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How to Overlap Panels in Swing?

I am attempting to have multiple JPanels that can "overlap", also allowing me to perform custom painting.
For this I am using a MainPanel, which extends JLayeredPane, and from what I can see, I have set bounds and index correctly.
The expected result, would be two rectangles painting at the same time to the screen.
The result I get, is flickering on one of the two OverlappingPanels, which I assume is from the RepaintManager fighting on which panel to draw (Found this here).
My question is, How can I properly overlap panels and retain painting capabilties, using Swing?
EDIT:
Code in question:
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
public class Example extends JFrame {
public static class MainPanel extends JLayeredPane implements Runnable {
public OverlappingPanel1 overlappingPanel1;
public OverlappingPanel2 overlappingPanel2;
Thread mainThread;
public void startMainThread() {
mainThread = new Thread(this);
mainThread.start();
}
public MainPanel() {
this.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(1920,720));
this.setBackground(Color.BLACK);
this.setDoubleBuffered(true);
overlappingPanel1 = new OverlappingPanel1();
overlappingPanel2 = new OverlappingPanel2();
overlappingPanel1.setBounds(0,0,1920,720);
overlappingPanel2.setBounds(0,720/2,1920,720);
add(overlappingPanel1,1);
add(overlappingPanel2,2);
}
#Override
public void run() {
while(mainThread != null) {
overlappingPanel1.repaint();
overlappingPanel2.repaint();
}
}
}
public static class OverlappingPanel1 extends JPanel {
public OverlappingPanel1() {
setDoubleBuffered(true);
setPreferredSize(new Dimension(1920,720));
}
public void paint(Graphics g) {
super.paint(g);
Graphics2D graphics2D = (Graphics2D) g;
graphics2D.fillRect(0,0,200,200);
}
}
public static class OverlappingPanel2 extends JPanel {
public OverlappingPanel2() {
setDoubleBuffered(true);
setPreferredSize(new Dimension(1920,720));
}
public void paint(Graphics g) {
super.paint(g);
Graphics2D graphics2D = (Graphics2D) g;
graphics2D.fillRect(0,80,200,200);
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
JFrame window = new JFrame();
window.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
window.setResizable(false);
MainPanel mainPanel = new MainPanel();
window.add(mainPanel);
window.setBackground(Color.BLACK);
window.pack();
window.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
window.setVisible(true);
mainPanel.startMainThread();
}
}

So yes, a JLayeredPane would allow easy overlap of Swing components such as JPanels, and there are also layouts others have created that allow this, one called "overlay layout", but that's not what you want to for your currently stated problem.
Yours is an XY Problem type question where you ask "how do I solve X problem" when the best solution is not to solve it in this way, but rather to do Y, something completely different. Here, to paint multiple different images, your best solution is not to create and overlap heavier-weight Swing components such as JPanels, but rather to draw in one single JPanel and overlap sprite images. Otherwise you're just making things unnecessarily harder for yourself and your code than is needed.
For example:
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.Rectangle;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import javax.swing.*;
#SuppressWarnings("serial")
public class Example2 extends JPanel {
private static final int MY_WIDTH = 1600;
private static final int MY_HEIGHT = 720;
List<Rectangle> rectangles = new ArrayList<>();
public Example2() {
setPreferredSize(new Dimension(MY_WIDTH, MY_HEIGHT));
setBackground(Color.WHITE);
rectangles.add(new Rectangle(0, 0, 200, 200));
rectangles.add(new Rectangle(0, 80 + MY_HEIGHT / 2, 200, 200));
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
Graphics2D g2 = (Graphics2D) g;
for (Rectangle rectangle : rectangles) {
g2.fill(rectangle);
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> {
Example2 example = new Example2();
JFrame frame = new JFrame("GUI");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.add(example);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
});
}
}
And yes, as suggested in comments, override paintComponent, not paint. This reduces the risk of unwanted side effects that might come from painting child components or borders, and also allows for automatic double-buffering for when you do animation.
Also, a while (true) loop is not a healthy construct within an event-driven GUI program, not as you've written it. If you need repeated actions in a Swing program (which you don't in your example, not yet), use a Swing Timer instead.
So doing this this way gives you good flexibility. For instance, if you wanted to modify the above program to allow addition of shapes on mouse click, it would be easy to do so:
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.Point;
import java.awt.RenderingHints;
import java.awt.Shape;
import java.awt.event.MouseAdapter;
import java.awt.event.MouseEvent;
import java.awt.geom.Ellipse2D;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import javax.swing.*;
#SuppressWarnings("serial")
public class Example3 extends JPanel {
private static final int MY_WIDTH = 1600;
private static final int MY_HEIGHT = 720;
List<ColorShape> colorShapes = new ArrayList<>();
public Example3() {
setPreferredSize(new Dimension(MY_WIDTH, MY_HEIGHT));
setBackground(Color.WHITE);
addMouseListener(new MyMouse());
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
Graphics2D g2 = (Graphics2D) g;
g2.setRenderingHint(RenderingHints.KEY_ANTIALIASING, RenderingHints.VALUE_ANTIALIAS_ON);
for (ColorShape colorShape : colorShapes) {
colorShape.draw(g2);
}
}
private class MyMouse extends MouseAdapter {
#Override
public void mousePressed(MouseEvent e) {
// create a random color
float hue = (float) Math.random();
float saturation = 1f;
float brightness = (float) (0.5 * Math.random() + 0.5);
Color color = Color.getHSBColor(hue, saturation, brightness);
// create a new ColorShape, add to list, and repaint:
colorShapes.add(new ColorShape(e.getPoint(), color));
repaint();
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> {
Example3 example = new Example3();
JFrame frame = new JFrame("GUI");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.add(example);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
});
}
}
class ColorShape {
private int width = 80;
private Point location;
private Color color;
private Shape shape;
public ColorShape(Point location, Color color) {
this.location = location;
this.color = color;
int x = location.x - width / 2;
int y = location.y - width / 2;
shape = new Ellipse2D.Double(x, y, width, width);
}
public void draw(Graphics2D g2) {
g2.setColor(color);
g2.fill(shape);
}
public Point getLocation() {
return location;
}
}

The last two parameteres in setBounds(int x,int y, int width, int height) are the width and height of your panel. In your case, these are the dimensions of your rectangle , thus you should set them to 200, as below:
overlappingPanel1.setBounds(0,0,200,200);
overlappingPanel2.setBounds(0,720/2,200,200);
Also, remove setPreferredSize(new Dimension(1920,720)); in the OverlappingPanel1 and OverlappingPanel2 classes, as they are not needed.

What will be the Main of this program in java |How do i call the line method in main?

package drawinglinebymethods;
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
public class DrawingLineByMethods extends Frame {
public JFrame f=new JFrame();
void fra_size()
{
f.setSize(450, 300);
}
void fra_visible()
{
f.setVisible(true);
}
void fra_title()
{
f.setTitle(" java frame");
}
void exit()
{
f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
}
public void line(Graphics g) {
g.drawLine(10, 10, 20, 300);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
DrawingLineByMethods obj = new DrawingLineByMethods();
obj.fra_size();
obj.fra_title();
obj.fra_visible();
obj.fra_exit();
obj.line(g); // <-- error here
}
}

Your question suggests that you are not yet clear on how graphics and drawing works in Swing GUI's. Some suggestions for you:
Don't have your class extend java.awt.Frame as this makes no sense. You're not creating an AWT Frame window and have no need of this.
Create a class that extends JPanel and draw in its paintComponent method as the Swing painting tutorials (link now added) show you.
You never call drawing code directly but rather it is indirectly called by the JVM.
If you want to draw from outside of the GUI itself, then draw to a BufferedImage, one that is then displayed within the GUI.
Don't use a Graphics object obtained by calling getGraphics() on a GUI component as the object thus obtained will not persist, and this risks you creating unstable graphics or worse -- throwing a NullPointerException.
For example:
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.RenderingHints;
import javax.swing.*;
#SuppressWarnings("serial")
public class LineDraw extends JPanel {
private static final int PREF_W = 450;
private static final int PREF_H = 300;
public LineDraw() {
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
if (isPreferredSizeSet()) {
return super.getPreferredSize();
}
return new Dimension(PREF_W, PREF_H);
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
// use rendering hints to draw smooth lines
Graphics2D g2 = (Graphics2D) g;
g2.setRenderingHint(RenderingHints.KEY_ANTIALIASING, RenderingHints.VALUE_ANTIALIAS_ON);
// do drawing here
g.drawLine(10, 10, 20, 300);
}
private static void createAndShowGui() {
LineDraw mainPanel = new LineDraw();
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Line Draw");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
frame.getContentPane().add(mainPanel);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationByPlatform(true);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> {
createAndShowGui();
});
}
}
If you want to add lines as the program runs, again, use a BufferedImage that is drawn within the JPanel's paintComponent method. When you need to add a new line to the GUI, extract the Graphics or Graphics2D object from the BufferedImage using getGraphics() or createGraphics() respectively (it's OK to do this), draw with this Graphics object, dispose of the Graphics object, and repaint the GUI. For example in the code below, I draw a new line when the button is pressed by adding code within the JButton's ActionListener (actually its AbstractAction which is similar to an ActionListener but more powerful):
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.RenderingHints;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.KeyEvent;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import javax.swing.*;
#SuppressWarnings("serial")
public class LineDraw extends JPanel {
private static final int PREF_W = 450;
private static final int PREF_H = 300;
private BufferedImage img;
private int yDistance = 20;
private int deltaY = 10;
public LineDraw() {
img = new BufferedImage(PREF_W, PREF_H, BufferedImage.TYPE_INT_ARGB);
add(new JButton(new DrawLineAction("Draw Line", KeyEvent.VK_D)));
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
if (isPreferredSizeSet()) {
return super.getPreferredSize();
}
return new Dimension(PREF_W, PREF_H);
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
// draw the buffered image here
if (img != null) {
g.drawImage(img, 0, 0, this);
}
// use rendering hints to draw smooth lines
Graphics2D g2 = (Graphics2D) g;
g2.setRenderingHint(RenderingHints.KEY_ANTIALIASING, RenderingHints.VALUE_ANTIALIAS_ON);
// do drawing here
g.drawLine(10, 10, 20, 300);
}
public void drawNewLines() {
Graphics2D g2 = img.createGraphics();
g2.setColor(Color.BLACK);
g2.setRenderingHint(RenderingHints.KEY_ANTIALIASING, RenderingHints.VALUE_ANTIALIAS_ON);
yDistance += deltaY;
g2.drawLine(10, 10, yDistance, PREF_H);
g2.dispose();
repaint();
}
private class DrawLineAction extends AbstractAction {
public DrawLineAction(String name, int mnemonic) {
super(name); // give button its text
putValue(MNEMONIC_KEY, mnemonic); // alt-hot key for button
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
drawNewLines();
}
}
private static void createAndShowGui() {
LineDraw mainPanel = new LineDraw();
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Line Draw");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
frame.getContentPane().add(mainPanel);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationByPlatform(true);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> {
createAndShowGui();
});
}
}

Line is a non-static method, the only way to call it from a static method (main here) is to have an instance of the class.

My Graphics aren't drawing [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
Layered panels in Swing with custom painting
(2 answers)
Closed 9 years ago.
I am trying to make a GUI using Java graphics, but for some reason it won't work. Here is the code:
public class ScreenCap extends Canvas {
/**
* #param args the command line arguments
*/
#SuppressWarnings("ResultOfObjectAllocationIgnored")
public static void main(String[] args) {
new ScreenCap();
}
public ScreenCap() {
Window window = new Window(this);
window.setVisible(true);
this.addMouseListener(new MouseHandler());
drawComponents();
}
private void drawComponents() {
System.out.println("in draw");
createBufferStrategy(3);
BufferStrategy bs = getBufferStrategy();
Graphics g = bs.getDrawGraphics();
g.setColor(Colors.BG);
g.fillRect(0, 0, getWidth(), getHeight());
}
}

I would consider using Swing instead of AWT. AWT is pretty out-dated. If using swing, you would do something like the below code
Subclass JPanel
Override paintComponent(Graphics g)
Cast to Graphics2D (optional) for more versatilitiy
Draw in the paintComponent method
Add an instance of your panel class to a container.
Read more on Graphics here. Loaded with tutorials. More on Swing here.
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
public class SwingDemo extends JPanel {
private static final int DIM_WIDTH = 500;
private static final int DIM_HEIGHT = 500;
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
Graphics2D g2 = (Graphics2D)g;
g2.setColor(Color.BLUE);
g2.fillRect(100, 100, 200, 200);
}
public static void createAndShowGui(){
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.add(new SwingDemo());
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setLocationByPlatform(true);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public Dimension getPreferredSize(){
return new Dimension(DIM_WIDTH, DIM_HEIGHT);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable(){
public void run(){
createAndShowGui();
}
});
}
}
Nothing spectacular :)

paint method draws outside jFrame if first coord 0,0

First coord in this case should be 0,0 and not 8,30. What am i doing wrong(i am using NetBeans)
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Graphics;
public class TEST extends javax.swing.JFrame {
#Override
public void paint(Graphics g){
super.paint(g);
g.setColor(Color.blue);
g.drawRect(8, 30, 200, 200);
repaint();
}}

Add a JPanel to the frame and paint in that. The frame's coordinates include the decorations (title bar, borders, etc.). It would look something like this:
public class Test extends JFrame {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Test();
}
private Test() {
add(new MyPanel());
setDefaultCloseOperation(EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
setSize(600, 600);
setVisible(true);
}
private class MyPanel extends JPanel {
public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
g.setColor(Color.blue);
g.drawRect(8, 30, 200, 200);
}
}
}
Also, don't call repaint(); in paint();. That will cause an infinite loop and will freeze the entire program.

The problem is your paint(..) method is not taking into account the JFrame Insets by calling getInsets which as docs state:
If a border has been set on this component, returns the border's
insets.
this code works fine:
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
public class Test {
public Test() {
createAndShowGui();
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
new Test();
}
});
}
private void createAndShowGui() {
JFrame frame = new JFrame() {
#Override
public void paint(Graphics g) {
super.paint(g);
g.setColor(Color.blue);
g.drawRect(0 + getInsets().left, 0 + getInsets().top, 200, 200);
}
};
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
}
however this is not best practice.
Rather add JPanel to JFrame and override paintComponent(Graphics g) of JPanel dont forget call to super.paintComponent(g) as first call in the overridden method and than draw there (dont forget to override getPreferredSize() and return correct Dimensions so the JPanel will fit its drawing/graphic content) this problem will no longer persist as JPanel is added at correct co-ordinates on contentPane like so:
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.RenderingHints;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
public class Test {
public Test() {
createAndShowGui();
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
new Test();
}
});
}
private void createAndShowGui() {
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
JPanel panel = new JPanel() {
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
Graphics2D g2d = (Graphics2D) g;
g2d.addRenderingHints(new RenderingHints(RenderingHints.KEY_RENDERING, RenderingHints.VALUE_RENDER_QUALITY));
g2d.setColor(Color.blue);
g2d.drawRect(0, 0, 200, 200);
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(300, 300);
}
};
frame.add(panel);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
}
The above includes Graphics2D and RenderingHints i.e anti-aliasing. Just for some better looking drawings :)

How to update java canvas dynamically?

Problem: I am trying to update the canvas with new painting objects based on user action. The canvas dosent get updated.
What i have done: The user interacts with the DnD action,The transferrable object reaches the canvas, Calls an update graphics method created by me. And the method simply uses the aldready created graphics 2d object and draws images using it.I have checkd the DnD action,the object is properly recived at canvas class and i was able to print them out using System.out.println.
A sample code,that has a similar function to that of mine,
Paint class:
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
public class PaintPanel extends JPanel{
private Graphics2D drawImage;
public PaintPanel()
{
}
#Override
public void paint(Graphics g) {
drawImage = (Graphics2D) g;
drawImage.setColor(Color.WHITE);
drawImage.fillRect(0, 0, getWidth(), getHeight());
}
public void updateGraphics(int length,int width)
{
drawImage.setColor(Color.black);
drawImage.drawRect(100, 150, length, width);
repaint();
}
}
mainframe class:
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
public class MainPaint extends JFrame{
public MainPaint()
{
setTitle("test paint");
setSize(400,400);
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
final PaintPanel paintPan = new PaintPanel();
JButton testButon = new JButton("Display shape");
add(paintPan,BorderLayout.CENTER);
add(testButon,BorderLayout.PAGE_END);
testButon.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent arg0) {
paintPan.updateGraphics(50,50);
repaint();
}
});
setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args)
{
new MainPaint();
}
}

Graphics2D drawImage; //source of the problem!
Don't attempt to cache a Graphics (or Graphics2D) instance! Instead:
Add the new objects to a list
Call repaint().
In paintComponent(Graphics) draw the list of objects.
An alternative to that is to use a BufferedImage as the drawing object. See this answer for an example.
Update - SSCCE based on latest code.
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class MainPaint extends JFrame {
public MainPaint() {
setTitle("test paint");
setSize(400, 400);
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
final PaintPanel paintPan = new PaintPanel();
JButton testButon = new JButton("Display shape");
add(paintPan, BorderLayout.CENTER);
add(testButon, BorderLayout.PAGE_END);
testButon.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent arg0) {
paintPan.updateGraphics(50, 50);
repaint();
}
});
setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
new MainPaint();
}
}
class PaintPanel extends JPanel {
private int x, y;
private Color color = null;
public PaintPanel() {
setBackground(Color.ORANGE);
}
#Override
public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
Graphics2D drawImage = (Graphics2D) g;
if (color != null) {
drawImage.setColor(color);
drawImage.drawRect(100, 150, x, y);
}
}
public void updateGraphics(int length, int width) {
color = Color.RED;
x = length;
y = width;
repaint();
}
}
Note
There are still a number of things about that code that need changing. I decided to stop at the earliest variant that worked to display the rectangle on button click.

I think you need to call the validate() method.