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Change properties of a group of JButtons at once

Hey I'm doing a calculator app with java swing (A clone of windows calculator ;) )
As it is a calculator, it has a lot of JButtons with same properties. So my question is can I change the common properties of a group JButtons at once, based on 'DRY'. If possible it will help me a lot...

A simple subclass of JButton should help, like this example - a modified version of what I saw from another question below:
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Container;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.FlowLayout;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
#SuppressWarnings("serial")
public class MyButton extends JButton {
private Color circleColor = Color.BLACK;
public MyButton(String label) {
super(label);
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
Dimension originalSize = super.getPreferredSize();
int gap = (int) (originalSize.height * 0.2);
int x = originalSize.width + gap;
int y = gap;
int diameter = originalSize.height - (gap * 2);
g.setColor(circleColor);
g.fillOval(x, y, diameter, diameter);
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
Dimension size = super.getPreferredSize();
size.width += size.height;
return size;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setSize(400, 400);
frame.getContentPane().setLayout(new FlowLayout());
frame.getContentPane().add(new MyButton("Custom Button"));
frame.setVisible(true);
}
}
If you want more info, research:
Creating a custom JButton in Java,
which is the cited reference for the example above. Of course, you can code the properties to your liking with the assistance of the JButton Javadoc: https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/javax/swing/JButton.html.
But for modifying the custom button after instantiation:
Make sure to add a static ArrayList that contains the instantiated buttons, as well as means to add a constructed button to the arraylist:
public static ArrayList<MyButton> myButtons = new ArrayList<MyButton>();
public MyButton(){
//...
myButtons.add(this);
}
And for modification of the properties/attributes of all buttons (say for example, whether they are visible), do:
public void setVisibleAll(boolean b){
for(MyButton x: myButtons){
x.setVisible(b);
}
}
Not only does this apply to buttons, it should apply to other swing components, like a JLayeredPane designed to act like a button:
package source_code.view.components.buttons;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Font;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import javax.swing.ImageIcon;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JLayeredPane;
import javax.swing.SwingConstants;
import source_code.controllers.ButtonListener350x40;
import source_code.plus_functions.Texture;
#SuppressWarnings("serial")
public class Button350x40 extends JLayeredPane {
private JLabel buttonBg = new JLabel();
private JLabel buttonText = new JLabel();
private ButtonListener350x40 listener = new ButtonListener350x40();
private static ArrayList<Button350x40> buttons = new ArrayList<Button350x40>();
private String id;
public Button350x40(String title, String id) {
//Button Proper
super();
super.setSize(350, 40);
super.setLayout(null);
super.addMouseListener(listener);
//Button BG
buttonBg.setIcon(new ImageIcon(Texture.textures.get("button_350x40")));
super.setLayer(buttonBg, 0);
buttonBg.setBounds(0, 0, 350, 40);
super.add(buttonBg);
//Button Text
buttonText.setText(title);
buttonText.setForeground(Color.BLACK);
super.setLayer(buttonText, 1);
buttonText.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
buttonText.setFont(new Font("Arial", Font.PLAIN, 20));
buttonText.setBounds(0, 0, 350, 40);
super.add(buttonText);
this.id = id;
buttons.add(this);
}
public String getId() {
return id;
}
public static ArrayList<Button350x40> getButtons() {
return buttons;
}
public JLabel getButtonBg() {
return buttonBg;
}
public JLabel getButtonText() {
return buttonText;
}
public ButtonListener350x40 getListener() {
return listener;
}
}
So TLDR, create a separate class for the custom button, have a static array of created buttons, and to modify all of the buttons, create a method that loops through the array of buttons and sets their respective attributes.

repaint() method does not paint new frame

I have looked at a lot of answers but i still cannot find a solution. I have a JFrame and two JPanels. I want to remove the one panel and replace it with the second when a button is pressed, but the repaint() method does not refresh the frame. Please help.
Here is my code for the frame:
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import static javax.swing.JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE;
public class MainFrame
{
static JFrame mainFrame;
int height = 650;
int width = 1042;
public MainFrame()
{
mainFrame = new JFrame();
mainFrame.setBounds(0, 0, width, height);
mainFrame.setDefaultCloseOperation(EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
mainFrame.setResizable(false);
}
public static void main(String[] args)
{
new MainMenu();
mainFrame.setVisible(true);
}
}
This is the code for my MainMenu panel
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import static java.awt.Color.CYAN;
import static java.awt.Color.red;
public class MainMenu extends MainFrame
{
public MainMenu()
{
components();
}
//variable decleration
JPanel menuPanel;
JLabel title;
JButton periodicTable;
private void components()
{
int buttonW = 500;
int buttonH = 50;
//creating panel
menuPanel = new JPanel();
menuPanel.setLayout(null);
menuPanel.setBackground(CYAN);
//creating title label
title = new JLabel("Application Title", SwingConstants.CENTER);
title.setFont(new Font("Calibri Body", 0, 50));
title.setBounds(width / 3 - buttonW / 2, 50, buttonW, buttonH + 10);
//creating periodic table button
periodicTable = new JButton();
periodicTable.setText("Periodic Table");
periodicTable.setBounds(width / 3 - buttonW / 2, 50 + buttonH + 60, buttonW, buttonH);
periodicTable.addActionListener(new ActionListener()
{
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent event)
{
periodicTableActionPerformed(event);
}
});
//adding components to panel
menuPanel.add(title);
menuPanel.add(periodicTable);
//adding panel to MainFrame
mainFrame.add(menuPanel);
}
private void periodicTableActionPerformed(ActionEvent event)
{
mainFrame.remove(menuPanel);
mainFrame.repaint();
new PeriodicTable();
mainFrame.repaint();
}
}
And finally my PeriodicTable panel
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
public class PeriodicTable extends MainFrame
{
public PeriodicTable()
{
periodicComponents();
}
JPanel ptPanel;
private void periodicComponents()
{
ptPanel = new JPanel();
ptPanel.setLayout(null);
ptPanel.setBackground(Color.RED);
mainFrame.add(ptPanel);
}
}

I have no idea why you are extending MainFrame. Looks unnecessary to me.
I want to remove the one panel and replace it with the second when a button is pressed
Then use a CardLayout. Read the section from the Swing tutorial on How to Use CardLayout for a working example.
The tutorial will show you how to better structure your code.

Your PeriodicTable extends MainFrame. When creating new PeriodicTable you create with it new MainFrame which has its own instance of JFrame (MainFrame.mainFrame). You need to add that panel to existing mainFrame in MainMenu
I suggest removing changing your PeriodicTable class like this:
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
public class PeriodicTable extends JPanel // Not MainFrame, but new custom panel
{
public PeriodicTable()
{
periodicComponents();
}
private void periodicComponents()
{
// You don't need ptPanel anymore, because `this` is JPanel
setLayout(null);
setBackground(Color.RED);
}
}
and change your actionPerformed function to something like this:
private void periodicTableActionPerformed(ActionEvent event)
{
mainFrame.remove(menuPanel); // Remove old panel
mainFrame.add(new PeriodicTable()); // Create and add to existing mainFrame
mainFrame.repaint(); // Just one repaint at the end
// I think it will work even without repaint, because add and remove should schedule repainting as well
}

Clicking a button within a JFrame passes an data to a JPanel

I have a Jframe with two buttons: '1' and '2'. Clicking the button '1' should display the capital letter A in the JPanel.
Code fore my JFrame:
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
public class DrawFrame extends JFrame{
private final int WIDTH = 500;
private final int HEIGHT = 300;
private JButton number1;
private JButton number2;
private JPanel numberPanel;
private DrawPanel graphicsPanel;
public DrawFrame()
{
createSelectionPanel();
createGraphicsPanel();
this.setSize(WIDTH, HEIGHT);
this.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
this.setVisible(true);
}
private void createSelectionPanel()
{
numberPanel = new JPanel();
number1 = new JButton("1");
number2 = new JButton("2");
numberPanel.setLayout(new GridLayout(2,2));
numberPanel.add(number1);
numberPanel.add(number2);
this.add(numberPanel, BorderLayout.WEST);
}
private void createGraphicsPanel()
{
//instantiate drawing panel
graphicsPanel = new DrawPanel();
//add drawing panel to right
add(graphicsPanel);
}
private class Number1ButtonListener implements ActionListener {
public void actionPerformed (ActionEvent event) {
Number number = new Number();
number.setNumber('A');
}
}
//creates a drawing frame
public static void main(String[] args)
{
DrawFrame draw = new DrawFrame();
}
}
Code for my JPanel
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.event.MouseAdapter;
import java.awt.event.MouseEvent;
import java.awt.event.MouseMotionListener;
public class DrawPanel extends JPanel{
public Coordinates current;
public DrawPanel(){
//nothing drawn initially
current = null;
//set white background for drawing panel
setBackground(Color.WHITE);
//add mouse listeners
MouseHandler mouseHandler = new MouseHandler();
this.addMouseListener(mouseHandler);
this.addMouseMotionListener(mouseHandler);
}
public void paint(Graphics g){
super.paint(g);
if(current!=null){
I want to replace "A" with number.getNumber()
g.drawString("A", current.getX(), current.getY());
}
}
//class to handle all mouse events
private class MouseHandler extends MouseAdapter implements MouseMotionListener
{
public void mousePressed(MouseEvent event)
{
current = new Coordinates(event.getX(), event.getY());
}
public void mouseReleased(MouseEvent event)
{
repaint();
}
}
}
I'm not sure if this is possible. So sorry if I am mistaken in my logic. Please provide an alternate way for me to approach this problem. Appreciate any guidance.
Thanks!

The Coordinates and Number classes weren't included, so I had to modify the code somewhat.
Here's the GUI I created.
The first thing I did was create a model class for the GUI. By creating a model class, I could make the display string and the drawing coordinate available to the view and the controller classes. This is a simple example of the model / view / controller pattern.
package com.ggl.drawing;
import java.awt.Point;
public class GUIModel {
private String displayString;
private Point coordinate;
public GUIModel(String displayString) {
this.displayString = displayString;
}
public Point getCoordinate() {
return coordinate;
}
public void setCoordinate(int x, int y) {
this.coordinate = new Point(x, y);
}
public void setCoordinate(Point coordinate) {
this.coordinate = coordinate;
}
public void setDisplayString(String displayString) {
this.displayString = displayString;
}
public String getDisplayString() {
return displayString;
}
}
Now that we have a model, lets look at the DrawFrame class.
package com.ggl.drawing;
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
public class DrawFrame implements Runnable {
private final int WIDTH = 500;
private final int HEIGHT = 300;
private JFrame frame;
private GUIModel model;
public DrawFrame() {
this.model = new GUIModel("A");
}
#Override
public void run() {
frame = new JFrame("Draw Letters");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.add(createSelectionPanel(), BorderLayout.WEST);
frame.add(new DrawPanel(WIDTH, HEIGHT, model), BorderLayout.CENTER);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
private JPanel createSelectionPanel() {
JPanel numberPanel = new JPanel();
ButtonListener listener = new ButtonListener();
JButton number1 = new JButton("A");
number1.addActionListener(listener);
JButton number2 = new JButton("B");
number2.addActionListener(listener);
numberPanel.setLayout(new GridLayout(0, 2));
numberPanel.add(number1);
numberPanel.add(number2);
return numberPanel;
}
private class ButtonListener implements ActionListener {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent event) {
model.setDisplayString(event.getActionCommand());
}
}
// creates a drawing frame
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new DrawFrame());
}
}
I started the Java Swing application on the Event Dispatch thread with the call to the SwingUtilities invokeLater method.
I separated the JFrame construction from the 2 JPanels construction. I used a JFrame, rather than extend a JFrame. The only time you should extend any Java class is if you want to override one or more of the class methods.
I used the same ButtonListener for both JButtons. I'm guessing what you want, but I drew either an "A" or a "B", depending on which button you left clicked.
Let's look at the DrawPanel class.
package com.ggl.drawing;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Font;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Point;
import java.awt.event.MouseAdapter;
import java.awt.event.MouseEvent;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
public class DrawPanel extends JPanel {
private static final long serialVersionUID = 3443814601865936618L;
private GUIModel model;
public DrawPanel(int width, int height, GUIModel model) {
this.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(width, height));
this.model = model;
// add mouse listeners
MouseHandler mouseHandler = new MouseHandler();
this.addMouseListener(mouseHandler);
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
if (model.getCoordinate() != null) {
Point p = model.getCoordinate();
Font font = g.getFont().deriveFont(48F);
g.setFont(font);
g.drawString(model.getDisplayString(), p.x, p.y);
}
}
// class to handle all mouse events
private class MouseHandler extends MouseAdapter {
#Override
public void mousePressed(MouseEvent event) {
model.setCoordinate(event.getPoint());
}
#Override
public void mouseReleased(MouseEvent event) {
DrawPanel.this.repaint();
}
}
}
The major change I made in this class was to use the paintComponent method, rather than the paint method. The paintComponent method is the correct method to override.
I set the size of the drawing panel in the DrawPanel constructor. It's much better to let Swing figure out the size of the JFrame. That's what the pack method in the DrawFrame run method does.
I increased the font size so you can see the drawn letter better.
I removed the mouse motion listener code, as it wasn't needed.
I hope this was helpful to you.

OK, all I know so far is that you want the text displayed in a JPanel to change if a button is pressed. If so, then your code looks to be way too complex for the job. Suggestions include:
Give the DrawingPanel a setter method, say, setText(String text), that allows outside classes to change the text that it displays.
Within that method, set a field of DrawingPanel, say called text, and call repaint().
Override DrawingPanel's paintComponent not its paint method, and call the super's method within your override.
Within the paintComponent method, call drawString to draw the String held by the text field, if the field is not null.
Give your buttons ActionListeners or AbstractActions that call the DrawingPanel's setText(...) method, setting the text to be displayed.
For example:
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import javax.swing.*;
public class DrawAorB extends JPanel {
private DrawingPanel drawingPanel = new DrawingPanel();
public DrawAorB() {
JPanel btnPanel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(1, 0, 5, 5));
btnPanel.add(new JButton(new ButtonAction("A")));
btnPanel.add(new JButton(new ButtonAction("B")));
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
add(drawingPanel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
add(btnPanel, BorderLayout.PAGE_END);
}
private class ButtonAction extends AbstractAction {
public ButtonAction(String name) {
super(name);
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
String text = e.getActionCommand();
drawingPanel.setText(text);
}
}
private static void createAndShowGui() {
JFrame frame = new JFrame("DrawAorB");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.getContentPane().add(new DrawAorB());
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
createAndShowGui();
}
});
}
}
class DrawingPanel extends JPanel {
private static final int PREF_W = 200;
private static final int PREF_H = PREF_W;
private String text = null;
public void setText(String text) {
this.text = text; // set the JPanel's text
repaint(); // and draw it
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
if (text != null) {
int x = getWidth() / 2;
int y = getHeight() / 2;
// use FontMetrics if you want to center text better
g.drawString(text, x, y);
}
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
if (isPreferredSizeSet()) {
return super.getPreferredSize();
}
return new Dimension(PREF_W, PREF_H);
}
}
Even simpler, easier, and probably better would be to display the text within a JLabel as it's much easier to center this text.

Image not appearing in jbutton with wordGen

The image isn't being painted when this is run with WordGen, how do i fix this?
When I run this without wordgen I can get the image to appear. I'm not sure what i'm doing wrong since i'm not getting any errors.
Any help is appreciated.
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
public class tfot extends JComponent{
private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
public static void main(final String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
showGUI(args);
}
});
}
public static void showGUI(String[] args) {
JPanel displayPanel = new JPanel();
JButton okButton = new JButton("Did You Know?");
okButton.setFont(new Font("Times", Font.TRUETYPE_FONT, 100));
final JLabel jLab = new JLabel();
okButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
jLab.setText(wordGen());
}
});
JPanel content = new JPanel();
content.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
content.add(displayPanel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
content.add(okButton, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
content.add(jLab, BorderLayout.NORTH);
JFrame window = new JFrame("Window");
window.setContentPane(content);
window.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
window.setSize(800, 600);
window.setLocation(400, 300);
window.setVisible(true);
}
#Override
public void paint(Graphics g) {
super.paint(g);
g.drawImage(Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getImage("Pictures/background1.png"), 0, 0, this);
}
public static String wordGen() {
String[] wordListOne = {"generic text","hi",};
int oneLength = wordListOne.length;
int rand1 = (int) (Math.random() * oneLength);
String phrase = wordListOne[rand1] + " ";
return phrase;
}
}

First...
Don't load resources or perform long running tasks within the paint methods, these may be called a number of times in quick succession. Instead, load the images before hand and paint them as needed...
public Tfot() {
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
try {
background = ImageIO.read(new File("pictures/background1.png"));
} catch (IOException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
}
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
if (background != null) {
g.drawImage(background, 0, 0, this);
}
}
Generally, you are discouraged from overriding paint and instead should use paintComponent, lots of reasons, but generally, this is where the background is painted...
Second...
You need to add Tfot to something that is displayable, otherwise it will never be painted
JFrame window = new JFrame("Window");
window.setContentPane(new Tfot());
window.add(content);
window.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
window.setSize(800, 600);
window.setLocation(400, 300);
window.setVisible(true);
Thrid...
JPanel by default is not transparent, you need to set it's opaque property to false
JPanel displayPanel = new JPanel();
displayPanel.setOpaque(false);
//...
JPanel content = new JPanel();
content.setOpaque(false);
Then it will allow what ever is below it to show up (ie, the background image)
Take a look at Painting in AWT and Swing, Performing Custom Painting and Reading/Loading an Image for more details
Fourth...
You need to learn the language basics for embarking on advance topics like GUI and custom painting, without this basic knowledge, this topics will bite you hard.
You need to declare background as a instance field of the class Tfot
private BufferedImage background;
public Tfot() {
Updated - Fully runnable example
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Font;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Toolkit;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.logging.Level;
import java.util.logging.Logger;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JComponent;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
public class Tfot extends JComponent {
private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
public static void main(final String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
showGUI(args);
}
});
}
public static void showGUI(String[] args) {
JPanel displayPanel = new JPanel();
displayPanel.setOpaque(false);
JButton okButton = new JButton("Did You Know?");
okButton.setFont(new Font("Times", Font.TRUETYPE_FONT, 100));
final JLabel jLab = new JLabel();
okButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
jLab.setText(wordGen());
}
});
JPanel content = new JPanel();
content.setOpaque(false);
content.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
content.add(displayPanel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
content.add(okButton, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
content.add(jLab, BorderLayout.NORTH);
Tfot tfot = new Tfot();
tfot.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
tfot.add(content);
JFrame window = new JFrame("Window");
window.setContentPane(tfot);
window.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
window.setSize(800, 600);
window.setLocation(400, 300);
window.setVisible(true);
}
private BufferedImage background;
public Tfot() {
try {
background = ImageIO.read(new File("Pictures/background1.png"));
} catch (IOException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
}
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
g.drawImage(background, 0, 0, this);
}
public static String wordGen() {
String[] wordListOne = {"generic text", "hi",};
int oneLength = wordListOne.length;
int rand1 = (int) (Math.random() * oneLength);
String phrase = wordListOne[rand1] + " ";
return phrase;
}
}

JPanel Possibly Overlapping?

So I have this problem with my code. Whenever I load up the game there is a red square in the center of the screen, and I have not programmed it to do so. I have tried to find the error for hours but I just can't see it. I think it has to do with the panels or something. The second thing is that when I press the button to draw the grid, only a small line appears. It is programmed to be much bigger than what it is, and it is not in the right location either. Below is all my code, and any help is greatly appreciated!!
package com.theDevCorner;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Toolkit;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.BorderFactory;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JMenuBar;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
public class Game extends JPanel implements ActionListener {
public static JButton grid = new JButton("Show Grid");
public static JPanel drawArea = new JPanel();
public static JMenuBar menu = new JMenuBar();
public static JPanel notDrawn = new JPanel();
public static boolean gridPressed = false;
public Game() {
grid.addActionListener(this);
}
public static void main(String args[]) {
Game game = new Game();
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.setVisible(true);
frame.setSize(new Dimension(
Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getScreenSize().width, Toolkit
.getDefaultToolkit().getScreenSize().height));
frame.setTitle("Game");
frame.setAlwaysOnTop(true);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setResizable(false);
menu.setSize(new Dimension(1600, 20));
menu.setLocation(0, 0);
notDrawn.setBackground(new Color(255, 0, 50));
notDrawn.setSize(100, 900);
notDrawn.add(grid);
notDrawn.setLayout(null);
grid.setSize(new Dimension(100, 25));
grid.setLocation(0, 25);
drawArea.setSize(new Dimension((Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit()
.getScreenSize().width), Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit()
.getScreenSize().height));
drawArea.setLocation(100, 0);
drawArea.setBackground(Color.black);
drawArea.add(menu);
drawArea.add(game);
frame.add(drawArea);
frame.add(notDrawn);
}
public void paint(Graphics g) {
Game game = new Game();
if (gridPressed) {
Game.drawGrid(0, 0, g);
}
g.dispose();
repaint();
}
public static void drawGrid(int x, int y, Graphics g) {
g.setColor(Color.white);
g.drawLine(x, y, 50, 300);
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if (e.getSource() == grid && gridPressed == true) {
gridPressed = false;
System.out.println("Unpressed");
}
if (e.getSource() == grid) {
gridPressed = true;
System.out.println("Pressed");
}
}
}

There are a number of problems...
The red "square" you are seeing is actually your grid button. The reason it's red is because of your paint method.
Graphics is a shared resource, that is, each component that is painted on the screen shares the same Graphics context. Because you chose to dispose of the context and because you've failed to honor the paint chain, you've basically screwed it up.
Don't EVER dispose of a Graphics context you didn't create. It will prevent anything from being painted to it again. Always call super.paintXxx. The paint chain is complex and does a lot of very important work. If you're going to ignore it, be ready to have to re-implement it.
null layouts are vary rarely the right choice, especially when you're laying out components. You need to separate your components from your custom painting, otherwise the components will appear above the custom painting.
This frame.setSize(new Dimension(Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getScreenSize().width, Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getScreenSize().height)) is not the way to maximize a window. This does not take into consideration the possibility of things like tasks bars. Instead use Frame#setExtendedState
As Andreas has already commented, you actionPerformed logic is wrong. You should be using an if-statement or simply flipping the boolean logic...
Updated with simple example
ps- static is not your friend here...
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
public class Game extends JPanel implements ActionListener {
private GridPane gridPane;
public Game() {
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
SideBarPane sideBar = new SideBarPane();
sideBar.addActionListener(this);
add(sideBar, BorderLayout.WEST);
gridPane = new GridPane();
add(gridPane);
}
public static void main(String args[]) {
Game game = new Game();
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.setVisible(true);
frame.setExtendedState(JFrame.MAXIMIZED_BOTH);
frame.setTitle("Game");
frame.setAlwaysOnTop(true);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
frame.add(game);
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if (e.getActionCommand().equalsIgnoreCase("grid")) {
gridPane.setGridOn(!gridPane.isGridOn());
}
}
public class GridPane extends JPanel {
private boolean gridOn = false;
public GridPane() {
setBackground(Color.BLACK);
}
public boolean isGridOn() {
return gridOn;
}
public void setGridOn(boolean value) {
if (value != gridOn) {
this.gridOn = value;
repaint();
}
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
if (gridOn) {
g.setColor(Color.white);
g.drawLine(0, 0, 50, 300);
}
}
}
public class SideBarPane extends JPanel {
public JButton grid;
public SideBarPane() {
setBackground(new Color(255, 0, 50));
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
grid = new JButton("Show Grid");
grid.setActionCommand("grid");
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.anchor = GridBagConstraints.NORTH;
gbc.weighty = 1;
add(grid, gbc);
}
public void addActionListener(ActionListener listener) {
grid.addActionListener(listener);
}
}
}