Develop Reference

Make the animation faster when there are thousands of components

I am trying to hide a JSplitPane with animation. By hide, I mean to setDividerLocation(0) so its left component is invisible (technically it is visible, but with zero width):
public class SplitPaneTest {
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> {
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
JPanel leftPanel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
leftPanel.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.green));
JPanel rightPanel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(60, 60));
for (int i = 0; i < 60 * 60; i++) {
// rightPanel.add(new JLabel("s"));
}
rightPanel.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.red));
JSplitPane splitPane = new JSplitPane(JSplitPane.HORIZONTAL_SPLIT, leftPanel, rightPanel);
frame.add(splitPane);
JButton button = new JButton("Press me to hide");
button.addActionListener(e -> hideWithAnimation(splitPane));
leftPanel.add(button, BorderLayout.PAGE_START);
frame.setMaximumSize(new Dimension(800, 800));
frame.setSize(800, 800);
frame.setLocationByPlatform(true);
frame.setVisible(true);
});
}
private static void hideWithAnimation(JSplitPane splitPane) {
final Timer timer = new Timer(10, null);
timer.addActionListener(e -> {
splitPane.setDividerLocation(Math.max(0, splitPane.getDividerLocation() - 3));
if (splitPane.getDividerLocation() == 0)
timer.stop();
});
timer.start();
}
}
If you run it, will see that everything seems good, and the animation runs smooth.
However, in the real application the right of the JSplitPane is a JPanel with CardLayout and each card has a lot of components.
If you uncomment this line in order to simulate the number of components:
// rightPanel.add(new JLabel("s"));
and re-run the above example, you will see that the animation no longer runs smoothly. So, the question is, is is possible to make it smooth(-ier)?
I have no idea how to approach a solution - if any exists.
Based on my research, I registered a global ComponentListener:
Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit()
.addAWTEventListener(System.out::println, AWTEvent.COMPONENT_EVENT_MASK);
and saw the tons of events that are being fired. So, I think the source of the problem is the tons of component events that are being fired for each component. Also, it seems that components with custom renderers (like JList - ListCellRenderer and JTable - TableCellRenderer), component events are firing for all of the renderers. For example, if a JList has 30 elements, 30 events (component) will be fired only for it. It also seems (and that's why I mentioned it) that for CardLayout, events are taking place for the "invisible" components as well.
I know that 60*60 might sound crazy to you, but in a real application (mine has ~1500) as it makes sense, the painting is heavier.

I know that 60*60 might sound crazy to you, but in a real application (mine has ~1500) as it makes sense, the painting is heavier.
The layout manager is invoked every time the divider location is changed which would add a lot of overhead.
One solution might be to stop invoking the layout manager as the divider is animating. This can be done by overriding the doLayout() method of the right panel:
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class SplitPaneTest2 {
public static boolean doLayout = true;
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> {
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
JPanel leftPanel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
leftPanel.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.green));
JPanel rightPanel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(60, 60))
{
#Override
public void doLayout()
{
if (SplitPaneTest2.doLayout)
super.doLayout();
}
};
for (int i = 0; i < 60 * 60; i++) {
rightPanel.add(new JLabel("s"));
}
rightPanel.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.red));
JSplitPane splitPane = new JSplitPane(JSplitPane.HORIZONTAL_SPLIT, leftPanel, rightPanel);
frame.add(splitPane);
JButton button = new JButton("Press me to hide");
button.addActionListener(e -> hideWithAnimation(splitPane));
leftPanel.add(button, BorderLayout.PAGE_START);
frame.setMaximumSize(new Dimension(800, 800));
frame.setSize(800, 800);
frame.setLocationByPlatform(true);
frame.setVisible(true);
});
}
private static void hideWithAnimation(JSplitPane splitPane) {
SplitPaneTest2.doLayout = false;
final Timer timer = new Timer(10, null);
timer.addActionListener(e -> {
splitPane.setDividerLocation(Math.max(0, splitPane.getDividerLocation() - 3));
if (splitPane.getDividerLocation() == 0)
{
timer.stop();
SplitPaneTest2.doLayout = true;
splitPane.getRightComponent().revalidate();
}
});
timer.start();
}
}
Edit:
I was not going to include my test on swapping out the panel full of components with a panel that uses an image of components since I fell the animation is the same, but since it was suggested by someone else here is my attempt for your evaluation:
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.image.*;
public class SplitPaneTest2 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> {
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
JPanel leftPanel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
leftPanel.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.green));
JPanel rightPanel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(60, 60));
for (int i = 0; i < 60 * 60; i++) {
rightPanel.add(new JLabel("s"));
}
rightPanel.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.red));
JSplitPane splitPane = new JSplitPane(JSplitPane.HORIZONTAL_SPLIT, leftPanel, rightPanel);
frame.add(splitPane);
JButton button = new JButton("Press me to hide");
button.addActionListener(e -> hideWithAnimation(splitPane));
leftPanel.add(button, BorderLayout.PAGE_START);
frame.setMaximumSize(new Dimension(800, 800));
frame.setSize(800, 800);
frame.setLocationByPlatform(true);
frame.setVisible(true);
});
}
private static void hideWithAnimation(JSplitPane splitPane) {
Component right = splitPane.getRightComponent();
Dimension size = right.getSize();
BufferedImage bi = new BufferedImage(size.width, size.height, BufferedImage.TYPE_INT_ARGB);
Graphics2D g = bi.createGraphics();
right.paint( g );
g.dispose();
JLabel label = new JLabel( new ImageIcon( bi ) );
label.setHorizontalAlignment(JLabel.LEFT);
splitPane.setRightComponent( label );
splitPane.setDividerLocation( splitPane.getDividerLocation() );
final Timer timer = new Timer(10, null);
timer.addActionListener(e -> {
splitPane.setDividerLocation(Math.max(0, splitPane.getDividerLocation() - 3));
if (splitPane.getDividerLocation() == 0)
{
timer.stop();
splitPane.setRightComponent( right );
}
});
timer.start();
}
}

#GeorgeZ. I think the concept presented by #camickr has to do with when you actually do the layout. As an alternative to overriding doLayout, I would suggest subclassing the GridLayout to only lay out the components at the end of the animation (without overriding doLayout). But this is the same concept as camickr's.
Although if the contents of your components in the right panel (ie the text of the labels) remain unchanged during the animation of the divider, you can also create an Image of the right panel when the user clicks the button and display that instead of the actual panel. This solution, I would imagine, involves:
A CardLayout for the right panel. One card has the actual rightPanel contents (ie the JLabels). The second card has only one JLabel which will be loaded with the Image (as an ImageIcon) of the first card.
As far as I know, by looking at the CardLayout's implementation, the bounds of all the child components of the Container are set during layoutContainer method. That would probably mean that the labels would be layed out inspite being invisible while the second card would be shown. So you should probably combine this with the subclassed GridLayout to lay out only at the end of the animation.
To draw the Image of the first card, one should first create a BufferedImage, then createGraphics on it, then call rightPanel.paint on the created Graphics2D object and finally dispose the Graphics2D object after that.
Create the second card such that the JLabel would be centered in it. To do this, you just have to provide the second card with a GridBagLayout and add only one Component in it (the JLabel) which should be the only. GridBagLayout always centers the contents.
Let me know if such a solution could be useful for you. It might not be useful because you could maybe want to actually see the labels change their lay out profile while the animation is in progress, or you may even want the user to be able to interact with the Components of the rightPanel while the animation is in progress. In both cases, taking a picture of the rightPanel and displaying it instead of the real labels while the animation takes place, should not suffice. So it really depends, in this case, on how dynamic will be the content of the rightPanel. Please let me know in the comments.
If the contents are always the same for every program run, then you could probably pre-create that Image and store it. Or even, a multitude of Images and store them and just display them one after another when the animation turns on.
Similarly, if the contents are not always the same for every program run, then you could also subclass GridLayout and precalculate the bounds of each component at startup. Then that would make GridLayout a bit faster in laying out the components (it would be like encoding a video with the location of each object), but as I am testing it, GridLayout is already fast: it just calculates about 10 variables at the start of laying out, and then imediately passes over to setting the bounds of each Component.
Edit 1:
And here is my attempt of my idea (with the Image):
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.CardLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Container;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.GraphicsConfiguration;
import java.awt.GraphicsDevice;
import java.awt.GraphicsEnvironment;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.awt.Transparency;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.util.Objects;
import java.util.function.Consumer;
import java.util.function.IntBinaryOperator;
import javax.swing.BorderFactory;
import javax.swing.ImageIcon;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JSplitPane;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
import javax.swing.Timer;
public class SplitPaneTest {
//Just a Timer which plays the animation of the split pane's divider going from side to side...
public static class SplitPaneAnimationTimer extends Timer {
private final JSplitPane splitPane;
private int speed, newDivLoc;
private IntBinaryOperator directionf;
private Consumer<SplitPaneAnimationTimer> onFinish;
public SplitPaneAnimationTimer(final int delay, final JSplitPane splitPane) {
super(delay, null);
this.splitPane = Objects.requireNonNull(splitPane);
super.setRepeats(true);
super.setCoalesce(false);
super.addActionListener(e -> {
splitPane.setDividerLocation(directionf.applyAsInt(newDivLoc, splitPane.getDividerLocation() + speed));
if (newDivLoc == splitPane.getDividerLocation()) {
stop();
if (onFinish != null)
onFinish.accept(this);
}
});
speed = 0;
newDivLoc = 0;
directionf = null;
onFinish = null;
}
public int getSpeed() {
return speed;
}
public JSplitPane getSplitPane() {
return splitPane;
}
public void play(final int newDividerLocation, final int speed, final IntBinaryOperator directionf, final Consumer<SplitPaneAnimationTimer> onFinish) {
if (newDividerLocation != splitPane.getDividerLocation() && Math.signum(speed) != Math.signum(newDividerLocation - splitPane.getDividerLocation()))
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Speed needs to be in the direction towards the newDividerLocation (from the current position).");
this.directionf = Objects.requireNonNull(directionf);
newDivLoc = newDividerLocation;
this.speed = speed;
this.onFinish = onFinish;
restart();
}
}
//Just a GridLayout subclassed to only allow laying out the components only if it is enabled.
public static class ToggleGridLayout extends GridLayout {
private boolean enabled;
public ToggleGridLayout(final int rows, final int cols) {
super(rows, cols);
enabled = true;
}
#Override
public void layoutContainer(final Container parent) {
if (enabled)
super.layoutContainer(parent);
}
public void setEnabled(final boolean enabled) {
this.enabled = enabled;
}
}
//How to create a BufferedImage (instead of using the constructor):
private static BufferedImage createBufferedImage(final int width, final int height, final boolean transparent) {
final GraphicsEnvironment genv = GraphicsEnvironment.getLocalGraphicsEnvironment();
final GraphicsDevice gdev = genv.getDefaultScreenDevice();
final GraphicsConfiguration gcnf = gdev.getDefaultConfiguration();
return transparent
? gcnf.createCompatibleImage(width, height, Transparency.TRANSLUCENT)
: gcnf.createCompatibleImage(width, height);
}
//This is the right panel... It is composed by two cards: one for the labels and one for the image.
public static class RightPanel extends JPanel {
private static final String CARD_IMAGE = "IMAGE",
CARD_LABELS = "LABELS";
private final JPanel labels, imagePanel; //The two cards.
private final JLabel imageLabel; //The label in the second card.
private final int speed; //The speed to animate the motion of the divider.
private final SplitPaneAnimationTimer spat; //The Timer which animates the motion of the divider.
private String currentCard; //Which card are we currently showing?...
public RightPanel(final JSplitPane splitPane, final int delay, final int speed, final int rows, final int cols) {
super(new CardLayout());
super.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.red));
spat = new SplitPaneAnimationTimer(delay, splitPane);
this.speed = Math.abs(speed); //We only need a positive (absolute) value.
//Label and panel of second card:
imageLabel = new JLabel();
imageLabel.setHorizontalAlignment(JLabel.CENTER);
imageLabel.setVerticalAlignment(JLabel.CENTER);
imagePanel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
imagePanel.add(imageLabel);
//First card:
labels = new JPanel(new ToggleGridLayout(rows, cols));
for (int i = 0; i < rows * cols; ++i)
labels.add(new JLabel("|"));
//Adding cards...
final CardLayout clay = (CardLayout) super.getLayout();
super.add(imagePanel, CARD_IMAGE);
super.add(labels, CARD_LABELS);
clay.show(this, currentCard = CARD_LABELS);
}
//Will flip the cards.
private void flip() {
final CardLayout clay = (CardLayout) getLayout();
final ToggleGridLayout labelsLayout = (ToggleGridLayout) labels.getLayout();
if (CARD_LABELS.equals(currentCard)) { //If we are showing the labels:
//Disable the laying out...
labelsLayout.setEnabled(false);
//Take a picture of the current panel state:
final BufferedImage pic = createBufferedImage(labels.getWidth(), labels.getHeight(), true);
final Graphics2D g2d = pic.createGraphics();
labels.paint(g2d);
g2d.dispose();
imageLabel.setIcon(new ImageIcon(pic));
imagePanel.revalidate();
imagePanel.repaint();
//Flip the cards:
clay.show(this, currentCard = CARD_IMAGE);
}
else { //Else if we are showing the image:
//Enable the laying out...
labelsLayout.setEnabled(true);
//Revalidate and repaint so as to utilize the laying out of the labels...
labels.revalidate();
labels.repaint();
//Flip the cards:
clay.show(this, currentCard = CARD_LABELS);
}
}
//Called when we need to animate fully left motion (ie until reaching left side):
public void goLeft() {
final JSplitPane splitPane = spat.getSplitPane();
final int currDivLoc = splitPane.getDividerLocation(),
minDivLoc = splitPane.getMinimumDividerLocation();
if (CARD_LABELS.equals(currentCard) && currDivLoc > minDivLoc) { //If the animation is stopped:
flip(); //Show the image label.
spat.play(minDivLoc, -speed, Math::max, ignore -> flip()); //Start the animation to the left.
}
}
//Called when we need to animate fully right motion (ie until reaching right side):
public void goRight() {
final JSplitPane splitPane = spat.getSplitPane();
final int currDivLoc = splitPane.getDividerLocation(),
maxDivLoc = splitPane.getMaximumDividerLocation();
if (CARD_LABELS.equals(currentCard) && currDivLoc < maxDivLoc) { //If the animation is stopped:
flip(); //Show the image label.
spat.play(maxDivLoc, speed, Math::min, ignore -> flip()); //Start the animation to the right.
}
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> {
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
JPanel leftPanel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
leftPanel.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.green));
int rows, cols;
rows = cols = 60;
JSplitPane splitPane = new JSplitPane(JSplitPane.HORIZONTAL_SPLIT);
final RightPanel rightPanel = new RightPanel(splitPane, 10, 3, rows, cols);
splitPane.setLeftComponent(leftPanel);
splitPane.setRightComponent(rightPanel);
JButton left = new JButton("Go left"),
right = new JButton("Go right");
left.addActionListener(e -> rightPanel.goLeft());
right.addActionListener(e -> rightPanel.goRight());
final JPanel buttons = new JPanel(new GridLayout(1, 0));
buttons.add(left);
buttons.add(right);
frame.add(splitPane, BorderLayout.CENTER);
frame.add(buttons, BorderLayout.PAGE_START);
frame.setSize(1000, 800);
frame.setMaximumSize(frame.getSize());
frame.setLocationByPlatform(true);
frame.setVisible(true);
splitPane.setDividerLocation(0.5);
});
}
}

Java JSlider not showing up after JFileChooser is used

When I use JFileChooser then try to add other components, they don't show up. If I remove JFileChooser they do show up. I'm writing in java on eclipse, and there are two files.
I have removed a majority of my code to simplify the problem, but it still exists.
Main.java:
import java.awt.Color;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
public class Main {
public static void main(String args[]) throws InterruptedException, IOException {
int width = 1280;
int height = 720;
Frame f = new Frame(Color.BLACK, width, height);
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Title"); //create a new window and set title on window
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE); //set the window to close when the cross in the corner is pressed
frame.setSize(width,height);
frame.add(f); //add the content of the game object to the window
frame.setVisible(true);
long interval = (long)10 * 10000000;
long t = 0;
while(true) {
if(System.nanoTime() - t >= interval) { //repaints at a certain fps
t = System.nanoTime();
f.repaint();
}
TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS.sleep(10);
}
}
}
Frame.java:
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.io.IOException;
import javax.swing.JSlider;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFileChooser;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
public class Frame extends JPanel {
int menuNum = 0;
boolean first = true;
JButton nextButton = new JButton("Next");
JSlider slider = new JSlider(0,255,0);
JFileChooser fileChooser = new JFileChooser();
public Frame(Color background, int w, int h) throws IOException { //initialize
this.setBackground(background);
setFocusable(true);
}
public void paintComponent(Graphics G) {
super.paintComponent(G);
G.setColor(Color.WHITE);
G.drawString("MenuNum: " + menuNum, 1000, 500); //for debugging
if(menuNum == 0) { //first menu
if(first) { //only run once
first = false;
this.removeAll();
this.add(nextButton);
System.out.println("HERE");
}
if(fileChooser.showOpenDialog(null) == JFileChooser.APPROVE_OPTION) { //if "Done" is selected
menuNum = 1; //go to next menu
first = true;
}
}
if(menuNum == 1) { //second menu
if(first) { //only run once
first = false;
this.removeAll();
this.add(nextButton);
this.add(slider); //<This is the slider that is not showing up
System.out.println("HERE2");
}
}
}
}
If you are running this on your own machine, you can select any file to test it, since it does nothing with the selected file.
I am somewhat new to JPanels and JFrames so any advice will be well appreciated.
Thanks.

First of all there is absolutely no reason to do any custom painting. You should never try to add/remove components from a JPanel in a painting method.
The components should be added to the panel in the constructor of your class. So this means the button should be added to the panel.
Then you add an ActionListener to the button. When the button is clicked you do some processing.
If you want to alter the components on the panel in the ActionListener then the basic logic is:
panel.remove(...);
panel.add(...);
panel.revalidate();
panel.repaint();
So you need the revalidate() to invoke the layout manager. Otherwise the size of the added component is (0, 0), which means there is nothing to paint.
Learn Swing basics by reading the Swing Tutorial. Maybe start with section on:
How to Write an ActionListener
How to Use Sliders
How to Use CardLayout (instead of adding/removing components).

Just follow same idea, you will get
public MyControlPanel() {
initComponents();
JSlider slider = new JSlider();
slider.setMajorTickSpacing(10);
slider.setPaintLabels(true);
slider.setPaintTicks(true);
JTextField boundary_length = new JTextField("Boundary Length");
JTextField area = new JTextField("Area");
setLayout(new FlowLayout());
this.add(slider);
this.add(area);
this.add(boundary_length);
}

I had a similar problem and I found the solution with the updateUI() method. Look below:
private void refresh()
{
if(slider != null)
{
slider.updateUI();
}
}
So, when your JFilechooser closing you must call the refresh() thus:
if(fileChooser.showOpenDialog(null) == 0 // this is the value for JFileChooser.APPROVE_OPTION)
{ //if "Done" is selected
menuNum = 1; //go to next menu
first = true;
}
else {
refresh();
}
I hope this should works.

What is the best way to make a handsome GUI for a Java software

I created a website that acts as a software.
Now i'm trying to do the exact same thing with Java.
is there a way to draw some objects like "div" in html, that i can change x and y position (absolute), background-image, background-color, and put other object into it, [...] with Java ?
I tried this code :
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.border.*;
import javax.accessibility.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
/*
* LayeredPaneDemo.java requires
* images/dukeWaveRed.gif.
*/
public class Demo extends JPanel implements ActionListener, MouseMotionListener{
private String[] layerStrings = { "Yellow (0)", "Magenta (1)",
"Cyan (2)", "Red (3)",
"Green (4)" };
private Color[] layerColors = { Color.yellow, Color.magenta,
Color.cyan, Color.red,
Color.green };
private JLayeredPane layeredPane;
private JLabel dukeLabel;
private JCheckBox onTop;
private JComboBox layerList;
//Action commands
private static String ON_TOP_COMMAND = "ontop";
private static String LAYER_COMMAND = "layer";
//Adjustments to put Duke's toe at the cursor's tip.
private static final int XFUDGE = 40;
private static final int YFUDGE = 57;
public Demo() {
setLayout(new BoxLayout(this, BoxLayout.PAGE_AXIS));
//Create and load the duke icon.
final ImageIcon icon = createImageIcon("images/dukeWaveRed.gif");
//Create and set up the layered pane.
layeredPane = new JLayeredPane();
layeredPane.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(300, 310));
layeredPane.setBorder(BorderFactory.createTitledBorder(
"Move the Mouse to Move Duke"));
layeredPane.addMouseMotionListener(this);
//This is the origin of the first label added.
Point origin = new Point(10, 20);
//This is the offset for computing the origin for the next label.
int offset = 35;
//Add several overlapping, colored labels to the layered pane
//using absolute positioning/sizing.
for (int i = 0; i < layerStrings.length; i++) {
JLabel label = createColoredLabel(layerStrings[i], layerColors[i], origin);
layeredPane.add(label, new Integer(i));
origin.x += offset;
origin.y += offset;
}
//Create and add the Duke label to the layered pane.
dukeLabel = new JLabel(icon);
if (icon != null) {
dukeLabel.setBounds(15, 225, icon.getIconWidth(), icon.getIconHeight());
} else {
System.err.println("Duke icon not found; using black square instead.");
dukeLabel.setBounds(15, 225, 30, 30);
dukeLabel.setOpaque(true);
dukeLabel.setBackground(Color.BLACK);
}
layeredPane.add(dukeLabel, new Integer(2), 0);
//Add control pane and layered pane to this JPanel.
add(Box.createRigidArea(new Dimension(0, 10)));
add(createControlPanel());
add(Box.createRigidArea(new Dimension(0, 10)));
add(layeredPane);
}
/** Returns an ImageIcon, or null if the path was invalid. */
protected static ImageIcon createImageIcon(String path) {
java.net.URL imgURL = Demo.class.getResource(path);
if (imgURL != null) {
return new ImageIcon(imgURL);
} else {
System.err.println("Couldn't find file: " + path);
return null;
}
}
//Create and set up a colored label.
private JLabel createColoredLabel(String text, Color color, Point origin) {
JLabel label = new JLabel(text);
label.setVerticalAlignment(JLabel.TOP);
label.setHorizontalAlignment(JLabel.CENTER);
label.setOpaque(true);
label.setBackground(color);
label.setForeground(Color.black);
label.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.black));
label.setBounds(origin.x, origin.y, 140, 140);
return label;
}
//Create the control pane for the top of the frame.
private JPanel createControlPanel() {
onTop = new JCheckBox("Top Position in Layer");
onTop.setSelected(true);
onTop.setActionCommand(ON_TOP_COMMAND);
onTop.addActionListener(this);
layerList = new JComboBox(layerStrings);
layerList.setSelectedIndex(2); //cyan layer
layerList.setActionCommand(LAYER_COMMAND);
layerList.addActionListener(this);
JPanel controls = new JPanel();
controls.add(layerList);
controls.add(onTop);
controls.setBorder(BorderFactory.createTitledBorder("Choose Duke's Layer and Position"));
return controls;
}
//Make Duke follow the cursor.
public void mouseMoved(MouseEvent e) {
dukeLabel.setLocation(e.getX()-XFUDGE, e.getY()-YFUDGE);
}
public void mouseDragged(MouseEvent e) {} //do nothing
//Handle user interaction with the check box and combo box.
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
String cmd = e.getActionCommand();
if (ON_TOP_COMMAND.equals(cmd)) {
if (onTop.isSelected())
layeredPane.moveToFront(dukeLabel);
else
layeredPane.moveToBack(dukeLabel);
}
else if (LAYER_COMMAND.equals(cmd)) {
int position = onTop.isSelected() ? 0 : 1;
layeredPane.setLayer(dukeLabel,layerList.getSelectedIndex(),position);
}
}
/**
* Create the GUI and show it. For thread safety,
* this method should be invoked from the
* event-dispatching thread.
*/
private static void createAndShowGUI() {
//Create and set up the window.
JFrame frame = new JFrame("LayeredPaneDemo");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
//Create and set up the content pane.
JComponent newContentPane = new Demo();
newContentPane.setOpaque(true); //content panes must be opaque
frame.setContentPane(newContentPane);
//Display the window.
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
//Schedule a job for the event-dispatching thread:
//creating and showing this application's GUI.
javax.swing.SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
createAndShowGUI();
}
});
}
}
This is the result :
It looks to run, but I can not put JLabel into JLabel (will have i to create my own object ? with a JLabel and with sons ?
And finally when i put an addMouseListener to a JLabel , if an other JLabel is above it, i can click it through the other :-/

Use JavaFX with Java 8.
It is a bit slower in development until learned. Due to lambdas and component complexity.
The styling can be done with CSS.
There are animated effects.

Since the question targets Swing, I'll add a Swing-oriented answer anyway for the people who find this question and really must use Swing for any reason.
The trick is to use a fitting look & feel to do it for you in Swing.
Swing tutorial documentation on the subject.
That alone doesn't answer the question as this is about make it pretty and the default look & feel selections are not exactly all that great to look at / didn't stand the test of time. But there are also third party look & feels available for download, you're not necessarily limited to what is bundled with the runtime by default.
As an example, one can use Insubstantial (formerly known as Substance) to pretty up Swing applications. It is too naive to think that you can just plop this look & feel into an existing program and make it look good in an instant, but when you design your application with one of these look & feels from the beginning, the application can look very slick indeed.
But one should really use Swing only when it is a must. Swing is an aging technology and whatever extensions were available for download for it in its glory days are slowly disappearing from the internet / no longer maintained. On top of that it is basically the difference between choosing a pre-designed look & feel or having flexibility to do styling yourself, which JavaFX allows you to do with quite some flexibility.

label.setVisible(true) in panel for images if correct

for(i=0; i<16; i++){
images[i]=new ImageIcon(getClass()
.getResource("/images/1 ("+i+").jpg"));
}
for( i=0; i<buttons.length; i++){
for (j=0; j<buttons[i].length;j++){
n=i*buttons.length+buttons[i].length;
buttons[i][j]=new JButton();
label[n].setIcon((images[i*buttons.length+j]));
buttons[i][j].add(label[n]);
label[n].setVisible(false);
panel.add(buttons[i][j]);
buttons[i][j].addActionListener(this);
}
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if(e.getSource() instanceof JButton){
JButton pressedButton = (JButton) e.getSource();
opens[open]=(JButton) e.getSource(); //i want to put label[n] into array?
if((pressedButton.getIcon() == null)){
label[n].setVisible(true);
open=open++;
} else {
//pressedButton.setIcon(null);
}
}
if (open==1){
opens[0].setVisible(false);
opens[1].setVisible(false);
}
}
hello friends.i am making a memory game, if buttons have same icon, they will stay open.
i made frame in it panel, in it buttons and each button has label. If facing is true and user click, they will open by setvisible(true)
but in void actionperformed, how can i take label[n]? Not button[][]?
label[n].setIcon((images[i*buttons.length+j]));
i think error is that.is not it correct? because it doesnot execute.
edit after suggestions:
for(i=0; i<16; i++){
images[i]=new ImageIcon(getClass().getResource("/images/1 ("+i+").jpg"));
} //adding images to local variables
for( i=0; i<buttons.length; i++){
for (j=0; j<buttons[i].length;j++){
n=i*buttons.length+buttons[i].length;
buttons[i][j]=new JButton();
//buttons[i][j].setIcon((images[i*buttons.length+j]));
//if i make this code, all icons are displayed at first?
panel.add(buttons[i][j]);
buttons[i][j].addActionListener(this);
}
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if(e.getSource() instanceof JButton){
JButton pressedButton = (JButton) e.getSource();
if(pressedButton.getIcon() == null){
pressedButton.setIcon((images[i*buttons.length+j]));
} else {
pressedButton.setIcon(null);
}
}
}
I made this code how you suggested. but now images dont display and clicks doesnot work.

I think this post is related to this question. Maybe an assignment?
Couple of tips:
label[n].setIcon((images[i*buttons.length+j]));
How many images do you have in images array? A quick math would say that if you have for instance a 4x4 array then you'll need i*buttons.lenght+j == 4*4+4 == 20 images at last iteration. And you only would need i*j/2 == 8 images, assuming is a pair match game.
if buttons have same icon, they will stay open. i made frame in it
panel, in it buttons and each button has label.
Why do you need labels? I think if two button matches you can disable those buttons so user won't be able to click them again and dispatch an actionPerformed event.
If it's not strictly necessary use arrays, you could use ArrayList instead and get benefits of its methods.
Update
I post this code because I think you still stuck using arrays. I just want to show you that there's no need to use them to keep references, you just need think a little more under objects paradigm and delegate this task to appropriate object.
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.List;
import javax.swing.ImageIcon;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
import javax.swing.SwingWorker;
import javax.swing.UIManager;
public class Demo {
/*
* This variable will point to a pressed button to keep reference.
*/
JButton _alreadyPressedButton = null;
/**
* Initializes the GUI
*/
private void initGUI(){
/*
* Create needed icons - As this example uses 6 buttons, then I need 3 icons
*/
ImageIcon icon1 = (ImageIcon) UIManager.getIcon("OptionPane.errorIcon");
ImageIcon icon2 = (ImageIcon) UIManager.getIcon("OptionPane.informationIcon");
ImageIcon icon3 = (ImageIcon) UIManager.getIcon("OptionPane.warningIcon");
/*
* Make a list with 6 icons (add each icon twice)
*/
List<ImageIcon> iconsList = new ArrayList<>();
iconsList.add(icon1);
iconsList.add(icon1);
iconsList.add(icon2);
iconsList.add(icon2);
iconsList.add(icon3);
iconsList.add(icon3);
Collections.shuffle(iconsList); /* Shuffle the list */
ActionListener actionListener = new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if(e.getSource() instanceof JButton){
final JButton pressedButton = (JButton) e.getSource();
/*
* Execute this code in a SwingWorker to prevent block EDT at "Thread.sleep(500)" line
* Google for EDT (Event Dispatch Thread)
*/
SwingWorker sw = new SwingWorker() {
#Override
protected Object doInBackground() throws Exception {
if(_alreadyPressedButton != pressedButton){
pressedButton.setIcon(pressedButton.getPressedIcon());
if(_alreadyPressedButton != null){
Thread.sleep(500);
if(_alreadyPressedButton.getIcon() == pressedButton.getIcon()){
_alreadyPressedButton.setEnabled(false);
pressedButton.setEnabled(false);
} else {
_alreadyPressedButton.setIcon(null);
pressedButton.setIcon(null);
}
_alreadyPressedButton = null;
} else {
_alreadyPressedButton = pressedButton;
}
}
return null;
}
};
sw.execute();
}
}
};
JPanel panel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(3, 2));
panel.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(200, 200));
for(ImageIcon icon : iconsList){
JButton button = new JButton();
button.setPressedIcon(icon);
button.addActionListener(actionListener);
panel.add(button);
}
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Demo");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.getContentPane().add(panel);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
/**
* #param args the command line arguments
*/
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
new Demo().initGUI();
}
});
}
}

You appear to be adding a JLabel to a JButton?? If this is what in fact you're doing, don't. Instead, why not simply set the JButton's ImageIcon when you desire to show or change what image the button displays, if any. You would do this simply via myButton.setIcon(fooIcon).
Edit
You state in comment:
and how will it show the image from jbutton and hide it?
You can simply swap icons. If you want to show an image, set its ImageIcon as the JButton's Icon via setIcon(myIcon). and when done, swap it out via either setIcon(otherIcon) or setIcon(null).
The link that you've provided does not put JLabels on top of JButtons which it appears that you're trying to do, and which is why I'm telling you this information.

Newly created JButton doesn't override the previously created JButtons

Essentially, what I have coded is a puzzle game.
It contains an image , and the image is further divided into 9 pieces which is placed onto JPanel containing a 3x3 JButton GridLayout. Initially, the 9 buttons are empty. When the user clicks "Start Game", the 9 buttons will then show the images on the buttons.
I used setPreferredSize() to set the size of the JPanel containing the 9 empty JButtons. After that, I used Inset ( 0,0,0,0 ) to make the button's contents fill the entire button.
But now, when I want to add the imaged buttons to replace the empty buttons when the user clicks "Start Game" , it doesn't work.
I think this is because the setPreferredSize() I set earlier on is preventing the Insets values from working.
I inserted some system.out.println values to check if the method is running, it runs, but the image still refuses to appear on the buttons when user clicks "Start Game" .
public class GameFrame extends JFrame implements ActionListener {
private JButton button1;
private JButton[] button = new JButton[9];
private Insets buttonMargin;
private boolean testImageMethod;
private JPanel puzpiece;
public GameFrame(){
//.. coding ..
// create new buttons - button1
button1 = new JButton("Start Game");
// add action event to "Start" button
button1.addActionListener(this);
// creates a new panel for the splitted puzzle pieces
puzpiece = new JPanel();
puzpiece.setLayout(new GridLayout(3,3));
// check if testImageMethod boolean ( in setupImage() ) is true,
//if it isn't, adds 9 buttons w/o images.
for(int a=0; a<9; a++){
if(testImageMethod){
}
else{
// adds 9 buttons without images
button[a] = new JButton();
puzpiece.add(button[a]);
puzpiece.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(500,200));
}
}
// adds puzpiece panel into the frame
this.add(puzpiece,BorderLayout.WEST);
//.. coding ..
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){
if (e.getSource() == button1){
// puzpiece.button.setVisible(false);
//puzpiece.remove(button);
// call setImage() method
setImage();
for(int a=0; a<9; a++){
// adds the new 9 buttons with images into panel
puzpiece.add(button[a]);
// test if method is running
System.out.println("qq");
}
}
else{
System.out.println("bbb");
}
}
// method setImage() divides the image into subimages
public void setImage(){
//.. coding ..
// test if method is running
System.out.println("a");
setupImage( count++, sc );
}
// method setupImage() adds the subimages to the buttons
private void setupImage( int a, Image wi )
{
// test if method is running
System.out.println("d");
buttonMargin = new Insets( 0, 0, 0, 0 );
button[a] = new JButton( new ImageIcon( wi ) );
button[a].setMargin( buttonMargin );
// test if method is running
System.out.println("e");
} // end method setupImage()
}

I'm not sure I know exactly what you're doing but, ...
It appears that you are populating a JPanel with a 3x3 grid of plain JButtons,
and that on button press you are adding in JButtons that display an image.
But I don't see you removing the original buttons before adding new buttons.
Nor do I see you call revalidate() and then repaint() on the puzpiece JPanel after changing components.
And even more importantly, why swap JButtons when it's much easier to swap ImageIcons in JButtons that are already held by the puzpiece JPanel? This is something that I recommended in comment 10 minutes ago but am now making an answer.

Simply setIcon for the said JButton, don't add JButton anew to the JPanel, already visible
A small example for the same :
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
/**
* Created with IntelliJ IDEA.
* User: Gagandeep Bali
* Date: 1/19/13
* Time: 10:05 AM
* To change this template use File | Settings | File Templates.
*/
public class ButtonImageTest
{
private Icon infoIcon = UIManager.getIcon("OptionPane.informationIcon");
private Icon errorIcon = UIManager.getIcon("OptionPane.errorIcon");
private JButton button;
private int counter = 1;
private void displayGUI()
{
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Button Image Test");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
JPanel contentPane = new JPanel();
button = new JButton();
button.setBorderPainted(false);
button.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if (counter % 2 != 0)
{
button.setIcon(errorIcon);
counter = 2;
}
else
{
button.setIcon(infoIcon);
counter = 1;
}
}
});
contentPane.add(button);
frame.setContentPane(contentPane);
frame.setSize(100, 100);
frame.setLocationByPlatform(true);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String... args)
{
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
new ButtonImageTest().displayGUI();
}
});
}
}