Layered panels in Swing with custom painting - java

I am writing a mapping application in Java, using Swing for the UI (I've included a prototype drawing at the end of this post). The map is implemented using a custom MapPanel class that extends JPanel. The map is fetched from the server as a series of 300x300 images (tiles) that are painted on the MapPanel whenever its paintMap() method is called. Due to the length and complexity (multiple classes, etc.) of the code I can't include all of it here but the paintMap() method basically works like this:
// Loop for each map tile (image, xPos, yPos)
getGraphics().drawImage(image, xPos, yPos, 300, 300, null);
I would like to have another JPanel (containing a JSlider for zoom control) overlayed on top of the map panel, but I'm having difficulties getting this to work. Whenever I paint the map, the overlayed JPanel disappears. If I repaint the overlayed JPanel in the paintMap() method, it flickers badly when the map is being dragged (and thus repainted continuously).
Any suggestions for how I could implement my UI without flickering?

getGraphics().drawImage(image, xPos, yPos, 300, 300, null); // WRONG!!
Don't call getGraphics() - instead override the paintComponent(Graphics) of a JPanel or JComponent and paint when requested to do so.
Use this as the ImageObserver

This article describes using JLayeredPane and an abstract base class to overpaint arbitrary effects on a given Swing component.

Related

Image only paints within original bounds

I want to animate several jpgs in a JFrame, I'll show you some extracts:
My class constructor that extends JFrame
super(title);
setLayout(null);
setResizable(false);
setSize(Settings.windowWidth, Settings.windowHeight);
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
setLocationRelativeTo(null);
setVisible(true);
My class constructor that extends JPanel
i = new ImageIcon(image).getImage();
setSize(i.getWidth(this),i.getHeight(this));
setBounds(x, y, i.getWidth(this), i.getHeight(this));
The overwritten method
#Override
public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
g.drawImage(i, getX(), getY(), null);
}
Yes, I know null layout isn't preferrable, but unless you have a better idea for absolute positioning I'll stick with it for now.
Above code does paint the image, starting at (x,y), but not completely.
For 50 and 100 it shows this:
Which is pretty much: It only paints the image within a 256x256 box (image dimensions) from 0,0, no matter where it has been relocated to.
Any advice, help, solutions, suggestions?
If you need more code, ask me, just don't feel like putting everything around it in here, too ;)
There is no need for custom painting:
Add the ImageIcon to a JLabel and add the JLabel to a JPanel
Change the location of the label on the panel when you want to animate it.
Or, if you do custom painting then there is no need for a null layout.
You override the getPreferredSize() method of the JPanel and add your panel to the frame.
Then in the paintComponent() method you can paint the image where every you want withing the bounds of the preferred size that you set.
My gut feeling is you don't understand how component painting actually works...
First, you do this...
i = new ImageIcon(image).getImage();
setSize(i.getWidth(this),i.getHeight(this));
setBounds(x, y, i.getWidth(this), i.getHeight(this));
Then you do this...
g.drawImage(i, getX(), getY(), null);
which seems to be painting the image at a offset position from the components origin, but since the component is sized to match the size of the image, the image is cropped at the component boundaries.
When a component is painted, the Graphics context's origin is set to the components location, meaning that 0x0 is now the components top/left corner.
You can test this by using setBorder(new LineBorder(Color.RED)), which will show you the physical bounds of the component
In your case, something like
g.drawImage(i, 0, 0, this);
In your case, you should be moving the component not the image.
Personally, I'd add the JPanel to the JFrame using a BorderLayout, then you can simply move the image anywhere within the context of the component itself. Remember to override getPreferredSize to return an appropriate size for your purposes so the frame can be packed around it more effectively.
It's tricky to do animation with components (not impossible, there's just a lot to take into account), generally it's just easier to paint directly to a canvas like a JPanel, but that's me
See Painting in AWT and Swing and Performing Custom Painting for more details about how painting works

Paint Applet graphics onto a JPanel

I have been trying to paint the graphics of an Applet when Applet.setVisible(false); and painting it onto my JPanel when JPanel.visible(true);
I tried to use Image i = Applet.createImage(width,height); and then paint the image to my JPanel with g.drawImage(i, 0, 0, this);
All I am left with is a blank JPanel when JPanel.paintComponent(Graphics g)... is invoked.
Is there a better approach to this?
If I'm not mistaken, the Applet won't draw when it's visibility is set to false, which explains why your JPanel is coming up blank. Is it necessary for you to hide the Applet? A typical solution would be to add the Applet directly to the JPanel by calling:
myJPanel.add(myApplet);
Of course, this mixes Swing and AWT components, which some people will object to, but it still works. Note however that a single instance of an Applet cannot be drawn to two places at once, so you cannot add your Applet to the JPanel and another place at the same time.

How to successfully modify the way a JFrame (and all of its components) paint?

I'm trying to implement a simple window scale in java's swing library. The goal is simply to double the window height and width, and paint the window and each of its components in scale.
Here's an example of the code I'm using:
public class MyWindow extends JFrame {
...
public void paint(Graphics g) {
Graphics2D g2d = (Graphics2D) g;
g2d.scale(2,2);
super.paint(g);
}
}
The position and size for each my components in this window is set manually using setBounds with a null layout for the window.
When I actually run the program, what happens is that the first paint for the window seems successful-- everything is sized appropriately. Each subsequent repaint by the components, however, is neither twice the size, nor in the proper location. Here's what I mean:
As you can see, portions of the screen which have components that call repaint manually (the animating bits), don't seem to be using the Graphics2D scale of the JFrame. I looked in the source code, and tried overloading a few other methods (update and repaint, mostly), but all of them seemed to produce the same result. I further looked at the paint and repaint methods of the component and container classes, but they all seem to call a specified repaint of their parent. Shouldn't my Window be the "biggest" parent? If so, why haven't these repaint calls reached my Window?
My big question to you is, therefore: what repaint methods of the parent component do the child components call? Why aren't the calls properly routed to my JFrame's paint call? Is there any other (better) way that I can scale my window? Any and all help is appreciated!
As discussed in Painting in AWT and Swing: The Paint Methods, "Swing programs should override paintComponent() instead of overriding paint()." A common approach is to create a view by overriding paintComponent() in a JComponent (or subclass), as shown here. Let your view listen for changes to the game's model, as discussed here.
SwingUtilities.updateComponentTreeUI() should be used to change the Look & Feel, not update the view.
Use
javax.swing.SwingUtilities.updateComponentTreeUI(parentComponent);
when you need to make sure all of the parentComponents child component's look and feel are updated properly.

How to draw shapes inside JPanel?

Referring to my earlier question:
Based on your valuable answers, I choose Java 2D library to cater my requirements.
I completely read the above said library and have full understanding of dealing with the graphics stuff, like what to draw and how to draw etc.Now i only left with one question that how do i draw my required shapes inside JPanel and after drawing all those shapes how do i place that JPanel inside a JScrollPane?
Override paintComponent(Graphics g) method.
Cast Graphics to Graphics2D and use drawShape() method passing all your Shapes
You will typically draw your stuff inside a subclass of JComponent, say, MyComponent.
Create an instance of MyComponent, MyComponent myc = new
MyComponent();
Put that inside a JScrollPane, e.g. JScrollPane jsp =
new JScrollPane(myComponent);
Then add the JScrollpane to the
JPanel (exact code depends on the layout manager)

How to make canvas with Swing?

I'm trying to make a paint editor with Java in which I have a toolbar with the objects that I would like to paste in the canvas. I'm using Swing components to make the GUI, but when I looked for the way of making the canvas, I only found the class canvas from AWT.
Is there any way to make something similar to canvas with Swing? (for example, JPanel?) I have read that using the class canvas from AWT with a GUI made with swing won't work correctly, is that true?
In order to make a custom 'Canvas' in swing you usually write a subclass of a JPanel. Then, you must overwrite the protected paintComponent(Graphics g) method of JPanel.
In the paint method, you can call methods on the Graphics object to actually draw on the JPanel.
As always, the Java Tutorials have a great reference on this to get you started.
You'll probably want to make a subclass of JPanel and implement your own way of painting components you want to draw onto the panel.
The basic approach will probably be along the line of assigning a MouseListener to the subclass of JPanel, then implement painting functionality.
The basic idea may be something along the line of:
class MyCanvas extends JPanel implements MouseListener
{
Image img; // Contains the image to draw on MyCanvas
public MyCanvas()
{
// Initialize img here.
this.addMouseListener(this);
}
public void paintComponent(Graphics g)
{
// Draws the image to the canvas
g.drawImage(img, 0, 0, null);
}
public void mouseClicked(MouseEvent e)
{
int x = e.getX();
int y = e.getY();
Graphics g = img.getGraphics();
g.fillOval(x, y, 3, 3);
g.dispose();
}
// ... other MouseListener methods ... //
}
The above example is incomplete (and not tested -- it definitely won't compile), but it gives an idea about how to implement a MyCanvas class in which a user can click on and draw circles.
The img object is used to hold the image of the canvas. The paintComponent method is used to paint the img object to the canvas. In the mouseClicked method, the Graphics object associated with img is retrieved in order to fillOval onto the image.
Since one the requirements is to paste images onto the canvas, it may be a good idea to hold some Images that you want to paste into the canvas. Perhaps something along the line of:
Image[] myImages; // Used to store images to paint to screen.
Then, in the routine to paint the image onto img stored in MyCanvas:
g.drawImage(myImage[INDEX_OF_DESIRED_IMAGE], 0, 0, null);
By using the drawImage method of the Graphics object, other Images can be drawn onto Images.
As for the question on AWT and Swing, yes, it is true that you do not want to mix components from the AWT and Swing, as they differ in the way they render GUI components. AWT is based on heavyweight components, meaning they native windowing for painting the GUI, while Swing is based on lightweight components, meaning the GUI is drawn by Java itself without using native components.
A good guide on the difference of AWT and Swing is provided in Painting in AWT and Swing article from Sun.
Simply subclass JComponent.
JPanel is an inappropriate class. It is often suggested as it appears to have setOpaque(true) invoked on it automatically. It's actually the PL&F which does that, and whether or not it actually happens is implementation and vendor dependent.
Canvas is a heavyweight component. That is to say that it is controlled by the underlying windowing system. The result is that it will typically be drawn over the top of Swing components, without respect to z-order or clipping (putting it in a scroll pane will give odd behaviour).
You might want to look at the Minueto API. It is a very simple to use graphics api, and you can combine the Java event listening with it to provide your drawing capability.
http://minueto.cs.mcgill.ca/

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