Develop Reference

How do you close a JFrame window without closing another one?

I am new to Java Swing and I am trying to learn how to close one frame without closing the other one using button. For example I have a frame1/window that just have a button called login. Once I click on login button, another window appear frame2. On frame2 I just have a sample JLabel "Hello And Welcome", button called Logout. I want to be able to click on the Logout button on frame2 and frame2 window should close, but frame1 window show still be open. I have try setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE), but it only work if I click on the x icon on the top right of the frame2 window. Does anyone know of a way to close a frame when you click on a button?
public class Frame1 extends JFrame implements ActionListener{
private static JButton login = new JButton("Login");
private static JFrame f = new JFrame("Login");
Frame1(){
f.setSize(1000,750);
f.setLocation(750, 250);
login.setBounds(250, 350, 150, 30);
f.add(login);
f.setLayout(null);
f.setVisible(true);
login.addActionListener(this);
f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){
if (e.getSource() == login){
Frame2.frame2windown();
}
}
public static void main(String [] args){
Frame1 login1 = new Frame1();
}
}
public class Frame2 extends JFrame implements ActionListener{
private static JButton logout = new JButton("Logout");
private static JLabel jb1 = new JLabel ("Hello And Welcome");
private static JFrame f = new JFrame("Log Out");
Frame2(){
f.setSize(1000,750);
f.setLocation(750, 250);
jb1.setBounds(250, 150, 350, 30);
logout.setBounds(250, 350, 150, 30);
f.add(logout);
f.add(jb1);
f.setLayout(null);
f.setVisible(true);
logout.addActionListener(this);
f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent a){
if(a.getSource() == logout){
dispose();
WindowEvent closeWindow = new WindowEvent(this, JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getSystemEventQueue().postEvent(closeWindow);
}
}
public static void frame2windown(){
Frame2 f2 = new Frame2();
}
}

So, there are a whole bunch of concepts your need to try and learn.
It's generally recommended NOT to extend from top level containers (like JFrame). You're not adding any new functionality too them; they are complicated, compound components; you lock yourself into a single use case (what happens if you want to include the UI in another UI or use a dialog instead of frame?!)
Multiple frames aren't always a good idea and can be confusing to the user. Generally, with login workflows though, I might argue a login dialog is generally a better solution, but you need to understand the use cases to make those determinations.
Swing is a large, rich and diverse API, it has a LOT of inbuilt functionality, which you can use, to make your life easier (although it doesn't always seem this way)
Layout managers are an absolutely required feature and you really need to take the time to learn them, see Laying Out Components Within a Container for more details.
So, a really quick example of using a CardLayout and a basic "observer pattern", which decouples and separates responsibility.
import java.awt.CardLayout;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.util.EventListener;
import java.util.Random;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JOptionPane;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.border.EmptyBorder;
public class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Test();
}
public Test() {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.add(new NavigationPane());
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
public static class NavigationPane extends JPanel {
protected enum NavigationTarget {
LOGIN, MAIN;
}
private LoginPane loginPane;
private MainPane mainPane;
private CardLayout cardLayout;
public NavigationPane() {
cardLayout = new CardLayout();
setLayout(cardLayout);
loginPane = new LoginPane();
loginPane.addLoginListener(new LoginPane.LoginListener() {
#Override
public void loginDidFail(LoginPane source) {
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(NavigationPane.this, "You are not unauthroised", "Error", JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE);
}
#Override
public void loginWasSuccessful(LoginPane source) {
navigateTo(NavigationTarget.MAIN);
}
});
mainPane = new MainPane();
add(loginPane, NavigationTarget.LOGIN.name());
add(mainPane, NavigationTarget.MAIN.name());
navigateTo(NavigationTarget.LOGIN);
}
protected void navigateTo(NavigationTarget target) {
cardLayout.show(this, target.name());
}
}
public static class LoginPane extends JPanel {
public static interface LoginListener extends EventListener {
public void loginDidFail(LoginPane source);
public void loginWasSuccessful(LoginPane source);
}
public LoginPane() {
setBorder(new EmptyBorder(10, 10, 10, 10));
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
JButton btn = new JButton("Login");
btn.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
private Random rnd = new Random();
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
// Do some logic here
if (rnd.nextBoolean()) {
fireLoginWasSuccessful();
} else {
fireLoginDidFail();
}
}
});
add(btn);
}
public void addLoginListener(LoginListener listener) {
listenerList.add(LoginListener.class, listener);
}
public void removeLoginListener(LoginListener listener) {
listenerList.remove(LoginListener.class, listener);
}
protected void fireLoginDidFail() {
LoginListener[] listeners = listenerList.getListeners(LoginListener.class);
for (LoginListener listener : listeners) {
listener.loginDidFail(this);
}
}
protected void fireLoginWasSuccessful() {
LoginListener[] listeners = listenerList.getListeners(LoginListener.class);
for (LoginListener listener : listeners) {
listener.loginWasSuccessful(this);
}
}
}
public static class MainPane extends JPanel {
public MainPane() {
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
setBorder(new EmptyBorder(10, 10, 10, 10));
add(new JLabel("Welcome"));
}
}
}
JDialog based login workflow
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.CardLayout;
import java.awt.Component;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.util.Random;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JDialog;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JOptionPane;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
import javax.swing.border.EmptyBorder;
public class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Test();
}
public Test() {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
NavigationPane navigationPane = new NavigationPane();
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.add(navigationPane);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
if (LoginPane.showLoginDialog(navigationPane)) {
navigationPane.didLogin();
} else {
frame.dispose();
}
}
});
}
public static class NavigationPane extends JPanel {
protected enum NavigationTarget {
SPLASH, MAIN;
}
private SplashPane splashPane;
private MainPane mainPane;
private CardLayout cardLayout;
public NavigationPane() {
cardLayout = new CardLayout();
setLayout(cardLayout);
mainPane = new MainPane();
splashPane = new SplashPane();
add(splashPane, NavigationTarget.SPLASH.name());
add(mainPane, NavigationTarget.MAIN.name());
navigateTo(NavigationTarget.SPLASH);
}
protected void navigateTo(NavigationTarget target) {
cardLayout.show(this, target.name());
}
public void didLogin() {
navigateTo(NavigationTarget.MAIN);
}
}
public static class LoginPane extends JPanel {
private Random rnd = new Random();
private boolean isAuthorised = false;
public LoginPane() {
setBorder(new EmptyBorder(10, 10, 10, 10));
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
add(new JLabel("User name and password fields go here"));
}
protected void authenticate() {
// Authenticate
isAuthorised = rnd.nextBoolean();
if (!isAuthorised) {
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(this, "You are not authorised", "Error", JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE);
}
}
// So this should return some kind of "session" or something so
// can identify the user, but for now, we'll just use
// a boolean
public boolean isAuthorised() {
return isAuthorised;
}
public static boolean showLoginDialog(Component parent) {
LoginPane loginPane = new LoginPane();
JPanel panel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
JPanel buttonPane = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
JButton okayButton = new JButton("Login");
JButton cancelButton = new JButton("Cancel");
buttonPane.add(okayButton);
buttonPane.add(cancelButton);
panel.add(loginPane);
panel.add(buttonPane, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
JDialog dialog = new JDialog(SwingUtilities.windowForComponent(parent));
dialog.add(panel);
okayButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
loginPane.authenticate();
if (loginPane.isAuthorised()) {
dialog.dispose();
}
}
});
cancelButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
dialog.dispose();
}
});
dialog.setModal(true);
dialog.pack();
dialog.setLocationRelativeTo(parent);
dialog.setVisible(true);
return loginPane.isAuthorised();
}
}
public static class SplashPane extends JPanel {
public SplashPane() {
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
setBorder(new EmptyBorder(10, 10, 10, 10));
add(new JLabel("This is a splash panel, put some nice graphics here"));
}
}
public static class MainPane extends JPanel {
public MainPane() {
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
setBorder(new EmptyBorder(10, 10, 10, 10));
add(new JLabel("Welcome"));
}
}
}

You duplicated the JFrame, created a JFrame field f inside the JFrame.
Do not use static components like the button.
public class Frame1 extends JFrame implements ActionListener {
private final JButton login = new JButton("Login");
Frame1() {
setTitle("Login");
setSize(1000, 750);
setLocation(750, 250);
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
setLayout(null);
login.setBounds(250, 350, 150, 30);
add(login);
login.addActionListener(this);
setVisible(true);
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if (e.getSource() == login) {
Frame2.frame2windown();
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
EventQueue.invokeLater(() -> {
Frame1 login1 = new Frame1();
}
}
}
Use the swing/awt event queue (invokeLater) as on this thread window events are handled and dispatched further.
And Frame2:
public class Frame2 extends JFrame implements ActionListener {
private JButton logout = new JButton("Logout");
private JLabel jb1 = new JLabel("Hello And Welcome");
Frame2() {
setTitle("Logout");
setSize(1000, 750);
setLocation(750, 250);
setLayout(null);
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
jb1.setBounds(250, 150, 350, 30);
logout.setBounds(250, 350, 150, 30);
add(logout);
add(jb1);
logout.addActionListener(this);
setVisible(true);
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent a) {
if (a.getSource() == logout) {
setVisible(false); // <--- ALL
}
}
public static void frame2windown() {
Frame2 f2 = new Frame2();
}
}
JFrame.setVisible does it all. Especially setVisible(true) should maybe even done after the constructor is called, so it always is last.
Another remark, dive into layout managers fast. Absolute layouts (null) are a PITA.

JFrame moves to the background for some reason

After I asked a very vague question about this topic yesterday here (which I voted to close now), I was able to pinpoint the problem and create a MCVE which shows this behavior.
The scenario looks like this:
While some operation is ongoing in the background, a Modal "Wait" Dialog is provided in the foreground, also the JFrame is being set to be disabled, just to be sure. After the background task is finished, the Frame is enabled again and the dialog disposed.
The issue is, that after the JFrame is being enabled and a modal dialog is disposed, the JFrame suddenly moves to the background. With "background" meaning, it is moving behind the window that had focus before the JFrame. Why does this happen?
This code should replicate the issue:
private static JFrame frame;
private static JDialog dialog;
public static void main(String[] args) {
try {
SwingUtilities.invokeAndWait(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
buildFrame();
buildDialog();
}
});
} catch (InvocationTargetException | InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
protected static void buildDialog() {
dialog = new JDialog(frame);
dialog.getContentPane().add(new JLabel("This is the dialog"));
dialog.setLocationRelativeTo(frame);
javax.swing.Timer t = new javax.swing.Timer(1000, new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
dialog.dispose();
frame.setEnabled(true);
}
});
t.setRepeats(false);
t.start();
dialog.pack();
dialog.setVisible(true);
}
protected static void buildFrame() {
frame = new JFrame();
frame.setMinimumSize(new Dimension(400, 400));
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.getContentPane().add(new JLabel("This is the Frame"));
frame.setEnabled(false);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
Does anyone know why this happens and how this could be prevented?

The problem is the methods frame.setEnabled(). I don't know why, but it hides the frame. My suggestion is to remove it and use the modality concept: dialog.setModal(true) (it also makes the parent frame unavailable when the dialog is shown. To make the frame unavailable, you can place a glasspane over it. Here is the code:
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Component;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.awt.event.FocusEvent;
import java.awt.event.FocusListener;
import java.awt.event.MouseAdapter;
import java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException;
import javax.swing.JDialog;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
/**
* <code>DialogFrameTest</code>.
*/
public class DialogFrameTest {
private static JFrame frame;
private static JDialog dialog;
private static Component oldGlassPane;
public static void main(String[] args) {
try {
SwingUtilities.invokeAndWait(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
buildFrame();
buildDialog();
}
});
} catch (InvocationTargetException | InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
protected static void buildDialog() {
dialog = new JDialog(frame);
dialog.getContentPane().add(new JTextField("This is the dialog"));
dialog.setLocationRelativeTo(frame);
dialog.setModal(true);
javax.swing.Timer t = new javax.swing.Timer(1000, new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
dialog.dispose();
frame.setGlassPane(oldGlassPane);
oldGlassPane.setVisible(false);
}
});
t.setRepeats(false);
t.start();
dialog.pack();
dialog.setVisible(true);
}
protected static void buildFrame() {
frame = new JFrame();
frame.setMinimumSize(new Dimension(400, 400));
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.getContentPane().add(new JTextField("This is the Frame"));
oldGlassPane = frame.getGlassPane();
frame.setGlassPane(new SplashGlassPane());
frame.getGlassPane().setVisible(true);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
private static class SplashGlassPane extends JPanel implements FocusListener {
/** Holds the id of this panel. The creator of this object can submit this id to determine whether it's the owner of this object. */
private String typeId;
/**
* Creates new GlassPane.
*/
public SplashGlassPane() {
addMouseListener(new MouseAdapter() {});
addMouseMotionListener(new MouseAdapter() {});
addFocusListener(this);
setOpaque(false);
setFocusable(true);
setBackground(new Color(0, 0, 0, 100));
}
#Override
public final void setVisible(boolean v) {
// Make sure we grab the focus so that key events don't go astray.
if (v) {
requestFocus();
}
super.setVisible(v);
}
// Once we have focus, keep it if we're visible
#Override
public final void focusLost(FocusEvent fe) {
if (isVisible()) {
requestFocus();
}
}
/**
* {#inheritDoc}
*/
#Override
public final void paint(Graphics g) {
final Color old = g.getColor();
g.setColor(getBackground());
g.fillRect(0, 0, getSize().width, getSize().height);
g.setColor(old);
super.paint(g);
}
#Override
public void focusGained(FocusEvent fe) {
// nothing to do
}
}
}

coordinates specification for panels

How can I specify the coordinates of the following panel, instead of having it aligned to the center.
I have tried a lot and used different layouts, but still couldn't get it to work. Please help me solving this problem. Thanks!
Here is my code..
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
public class Lesson2 extends JFrame {
private static final long serialVersionUID = -198253288329146091L;
private JPanel contentPane;
/**
* Launch the application.
*/
public static void main(String[] args) {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
try {
Lesson2 frame = new Lesson2();
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
});
}
/**
* Create the frame.
*/
public Lesson2() {
contentPane = new JPanel();
setContentPane(contentPane);
JPanel panel = new JPanel() {
private static final long serialVersionUID = -5974584127539186578L;
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
g.setColor(Color.GREEN);
g.fillRect(0, 0, 500, 500);
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(500, 500);
}
};
contentPane.add(panel);
}
}
Here is an example of how it looks now
https://prnt.sc/moe3al
Here is the final code edited using a nulled layout with a set size
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
public class Lesson1 extends JFrame {
private static final long serialVersionUID = -198253288329146091L;
private JPanel contentPane;
/**
* Launch the application.
*/
public static void main(String[] args) {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
try {
Lesson1 frame = new Lesson1();
frame.setSize(1000, 1000);
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
});
}
/**
* Create the frame.
*/
public Lesson1() {
contentPane = new JPanel();
setContentPane(contentPane);
contentPane.setLayout(null);
JPanel panel = new JPanel() {
private static final long serialVersionUID = -5974584127539186578L;
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
g.setColor(Color.GREEN);
g.fillRect(0, 0, 500, 500);
}
};
panel.setLayout(null);
panel.setSize(500, 500);
contentPane.add(panel);
}
}

All Swing/AWT containers use FlowLayout as the default layout manager, which results in the component being centered. If you want more control, you can use Absolute Positioning by calling contentPane.setLayout(null) and setting the component's coordinates via panel.setBounds(), but be aware that it may not handle window resize elegantly.

CardLayout() in java GUI

In my code, currently each card is the size of my frame. How do I set different sizes of each of my panels in the layout. I tried making the frame different sizes by calling the run() method and changing the size of the frame, but it does not work. I'm hoping there is another way.
This is my code:
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.event.*;
public class GameManager
{
JFrame frame;
JPanel cards,Title;
public GameManager()
{
cards = new JPanel(new CardLayout());
Title title = new Title();
cards.add(title,"title");
CardLayout cl = (CardLayout)(cards.getLayout());
cl.show(cards, "title");
}
public static void main(String [] args)
{
GameManager gm = new GameManager();
gm.run();
}
public void run()
{
frame = new JFrame("Greek Olympics");
frame.setSize(1000,1000);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.getContentPane().add(cards);
frame.setVisible(true);
CardLayout cl = (CardLayout)(cards.getLayout());
cl.show(cards, "title");
}
public class Title extends JPanel
{
public void paintComponent(Graphics g)
{
super.paintComponent(g);
g.fillRect(100,100,100,100);
}
}
}
How would I change the code so that if I wanted to add another panel with a different size?

How do I set different sizes of each of my panels in the layout
First, understand that CardLayout will use the preferredSize property of all the view's it's managing to determine the best resulting size that the container it's managing should use. This means that if you call pack on the frame (instead of setSize), it will be sized (automatically) to the largest component been managed (by the CardLayout)
How would I change the code so that if I wanted to add another panel with a different size?
Each component you add to the CardLayout should either be calculating it's size through one or more appropriate layout managers, or, in the case of custom components, be providing a sizing hint through the getPreferredSize method
public class Title extends JPanel
{
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(200, 200);
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g)
{
super.paintComponent(g);
g.fillRect(100,100,100,100);
}
}
Then, instead of using setSize, use pack
public void run()
{
frame = new JFrame("Greek Olympics");
//frame.setSize(1000,1000);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.add(cards);
frame.pack();
CardLayout cl = (CardLayout)(cards.getLayout());
cl.show(cards, "title");
frame.setVisible(true);
}
Example...
This is a basic example which sets up two panels, one with preferredSize of 200x200 and one with 400x400
When you run it, you will find the window will be at least 400x400 and both panels will be the same size
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.CardLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.UIManager;
import javax.swing.UnsupportedLookAndFeelException;
public class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Test();
}
public Test() {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
} catch (ClassNotFoundException | InstantiationException | IllegalAccessException | UnsupportedLookAndFeelException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
}
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Testing");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
CardLayout cardLayout = new CardLayout();
JPanel base = new JPanel(cardLayout);
base.add(makePanel(200, 200, Color.RED), "red");
base.add(makePanel(400, 400, Color.BLUE), "blue");
frame.add(base);
JButton blue = new JButton("Blue");
blue.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
cardLayout.show(base, "blue");
}
});
JButton red = new JButton("red");
red.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
cardLayout.show(base, "red");
}
});
JPanel buttons = new JPanel();
buttons.add(red);
buttons.add(blue);
frame.add(buttons, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
public TestPane makePanel(int width, int height, Color background) {
TestPane pane = new TestPane(new Dimension(width, height));
pane.setBackground(background);
return pane;
}
public class TestPane extends JPanel {
private JLabel label;
private Dimension preferredSize;
public TestPane(Dimension size) {
label = new JLabel("...");
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
add(label);
this.preferredSize = size;
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return preferredSize;
}
#Override
public void invalidate() {
super.invalidate();
label.setText(getWidth() + "x" + getHeight());
}
}
}

Not able to switch cards in cardlayout in single jframe

Sorry if its an obvious question.I have been trying to switch panels in the same window using cardlayout.But when i run my application nothing happens.
System.out.println(mntmBookingStatus);
the above statement does get printed on console.but not able to make out why cards arent switching when i click on menuitem "booking status" and "invoice entry".
public class StartDemo {
private JFrame frame;
private JPanel cards = new JPanel(new CardLayout());
public static void main(String[] args) {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
try {
StartDemo window = new StartDemo();
window.initialize();
window.frame.pack();
window.frame.setVisible(true);
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
});
}
private void initialize() {
frame = new JFrame();
frame.setBounds(100, 100, 772, 700);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
//frame.setVisible(true);
// main menu
menuBar = new JMenuBar();
frame.setJMenuBar(menuBar);
// mainmenuoption-1
mnNewMenu = new JMenu("Entries");
menuBar.add(mnNewMenu);
// option-1 items
mntmBookingStatus = new JMenuItem("Booking Status");
mnNewMenu.add(mntmBookingStatus);
mntmBookingStatus.addActionListener(new MenuListenerAdapter());
mntmInvoiceEntry = new JMenuItem("Invoice Entry");
mnNewMenu.add(mntmInvoiceEntry);
mntmInvoiceEntry.addActionListener(new MenuListenerAdapter());
StartDemo demo = new StartDemo();
demo.addComponentToPane(frame.getContentPane());
}
public void addComponentToPane(Container pane) {
JPanel booking_status = new JPanel();
JPanel invoice_entry = new JPanel();
JPanel customer_ledger = new JPanel();
JPanel create_user = new JPanel();
try {
JPanelWithBackground panelWithBackground = new JPanelWithBackground(
"D:\\Kepler Workspace\\WEDemo\\images\\abc.jpg");
cards.add(panelWithBackground, "name_282751308799");
} catch (IOException e) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
}
//the layout code for all the panels is written here.
//its to big to post here
cards.add(booking_status, BOOKINGPANEL);
cards.add(invoice_entry, INVOICEPANEL);
cards.add(customer_ledger, CUSTOMERLEDGER);
cards.add(create_user, CREATEUSER);
pane.add(cards, BorderLayout.CENTER);
}
public class MenuListenerAdapter implements ActionListener {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
CardLayout c = (CardLayout) (cards.getLayout());
if (e.getSource() == mntmBookingStatus) {
c.show(cards, BOOKINGPANEL);
System.out.println(mntmBookingStatus);
} else if (e.getSource() == mntmInvoiceEntry) {
c.show(cards, INVOICEPANEL);
System.out.println(mntmInvoiceEntry);
}
}
This is my JPanelWithBackground class
public class JPanelWithBackground extends JPanel {
private Image backgroungImage;
private Image scaledBackgroundImage;
// Some code to initialize the background image.
// Here, we use the constructor to load the image. This
// can vary depending on the use case of the panel.
public JPanelWithBackground(String fileName) throws IOException {
backgroungImage = ImageIO.read(new File(fileName));
}
public void paintComponent(Graphics g){
super.paintComponent(g);
// Draw the backgroung image
g.drawImage(backgroungImage, 0, 0,getWidth(),getHeight(),null);
}

It's these two lines right here
StartDemo demo = new StartDemo();
demo.addComponentToPane(frame.getContentPane());
Since your initialize() method isn't static I think it's safe to assume that you instantiate youe StartDemo again in the main method. In that case, the above code truly is your problem and would totally explain why it doesn't work. Just do this
//StartDemo demo = new StartDemo(); <-- get rid of this.
addComponentToPane(frame.getContentPane());
Tested with code additions only to get it running. Also please not my comments above. setVisible(true) generally is the last thing you should do after adding all components.
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.CardLayout;
import java.awt.Container;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Image;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.io.IOException;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JMenu;
import javax.swing.JMenuBar;
import javax.swing.JMenuItem;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
public class StartDemo {
private JFrame frame;
private JPanel cards = new JPanel(new CardLayout());
JMenuBar menuBar;
JMenu mnNewMenu;
JMenuItem mntmBookingStatus;
JMenuItem mntmInvoiceEntry;
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable(){
public void run() {
new StartDemo().initialize();
}
});
}
private void initialize() {
frame = new JFrame();
frame.setBounds(100, 100, 772, 700);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
// main menu
menuBar = new JMenuBar();
frame.setJMenuBar(menuBar);
// mainmenuoption-1
mnNewMenu = new JMenu("Entries");
menuBar.add(mnNewMenu);
// option-1 items
mntmBookingStatus = new JMenuItem("Booking Status");
mnNewMenu.add(mntmBookingStatus);
mntmBookingStatus.addActionListener(new MenuListenerAdapter());
//StartDemo demo = new StartDemo();
addComponentToPane(frame.getContentPane()); mntmInvoiceEntry = new JMenuItem("Invoice Entry");
mnNewMenu.add(mntmInvoiceEntry);
mntmInvoiceEntry.addActionListener(new MenuListenerAdapter());
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public void addComponentToPane(Container pane) {
JPanel booking_status = new JPanel();
JPanel invoice_entry = new JPanel();
//JPanel customer_ledger = new JPanel();
//JPanel create_user = new JPanel();
try {
JPanelWithBackground panelWithBackground = new JPanelWithBackground(
"/resources/stackoverflow5.png");
cards.add(panelWithBackground, "name_282751308799");
} catch (IOException e) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
}
cards.add(booking_status, "booking");
cards.add(invoice_entry, "invoice");
//cards.add(customer_ledger, CUSTOMERLEDGER);
//cards.add(create_user, CREATEUSER);
pane.add(cards, BorderLayout.CENTER);
}
class JPanelWithBackground extends JPanel {
Image img;
public JPanelWithBackground(String path) throws IOException {
img = ImageIO.read(getClass().getResource(path));
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
g.drawImage(img, 0, 0, getWidth(), getHeight(), this);
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(300, 300);
}
}
public class MenuListenerAdapter implements ActionListener {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
CardLayout c = (CardLayout) (cards.getLayout());
if (e.getSource() == mntmBookingStatus) {
c.show(cards,"booking");
System.out.println(mntmBookingStatus);
} else if (e.getSource() == mntmInvoiceEntry) {
c.show(cards, "invoice");
System.out.println(mntmInvoiceEntry);
}
}
}
}