Develop Reference

Java - My action event doesn't work

I'm learning Java and Swing, but my JButton doesn't work.
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.*;
public class Programma {
public static void main(String[] args) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
}
catch (Exception e){
e.printStackTrace();
}
JFrame frame = new JFrame("DIG");
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
JButton button = new JButton("Click Me");
frame.setSize(400, 400);
frame.setVisible(true);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
button.setBounds(100, 100, 130, 35);
panel.add(button);
frame.add(panel);
button.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
JLabel label = new JLabel("Hello World");
label.setVisible(true);
panel.add(label);
}
});
}
}
The frame and button are visible, nut when I click it, the label doesn't appear. How can I fix this?
Do I write this before the other component like JPanel, JButton, etc., or do I write this at the end of code:
frame.setVisible(true);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
What is the difference ?
By the way, button.setBounds(100, 100, 130, 35) doesn't work, either.

I see some issues in your code:
button.setBounds(100, 100, 130, 35); that line will be ignored and you shouldn't be manually be determining the position of the components. See Null layout is evil and Why is it frowned upon to use a null layout in swing? altough you're not using null layout, there is explained why you shouldn't be manually determining the positions of the components.
You're running everything in your program in the main method, that will be hard to maintain later.
You're calling frame.setVisible(true) before you've added all your elements to it, that will cause you random issues.
You're not running your program on the Event Dispatch Thread (EDT), you can solve this by starting your program with the following code, which places it in the EDT. It's recommended as Swing is not thread safe.
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
//Your constructor here
}
});
}
You're setting the size of the JFrame with setSize(...), instead call frame.pack() and override the getPreferredSize() method of the JPanel.
After all the above has been said, you need to call revalidate() and repaint() on your ActionListener so your program paints its new state.
This program follows all the above recommendations and produces the following outputs (before clicking and after clicking the button 3 times), I on purpose to not make the images so large, made the GUI shorter (200 x 200 instead of 400 x 400)
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.BoxLayout;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
public class Programma {
private JFrame frame;
private JPanel panel;
private JButton button;
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
new Programma().createAndShowGui();
}
});
}
public void createAndShowGui() {
frame = new JFrame("DIG");
panel = new JPanel() {
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(400, 400);
}
};
button = new JButton("Click Me");
panel.add(button);
button.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
JLabel label = new JLabel("Hello World");
panel.add(label);
panel.revalidate();
panel.repaint();
}
});
frame.add(panel);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
}
}
Do i write this before the other componente like JPanel,JButton... or do i write this at the end of code ?
frame.setVisible(true);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
What is the difference ?
Altough I answered this on the recommendations, the difference is that if you call setVisible before adding all your elements to the frame, then you'll find yourself with some random issues where the components are not all visible until you pass your mouse over them (or where they should be). frame.pack() and setVisible should be the last ones to be called in your program, and frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE); can be at the start or the end, it doesn't affects, but I prefer to have it at the end too.
button.setBounds(100, 100, 130, 35); doesn't work too.
Well, that's because of you're using a layout manager (and that's the right way to do your GUIs) instead of a null-layout (which you shouldn't be using anyway) (See point #1).
Edit
What is the difference between frame.setSize(); and frame.setpack() ?
If you read the docs for pack():
Causes this Window to be sized to fit the preferred size and layouts of its subcomponents. The resulting width and height of the window are automatically enlarged if either of dimensions is less than the minimum size as specified by the previous call to the setMinimumSize method.
So, it will calculate the minimum size for your JFrame where all the elements are visible and in their preferred size while setSize will only set the window size, but if you place a JScrollBar inside it for example this will reduce the window size, because of that, that's why you should override the getPreferredSize(...) method of your container, so it will calculate its preferred size including the width of the JScrollBar or some other elements that could modify its size. See Should I avoid the use of setPreferred|Maximum|MinimumSize in Swing? (the general consensus says yes)

When you add components dynamically to panel, you need to repain it.
Do this
panel.revalidate();
after
panel.add(label);

Java FlowLayout

I am writing some Java code that allows the user to see a frame with JLabel, JTextField and JButton.
I want the JLabel to be called "Count" and I have a problem with FlowLayout.
I want the interface to look like this:
Instead, I have this:
This is my code:
package modul1_Interfate_Grafice;
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.FlowLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.*;
public class Exercitiu04 implements ActionListener {
private JFrame frame;
private JLabel labelCount;
private JTextField tfCount;
private JButton buttonCount;
private int count = 0;
public void go() {
frame = new JFrame("Java Counter");
labelCount = new JLabel("Counter");
labelCount.setLayout(new FlowLayout());
frame.getContentPane().add(BorderLayout.CENTER, labelCount);
tfCount = new JTextField(count + " ", 10);
tfCount.setEditable(false);
labelCount.add(tfCount);
buttonCount = new JButton("Count");
labelCount.add(buttonCount);
buttonCount.addActionListener(this);
frame.setVisible(true);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setSize(350, 150);
frame.setLocation(400, 200);
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent event) {
count++;
tfCount.setText(count + "");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
Exercitiu04 a = new Exercitiu04();
a.go();
}
}

Solve it.
Instead of labelCount.setLayout(new FlowLayout());` i should have had
frame.setLayout(new FlowLayout());

From description of JLabel class,
JLabel is:
A display area for a short text string or an image, or both.
But here: labelCount.add(tfCount) and here labelCount.add(buttonCount) you're trying to put a textfield and a button into a label. In this case, positions of button and textfield are controlled by FlowLayout but position of the text in the label is not.
Instead of this, you should put all of your elements in common JPanel, like this:
...
frame = new JFrame("Java Counter");
frame.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
JPanel wrapper = new JPanel(); // JPanel has FlowLayout by default
labelCount = new JLabel("Counter");
labelCount.setLayout(new FlowLayout());
wrapper.add(labelCount);
tfCount = new JTextField(count + " ", 10);
tfCount.setEditable(false);
wrapper.add(tfCount);
buttonCount = new JButton("Count");
buttonCount.addActionListener(this);
wrapper.add(buttonCount);
frame.add(BorderLayout.CENTER, wrapper);
...
And, like MasterBlaster said, you should put swing methods in EDT.

There are only two things you should know about FlowLayout:
a) It is a default layout manager of the JPanel component
b) It is good for nothing.
This trivial layout cannot be achieved with FlowLayout.
When doing layouts in Swing, you should familiarize yourself
with some powerful layout managers. I recommend MigLayout and
GroupLayout.
package com.zetcode;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JComponent;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
import net.miginfocom.swing.MigLayout;
/*
Simple UI with a MigLayout manager.
Author Jan Bodnar
Website zetcode.com
*/
public class MigLayoutCounterEx extends JFrame {
public MigLayoutCounterEx() {
initUI();
}
private void initUI() {
JLabel lbl = new JLabel("Counter");
JTextField field = new JTextField(10);
JButton btn = new JButton("Count");
createLayout(lbl, field, btn);
setTitle("Java Counter");
setLocationRelativeTo(null);
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
}
private void createLayout(JComponent... arg) {
setLayout(new MigLayout());
add(arg[0]);
add(arg[1]);
add(arg[2]);
pack();
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> {
MigLayoutCounterEx ex = new MigLayoutCounterEx();
ex.setVisible(true);
});
}
}
The example is trivial. You just put the three components into the
cells.
Screenshot:

You shouldn't use setSize when dealing with FlowLayout. Instead use pack(). It makes the window just about big enough to fit all your components in. That should tidy things up for you

Java Swing. Opening a new JPanel from a JButton and making the buttons pretty

I am trying to build a little program that has a main GUI with 2 buttons. One button closes the program, the other I want to open a new JPanel that will have text fields etc.
I would like to be able to make the buttons so they look like normal application buttons I guess, nice and square, equal size etc. etc., I am not sure how to do this though.
Also, I am unsure how to open a new JFrame from a button click.
GUI Code:
package practice;
public class UserInterface extends JFrame {
private JButton openReportSelection = new JButton("Open new Window");
private JButton closeButton = new JButton("Close Program");
private JButton getCloseButton() {
return closeButton;
}
private JButton getOpenReportSelection() {
return openReportSelection;
}
public UserInterface() {
mainInterface();
}
private void mainInterface() {
setTitle("Program Information Application");
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
JPanel centerPanel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(0, 3));
centerPanel.add(openReportSelection);
centerPanel.add(closeButton);
getCloseButton().addActionListener(new Listener());
add(centerPanel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
setSize(1000, 200);
setVisible(true);
}
private void addReportPanel() {
JPanel reportPanel = createNewPanel();
getContentPane().add(reportPanel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
}
private JPanel createNewPanel() {
JPanel localJPanel = new JPanel();
localJPanel.setLayout(new FlowLayout());
return localJPanel;
}
}
ActionListener Class code:
package practice;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
public class Listener implements ActionListener {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae) {
System.exit(0);
}
}
EDIT: I think opening a new JPanel would be the way to go rather than a JFrame. What would be the best way to do this from a Jbutton click?

Start by using a different layout manager, FlowLayout or GridBagLayout might work better
JPanel centerPanel = new JPanel(new FlowLayout());
centerPanel.add(openReportSelection);
centerPanel.add(closeButton);
These layouts will honour the preferred sizes of your buttons
As for opening another window, well, you've already create one, so the process is pretty much the same. Having said that, you might consider having a look at The Use of Multiple JFrames: Good or Bad Practice? before you commit yourself to far.
A better approach might be to use a JMenuBar and JMenuItems to act as the "open" and "exit" actions. Take a look at How to Use Menus then you could use a CardLayout to switch between views instead, for example
From a pure design perspective (I know it's only practice, but perfect practice makes perfect), I wouldn't extend anything from JFrame and instead would rely on building your main GUIs around something like JPanel instead.
This affords you the flexibility to decide how to use these components, as you could add them to frames, applets or other components...

If you want your buttons to have the native Look and Feel (L&F), add the following to your program:
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
Instead of opening another JFrame, you'll want to instead use a JDialog, typically with modality set.
In Java, you can only extend one class and therefore you should consider carefully whether it is appropriate or not to extend another class. You could ask yourself, "Am I actually extending the functionality of JFrame?" If the answer is no, then you actually want to use an instance variable.
Below is an example program from the above recommendations:
import java.awt.Dialog;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import javax.swing.JDialog;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.UIManager;
import javax.swing.UnsupportedLookAndFeelException;
import java.awt.FlowLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.JButton;
public class MyApplication {
private JFrame myframe; // instance variable of a JFrame
private JDialog mydialog;
public MyApplication() {
super();
myframe = new JFrame(); // instantiation
myframe.setSize(new Dimension(400, 75));
myframe.getContentPane().setLayout(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.CENTER, 5, 5));
JButton btnNewWindow = new JButton("Open New Window");
btnNewWindow.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
mydialog = new JDialog();
mydialog.setSize(new Dimension(400,100));
mydialog.setTitle("I got you! You can't click on your JFrame now!");
mydialog.setModalityType(Dialog.ModalityType.APPLICATION_MODAL); // prevent user from doing something else
mydialog.setVisible(true);
}
});
myframe.getContentPane().add(btnNewWindow);
JButton btnCloseProgram = new JButton("Close Program :(");
btnCloseProgram.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
myframe.dispose();
}
});
myframe.getContentPane().add(btnCloseProgram);
myframe.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
} catch (ClassNotFoundException | InstantiationException | IllegalAccessException
| UnsupportedLookAndFeelException e1) {
e1.printStackTrace();
}
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
try {
new MyApplication();
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
});
}
}

I am not sure from your question what do wou want to do. Do you want to open a new JFrame or do you want to add a JPanel to the existing frame.
To open a new JFrame using a button, create an instance of the JFrame in the actionPerformed method of the button. In your case it would look similar to this:
openReportSelection.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent arg0) {
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
// Do something with the frame
}
}
});

You're probably looking up to create and open a new JFrame. For this purpose, first you need to instantiate an object from JFrame Class. As an example, Let's instantiate a new JFrame with specific boundries.
JFrame testFrame = new testFrame();
verificationFrame.setBounds(400, 100, 250, 250);
Then you need to create your components like JButtons, Jlabels and so on, and next you should add them to your new testFrame object.
for example, let's create a Jlabel and add it testFrame:
JLabel testLbl = new JLabel("Ok");
testLbl.setBounds(319, 49, 200, 30);
testFrame.getContentPane().add(testLbl);
Now let's suppose you have a Jbutton which is named "jbutton" and by clicking it, a new JFrame object will be created and the Jlabel component will be added to it:
jButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent arg0) {
JFrame testFrame = new testFrame();
verificationFrame.setBounds(400, 100, 250, 250);
Label testLbl = new JLabel("Ok");
testLbl.setBounds(319, 49, 200, 30);
testFrame.getContentPane().add(testLbl);
}}});

How to reference JFrame

I have a problem which is most likely "simple" however I can't figure it out. I am trying to reference my current JFrame so that I can dispose of it, and create a new one, thus "resetting" the program, however I and having trouble figuring out how to reference the JFrame, I have tried, super, this and getParent(), but none of the seem to work. Thanks for any / all help. ^^
Here is my code:
Main Class, just sets up the Jframe and calls the class that creates everything:
public static void main(String args[]) {
JFrame window = new JFrame();
Director director = new Director(window, args);
window.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
window.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
window.pack();
window.setVisible(true);
}
}
Class the creates everything:
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.ButtonGroup;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JComponent;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JRadioButton;
public class Director extends JFrame implements CollisionListener {
private BrickWall wall;
private JLabel gameTitle, gameScore, gameLives;
private JPanel controlPanel;
private JButton reset, quit;
private JRadioButton hard, normal, easy;
private int score = 6, lives = 5;
private ButtonGroup difficulty;
public Director(JFrame window, String[] args) {
window.getContentPane().add(makeGamePanel(), BorderLayout.CENTER);
window.getContentPane().add(gameControlPanel(), BorderLayout.NORTH);
}
public void collisionDetected(CollisionEvent e) {
wall.setBrick(e.getRow(), e.getColumn(), null);
}
private JComponent makeGamePanel() {
wall = new BrickWall();
wall.addCollisionListener(this);
wall.buildWall(3, 6, 1, wall.getColumns(), Color.GRAY);
return wall;
}
// Reset method I'm trying to dispose of the JFrame in.
private void reset() {
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.getContentPane().add(makeGamePanel(), BorderLayout.CENTER);
frame.getContentPane().add(gameControlPanel(), BorderLayout.NORTH);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
private JComponent gameControlPanel() {
// CONTROL PANEL PANEL!
controlPanel = new JPanel();
gameTitle = new JLabel("Brickles");
gameScore = new JLabel("Score:" + " " + score);
gameLives = new JLabel("Lives:" + " " + lives);
reset = new JButton("Reset");
quit = new JButton("Quit");
hard = new JRadioButton("Hard", false);
normal = new JRadioButton("Normal", true);
easy = new JRadioButton("Easy", false);
difficulty = new ButtonGroup();
difficulty.add(hard);
difficulty.add(normal);
difficulty.add(easy);
controlPanel.setLayout(new GridLayout(4, 2));
controlPanel.add(gameTitle);
controlPanel.add(gameScore);
controlPanel.add(hard);
controlPanel.add(gameLives);
controlPanel.add(normal);
controlPanel.add(reset);
controlPanel.add(easy);
controlPanel.add(quit);
// Action Listener, where I'm caling the reset method.
reset.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
reset();
}
});
return controlPanel;
}
}

You can refer to the "outer this" from a nested class with the following syntax:
reset.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
Director.this.reset();
}
});

Yes, you can refer to the outer class by specifying it with the class name as noted in DSquare's good answer (1+ to it), but I urge you not to fling JFrame's at the user as you're program is trying to do. I recommend:
Instead of opening and closing multiple JFrames, use only one JFrame as the main application's window.
If you need helper windows, such as modal windows to get critical information that is absolutely needed, before the program can progress, use modal dialogs such as JDialogs or JOptionPanes.
If you need to swap GUI's, instead of swapping JFrames, swap "views" inside the JFrame via a CardLayout.
Gear your code towards creating these JPanel views and not JFrames as it will make your Swing GUI's much more flexible and portable.

How to set the width of a JTextField at runtime?

Can someone please help me how to set the width of a JTextField at runtime? I want my text field to be resized on runtime. It will ask the user for the length, then the input will change the width of the text field.
if(selectedComponent instanceof javax.swing.JTextField){
javax.swing.JTextField txtField = (javax.swing.JTextField) selectedComponent;
//txtField.setColumns(numInput); //tried this but it doesn't work
//txtField.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(numInput, txtField.getHeight())); //also this
//txtField.setBounds(txtField.getX(), txtField.getY(), numInput, txtField.getHeight());
//and this
txtField.revalidate();
}
I am using null layout for this, since I'm on edit mode.

You simply need to use jTextFieldObject.setColumns(int columnSize). This will let you increase it's size at runtime. The reason why you couldn't do it at your end is the null Layout. That is one of the main reasons why the use of null Layout/Absolute Positioning is discouraged. Here is a small example for trying your hands on :
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class JTextFieldExample
{
private JFrame frame;
private JPanel contentPane;
private JTextField tfield;
private JButton button;
private int size = 10;
private ActionListener action = new ActionListener()
{
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae)
{
String input = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(
frame, "Please Enter Columns : "
, String.valueOf(++size));
tfield.setColumns(Integer.parseInt(input));
contentPane.revalidate();
contentPane.repaint();
}
};
private void createAndDisplayGUI()
{
frame = new JFrame("JTextField Example");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
contentPane = new JPanel();
contentPane.setLayout(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.LEFT, 5, 5));
tfield = new JTextField();
tfield.setColumns(size);
JButton button = new JButton("INC Size");
button.addActionListener(action);
contentPane.add(tfield);
contentPane.add(button);
frame.getContentPane().add(contentPane);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationByPlatform(true);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String... args)
{
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable()
{
public void run()
{
new JTextFieldExample().createAndDisplayGUI();
}
});
}
}
For absolute positioning you need to call setSize() on the JTextField in order to attain the result, though you should always keep in mind the reason why this approach is discouraged, as given in the Java Doc's first paragraph:
Although it is possible to do without a layout manager, you should use a layout manager if at all possible. A layout manager makes it easier to adjust to look-and-feel-dependent component appearances, to different font sizes, to a container's changing size, and to different locales. Layout managers also can be reused easily by other containers, as well as other programs.

I got the text field to resize just by using setBounds. Check out the following example:
import java.awt.Dimension;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
public class Resize extends JFrame{
public JTextField jtf = new JTextField();
public Resize(){
//frame settings
setTitle("Resizable JTextField");
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
setLayout(null);
setSize(new Dimension(600,400));
setResizable(false);
//init and add text field to the frame
add(jtf);
jtf.setBounds(20,50,200,200);
//button to change text field size
JButton b = new JButton("Moar.");
add(b);
b.setBounds(20,20,b.getPreferredSize().width,b.getPreferredSize().height);
b.addActionListener(new ActionListener(){
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent evt){
jtf.setBounds(20,50,jtf.getSize().width+10,jtf.getSize().height); //THIS IS WHERE THE RESIZING HAPPENS
}
});
setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args){
Resize inst = new Resize();
}
}

"Fun" little run-it-yourself solution:
public static void main(String[] args) {
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
JTextField jTextField = new JTextField("Alice");
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
JButton grow = new JButton("DRINK ME");
JButton shrink = new JButton("EAT ME");
panel.add(jTextField);
panel.add(grow);
panel.add(shrink);
frame.add(panel);
frame.setVisible(true);
frame.pack();
grow.addActionListener(l -> resize(frame, jTextField, 2));
shrink.addActionListener(l -> resize(frame, jTextField, 0.5f));
}
private static void resize(JFrame frame, Component toResize, float factor) {
System.out.println(toResize.getPreferredSize());
toResize.setPreferredSize(new Dimension((int)(toResize.getPreferredSize().width * factor),
(int)(toResize.getPreferredSize().height * factor)));
toResize.setFont(toResize.getFont().deriveFont(toResize.getFont().getSize() * factor));
frame.pack();
}
Attention: Please note that the consumption of too much cake can kill you.