I am trying to make a game for my semester project. I want to show a transition when user clicks on options button of my game menu or when user clicks on credits button. I want to show transition when one panel replaces another. Is it even possible? I am using java swing library.
You should use a CardLayout to swap views (JPanels) in your GUI. To get a fade effect is not the most simple thing to do, but it can be done with a little work. I've done it successfully here where I create a special class called SwappingImgPanel that extends JPanel, and that fades one image into another using a Swing Timer. Specifically, the program does this:
The program adds all the swapping components to the CardLayout using JPanel.
It also adds a single SwappingImgPanel, a JPanel created to draw two images, one of the component that is fading out, and one of the component that is fading in.
When you swap components, you create images of the two components, the one currently visible, and the one that will next be visible.
You send the images to the SwappingImgPanel instance
You call swap() on the SwappingImgPanel instance.
The SwappingImgPanel will then draw both images but uses a Swing Timer to change the Graphic object's composite value. This is what causes an image to be partially visible.
When the SwappingImgPanel's Timer is done, a done() method is called which sets the SwappingImgPanel's State to State.DONE.
The main GUI is listening to the SwappingImgPanel's state value, and when it achieves State.DONE, the main GUI shows the actual next component (and not an image of it).
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I am making project with GUI. The thing is, that I have a button and what I need to do is that after clicking this button I need to change Frame layout. For example, like when you are installing some program and you click "next" button, the Frame layout changes and you can see some different content. Basicly, dynamic wizard.
I have tried use another Frame, but it opens in another window and that is not what I want. I want to open it in the same window.
Another thing I have tried is set visibility of these components I don't want to be displayed to false, but I find it unprofessional and it is overlook in making a desing, when I have components over themselfs.
So do you guys have any idea? Thank you.
Most of the times for a wizard like GUI, you should have JFrame and a set of JPanels. In each step you can pass the shared data as constructor arguments to each panel, and when you are making one of them invisible and make another one visible, you can get some date from the previous step panel and pass it to the next step panel(if needed).
It is very common that your panels extend the JPanel and have some argument in their constructor(s). You use these data for initializing your panel and managing the state of the overall progress.
There is no a total plan for all situations. So you should decide what to do which is best fit for your case.
Try not to have multiple JFrames.
Hope this would be helpful.
I have a JComponent that I draw on using openGL. It is enclosed in a panel with some side panels and a jmenu. It is getting cramped so I want to make the next set of controls into a window the user can show/hide/move around.
How do I make an option in my JMENU that when I click it a window is spawned that resides in my application as if that will reside within my jframe but be draggable, non modal, closable, always on top?
When I minimize my app or my app loses focus it should not be visible.
Essentially, I want a toolbar that the user can show/hide/move themselves.
I ended up using a draggabletoolbar object.
See this question for example implementation.
I always wondered on how can I make a program with multiple JFrames. I mean I just want one class to handle all the GUIs and stuff but how can I effectively do this? A lot of tutorials say that we make JFrame by inheriting from JFrame. But what If I want many frames?
Ex:
Title of Application in one frame with some options
Menu is one frame
Main working application is one frame
Like in a game.
But I am not sure if I am pertaining to JPanel? I am completely puzzled with the 2. I just want one un-moving frame but basically the content of the frame is changing.
When I click START for example, it will change to the gaming style of frame.
you are looking for a JFrame with a CardLayout. Some background:
A JFrame is the physical window. It comes with a title bar and three buttons: minimize, maximize, and close. Think of this as a picture frame.
A JPanel is a "content holder" of sorts. Typically, you put your other components (buttons, animations, whatever) on a JPanel, and then slap that JPanel into a JFrame. Using our picture frame example, a JPanel would be the photo paper you put in the picture frame. The other components would then be the actual contents of the picture itself, and what you have at the end is a nice picture...or in your case, an application.
Setting the JFrame to utilize a CardLayout essentially lets you have multiple JPanels inside the same JFrame at once, while still only showing one at a time. So for your application, you would have (at least) two JPanels: one for the menu, and one for the game. When the app starts, you show the MenuPanel. When the user clicks "start", you switch to the GamePanel. The MenuPanel will be put in the background and will be inaccessible until you call it to the foreground again.
If, on the other hand, you create multiple JFrames, you will have two or more physically separate windows that can be dealt with individually. This can actually be kind of cool for game development. Although it takes more time to build and link the GUI for the second window, you can then have that window affect game settings in realtime (rate of fire, bullet strength, player speed, etc.)
I think that what you are after is the Card Layout:
A CardLayout object is a layout manager for a container. It treats
each component in the container as a card. Only one card is visible at
a time, and the container acts as a stack of cards. The first
component added to a CardLayout object is the visible component when
the container is first displayed.
You can see how it is used here.
This layout manager allows you to manage situations where your frame needs to be shared across various functions. In your case for instance, you could have a functionality to handle the settings section of the game and another one to handle the actual game itself.
You could then use the manager to switch between these particular items.
you can also use Desktopane() and InternalFrame() for multiple frame.
Internalframe quite similar to Jframe but it need to setVisible(true) or show() everytime.
Which ever IDE you are using, you can create multiple JFrames in the same package, and have separate codes for each of them.
If you want to link each frame, you will have to create instances from each JFrame. for example, if when the button is pressed, we need to invoke a new Frame (that we have already created)
NewJFrame1 frame1=new NewJFrame1();
frame1.setVisible(true);
then you can decide what to with your current JFrame.
eg : (Hide, Close)
I have a Code design question. Let me explain the scenario and then the question. I have 2 Panels below
Basically, the first panel on clicking start, opens the second panel. On the Second panel when the file is chosen (background blue). That file needs to be opened in the editor pane of the first panel.
The question is: What is the good practice to do it. Both my panels are separate classes. Currently the second panel keeps a reference to the first panel. And on selection, calls the respective method of the first class to output the csv. This is a bad design anyday.
How should the children frames refresh an aspect of the parent frame?
use JDialog(parent, modal) instead of JFrame, could be depends of modality
create JDialog only one time, reuse this container for another event came from parent
JDialog.setDefaultCloseOperation(JDialog.HIDE_ON_CLOSE), then every next actions are only about setVisible(true/false) wrapped in invokeLater()
then return (check if contents changed, changes back to the parent
you can to put there verifications by users action from JOptionPane("DYW to save changes ??"))
I would like to use Swing to program a simple learning game.
I am wondering what would be best way to switch between UI screens.
For example, I would have a screen for the Main Menu, and then when the user presses a button on that screen, I would swap out the whole screen for a completely different one.
Then, arbitrary screens can be swapped in at any moment, and all of their event handlers would be reactivated while the inactive screen's event handlers will be deactivated.
What type of Swing component/control would I use for each of the 'screens'. Is this even doable?
You can consider using CardLayout for that purpose.
Each 'screen' can be made as a separate panel. Then you need a container-panel with card layout. And you'll add all screens to that panel. Switching between cards is easy, it's demonstrated in the linked tutorial.
You could also use JTabbedPane so each screen is connected with one button :-)
You probably don't need to reactivate listeners (although the "business" model end of things might want to check state). Simple switch panels.