Develop Reference

Extracting text from dynamically created textfields inside various rows of gridpane

I'm trying to create a grid with a textbox on each row where user can enter a number, and corresponding number of new rows are added. This works well, as shown below in the screenshot.
Now I'm trying to extract the text from those textfields created based on the question "how many?" and since they are nested within various node elements, I'm having a hard time identifying the right way.Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong? I tried testing it using the save button, but I always go into the else statement of "Vboxgrid2 is empty!"on my console. I don't know why it says that my VBoxgrid2 is empty!
Following is a Minimal, Complete, and Verifiable example I've recreated:
package testing;
import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.event.ActionEvent;
import javafx.event.EventHandler;
import javafx.geometry.Insets;
import javafx.scene.Node;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.control.Button;
import javafx.scene.control.ComboBox;
import javafx.scene.control.Label;
import javafx.scene.control.RadioButton;
import javafx.scene.control.TextField;
import javafx.scene.layout.GridPane;
import javafx.scene.layout.HBox;
import javafx.scene.layout.VBox;
import javafx.stage.Stage;
public class ExtractThatText extends Application {
#Override
public void start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception {
primaryStage.setTitle("GridPane Experiment");
GridPane gridPane = new GridPane();
for(int i=0;i<5;i++) {
VBox mainVBox = new VBox();
VBox vboxgrid1 = new VBox();
VBox vboxgrid2 = new VBox();
HBox hboxgrid = new HBox();
hboxgrid.setPadding(new Insets(5,5,5,5));
RadioButton rbYes = new RadioButton("Yes");
RadioButton rbNo = new RadioButton("No");
Label howmanyLabel = new Label(" How many? ");
TextField howManytxtB = new TextField();
hboxgrid.getChildren().add(rbYes);
hboxgrid.getChildren().add(rbNo);
hboxgrid.getChildren().add(howmanyLabel);
hboxgrid.getChildren().add(howManytxtB);
vboxgrid1.getChildren().add(hboxgrid);
howManytxtB.setOnAction(new EventHandler<ActionEvent>() {
#Override
public void handle(ActionEvent event) {
vboxgrid2.getChildren().clear();
Integer howManyNum = Integer.valueOf(howManytxtB.getText());
for(int row=0;row<howManyNum;row++) {
//creating rows for entering the new entities
HBox innerRowbox = new HBox();
TextField name = new TextField();
ComboBox cb = new ComboBox(); //empty cb for now
name.setPromptText("Enter name of the new Entity");
name.setMinWidth(200);
innerRowbox.getChildren().add(name);
innerRowbox.getChildren().add(cb);
vboxgrid2.getChildren().add(innerRowbox);
}
}
});
mainVBox.getChildren().add(vboxgrid1);
mainVBox.getChildren().add(vboxgrid2);
gridPane.add(mainVBox,1, i);
}
for(int i=0;i<5;i++) {
gridPane.add(new Label("row"+i), 0 , i);
}
Button saveButton = new Button("save content");
saveButton.setOnAction(e-> {
Node mainVBox = gridPane.getChildren().get(1); //get just the first row's 1th column which contains mainVBox
if(mainVBox instanceof VBox) {
Node vboxgrid2 = ((VBox) mainVBox).getChildren().get(1);
if(vboxgrid2 instanceof VBox) {
if(!((VBox) vboxgrid2).getChildren().isEmpty()) {
Node innerRowBox = ((VBox) vboxgrid2).getChildren().get(0);
if(innerRowBox instanceof HBox) {
for(Node howmanyTB:((HBox)innerRowBox).getChildren()) {
if(howmanyTB instanceof TextField) {
System.out.println(((TextField) howmanyTB).getText()); //content to save, extracted from the dnamic textfields created.
}
else System.out.println("howmanyTB not an instance of TextField error!");
}
}
else System.out.println("innerRowBox not an instance of HBox error!");
}
else System.out.println("Vboxgrid2 is empty!");
}
else System.out.println("vboxgrid2 not an instance of VBox error!");
}
else System.out.println("mainVbox not an instance of VBox error!");
});
gridPane.add(saveButton, 1, 5);
gridPane.setHgap(10);
gridPane.setVgap(10);
Scene scene = new Scene(gridPane, 500, 500);
primaryStage.setScene(scene);
primaryStage.show();
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
Application.launch(args);
}
}
** If it's difficult to understand the nesting of all my nodes, here is a summary:
gridPane -> mainVBox (in each row of the second/1th column) -> vboxgrid2 (along with vboxgrid1 above it for the radiobutton row in mainVBox) -> innerRowbox -> name (textfield)

If it's difficult to understand the nesting of all my nodes
Since you do seem to realize that your nesting is a bit confusing, it would be preferable to save the TextFields in a data structure that is easier to access than your scene hierarchy. In this case since the number of items is known before they are created, a TextField[][] array could be used, but you could also go for a List<List<TextField>> to allow you to dynamically add (inner) rows.
BTW: since you use index 1 you access the second row, not the first one.
Also using a VBox just to contain your HBox seems unnecessary. You could simply use the HBox directly, since the VBox has no other children.
Label howmanyLabel = new Label(" How many? ");
Better use a margin for this spacing instead of spaces.
#Override
public void start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception {
primaryStage.setTitle("GridPane Experiment");
GridPane gridPane = new GridPane();
final int rowCount = 5;
TextField[][] textFields = new TextField[rowCount][0];
final Insets hboxPadding = new Insets(5);
final Insets labelMargin = new Insets(0, 15, 0, 15);
for (int i = 0; i < rowCount; i++) {
VBox vboxgrid2 = new VBox();
RadioButton rbYes = new RadioButton("Yes");
RadioButton rbNo = new RadioButton("No");
Label howmanyLabel = new Label("How many?");
HBox.setMargin(howmanyLabel, labelMargin);
TextField howManytxtB = new TextField();
HBox hboxgrid = new HBox(rbYes, rbNo, howmanyLabel, howManytxtB);
hboxgrid.setPadding(hboxPadding);
final int rowIndex = i;
howManytxtB.setOnAction(event -> {
vboxgrid2.getChildren().clear();
int howManyNum = Math.max(0, Integer.parseInt(howManytxtB.getText()));
TextField[] fields = new TextField[howManyNum];
for (int row = 0; row < howManyNum; row++) {
//creating rows for entering the new entities
TextField name = new TextField();
ComboBox cb = new ComboBox(); //empty cb for now
name.setPromptText("Enter name of the new Entity");
name.setMinWidth(200);
HBox innerRowbox = new HBox(name, cb);
vboxgrid2.getChildren().add(innerRowbox);
fields[row] = name;
}
textFields[rowIndex] = fields;
});
VBox mainVBox = new VBox(hboxgrid, vboxgrid2);
gridPane.addRow(i, new Label("row" + i), mainVBox);
}
Button saveButton = new Button("save content");
saveButton.setOnAction(e -> {
TextField[] secondRowFields = textFields[1];
if (secondRowFields.length == 0) {
System.out.println("no TextFields in row1");
} else {
for (TextField textField : secondRowFields) {
System.out.println(textField.getText());
}
}
});
gridPane.add(saveButton, 1, rowCount);
gridPane.setHgap(10);
gridPane.setVgap(10);
Scene scene = new Scene(gridPane, 500, 500);
primaryStage.setScene(scene);
primaryStage.show();
}

In the demo app, I added a List<TextField> textFieldContainer = new ArrayList(); that stores the dynamically create TextFields.
The code below delete the appropriate TextFields if the numbers change and Enter is pressed.
textFieldContainer.removeIf(p -> p.getUserData().toString().startsWith("TextField_" + tempRow));
Full Code:
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.event.ActionEvent;
import javafx.event.EventHandler;
import javafx.geometry.Insets;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.control.Button;
import javafx.scene.control.ComboBox;
import javafx.scene.control.Label;
import javafx.scene.control.RadioButton;
import javafx.scene.control.TextField;
import javafx.scene.layout.GridPane;
import javafx.scene.layout.HBox;
import javafx.scene.layout.VBox;
import javafx.stage.Stage;
public class ExtractThatText extends Application {
#Override
public void start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception {
List<TextField> textFieldContainer = new ArrayList();
primaryStage.setTitle("GridPane Experiment");
GridPane gridPane = new GridPane();
for(int i=0;i<5;i++) {
VBox mainVBox = new VBox();
VBox vboxgrid1 = new VBox();
VBox vboxgrid2 = new VBox();
HBox hboxgrid = new HBox();
hboxgrid.setPadding(new Insets(5,5,5,5));
RadioButton rbYes = new RadioButton("Yes");
RadioButton rbNo = new RadioButton("No");
Label howmanyLabel = new Label(" How many? ");
TextField howManytxtB = new TextField();
hboxgrid.getChildren().add(rbYes);
hboxgrid.getChildren().add(rbNo);
hboxgrid.getChildren().add(howmanyLabel);
hboxgrid.getChildren().add(howManytxtB);
vboxgrid1.getChildren().add(hboxgrid);
final Integer tempRow = i;
howManytxtB.setOnAction(new EventHandler<ActionEvent>() {
#Override
public void handle(ActionEvent event) {
vboxgrid2.getChildren().clear();
Integer howManyNum = Integer.valueOf(howManytxtB.getText());
//The next two lines clears TextFields if you change the amount and/or press enter
textFieldContainer.removeIf(p -> p.getUserData().toString().startsWith("TextField_" + tempRow));
for(int row=0;row<howManyNum;row++) {
//creating rows for entering the new entities
HBox innerRowbox = new HBox();
TextField name = new TextField();
final Integer innerRow = row;
name.setUserData("TextField_" + tempRow + "_" + innerRow);
System.out.println(name.getUserData().toString());
textFieldContainer.add(name);
ComboBox cb = new ComboBox(); //empty cb for now
name.setPromptText("Enter name of the new Entity");
name.setMinWidth(200);
innerRowbox.getChildren().add(name);
innerRowbox.getChildren().add(cb);
vboxgrid2.getChildren().add(innerRowbox);
}
}
});
mainVBox.getChildren().add(vboxgrid1);
mainVBox.getChildren().add(vboxgrid2);
gridPane.add(mainVBox,1, i);
}
for(int i=0;i<5;i++) {
gridPane.add(new Label("row"+i), 0 , i);
}
Button saveButton = new Button("save content");
saveButton.setOnAction(e-> {
System.out.println("Saving these TextField's Text:");
for(TextField textField : textFieldContainer)
{
System.out.println(textField.getUserData() + ": " + textField.getText());
}
});
gridPane.add(saveButton, 1, 5);
gridPane.setHgap(10);
gridPane.setVgap(10);
Scene scene = new Scene(gridPane, 500, 500);
primaryStage.setScene(scene);
primaryStage.show();
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
Application.launch(args);
}
}
Output:
Click save content to see the info currently in the TextFields.
Saving these TextField's Text:
TextField_0_0: one
TextField_1_0: two
TextField_1_1: three
TextField_2_0: four
TextField_3_0: seven
TextField_3_1: six
TextField_4_0: five

JavaFX/FXML is it possible to show a Hbox/VBox after clicking a MenuButton

I recently started coding in FXML/JavaFX using Eclipse and one of the projects I'm working on requires me to make a drop down menu with combobox, checkboxes etc.. So my question is would it be possible to make the MenuButton display a VBox/HBox when clicked with those inside?

Here is a one of the simplest example of menu:
import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.scene.Group;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.control.Menu;
import javafx.scene.control.MenuBar;
import javafx.scene.control.MenuItem;
import javafx.stage.Stage;
public class MenuFX extends Application {
#Override
public void start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception {
Group group = new Group();
Scene scene = new Scene(group, 800, 600);
MenuBar menuBar = new MenuBar();
Menu someValues = new Menu("Values");
for (int i = 0; i < 60; i++) {
MenuItem item = new MenuItem("Value " + i);
someValues.getItems().add(item);
}
menuBar.getMenus().add(someValues);
group.getChildren().addAll(menuBar);
primaryStage.setScene(scene);
primaryStage.show();
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
launch(args);
}
}
More expanding example here.

javafx pane not being created

My JavaFx code does not work as it should do. I am trying to create 10X10 text matrix populated with either a 1 or 0, so it looks similar to a 2d array filled with 1's and 0's. When I put the code that is currently in the MatrixPane class in main it works fine, but with this code it just sets the scene but it looks like no pane is added or created.
If anyone can help me I would greatly appreciate it.
I realize I have Imported some unused things, I am using them for other parts of the program.
import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.stage.Stage;
import javafx.scene.layout.FlowPane;
import javafx.geometry.Point2D;
import javafx.scene.Node;
import javafx.scene.layout.Pane;
import javafx.scene.paint.Color;
import javafx.scene.shape.Circle;
import javafx.scene.shape.Line;
import javafx.scene.text.Text;
import java.util.Calendar;
import java.util.GregorianCalendar;
import javafx.scene.shape.Arc;
import javafx.scene.control.TextField;
import javafx.scene.layout.GridPane;
import javafx.geometry.Pos;
import javafx.collections.ObservableList;
public class Button1 extends Application
{
public void start(Stage primaryStage)
{
GridPane pane = new GridPane();
MatrixPane Matrix = new MatrixPane();
pane.getChildren().add(Matrix);
Scene scene = new Scene(pane, 700, 500);
primaryStage.setTitle("1 window "); // Set the stage title
primaryStage.setScene(scene); // Place the scene in the stage
primaryStage.show(); // Display the stage
}
public static void main(String[] args)
{
Application.launch(args);
}
}
class MatrixPane extends Pane
{
double HEIGHT = 500;
double WIDTH = 200;
private GridPane pane1 = new GridPane();
public MatrixPane()
{
}
public void fillmatrix()
{
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
{
for (int j = 0; j < 10; j++)
{
TextField text = new TextField(Integer.toString((int)(Math.random() * 2)));
text.setMinWidth(WIDTH / 8.0);
text.setMaxWidth(WIDTH / 10.0);
text.setMinHeight(HEIGHT / 8.0);
text.setMaxHeight(HEIGHT / 10.0);
this.pane1.add(text, j, i);
}
}
}
}

Call fillMatrix(); method from Button1.start()
Add GridPane to MatrixPane in MatrixPane construcor
private GridPane pane1 = new GridPane();
public MatrixPane() {
getChildren().add(pane1);
}
This will work.

Well I checked your code and you are excessively using GridPane. First you have a class named MatrixPane which inherits Pane, but also this class has a property GridPane. Finally, you use GridPane once again to add MatrixPane!
So, what I did is to use composition, but first I change the start method
public void start(Stage primaryStage) {
GridPane pane = new GridPane();
MatrixPane Matrix = new MatrixPane();
//pane.getChildren().add(Matrix);
Matrix.fillmatrix();
Scene scene = new Scene(Matrix.getPane1(), 700, 500);
...
So here the scene is going to receive the data of pane1, this attribute has the values stored when fillmatrix was called.
Then I add the getter method in MatrixPane for the attribute pane1
class MatrixPane {
double HEIGHT = 500;
double WIDTH = 200;
private GridPane pane1 = new GridPane();
public GridPane getPane1() {
return pane1;
}
...

JavaFX setTabcontent dynamically

I have made an application which uses tabpane. I am able to set tooltip and title of each tab dynamically. But how do I set its contents dynamically. I am sure that I can maintain a list of Node object and add it to tab during iteration, but I feel there are other ways to do it. Here is what I have done so far.
public class Index extends Application {
public static void main(String[] args) {
launch(args);
}
final String[] tabContent={"title1"
,"title2"
,"title3"
,"title4"
,"title5"};
final String[] tabToolTip={"tooltip1"
,"tooltip2"
,"tooltip3"
,"tooltip4"
,"tooltip5"};
#Override
public void start(Stage primaryStage) {
primaryStage.setTitle("Ipas Utility");
Group root = new Group();
Scene scene = new Scene(root, 1000, 600, Color.ALICEBLUE);
TabPane tabPane = new TabPane();
tabPane.setTooltip(new Tooltip("Hover on each tab for an overview"));
BorderPane borderPane = new BorderPane();
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
Tab tab = new Tab();
tab.setText(tabContent[i]);
tab.setClosable(false);
tab.setTooltip(new Tooltip(tabToolTip[i]));
HBox hbox = new HBox();
hbox.getChildren().add(new Label(tabContent[i]));
hbox.setAlignment(Pos.CENTER);
tab.setContent(hbox);;
tabPane.getTabs().add(tab);
}
// bind to take available space
borderPane.prefHeightProperty().bind(scene.heightProperty());
borderPane.prefWidthProperty().bind(scene.widthProperty());
borderPane.setCenter(tabPane);
root.getChildren().add(borderPane);
primaryStage.setScene(scene);
primaryStage.show();
}
}
How I can maintain tabcontent in a list/array outside start block?

That's quite okay what you did. Here's a modified version of your code which allows you to add a tab on button click:
import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.geometry.Insets;
import javafx.scene.Node;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.control.Button;
import javafx.scene.control.Label;
import javafx.scene.control.Tab;
import javafx.scene.control.TabPane;
import javafx.scene.control.Tooltip;
import javafx.scene.layout.BorderPane;
import javafx.scene.layout.HBox;
import javafx.stage.Stage;
public class Main extends Application {
private static int tabCount = 0;
#Override
public void start(Stage primaryStage) {
TabPane tabPane = new TabPane();
tabPane.getTabs().add(createTab());
tabPane.getTabs().add(createTab());
tabPane.getTabs().add(createTab());
Button addTabButton = new Button( "Add Tab");
addTabButton.setOnAction(e -> {
tabPane.getTabs().add(createTab());
});
Button logButton = new Button( "Log");
logButton.setOnAction(e -> {
for( Tab tab: tabPane.getTabs()) {
System.out.println( "Tab " + tab.getText() + " has content " + tab.getContent());
}
});
HBox toolbar = new HBox();
HBox.setMargin(addTabButton, new Insets(5,5,5,5));
HBox.setMargin(logButton, new Insets(5,5,5,5));
toolbar.getChildren().addAll( addTabButton, logButton);
BorderPane root = new BorderPane();
root.setTop(toolbar);
root.setCenter(tabPane);
Scene scene = new Scene(root, 640, 480);
primaryStage.setScene(scene);
primaryStage.show();
}
public static Tab createTab() {
tabCount++;
Tab tab = new Tab();
tab.setText("Tab " + tabCount);
tab.setTooltip( new Tooltip( "Tooltip Tab " + tabCount));
Node content = new Label( "Content Tab " + tabCount);
tab.setContent(content);
return tab;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
launch(args);
}
}
In order to access the tabs you can use getTabs. And in order to change the content, i. e. the node that represents the content, you can use setContent.
The example code shows you how to iterate through the tabs by pressing the log button.

How do I add items into tabs on JavaFX?

How do I add lets say a label inside the first tab of a TabPane. I'm new with java fx but swing is totally different. I'm not familiar with the terminology. Is pane a JPanel essentially? or is a scene?
Here's my class, I'm trying to add a Table inside my tabs but I can't get it to appear.
import java.io.IOException;
import javafx.collections.FXCollections;
import javafx.collections.ObservableList;
import javafx.geometry.Pos;
import javafx.scene.Node;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.control.Label;
import javafx.scene.control.Menu;
import javafx.scene.control.MenuBar;
import javafx.scene.control.MenuItem;
import javafx.scene.control.ScrollPane;
import javafx.scene.control.Tab;
import javafx.scene.control.TabPane;
import javafx.scene.control.TableColumn;
import javafx.scene.control.TableView;
import javafx.scene.control.cell.PropertyValueFactory;
import javafx.scene.layout.BorderPane;
import javafx.scene.layout.Pane;
public class Viewer {
private Scene mainScene;
private MenuBar menubar;
private Menu menu;
private MenuItem menuItem, menuItem2, menuItem3;
private TableView table, table2;
private ScrollPane scroll;
private Pane npcPane, itemPane;
public Viewer() {
}
public Scene mainScene() {
BorderPane layout = new BorderPane();
BorderPane tabLayout = new BorderPane();
Label label = new Label("Test");
mainScene = new Scene(layout, 400, 600);
TabPane tabPane = new TabPane();
Tab tab = new Tab("Item");
tab.setClosable(false);
tab.setContent(tabLayout);
tabPane.getTabs().add(tab);
tabLayout.getChildren().add(label);
layout.setCenter(tabPane);
return mainScene;
}
private Node npcContent(){
BorderPane layout = new BorderPane();
npcPane = new Pane();
TableColumn<NPC, Integer> idColumn = new TableColumn<>("ID:");
idColumn.setMinWidth(100);
idColumn.setCellValueFactory(new PropertyValueFactory<>("id"));
TableColumn<NPC, String> nameColumn = new TableColumn<>("Name:");
nameColumn.setMinWidth(250);
nameColumn.setCellValueFactory(new PropertyValueFactory<>("name"));
table = new TableView<NPC>();
table.setItems(getNpcs());
table.getColumns().addAll(idColumn, nameColumn);
scroll = new ScrollPane(table);
layout.setCenter(scroll);
return npcPane;
}
private Node itemContent() {
itemPane = new Pane();
TableColumn<Item, Integer> idColumn = new TableColumn<>("ID:");
idColumn.setMinWidth(100);
idColumn.setCellValueFactory(new PropertyValueFactory<>("id"));
TableColumn<Item, String> nameColumn = new TableColumn<>("Name:");
nameColumn.setMinWidth(250);
nameColumn.setCellValueFactory(new PropertyValueFactory<>("name"));
table = new TableView<Item>();
table.setItems(getItems());
table.getColumns().addAll(idColumn, nameColumn);
scroll = new ScrollPane(table);
itemPane.getChildren().addAll(scroll);
itemPane.setMinSize(500, 500);
return itemPane;
}
public ObservableList<NPC> getNpcs() {
ObservableList<NPC> npcs = FXCollections.observableArrayList();
ReadFile readFile = new ReadFile("./lists/npclist.txt");
try {
String[] npcList = readFile.openNPCFile();
for(NPC npc : ReadFile.npcs) {
if (npc != null) {
npcs.add(new NPC(npc.getId(), npc.getName()));
}
}
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
return npcs;
}
public ObservableList<Item> getItems() {
ObservableList<Item> items = FXCollections.observableArrayList();
ReadFile readFile = new ReadFile("./lists/itemlist.txt");
try {
String[] itemList = readFile.openNPCFile();
for(Item item : ReadFile.items) {
if (item != null) {
items.add(new Item(item.getId(), item.getName()));
}
}
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
return items;
}
}

To answer your question your layout is the parent Node of your stage
mainScene = new Scene(layout, 400, 600);
and your tabPane is next in your Node hierarchy which is your layout child, by default the Borderpane computes this range based on its content - or the size of its children if not explicitly set, you never set the size of the BorderPane & Tabpane & Label you only set the size for your scene which your Stage will automatically use. so to solve your problem implement this method
Region.setPrefSize(width,height);
in every Node you have, so FX can know how to position your Node in its respective Parent
related quesion
hope it helps

Using tabobj.setContent(node); You Can Add Any Control or Layout into the tab.