Develop Reference

Why can´t I click on the JButtons?

Hey I am a beginner and I have wrote the following code in java, but I can´t click on the JButtons. The program includes three clases - Main, Frame and Actionhandler. My goal was to create a Frame with two buttons: Singleplayer and Mulitplayer. I wanted to test if they work, but I can´t click them. Can anyone help me please?
This is the Main class:
public class Main {
public static void main (String [] args) {
new Frame ();
}
}
This is the Frame class:
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Font;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import javax.swing.BorderFactory;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
public class Frame extends JFrame {
public static Object multi;
public static Object single;
Frame() {
// Frame
this.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
this.setExtendedState(JFrame.MAXIMIZED_BOTH);
this.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
//Layout in Frame
this.setLayout(new GridLayout(2,1));
this.setVisible(true);
// Buttons in Main Menu
JButton single = new JButton("Singleplayer");
JButton multi = new JButton("Multiplayer");
// specify single button
single.setBounds(200,100,250,80);
single.setForeground(Color.GREEN);
single.setBackground(Color.LIGHT_GRAY);
single.setOpaque(true);
single.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.BLACK));
single.setFont(new Font("Comic Sans",Font.BOLD,25));
single.addActionListener(new ActionHandler());
//specify multi button
multi.setBounds(800,100,250,80);
multi.setForeground(Color.GREEN);
multi.setBackground(Color.GRAY);
multi.setOpaque(true);
multi.setFont(new Font("Comic Sans",Font.BOLD,25));
multi.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.BLACK));
multi.addActionListener(new ActionHandler());
// add Buttons to Frame
this.add(single);
this.add(multi);
}
}
This is the ActionHandler class:
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
public class ActionHandler implements ActionListener{
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if(e.getSource() == Frame.multi) {
System.out.println("You have clicked on Singleplayer");
if(e.getSource() == Frame.single) {
System.out.println("You have clicked on Multiplayer");
}
}};
}

You can click on the buttons fine. They just won't do anything because of how you've wired the program:
public class Frame extends JFrame {
public static Object multi; // this is null
public static Object single; // and so is this
Frame() {
// Frame
this.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
this.setExtendedState(JFrame.MAXIMIZED_BOTH);
this.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
//Layout in Frame
this.setLayout(new GridLayout(2,1));
this.setVisible(true);
// Buttons in Main Menu
JButton single = new JButton("Singleplayer"); // this is a new *local* variable
JButton multi = new JButton("Multiplayer"); // and so is this:
You are initializing local variables that have the same name as your static class fields, and you're leaving the same static class fields null, a situation known as "variable shadowing", and so in your listeners, you check if the source is the null static field. Which won't work.
So in your listener:
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if(e.getSource() == Frame.multi) {
You're testing if a null variable is the button that was pressed, and this will not work.
One simple solution is to not re-declare the multi and single variables, to assign your JButtons to these public static fields by changing this:
JButton single = new JButton("Singleplayer");
JButton multi = new JButton("Multiplayer");
to this:
single = new JButton("Singleplayer");
multi = new JButton("Multiplayer");
This would sort-of work. You'd have do do some casting to add these JButton objects to the container since the variables are Object, not JButton. But this would be a bad idea because you'd be throwing out the OOPs baby with the bathwater, discarding encapsulation completely.
Best not to throw out OOPs rules with public static (non-constant) fields and instead work with them. Better to use constant Strings to be passed into your JButtons and then test for them using the ActionEvent's actionCommand property:
public class Frame extends JFrame {
public static String SINGLE_PLAYER = "Single Player";
public static String MULTI_PLAYER = "Multi Player";
Frame() {
// Frame
this.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
this.setExtendedState(JFrame.MAXIMIZED_BOTH);
this.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
//Layout in Frame
this.setLayout(new GridLayout(2,1));
this.setVisible(true);
// Buttons in Main Menu
JButton single = new JButton(SINGLE_PLAYER); // this is a new *local* variable
JButton multi = new JButton(MULTI_PLAYER); // and so is this:
in the listener:
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
public class ActionHandler implements ActionListener{
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if(e.getActionCommand().equals(Frame.MULTI_PLAYER)) {
System.out.println("You have clicked on Multi Player");
} else {
// ...
}
}};
}
Other problems with your code include:
Don't name your class Frame since this clashes with the name of class in the core Java library, java.awt.Frame. Name it something unique to avoid confusion
Avoid setting bounds, sizes and such. Let the GUI, its layout managers and component preferred sizes do the sizing by calling pack() on the top-level window (JFrame, JDialog,...) after adding components
Call .setVisible(true) on the top-level window after adding all components.
This looks like it will display as a sub-window or dialog window, and you might want to show this portion of the GUI in a modal JDialog, not in a JFrame.

Access difficulty with ArrayList of panels with buttons

my question is: how do I get the object of my CustomPanel, so that I am able to access its fields (because in my real programm I have some more fields in there) and also am able to delete it from my ArrayList?
I don't know how I have to implement an ActionListener in the Class Window, to somehow get the Object in my Arraylist, which containes the button that got pressed.
Also I am wondering if I am somehow able to implement an ActionListener in the Class CustomPanel which can influence the behaviour of the Object which is an instance of my Class Window.
I have kind of the following code:
public class Window extends JFrame{
ArrayList<CustomPanel> aLCustomPanel = new ArrayList();
JPanel jp = new JPanel();
public Window() {
for(int i=0;i<5;i++){
aLCustomPanel.add(new CustomPanel());
//here I could put the code from the 1 edit - see below
jp.add(aLCustomPanel.get(i));
}
this.add(jp);
}
public static void main(String args[]){
java.awt.EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
new Window().setVisible(true);
}
});
}
}
class CustomPanel extends JPanel {
private JButton button;
public CustomPanel(){
button = new JButton("button");
this.add(button);
}
public JButton getButton(){
return this.button;
}
}
my Code is much longer and weirder, so I tried to extract the (for this question) importing things.
Thanks for any help in advance!
edit:
for example: I would like to delete the object from the ArrayList, of which the button got pressed.
//imagine this comment in above code
aLCustomPanel.get(aLCustomPanel.size()-1).getButton().addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
button_IwantToDeleteYou(e); //here I want to remove the panel, containing the button that got pressed from the above ArrayList, which is located in Class Window
}
});
edit2:
added a missing bracket and fixed some mistakes, code should be ok now.

Your code contained a few "gaps", i.e. missing code, which I filled in, as follows:
Added calls to [JFrame] methods setDefaultCloseOperation() and pack() and setLocationByPlatform(). I suggest you refer to the javadoc for those methods in order to understand what they do.
I set a layout manager for jp class member variable in your Window class.
Yes, you need to register an ActionListener with the JButton in class CustomPanel and that listener should reside in your Window class - the one that extends JFrame.
Here is my rewrite of your code. Note that I changed the name of class Window to CusPanel so as to distinguish between your class and java.awt.Window class. Not that it makes a difference, I just prefer not to use names of classes from the JDK.
import java.awt.Container;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.WindowConstants;
public class CusPanel extends JFrame implements ActionListener {
private static final int COUNT = 5;
private ArrayList<CustomPanel> aLCustomPanel = new ArrayList<>();
private JPanel jp = new JPanel(new GridLayout(0, COUNT));
public CusPanel() {
setDefaultCloseOperation(WindowConstants.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
for (int i = 0; i < COUNT; i++) {
aLCustomPanel.add(new CustomPanel(this));
// here I could put the code from the 1 edit - see below
jp.add(aLCustomPanel.get(i));
}
this.add(jp);
pack();
setLocationByPlatform(true);
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent actionEvent) {
Object source = actionEvent.getSource();
if (source instanceof JButton) {
JButton button = (JButton) source;
Container parent = button.getParent();
jp.remove(parent);
jp.invalidate();
jp.repaint();
pack();
// aLCustomPanel.remove(parent); <- optional
}
}
public static void main(String args[]) {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
new CusPanel().setVisible(true);
}
});
}
}
class CustomPanel extends JPanel {
private JButton button;
public CustomPanel(ActionListener parent) {
button = new JButton("button");
button.addActionListener(parent);
this.add(button);
}
public JButton getButton() {
return this.button;
}
}
Note that after removing a CustomPanel, the GUI components need to be laid out again and the JFrame should also be resized accordingly. Hence in the actionPerformed() method, I call invalidate(), then repaint() and then pack(). I also think that if you remove a CustomPanel from the GUI, you should also remove it from the ArrayList, but hey, I still don't understand why you want to do this although I obviously don't know the whole story behind you wanting to do this in the first place.
Of-course, since each button (and each CustomPanel) looks exactly the same, you can't really know which button was removed. Again, I assume you see the big picture whereas I don't.

Change attribute in other jframe when a button is clicked in another JFrame

I have 2 jframes, 1 is kinda like the main menu, i want an attribute to change in the level jframe when a button is pressed so i tried:
SpeelVeld frame = new SpeelVeld();
frame.level = 1;
System.out.println(frame.level);
I used the sout to see what really happens because it wasnt working, but i see that the level goes from 0 to 1 back to 0 and goes on and on, does someone know why and how to fix?
SpeelVeld frame = new SpeelVeld();
frame.setBounds(0,0,519,591);
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.getContentPane().setBackground(Color.WHITE);
frame.setTitle("RWINA");
frame.setVisible(true);
frame.setLevel(1);
this is in the main method of my original GameProject file.
How can i make a jdialog

I have 2 jframes, 1 is kinda like the main menu,
You shouldn't use 2 JFrames for this. The dependent sub-window, likely your main menu window, should in fact be a JDialog, probably a non-modal dialog from the looks of it.
I want an attribute to change in the level jframe when a button is pressed so i tried:
SpeelVeld frame = new SpeelVeld();
frame.level = 1;
System.out.println(frame.level);
and here's a big problem. Understand that in this code, you're creating a new SpeelVeld object, the stress being on the word new. Changing the state of this object will have no effect on the other SeelVeld object that is currently being displayed. Do do that, your second window will need a valid reference to the displayed SeelVeld object. How to do this will depend all on code not yet shown, but often it can be done simply by passing in the displayed SpeelVeld object into the main menu object by use of a constructor parameter or setter method.
For example:
import java.awt.Dialog.ModalityType;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.event.ChangeEvent;
import javax.swing.event.ChangeListener;
// JPanel for our main GUI
public class SpeelVeldFoo {
private static void createAndShowGui() {
// JPanel used by the main JFrame
SpeelVeldPanel speelVeldPanel = new SpeelVeldPanel();
// JPanel used by the main menu JDialog. Pass the above into it
MainMenuPanel mainMenuPanel = new MainMenuPanel(speelVeldPanel);
// create your JFrame
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Speel Veld");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
frame.getContentPane().add(speelVeldPanel); // add the JPanel
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationByPlatform(true);
frame.setVisible(true);
// create your non-modal JDialog
JDialog menuDialog = new JDialog(frame, "Main Menu", ModalityType.MODELESS);
menuDialog.add(mainMenuPanel); // add the JPanel that holds its "guts"
menuDialog.pack();
menuDialog.setLocationByPlatform(true);
menuDialog.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> {
createAndShowGui();
});
}
}
#SuppressWarnings("serial")
class SpeelVeldPanel extends JPanel {
private int level = 1; // simple example just has a level int
private JLabel levelLabel = new JLabel("1"); // and displays it in a JLabel
public SpeelVeldPanel() {
add(new JLabel("Level:"));
add(levelLabel);
int ebGap = 50;
setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder(ebGap, 2 * ebGap, ebGap, 2 * ebGap));
}
public int getLevel() {
return level;
}
public void setLevel(int level) {
// whenever level is changed, update the display
this.level = level;
levelLabel.setText(String.valueOf(level));
}
}
// class for the JPanel held by the JDialog
#SuppressWarnings("serial")
class MainMenuPanel extends JPanel {
private JSpinner levelSpinner = new JSpinner(new SpinnerNumberModel(1, 1, 5, 1));
private SpeelVeldPanel speelVeldPanel = null; // reference to the main GUI
// note the parameter.... you pass in the displayed main GUI so you can
// change it
public MainMenuPanel(final SpeelVeldPanel speelVeldPanel) {
this.speelVeldPanel = speelVeldPanel; // set the field
// respond when the spinner's data changes
levelSpinner.addChangeListener(new LevelListener());
add(new JLabel("Set the Speel Veld's level:"));
add(levelSpinner);
int ebGap = 10;
setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder(ebGap, ebGap, ebGap, ebGap));
}
private class LevelListener implements ChangeListener {
#Override
public void stateChanged(ChangeEvent e) {
// when the spinner's data changes
int level = (int) levelSpinner.getValue(); // get the data
speelVeldPanel.setLevel(level); // and send it to the main GUI
}
}
}
You'll note that I don't like extending JFrame or JDialog if I can avoid it. My feeling is that one can paint oneself into a corner by having your class extend JFrame, forcing you to create and display JFrames, when often more flexibility is called for. More commonly your GUI classes will be geared towards creating JPanels, which can then be placed into JFrames or JDialogs, or JTabbedPanes, or swapped via CardLayouts, wherever needed. This will greatly increase the flexibility of your GUI coding.

You probably want the JFrame to be the top-level container, then have a JPanel that holds your menu. The menu could be whatever you want, I'm using a JTextArea. Then, you need a JButton for the JPanel or JFrame that when pressed, changes the text in the JTextArea. Here is an implementation that you could work from. I'm using the ActionEvent as the trigger for when to mess with the JTextArea:
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JTextArea;
public class SimpleSwing {
public static void main(String[] args) {
JFrame mainFrame = new JFrame();
JPanel mainMenuPanel = new JPanel();
JTextArea textAttribute = new JTextArea("Original Text");
JButton changeAttributeButton = new JButton("Change Attribute");
changeAttributeButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
textAttribute.setText("Whatever new text you want");
}
});
mainMenuPanel.add(textAttribute);
mainMenuPanel.add(changeAttributeButton);
mainFrame.add(mainMenuPanel);
mainFrame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
mainFrame.setSize(500, 500);
mainFrame.setVisible(true);
}
}

JTextArea won't show up unless I call append() on it

The following problem boggled my mind, so I came here for some help.
After experimenting I ended up with this block of code:
JTextArea chatPanel = null;
JScrollPane scrollPanel = null;
if(chatPanel == null)
{
chatPanel = new JTextArea("derp");
chatPanel.setEditable(false);
chatPanel.setForeground(new Color(10,191,26));
chatPanel.setOpaque(false);
scrollPanel = new JScrollPane(chatPanel);
scrollPanel.setOpaque(false);
scrollPanel.getViewport().setOpaque(false);
scrollPanel.setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder());
}
//## marked area ##
scrollPanel.setBounds(9,596,435,138);
pane.add(scrollPanel);
The result? Nothing shows up. The text area with "derp" in it I expected is not there, just an empty scroll panel. Now, if I go to the ## marked area ## and replace it with this:
chatPanel.append("Hello.");
the chatPanel shows up fine in the scrollPanel, with its text being "derpHello.". Any ideas as per what's going on?
For the record, pane is a simple container with a null layout that otherwise displays eveyrthing fine. Declaration, just for the record:
Container pane = getContentPane()
pane.setLayout(null);

I have no problem with the following code, I can see the "derp" in green just fine:
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Container;
import javax.swing.BorderFactory;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JScrollPane;
import javax.swing.JTextArea;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
public class TestTextArea {
private void initUI() {
JFrame frame = new JFrame("test");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
JTextArea chatPanel = null;
JScrollPane scrollPanel = null;
Container pane = frame.getContentPane();
pane.setLayout(null);
if (chatPanel == null) {
chatPanel = new JTextArea("derp");
chatPanel.setEditable(false);
chatPanel.setForeground(new Color(10, 191, 26));
chatPanel.setOpaque(false);
scrollPanel = new JScrollPane(chatPanel);
scrollPanel.setOpaque(false);
scrollPanel.getViewport().setOpaque(false);
scrollPanel.setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder());
}
// ## marked area ##
scrollPanel.setBounds(9, 596, 435, 138);
pane.add(scrollPanel);
frame.validate();
frame.setSize(600, 800);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
new TestTextArea().initUI();
}
});
}
}
Now, I would really advise you to use an appropriate LayoutManager instead of that null layout. That would allow you to use pack() and revalidate() and have a much simpler and more maintainable code.
There must be something else that your code does not illustrate for now. Try to put an SSCCE.

There is nothing in your JTextArea to display as you initialize it with the empty String. When you append something to it, there is effectively text inside.
Note that your JScrollPane will never try to resize your component inside (why else would it allow you to scroll?). Therefore, you will have to set a dimension on your JTextArea.
EDIT (after your code correction): I can see "derp" just fine with following code.
public class TextTest extends JFrame {
public TextTest () {
JPanel pane = new JPanel();
JTextArea chatPanel = null;
JScrollPane scrollPanel = null;
if(chatPanel == null)
{
chatPanel = new JTextArea("derp");
chatPanel.setEditable(false);
chatPanel.setForeground(new Color(10,191,26));
chatPanel.setOpaque(false);
scrollPanel = new JScrollPane(chatPanel);
scrollPanel.setOpaque(false);
scrollPanel.getViewport().setOpaque(false);
scrollPanel.setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder());
}
//## marked area ##
scrollPanel.setBounds(9,596,435,138);
pane.add(scrollPanel);
setContentPane(pane);
setVisible(true);
setDefaultCloseOperation(EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
new TextTest();
}
}

Java (Swing): JScrollPane.setBounds() does not apply?

I'm trying to create a simple JList with a scrollbar, and therefore i need to have the JList within a JScrollPane. So far, so good. However, for some reason i can't resize/position the JScrollPane!? It sounds logic that everything inside it should stretch to 100%, so if i set the JScrollPane to be 300px wide, the elements inside will be as well. Is that correct?
While you're at it, please critisize and give me hints if i should change something or optimize it.
Anyhow, here's the code:
package train;
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class GUI {
private DefaultListModel loggerContent = new DefaultListModel();
private JList logger = new JList(loggerContent);
GUI() {
JFrame mainFrame = new JFrame("title");
this.addToLog("testing testing");
this.addToLog("another test");
// Create all elements
logger = new JList(loggerContent);
JScrollPane logWrapper = new JScrollPane(logger);
logWrapper.setBounds(10, 10, 20, 50);
// Add all elements
mainFrame.add(logWrapper);
// Show everything
mainFrame.setSize(new Dimension(600, 500));
mainFrame.setVisible(true);
}
public void addToLog(String inputString) {
int size = logger.getModel().getSize();
loggerContent.add(size, inputString);
}
}
Thanks in advance,
qwerty
EDIT: Here's a screenshot of it running: http://i.stack.imgur.com/sLGgQ.png

The setVisibleRowCount() method of JList is particularly convenient for this, as suggested in the relevant tutorial. ListDemo is a good example.
Addendum:
please critisize and give me hints…
Well, since you ask: Don't invoke public methods in the constructor; make them private or invoke them after the constructor finishes. There's no need to find the last index for add(), when addElement() is available. Also, be sure to construct your GUI on the event dispatch thread .
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
/** #see http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5422160 */
public class ListPanel extends JPanel {
private DefaultListModel model = new DefaultListModel();
private JList list = new JList(model);
ListPanel() {
list.setVisibleRowCount(5);
}
public void append(String inputString) {
model.addElement(inputString);
}
private void init() {
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
this.append("String " + String.valueOf(i));
}
JFrame mainFrame = new JFrame("GUI");
mainFrame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
JScrollPane jsp = new JScrollPane(list);
mainFrame.add(jsp);
mainFrame.pack();
mainFrame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
new ListPanel().init();
}
});
}
}

The bounds & size of a component are generally ignored over that of it's preferred size and the constraints of the layout being used by the container.
To solve this problem, learn how to use layouts & apply them appropriately.

Try to put your JScrollPane inside a JPanel and add the panel to the frame.
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
panel.add (logWrapper);
mainFrame.add(panel);
Then set the bounds of the panel instead of the JScrollpane
panel.setBounds(10, 10, 20, 50);
The probles is that Swing uses layout managers to control child bounds property. Adding a JScrollpane directly to the main frame, doesn't allow you to choose right bounds properly.