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-321-63590-6. This book covers Model/View programming on more than 150 pages.

The following list provides an overview of example programs contained in the first three books listed above. Some of them make very good templates for developing similar applications.

Example name	View class used	Model used	Aspects covered
Team Leaders	QListview	QStringListModel		Book 1, Chapter 10, Figure 10.6
Color Names	QListView	QSortFilterProxyModel applied to QStringListModel		Book 1, Chapter 10, Figure 10.8
Currencies	QTableView	custom model based on QAbstractTableModel	Read only	Book 1, Chapter 10, Figure 10.10
Cities	QTableView	Custom model based on QAbstractTableModel	Read / write	Book 1, Chapter 10, Figure 10.12
Boolean Parser	QTreeView	Custom model based on QAbstractItemModel	Read only	Book 1, Chapter 10, Figure 10.14
Track Editor	QTableWidget		Custom delegate providing a custom editor	Book 1, Chapter 10, Figure 10.15
Address Book	QListView QTableView QTreeView	Custom model based on QAbstractTableModel	Read / write	Book2, Chapter 8.4
Address Book with sorting		QSortfilterProxyModel	Introducing sort and filter capabilities	Book2, Chapter 8.5
Address Book with checkboxes			Introducing checkboxes in model/view	Book2, Chapter 8.6
Address Book with transposed grid		Custom proxy Model based on QAbstractProxyModel	Introducing a custom model	Book2, Chapter 8.7
Address Book with drag and drop			Introducing drag and drop support	Book2, Chapter 8.8
Address Book with custom editor			Introducing custom delegates	Book2, Chapter 8.9
Views	QListView QTableView QTreeView	QStandardItemModel	Read only	Book 3, Chapter 5, figure 5-3
Bardelegate	QTableView		Custom delegate for presentation based on QAbstractItemDelegate	Book 3, Chapter 5, figure 5-5
Editdelegate	QTableView		Custom delegate for editing based on QAbstractItemDelegate	Book 3, Chapter 5, figure 5-6
Singleitemview	Custom view based on QAbstractItemView		Custom view	Book 3, Chapter 5, figure 5-7
listmodel	QTableView	Custom Model based on QAbstractTableModel	Read only	Book 3, Chapter 5, Figure 5-8
treemodel	QTreeView	Custom Model based on QAbstractItemModel	Read only	Book 3, Chapter 5, Figure 5-10
edit integers	QListView	Custom Model based on QAbstractListModel	Read / write	Book 3, Chapter 5, Listing 5-37, Figure 5-11
sorting	QTableView	QSortFilterProxyModel applied to QStringListModel	Demonstrates sorting	Book 3, Chapter 5, Figure 5-12

4.2 Qt Documentation

Qt 5.0 comes with 19 examples for model/view. The examples can be found on the Item Views Examples page.

Example name	View class used	Model used	Aspects covered
Address Book	QTableView	QAbstractTableModel QSortFilterProxyModel	Usage of QSortFilterProxyModel to generate different subsets from one data pool
Basic Sort/Filter Model	QTreeView	QStandardItemModel QSortFilterProxyModel
Chart	Custom view	QStandardItemModel	Designing custom views that cooperate with selection models
Color Editor Factory QTableWidget			Enhancing the standard delegate with a new custom editor to choose colours
Combo Widget Mapper	QDataWidgetMapper to map QLineEdit , QTextEdit and QComboBox	QStandardItemModel	Shows how a QComboBox can serve as a view class
Custom Sort/Filter Model	QTreeView	QStandardItemModel QSortFilterProxyModel	Subclass QSortFilterProxyModel for advanced sorting and filtering
Dir View	QTreeView	QFileSystemModel	Very small example to demonstrate how to assign a model to a view
Editable Tree Model	QTreeView	Custom tree model	Comprehensive example for working with trees, demonstrates editing cells and tree structure with an underlying custom model
Fetch More	QListView	Custom list model	Dynamically changing model
Frozen Column	QTableView	QStandardItemModel
Interview	Multiple	Custom item model	Multiple views
Pixelator	QTableView	Custom table model	Implementation of a custom delegate
Puzzle	QListView	Custom list model	Model/view with drag and drop
Simple DOM Model	QTreeView	Custom tree model	Read only example for a custom tree model
Simple Tree Model	QTreeView	Custom tree model	Read only example for a custom tree model
Simple Widget Mapper	QDataWidgetMapper to map QLineEdit , QTextEdit and QSpinBox	QStandardItemModel	Basic QDataWidgetMapper usage
Spin Box Delegate	QTableView	QStandardItemModel	Custom delegate that uses a spin box as a cell editor
Spreadsheet QTableView			Custom delegates
Star Delegate QTableWidget			Comprehensive custom delegate example.

A reference document for model/view technology is also available.