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paintComponent not called when I scroll both Horizontal and Vertical scrollbars in a JScrollPane

I am having trouble with Swing and the JScrollPane.
I am having a strange behaviour.
I extended JScrollPane. I display an image in it and draw rectangles over it to define areas.
With a big image, I have an Horizontal and a Vertical scrollbars.
I - ok - When I move one scrollbar or the other I see my image move too as it should.
II - not ok - When I move one scrollbar an leave it in between max and min position, then when I move my second scrollbar my image disappears.
With some debug prints, I found out that paintComponent, is not called when in case II.
I would like to know why it is not calling paintComponent and how I can fix it.
Here below is my class:
package GUI;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.Image;
import java.awt.Point;
import javax.swing.JScrollPane;
public class DrawingPanel extends JScrollPane {
private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
private static final Color DRAWING_COLOR = new Color(255, 100, 200);
private static final Color FINAL_DRAWING_COLOR = Color.red;
private static final double ZOOMING_STEP = 1.1;
private Image sImg;
private Point startPt;
private Point endPt;
private Point currentPt;
private int prefW;
private int prefH;
private double zoomFactor = 1;
private boolean zoomer = false;
private boolean loaded = false;
public DrawingPanel() {
setFocusable(true);
setFocusTraversalKeysEnabled(false);
}
public void loadImage(Image img) {
sImg = img;
prefW = sImg.getWidth(null);
prefH = sImg.getHeight(null);
zoomFactor = getSize().getWidth() / prefW;
zoomer = true;
loaded = true;
repaint();
revalidate();
}
int countPaint = 0;
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
System.out.println("paintComponent " + countPaint);
if (loaded) {
int zoomWidth = (int) (prefW * zoomFactor);
int zoomHeight = (int) (prefH * zoomFactor);
if (zoomer) {
((Graphics2D) g).scale(zoomFactor, zoomFactor);
setSize(zoomWidth, zoomHeight);
zoomer = false;
}
g.drawImage(sImg, 0, 0, zoomWidth, zoomHeight, null);
drawRectangle(g);
}
g.dispose();
countPaint++;
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return loaded ?
this.getSize() :
new Dimension((int) (prefW*zoomFactor), (int) (prefH*zoomFactor));
}
private void drawRectangle(Graphics g) {
Point secondPoint = (currentPt != null) ? currentPt : endPt;
Color color = (currentPt != null) ? DRAWING_COLOR : FINAL_DRAWING_COLOR;
if (startPt!=null && secondPoint!=null) {
int x = Math.min(startPt.x, secondPoint.x);
int y = Math.min(startPt.y, secondPoint.y);
int rectangleWidth = Math.abs(startPt.x - secondPoint.x);
int rectangleHeight = Math.abs(startPt.y - secondPoint.y);
g.setColor(color);
g.drawRect(x, y, rectangleWidth, rectangleHeight);
}
}
public void deleteRectangle(){
startPt = null;
endPt = null;
}
public void increaseZoom(Point p) {
double oldZoom = zoomFactor;
zoomFactor *= ZOOMING_STEP;
repositonPointAfterZoom(oldZoom, zoomFactor);
}
public void decreaseZoom(Point p) {
double oldZoom = zoomFactor;
zoomFactor /= ZOOMING_STEP;
repositonPointAfterZoom(oldZoom, zoomFactor);
}
public void repositonPointAfterZoom(double oldZoom, double newZoom) {
double evolution = newZoom/oldZoom;
if (startPt!=null) {
startPt.setLocation(startPt.x * evolution, startPt.y * evolution);
}
if (endPt!=null) {
endPt.setLocation(endPt.x * evolution, endPt.y * evolution);
}
repaint();
}
// Getter et setter
public void setStartPt(Point startPt) {
this.startPt = startPt;
}
public void setEndPt(Point endPt) {
this.endPt = endPt;
}
public void setCurrentPt(Point currentPt) {
this.currentPt = currentPt;
}
public int getZoomCalculateX(int value){
return (int) (value / zoomFactor);
}
public int getZoomCalculateY(int value){
return (int) (value / zoomFactor);
}
public void setZoomer(boolean zoomer) {
this.zoomer = zoomer;
}
}
EDIT : Bellow is the class (simplified) that uses DrawingPanel so you can have a reproducible exemple.
package GUI;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.IOException;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.filechooser.FileNameExtensionFilter;
import org.apache.commons.io.FilenameUtils;
import org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.PDDocument;
import org.apache.pdfbox.rendering.PDFRenderer;
import fileHandler.*;
public class GUI {
private JFrame frame;
private MenuBar menubar;
private DrawingPanel panelImage;
private JScrollPane scroll;
private GroundTruth openFile;
private int[] panelImageDown = new int[2];
private int[] panelImageUp = new int[2];
private Menu CoordinateMenu1 = new Menu();
private Menu CoordinateMenu2 = new Menu();
private int actualPagePdf;
private PDFRenderer renderer;
public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
new GUI();
}
public GUI() throws IOException {
JFrame frame = CreateFrame();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
private JFrame CreateFrame() throws IOException {
frame = new JFrame();
frame.setMenuBar(CreateMenuBar());
frame.setContentPane(SplitScreen());
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setTitle("GTA - Ground Truth Annotator");
frame.setExtendedState(frame.getExtendedState() | JFrame.MAXIMIZED_BOTH);
return frame;
}
private MenuBar CreateMenuBar() {
menubar = new MenuBar();
menubar.add(CreateFileMenu());
menubar.add(new Menu("Selection coordinates:"));
menubar.add(CoordinateMenu1);
menubar.add(new Menu("Width/Height:"));
menubar.add(CoordinateMenu2);
return menubar;
}
private Menu CreateFileMenu() {
Menu mFile = new Menu("File");
MenuItem miOpenImage = new MenuItem("Open Image/PDF File");
mFile.add(miOpenImage);
miOpenImage.addActionListener(OpenFileActionListener);
mFile.addSeparator();
MenuItem miExit = new MenuItem("Exit Program");
mFile.add(miExit);
miExit.addActionListener(ExitActionListener);
return mFile;
}
private JPanel SplitScreen() throws IOException {
JPanel splittedScreen = new JPanel(new GridLayout(1, 2));
splittedScreen.add(CreateLeftPanel());
splittedScreen.add(CreateRightPanel());
return splittedScreen;
}
private JLayeredPane CreateLeftPanel() throws IOException {
JLayeredPane panel = new JLayeredPane();
panel.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
panel.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.gray));
panel.add(CreateImageScrollPane());
return panel;
}
private JScrollPane CreateImageScrollPane() throws IOException {
scroll = new JScrollPane(CreateImagePanel((String) null));
scroll.setHorizontalScrollBarPolicy(JScrollPane.HORIZONTAL_SCROLLBAR_AS_NEEDED);
scroll.setVerticalScrollBarPolicy(JScrollPane.VERTICAL_SCROLLBAR_AS_NEEDED);
scroll.getViewport().setScrollMode(JViewport.BLIT_SCROLL_MODE);
return scroll;
}
private DrawingPanel CreateImagePanel(String path) throws IOException {
if (panelImage == null) {
panelImage = new DrawingPanel();
}
if (path != null) {
panelImage.loadImage(ImageIO.read(new File(path)));
}
panelImage.addMouseListener(PanelImageMouseListener);
panelImage.addMouseWheelListener(PanelImageMouseWheelListener);
panelImage.addMouseMotionListener(PanelImageMouseMotionAdapter);
panelImage.setOpaque(false);
panelImage.revalidate();
panelImage.repaint();
panelImage.requestFocus();
return panelImage;
}
private DrawingPanel CreateImagePanel(Image image) throws IOException {
if (panelImage == null) {
panelImage = new DrawingPanel();
}
panelImage.loadImage(image);
panelImage.addMouseListener(PanelImageMouseListener);
panelImage.addMouseWheelListener(PanelImageMouseWheelListener);
panelImage.addMouseMotionListener(PanelImageMouseMotionAdapter);
panelImage.setOpaque(false);
panelImage.revalidate();
panelImage.repaint();
return panelImage;
}
private JPanel CreateRightPanel() {
JPanel panel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(0, 1));
//...
return panel;
}
ActionListener OpenFileActionListener = new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent arg0) {
OpenFile();
}
};
ActionListener ExitActionListener = new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent arg0) {
Object[] options = {"Yes, quit now", "No, go back"};
int n = JOptionPane.showOptionDialog(
frame, "ATTENTION: closing without saving will cause any unsaved files to be lost. Do you want to proceed?",
"Warning", JOptionPane.YES_NO_OPTION, JOptionPane.WARNING_MESSAGE, null, options, options[0]
);
switch (n) {
case JOptionPane.YES_OPTION:
System.exit(0);
case JOptionPane.NO_OPTION:
case JOptionPane.CANCEL_OPTION:
}
}
};
MouseListener PanelImageMouseListener = new MouseListener() {
public void mousePressed(MouseEvent me) {
panelImageDown = new int[]{
panelImage.getZoomCalculateX(me.getX()), panelImage.getZoomCalculateY(me.getY())
};
panelImageUp = null;
CoordinateMenu1.setLabel(String.format("%s:%s", panelImageDown[0], panelImageDown[1]));
CoordinateMenu2.setLabel("");
panelImage.setStartPt(me.getPoint());
panelImage.repaint();
}
public void mouseReleased(MouseEvent me) {
panelImageUp = new int[]{
Math.abs(panelImage.getZoomCalculateX(me.getX()) - panelImageDown[0]),
Math.abs(panelImageDown[1] - panelImage.getZoomCalculateY(me.getY()))
};
CoordinateMenu2.setLabel(String.format("%s:%s", panelImageUp[0], panelImageUp[1]));
panelImage.setEndPt(me.getPoint());
panelImage.setCurrentPt(null);
panelImage.repaint();
}
public void mouseClicked(MouseEvent arg0) {
}
public void mouseEntered(MouseEvent arg0) {
}
public void mouseExited(MouseEvent arg0) {
}
};
MouseMotionAdapter PanelImageMouseMotionAdapter = new MouseMotionAdapter() {
#Override
public void mouseDragged(MouseEvent me) {
panelImageUp = new int[]{
Math.abs(panelImage.getZoomCalculateX(me.getX()) - panelImageDown[0]),
Math.abs(panelImageDown[1] - panelImage.getZoomCalculateY(me.getY()))
};
CoordinateMenu2.setLabel(String.format("%s:%s", panelImageUp[0], panelImageUp[1]));
panelImage.setCurrentPt(me.getPoint());
panelImage.repaint();
}
};
MouseWheelListener PanelImageMouseWheelListener = new MouseWheelListener() {
public void mouseWheelMoved(MouseWheelEvent me) {
if (me.isAltDown()) {
if (me.getWheelRotation() < 0) {
panelImage.setZoomer(true);
panelImage.increaseZoom();
panelImage.repaint();
panelImage.requestFocus();
//scroll.repaint();
//Zoom out
} else if(me.getWheelRotation() > 0) {
panelImage.setZoomer(true);
panelImage.decreaseZoom();
panelImage.repaint();
panelImage.requestFocus();
//scroll.repaint();
}
}
}
};
private void OpenFile() {
openFile = new GroundTruth();
JFileChooser fileChooser = new JFileChooser();
fileChooser.setCurrentDirectory(new File(System.getProperty("user.home")));
fileChooser.setFileSelectionMode(JFileChooser.FILES_ONLY);
fileChooser.setAcceptAllFileFilterUsed(false);
fileChooser.addChoosableFileFilter(new FileNameExtensionFilter(
"Images / PDF Scan",
"bmp", "jpeg", "jpg", "png", "tif", "tiff", "pdf"
));
if (fileChooser.showOpenDialog(frame) != 0) {
return;
}
openFile.setFilename(fileChooser.getSelectedFile().getAbsolutePath());
if (getExtension(fileChooser.getSelectedFile().getName()).equals("pdf")) {
try {
PDDocument doc = PDDocument.load(fileChooser.getSelectedFile());
numberPagePdf = doc.getNumberOfPages();
actualPagePdf = 0;
renderer = new PDFRenderer(doc);
setPdfPage(actualPagePdf);
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
} else {
try {
CreateImagePanel(fileChooser.getSelectedFile().getAbsolutePath());
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
private void setPdfPage(int pageNumber){
try {
BufferedImage bim = renderer.renderImageWithDPI(pageNumber, 300);
refreshInfoPageSection();
CreateImagePanel(bim);
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
// refresh the label who indicate the page display and set visible or inivisble the previous and next button
private void refreshInfoPageSection(){
panelImage.deleteRectangle();
}
public String getExtension(String filename) {
return FilenameUtils.getExtension(filename);
}
}

Here's a simplified example of a drawing JPanel that's larger than the scrolling JPanel.
You can see in the image that the drawing JPanel is larger both horizontally and vertically than the scrolling JPanel.
I don't call the paintComponent method at all in this code. Because I set up the GUI properly, Swing itself calls the repaint method when you move the scroll bars.
Here are the important things I did.
I started the Swing GUI with a call to the SwingUtilities invokeLater method. This method makes sure that the Swing components are created and executed on the Event Dispatch Thread.
I used a JFrame, two JPanels, and a JScrollPane. I extended JPanel to create the drawing panel. I used a JScrollPane, JPanel, and JFrame. The only time you extend a Swing component, or any Java class, is when you want to override one or more class methods.
I used Swing layout managers. I used a BorderLayout for the JFrame and scrolling JPanel.
Here's the complete runnable code. Why, you can even call it a minimal reproducible example!
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import javax.swing.BorderFactory;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JScrollPane;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
public class LargeDrawingPanel implements Runnable {
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new LargeDrawingPanel());
}
#Override
public void run() {
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Large Drawing Panel");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.add(createMainPanel(), BorderLayout.CENTER);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationByPlatform(true);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
private JPanel createMainPanel() {
JPanel panel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
panel.setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder(5, 5, 5, 5));
panel.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(400, 400));
JScrollPane scrollPane = new JScrollPane(new DrawingPanel());
panel.add(scrollPane, BorderLayout.CENTER);
return panel;
}
public class DrawingPanel extends JPanel {
private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
public DrawingPanel() {
this.setBackground(Color.WHITE);
this.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(2000, 2000));
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
g.setColor(Color.BLUE);
int x = 100;
int y = 100;
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
for (int j = 0; j < 10; j++) {
g.fillRect(x, y, 100, 100);
x += 200;
}
y += 200;
x = 100;
}
}
}
}
Edited to add: The OP posted additional questions in a comment.
Thanks for the example but it doesn't show me how to print an image in
a JPanel.
Pretty simple. Read an image using the ImageIO class, save the image in an application model consisting of one or more plain Java getter / setter classes and use the Graphics drawImage method to draw the image.
Your preview has only one scrollbar moved not both - which is my
problem.
Did you actually run the code I provided? I can only move one scrollbar at a time. The drawing JPanel extends both horizontally and vertically.
And it doesn't explain why my example doesn't work.
Your example is riddled with errors. Start over, building a Swing application one Swing component at a time using sound principles. The Oracle tutorial, Creating a GUI With JFC/Swing, will show you the correct way to create a Swing application. You can skip the Netbeans section.

i can't see circle moving

While using Swing in java, I am trying to move a circle slowly from a starting position to an end position when clicking a button. However, I can't see the circle moving. It just moves from start to end in an instant.
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
public class MyApp {
private int x = 10;
private int y = 10;
private JFrame f;
private MyDraw m;
private JButton b;
public void go() {
f = new JFrame("Moving circle");
b = new JButton("click me to move circle");
m = new MyDraw();
f.add(BorderLayout.SOUTH, b);
f.add(BorderLayout.CENTER, m);
f.setSize(500, 500);
f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
f.setVisible(true);
b.addActionListener(new Bute());
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
MyApp m = new MyApp();
m.go();
}
private class Bute implements ActionListener {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
for (int i = 0; i < 150; i++) {
++x;
++y;
m.repaint();
Thread.sleep(50);
}
}
}
private class MyDraw extends JPanel {
#Override
public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
g.setColor(Color.white);
g.fillRect(0, 0, 500, 500);
g.setColor(Color.red);
g.fillOval(x, y, 40, 40);
}
}
}
I think the problem is with the action listener because when I'm doing it without using button it is working. Any suggestions?

As Andrew Thompson said, calling Thread.sleep() without defining a second thread freezes everything, so the solution is to define and run another thread like so:
class Bute implements ActionListener, Runnable {
//let class implement Runnable interface
Thread t; // define 2nd thread
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
t = new Thread(this); //start a new thread
t.start();
}
#Override //override our thread's run() method to do what we want
public void run() { //this is after some java-internal init stuff called by start()
//b.setEnabled(false);
for (int i = 0; i < 150; i++) {
x++;
y++;
m.repaint();
try {
Thread.sleep(50); //let the 2nd thread sleep
} catch (InterruptedException iEx) {
iEx.printStackTrace();
}
}
//b.setEnabled(true);
}
}
The only problem with this solution is that pressing the button multiple times will speed up the circle, but this can be fixed by making the button unclickable during the animation via b.setEnabled(true/false). Not the best solution but it works.

As said in the comments and another answer, don't block the EDT. Thead.sleep(...) will block it, so you have two options:
Create and manage your own (new) thread.
Use a Swing Timer
In this answer I'll be using a Swing Timer, since it's easier to use. I also changed the paintComponent method to use the Shape API and change the button text to start and stop accordingly as well as reusing the same ActionListener for the button and the timer:
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.awt.geom.Ellipse2D;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
import javax.swing.Timer;
public class MovingCircle {
private JFrame frame;
private CustomCircle circle;
private Timer timer;
private JButton button;
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new MovingCircle()::createAndShowGui);
}
private void createAndShowGui() {
frame = new JFrame(this.getClass().getSimpleName());
circle = new CustomCircle(Color.RED);
timer = new Timer(100, listener);
button = new JButton("Start");
button.addActionListener(listener);
circle.setBackground(Color.WHITE);
frame.add(circle);
frame.add(button, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
}
private ActionListener listener = (e -> {
if (!timer.isRunning()) {
timer.start();
button.setText("Stop");
} else {
if (e.getSource().equals(button)) {
timer.stop();
button.setText("Start");
}
}
circle.move(1, 1);
});
#SuppressWarnings("serial")
class CustomCircle extends JPanel {
private Color color;
private int circleX;
private int circleY;
public CustomCircle(Color color) {
this.color = color;
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
Graphics2D g2d = (Graphics2D) g;
g2d.setColor(color);
g2d.fill(new Ellipse2D.Double(circleX, circleY, 50, 50));
}
#Override
public Dimension preferredSize() {
return new Dimension(100, 100);
}
public void move(int xGap, int yGap) {
circleX += xGap;
circleY += yGap;
revalidate();
repaint();
}
public int getCircleX() {
return circleX;
}
public void setCircleX(int circleX) {
this.circleX = circleX;
}
public int getCircleY() {
return circleY;
}
public void setCircleY(int circleY) {
this.circleY = circleY;
}
}
}
I'm sorry, I can't post a GIF as I wanted but this example runs as expected.

How to make a window see-through in Java? [duplicate]

I want to have transparent panels in my GUI (if like Windows 7 window headers, it is better).
Before I have used com.sun.awt.AWTUtilities as
AWTUtilities.setWindowOpacity(frame, (float)0.90);
but its parameter is a window like JFrame and couldn't be used for JPanel.
Also I want to have effects on JPanel or JLabel for example luminescence, as is on Windows 7 header buttons. Any other interesting effect is also helpful for me.

Please see the tutorials How to Create Translucent and Shaped Windows and* How to Create Translucent and Shaped Windows*. Follow the links to excellent example depots by #camickr.
For example,
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.AlphaComposite;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.UIManager.LookAndFeelInfo;
public class ButtonTest {
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
new ButtonTest().createAndShowGUI();
}
});
}
private JFrame frame;
private JButton opaqueButton1;
private JButton opaqueButton2;
private SoftJButton softButton1;
private SoftJButton softButton2;
public void createAndShowGUI() {
opaqueButton1 = new JButton("Opaque Button");
opaqueButton2 = new JButton("Opaque Button");
softButton1 = new SoftJButton("Transparent Button");
softButton2 = new SoftJButton("Transparent Button");
opaqueButton1.setBackground(Color.GREEN);
softButton1.setBackground(Color.GREEN);
frame = new JFrame();
frame.getContentPane().setLayout(new java.awt.GridLayout(2, 2, 10, 10));
frame.add(opaqueButton1);
frame.add(softButton1);
frame.add(opaqueButton2);
frame.add(softButton2);
frame.setSize(567, 350);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setVisible(true);
Timer alphaChanger = new Timer(30, new ActionListener() {
private float incrementer = -.03f;
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
float newAlpha = softButton1.getAlpha() + incrementer;
if (newAlpha < 0) {
newAlpha = 0;
incrementer = -incrementer;
} else if (newAlpha > 1f) {
newAlpha = 1f;
incrementer = -incrementer;
}
softButton1.setAlpha(newAlpha);
softButton2.setAlpha(newAlpha);
}
});
alphaChanger.start();
Timer uiChanger = new Timer(3500, new ActionListener() {
private LookAndFeelInfo[] laf = UIManager.getInstalledLookAndFeels();
private int index = 1;
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(laf[index].getClassName());
SwingUtilities.updateComponentTreeUI(frame);
} catch (Exception exc) {
exc.printStackTrace();
}
index = (index + 1) % laf.length;
}
});
uiChanger.start();
}
public static class SoftJButton extends JButton {
private static final JButton lafDeterminer = new JButton();
private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
private boolean rectangularLAF;
private float alpha = 1f;
public SoftJButton() {
this(null, null);
}
public SoftJButton(String text) {
this(text, null);
}
public SoftJButton(String text, Icon icon) {
super(text, icon);
setOpaque(false);
setFocusPainted(false);
}
public float getAlpha() {
return alpha;
}
public void setAlpha(float alpha) {
this.alpha = alpha;
repaint();
}
#Override
public void paintComponent(java.awt.Graphics g) {
java.awt.Graphics2D g2 = (java.awt.Graphics2D) g;
g2.setComposite(AlphaComposite.getInstance(AlphaComposite.SRC_OVER, alpha));
if (rectangularLAF && isBackgroundSet()) {
Color c = getBackground();
g2.setColor(c);
g.fillRect(0, 0, getWidth(), getHeight());
}
super.paintComponent(g2);
}
#Override
public void updateUI() {
super.updateUI();
lafDeterminer.updateUI();
rectangularLAF = lafDeterminer.isOpaque();
}
}
}

If you have time I recommend you go through this Filty Rich Clients. By using this book you can learn to create stunning visual and animated effects with Swing and Java 2D. Learn graphics and animation fundamentals as well as advanced rendering techniques.
EDIT:
To creat transparent panels call
setOpaque(false)
It'll pass off painting the background to its parent, which may draw its own background.
You can do a screen capture and then use that to paint the background of the panel.

Doing an animation in Java

I am doing a java assignment for next Saturday.
Its going really well, however I'm struggling with one section.
Here I want to reveal a set of numbers in a String, one at a time.
I tried slowing down the loop with 'Thread.sleep(1000);'
however nothing is displaying until the thread is finished
the following is a section of the graphics class where the problem is occuring
is there something I'm missing?
public void paint(Graphics g)
{
setSize(550, 300);
//this draws all the random numbers, revealing the ans to the user
if (revealNum == 0)
{
g.setColor(Color.BLUE);
g.drawString(randomNumber, 20, 20); //draw String ("the String", x, y)
}
//this reveals the numbers 1 by 1 to the user at the start of the game
if (revealNum==1)
{
for (int x = 0; x < limit; x++)
{
g.setColor(Color.BLUE);
g.drawString(""+x, 20, 20); //draw String ("the String", x, y)
try{
Thread.sleep(1000);
}catch(InterruptedException ex){
System.out.print("Error");
}
repaint();
}
//slow down the loop to show the user
}

Since yours is a GUI, calling Thread.sleep will put the entire app to sleep. Instead use a Swing Timer. Inside the Timer's ActionListener, add another letter to the displayed String, and then stop the Timer via the stop() method once the String is complete.
e.g.,
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.awt.event.KeyEvent;
import javax.swing.*;
public class SimpleAnimation extends JPanel {
public static final int TIMER_DELAY = 1000;
private JTextField textField = new JTextField(10);
private JLabel displayLabel = new JLabel("", SwingConstants.CENTER);
public SimpleAnimation() {
Action btnAction = new DoItBtnAction("Do It!", KeyEvent.VK_D);
JPanel topPanel = new JPanel();
topPanel.add(textField);
topPanel.add(new JButton(btnAction));
textField.addActionListener(btnAction);
setLayout(new GridLayout(2, 1));
add(topPanel);
add(displayLabel);
}
private class DoItBtnAction extends AbstractAction {
private String textFieldText = "";
public DoItBtnAction(String name, int mnemonic) {
super(name);
putValue(MNEMONIC_KEY, mnemonic);
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
displayLabel.setText("");
setEnabled(false);
textFieldText = textField.getText();
new Timer(TIMER_DELAY, new ActionListener() {
private int i = 0;
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if (i >= textFieldText.length()) {
((Timer) e.getSource()).stop();
DoItBtnAction.this.setEnabled(true);
} else {
displayLabel.setText(displayLabel.getText() + textFieldText.charAt(i));
i++;
}
}
}).start();
}
}
private static void createAndShowGui() {
JFrame frame = new JFrame("SimpleAnimation");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.getContentPane().add(new SimpleAnimation());
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
createAndShowGui();
}
});
}
}
Also,
If yours is a Swing GUI, it would be easier to display your text in a JLabel or a JTextField rather than trying to paint it on the GUI.
If this is Swing, don't override paint(Graphics g) but rather the paintComponent(Graphics g) method of a JPanel or JComponent.

You should use a javax.swing.Timer
Here is an example
JLabel l = ...;
Timer t = new Timer(1000, new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae) {
if (l.getText().equals("1")) l.setText("2");
else if (l.getText().equals("2)) l.setText("1");
}
});

Strange JFrame Behavior

I have the following program which has some very strange and unwanted behavior when it runs. Its supposed to have two buttons, "Start" and "Stop, but when I click "Start" another button shows up right below "Start". Here's a print screen of what I'm talking about:
What am I doing wrong and how do I fix this ugly problem?
Here's the code:
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.util.Random;
public class TwoButtonsTest {
JFrame frame;
Timer timer;
boolean isClicked;
public static void main(String[] args) {
TwoButtonsTest test = new TwoButtonsTest();
test.go();
}
public void go() {
frame = new JFrame();
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setSize(500, 500);
JButton startButton = new JButton("Start");
startButton.addActionListener(new StartListener());
JButton stopButton = new JButton("Stop");
stopButton.addActionListener(new StopListener());
final DrawPanel myDraw = new DrawPanel();
frame.getContentPane().add(BorderLayout.CENTER, myDraw);
frame.getContentPane().add(BorderLayout.NORTH, startButton);
frame.getContentPane().add(BorderLayout.SOUTH, stopButton);
frame.setVisible(true);
timer = new Timer(50, new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae) {
myDraw.repaint();
}
});
}
class StartListener implements ActionListener {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
//needs to be implemented
if(!isClicked) {
}
isClicked = true;
timer.start();
}
}
class StopListener implements ActionListener {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
//needs to be implemented
timer.stop();
isClicked = false;
}
}
class DrawPanel extends JPanel {
public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
int red = (int)(Math.random()*256);
int blue = (int)(Math.random()*256);
int green = (int)(Math.random()*256);
g.setColor(new Color(red, blue, green));
Random rand = new Random();
// following 4 lines make sure the rect stays within the frame
int ht = rand.nextInt(getHeight());
int wd = rand.nextInt(getWidth());
int x = rand.nextInt(getWidth()-wd);
int y = rand.nextInt(getHeight()-ht);
g.fillRect(x,y,wd,ht);
}
} // close inner class
}
Also I'm trying to get the Start button to do two things. One is to of course start the animation but when the Stop button is pressed and I press Start again, I want it to clean the screen so to speak and start the animation again a new. Any tips on that?

You do not call super.paintComponent(Graphics g) in overriden paintComponent(..) method which you should in order to honor the paint chain and thus the painting of other components.
This call should also be the first call within the method:
#Override
public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
//do painting here
}
A probem might arise that drawings are not persistent. You must than have a way to store drawings and redraw every time. The most common is an ArrayList which will hold objects to be drawn (thus you cann add to the list remove etc), you would than iterate over the list and redraw each object in paintComponent. See my answer here for an example.
Also please remember to create and manipulate Swing components on Event Dispatch Thread :
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
//create UI and components here
}
});
Dont call setSize(..) on JFrame rather override getPreferredSize() of JPanel and return an appropriate height which fits all components, than call JFrame#pack() before setting JFrame visible (but after adding all components).
No need for getContentPane().add(..) as of Java 6+ add(..) defaults to contentPane
Do not re declare Random i.e Random r=new Random() each time paintComponent is called as this will make the distributions of the values less random rather initiate it once when class is created and call methods on the instance
Here is the fixed code (with above fixes implemented):
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Random;
import javax.swing.*;
public class TwoButtonsTest {
JFrame frame;
Timer timer;
boolean isClicked;
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
TwoButtonsTest test = new TwoButtonsTest();
test.go();
}
});
}
final DrawPanel myDraw = new DrawPanel();
public void go() {
frame = new JFrame();
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
JButton startButton = new JButton("Start");
startButton.addActionListener(new StartListener());
JButton stopButton = new JButton("Stop");
stopButton.addActionListener(new StopListener());
frame.add(myDraw, BorderLayout.CENTER);
frame.add(startButton, BorderLayout.NORTH);
frame.add(stopButton, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
timer = new Timer(50, new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae) {
myDraw.repaint();
}
});
}
class StartListener implements ActionListener {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
//needs to be implemented
if (!isClicked) {
}
myDraw.clearRects();
isClicked = true;
timer.start();
}
}
class StopListener implements ActionListener {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
//needs to be implemented
timer.stop();
isClicked = false;
}
}
class DrawPanel extends JPanel {
private ArrayList<MyRectangle> rects = new ArrayList<>();
private Random rand = new Random();
#Override
public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
addRect();
for (MyRectangle r : rects) {
g.setColor(r.getColor());
g.fillRect(r.x, r.y, r.width, r.height);
}
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(500, 500);
}
public void clearRects() {
rects.clear();
}
public void addRect() {
// following 4 lines make sure the rect stays within the frame
int ht = rand.nextInt(getHeight());
int wd = rand.nextInt(getWidth());
int x = rand.nextInt(getWidth() - wd);
int y = rand.nextInt(getHeight() - ht);
int red = (int) (Math.random() * 256);
int blue = (int) (Math.random() * 256);
int green = (int) (Math.random() * 256);
rects.add(new MyRectangle(x, y, wd, ht, new Color(red, blue, green)));
}
} // close inner class
}
class MyRectangle extends Rectangle {
Color color;
public MyRectangle(int x, int y, int w, int h, Color c) {
super(x, y, w, h);
this.color = c;
}
public Color getColor() {
return color;
}
}

I wish I could offer a solution, but as of yet I haven't found one. I can tell you the root of the "problem" here lies in the way you are drawing the Center section of your BorderLayout. You are overriding the whole paintComponent() function for this program and having whatever it creates put into the Center of your BoarderLayout. In this case, each time you click a button, the program calls the repaint to draw the image of a clicked button, but since you have also added ANY of the drawn objects to the Center panel, it also is drawn there. Since this specific repaint doesn't specify a location, it goes in the upper left corner.

I fixed your button problem on my Windows XP computer by invoking SwingUtilities.
I formatted your Java code.
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.util.Random;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
import javax.swing.Timer;
public class TwoButtonsTest implements Runnable {
JFrame frame;
Timer timer;
boolean isClicked;
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new TwoButtonsTest());
}
#Override
public void run() {
frame = new JFrame();
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setSize(500, 500);
JButton startButton = new JButton("Start");
startButton.addActionListener(new StartListener());
JButton stopButton = new JButton("Stop");
stopButton.addActionListener(new StopListener());
final DrawPanel myDraw = new DrawPanel();
frame.getContentPane().add(BorderLayout.CENTER, myDraw);
frame.getContentPane().add(BorderLayout.NORTH, startButton);
frame.getContentPane().add(BorderLayout.SOUTH, stopButton);
frame.setVisible(true);
timer = new Timer(50, new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae) {
myDraw.repaint();
}
});
}
class StartListener implements ActionListener {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
// needs to be implemented
if (!isClicked) {
}
isClicked = true;
timer.start();
}
}
class StopListener implements ActionListener {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
// needs to be implemented
timer.stop();
isClicked = false;
}
}
class DrawPanel extends JPanel {
#Override
public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
int red = (int) (Math.random() * 256);
int blue = (int) (Math.random() * 256);
int green = (int) (Math.random() * 256);
g.setColor(new Color(red, blue, green));
Random rand = new Random();
// following 4 lines make sure the rect stays within the frame
int ht = rand.nextInt(getHeight());
int wd = rand.nextInt(getWidth());
int x = rand.nextInt(getWidth() - wd);
int y = rand.nextInt(getHeight() - ht);
g.fillRect(x, y, wd, ht);
}
} // close inner class
}
To clean the screen when you press the Start button, you're going to have to add some methods to your DrawPanel class.
Here's one way to do it.
class DrawPanel extends JPanel {
protected boolean eraseCanvas;
public void setEraseCanvas(boolean eraseCanvas) {
this.eraseCanvas = eraseCanvas;
}
#Override
public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
if (eraseCanvas) {
g.setColor(Color.WHITE);
g.fillRect(0, 0, getWidth(), getHeight());
} else {
int red = (int) (Math.random() * 256);
int blue = (int) (Math.random() * 256);
int green = (int) (Math.random() * 256);
g.setColor(new Color(red, blue, green));
Random rand = new Random();
// following 4 lines make sure the rect stays within the frame
int ht = rand.nextInt(getHeight());
int wd = rand.nextInt(getWidth());
int x = rand.nextInt(getWidth() - wd);
int y = rand.nextInt(getHeight() - ht);
g.fillRect(x, y, wd, ht);
}
}
} // close inner class