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Changing JPanel Icon when JButton is clicked

The JFrame window needs to display a random dice image. When the button is clicked, the random dice image needs to change. I have figured out how to display the random dice image, but I cannot figure out how to use the actionlistener to generate a new random dice image. I am only in my third Java class, so any guidance would be greatly appreciated!
package guiDice;
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.border.EmptyBorder;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Font;
import javax.swing.SwingConstants;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.ImageIcon;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.util.Random;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
public class LabGuiDice extends JFrame {
private JPanel contentPane;
/**
* Launch the application.
*/
public static void main(String[] args) {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
try {
LabGuiDice frame = new LabGuiDice();
frame.setVisible(true);
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
});
}
/**
* Create the frame.
*/
public LabGuiDice() {
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
setBounds(100, 100, 450, 300);
contentPane = new JPanel();
contentPane.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(5, 5, 5, 5));
contentPane.setLayout(new BorderLayout(0, 0));
setContentPane(contentPane);
JButton btnRollem = newDiceRoll();
contentPane.add(btnRollem, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
JLabel lblDice = newDiceImage();
contentPane.add(lblDice, BorderLayout.CENTER);
}
private JLabel newDiceImage() {
Random rnd = new Random();
int rand1 = 0;
rand1 = rnd.nextInt(6)+1;
JLabel lblDice = new JLabel("");
switch (rand1) {
case 1:
lblDice.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
lblDice.setIcon(new ImageIcon(LabGuiDice.class.getResource("/Dice/die-1.png")));
break;
case 2:
lblDice.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
lblDice.setIcon(new ImageIcon(LabGuiDice.class.getResource("/Dice/die-2.png")));
break;
case 3:
lblDice.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
lblDice.setIcon(new ImageIcon(LabGuiDice.class.getResource("/Dice/die-3.png")));
break;
case 4:
lblDice.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
lblDice.setIcon(new ImageIcon(LabGuiDice.class.getResource("/Dice/die-4.png")));
break;
case 5:
lblDice.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
lblDice.setIcon(new ImageIcon(LabGuiDice.class.getResource("/Dice/die-5.png")));
break;
case 6:
lblDice.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
lblDice.setIcon(new ImageIcon(LabGuiDice.class.getResource("/Dice/die-6.png")));
break;
}
return lblDice;
}
private JButton newDiceRoll() {
JButton btnRollem = new JButton("Roll 'Em");
btnRollem.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
}
});
btnRollem.setBorderPainted(false);
btnRollem.setFont(new Font("Bodoni 72 Smallcaps", Font.PLAIN, 27));
btnRollem.setOpaque(true);
btnRollem.setBackground(new Color(255, 0, 0));
return btnRollem;
}
}

Create a method that generates the integer and sets the icon to the label. But in order to do that, label should be a field in the class, so all methods can access it. For example:
private void rollDice() {
Random random = new Random();
int randomInt = random.nextInt(6) + 1;
String resource = String.format("/Dice/die-%d.png", randomInt);
Icon icon = new ImageIcon(LabGuiDice.class.getResource(resource));
diceIconLabel.setIcon(icon);
}
and then:
btnRollem.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
rollDice();
}
});
with full code:
public class LabGuiDice extends JFrame {
private JPanel contentPane;
private JLabel diceIconLabel;
/**
* Launch the application.
*/
public static void main(String[] args) {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
try {
LabGuiDice frame = new LabGuiDice();
frame.setVisible(true);
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
});
}
/**
* Create the frame.
*/
public LabGuiDice() {
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
setBounds(100, 100, 450, 300);
contentPane = new JPanel();
contentPane.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(5, 5, 5, 5));
contentPane.setLayout(new BorderLayout(0, 0));
setContentPane(contentPane);
JButton btnRollem = newDiceRoll();
contentPane.add(btnRollem, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
diceIconLabel = newDiceImage();
contentPane.add(diceIconLabel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
rollDice();
pack();
}
private void rollDice() {
Random random = new Random();
int randomInt = random.nextInt(6) + 1;
String resource = String.format("/Dice/die-%d.png", randomInt);
Icon icon = new ImageIcon(LabGuiDice.class.getResource(resource));
diceIconLabel.setIcon(icon);
}
private JLabel newDiceImage() {
JLabel lblDice = new JLabel("");
lblDice.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
return lblDice;
}
private JButton newDiceRoll() {
JButton btnRollem = new JButton("Roll 'Em");
btnRollem.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
rollDice();
}
});
btnRollem.setBorderPainted(false);
btnRollem.setFont(new Font("Bodoni 72 Smallcaps", Font.PLAIN, 27));
btnRollem.setOpaque(true);
btnRollem.setBackground(new Color(255, 0, 0));
return btnRollem;
}
}

Get the selected component from a JPanel

I am dynamically adding items to my JPanel through an ArrayList<Items>. Basically the items object looks like that:
public class Item {
private JComponent component;
private String functionality;
public Item(JComponent component, String functionality) {
super();
this.component = component;
this.functionality = functionality;
}
public JComponent getComponent() {
return component;
}
public void setComponent(JComponent component) {
this.component = component;
}
public String getFunctionality() {
return functionality;
}
public void setFunctionality(String functionality) {
this.functionality = functionality;
}
}
Here I am adding my buttons dynamically: (try the example out if you want)
public class minimumExample extends JFrame {
private JButton addItem;
private JComboBox itemBox;
private String[] itemSelect = { "test1", "test2" };
private JPanel addUpperPane;
private JPanel addLowerPane;
private ArrayList<Item> displayedItems = new ArrayList<Item>();
private JButton upButton;
private JButton downButton;
private JButton deleteButton;
public void createControlPane() {
addUpperPane = new JPanel();
addLowerPane = new JPanel(new GridLayout(0, 1));
addItem = new JButton("Add item");
upButton = new JButton("Up");
downButton = new JButton("Down");
deleteButton = new JButton("Delete");
itemBox = new JComboBox(itemSelect);
addItem.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if(itemBox.getSelectedItem().toString().equals("test1")) {
displayedItems.add(new Item( new ButtonComp().butt(), "test1"));
validate();
repaint();
}
if(itemBox.getSelectedItem().toString().equals("test2")) {
displayedItems.add(new Item( new LabelComp().label(), "test2"));
validate();
repaint();
}
for (int i = 0; i < displayedItems.size(); i++) {
addLowerPane.add(displayedItems.get(i).getComponent());
validate();
repaint();
}
}
});
addUpperPane.add(itemBox, BorderLayout.EAST);
addUpperPane.add(addItem, BorderLayout.WEST);
addUpperPane.add(new JLabel(" | "), BorderLayout.WEST);
addUpperPane.add(upButton, BorderLayout.WEST);
addUpperPane.add(downButton, BorderLayout.WEST);
addUpperPane.add(deleteButton, BorderLayout.WEST);
addUpperPane.add(new JSeparator(JSeparator.HORIZONTAL));
//put everything together
add(addUpperPane, BorderLayout.NORTH);
add(addLowerPane, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
repaint();
}
private void makeLayout() {
setTitle("Test App");
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
setPreferredSize(new Dimension(1000, 500));
createControlPane();
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
pack();
setVisible(true);
}
/**
* starts the GUI
*/
public void start() {
javax.swing.SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
makeLayout();
}
});
}
public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
minimumExample ex = new minimumExample();
ex.start();
}
public class ButtonComp extends Component {
public JPanel butt() {
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
JButton button = new JButton("Test1");
JCheckBox check = new JCheckBox();
panel.add(button);
panel.add(check);
return panel;
}
}
public class LabelComp extends Component {
public JPanel label() {
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
JLabel label = new JLabel("Test2");
JCheckBox check = new JCheckBox();
panel.add(label);
panel.add(check);
return panel;
}
}
}
The program basically looks like that:
My problem is that the buttons Up, Down and Delete do not work, because I do not know how to get the selected element from the pane to delete it from the list where all components are in. Any recommendations on how to make this work?
I really appreciate your answer!
UPDATE
I changed my code your specifications #cghislai but it does not work. Try it out yourself:
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Component;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Iterator;
import java.util.List;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JCheckBox;
import javax.swing.JComboBox;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JSeparator;
public class minimumExample extends JFrame {
private JButton addItem;
private JComboBox itemBox;
private String[] itemSelect = { "test1", "test2" };
private JPanel addUpperPane;
private JPanel addLowerPane;
private List<CheckableItem> displayedItems = new ArrayList<CheckableItem>();
private JButton upButton;
private JButton downButton;
private JButton deleteButton;
public void createControlPane() {
addUpperPane = new JPanel();
addLowerPane = new JPanel(new GridLayout(0, 1));
addItem = new JButton("Add item");
upButton = new JButton("Up");
downButton = new JButton("Down");
deleteButton = new JButton("Delete");
itemBox = new JComboBox(itemSelect);
addItem.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if(itemBox.getSelectedItem().toString().equals("test1")) {
ButtonComp butt = new ButtonComp();
butt.init();
displayedItems.add(butt);
validate();
repaint();
}
if(itemBox.getSelectedItem().toString().equals("test2")) {
// displayedItems.add(new CopyOfItem( new LabelComp(), "test2"));
validate();
repaint();
}
for (int i = 0; i < displayedItems.size(); i++) {
addLowerPane.add(displayedItems.get(i).getComponent());
validate();
repaint();
}
}
});
deleteButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent arg0) {
Iterator<CheckableItem> it = displayedItems.iterator();
while (it.hasNext()) {
CheckableItem next = it.next();
if (next.isSelected()) {
addLowerPane.remove(next.getComponent());
it.remove();
continue;
}
}
}
});
addUpperPane.add(itemBox, BorderLayout.EAST);
addUpperPane.add(addItem, BorderLayout.WEST);
addUpperPane.add(new JLabel(" | "), BorderLayout.WEST);
addUpperPane.add(upButton, BorderLayout.WEST);
addUpperPane.add(downButton, BorderLayout.WEST);
addUpperPane.add(deleteButton, BorderLayout.WEST);
addUpperPane.add(new JSeparator(JSeparator.HORIZONTAL));
//put everything together
add(addUpperPane, BorderLayout.NORTH);
add(addLowerPane, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
repaint();
}
private void makeLayout() {
setTitle("Test App");
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
setPreferredSize(new Dimension(1000, 500));
createControlPane();
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
pack();
setVisible(true);
}
/**
* starts the GUI
*/
public void start() {
javax.swing.SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
makeLayout();
}
});
}
public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
minimumExample ex = new minimumExample();
ex.start();
}
public abstract class CheckableItem {
protected JCheckBox check;
public boolean isSelected() {
return check.isSelected();
}
public abstract Component getComponent();
}
public class ButtonComp extends CheckableItem {
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
public void init() {
JButton button = new JButton("Test1");
check = new JCheckBox();
panel.add(button);
panel.add(check);
}
#Override
public Component getComponent() {
return panel;
}
}
public class LabelComp extends JPanel {
public void label() {
// JPanel panel = new JPanel();
JLabel label = new JLabel("Test2");
JCheckBox check = new JCheckBox();
add(label);
add(check);
}
}
}

You need to traverse all your items, check if the item checkbox is selected, if this is the case, remove your item from the panel. I would make an abstract CheckableItem class with a getter to the JCheckbox and the Component. Then, for each of you item, if the checkbox is selected, remove the component from the parent.
public abstract class CheckableItem {
protected JCheckbox checkbox;
public boolean isSelected() {
return checkbox.isSelected();
}
public abstract Component getComponent();
}
public class ButtonComp extends CheckableItem {
private Panel panel;
public void init() {
checkbox = new JCheckbox;
panel = new JPanel();
panel.add(new JButton());
panel.add(checkbox);
}
public Component getComponent() {
return panel;
}
}
Then to keep track of your items:
private List<CheckableItem> items = new ArrayList<>();
// ...
ButtonComp comp = new ButtonComp();
comp.init();
items.add(comp);
Then to remove all checked:
Iterator<CheckbleItem> it = items.iterator();
while (it.hasNext()) {
CheckableItem next = it.next();
if (next.isSelected()) {
mainPanel.remove(next.getComponent());
it.remove();
continue;
}
}

Why don't you just have your ButtomComp and LabelComp extend from JPanel? This would solve a lot of your problems I think. For example :
public class ButtonComp extends JPanel {
JButton button;
JCheckBox check = new JCheckBox();
public ButtonComp() {
button = new JButton("Test1");
this.add(button);
this.add(check);
}
}
Then all you would need to do is iterate over your items and look at the checkbox in the components :
for (int i = 0; i < displayedItems.size(); i++) {
if (displayedItems.get(i).check.isSelected()) {
displayedItems.remove(i);
}
}
Note: haven't tested this code. But you should get the idea.

Reference clicked JButton inside ActionListener

I'm trying to write a Tic Tac Toe program using swing, but I seem to having some trouble. In my anonymous inner classes I attempt to set up the actionListener for each of my buttons, but I'm having trouble finding the type or the variable which will allow me to reference the buttons and set them to either X or Y. I tried e.getSource().setText() in my anonymous classes, but that came back with errors. Any thoughts?
Thanks!
Alex
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
public class TicTacToe {
public JFrame frame;
public JLabel label;
public JPanel panel;
public static int counter;
public void go()
{
frame = new JFrame("TicTacToe");
frame.setSize(500, 500);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
panel = new JPanel();
panel.setLayout(new GridLayout(3,3,10,10));
frame.add(BorderLayout.CENTER, panel);
label= new JLabel("TIC TAC TOE");
frame.add(BorderLayout.NORTH, label);
;
JButton button1 = new JButton("Button 1");
JButton button2 = new JButton("Button 1");
JButton button3 = new JButton("Button 1");
JButton button4 = new JButton("Button 1");
JButton button5 = new JButton("Button 1");
JButton button6 = new JButton("Button 1");
JButton button7 = new JButton("Button 1");
JButton button8 = new JButton("Button 1");
JButton button9 = new JButton("Button 1");
button1.addActionListener(new ActionListener(){
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
}
});
button2.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
}
});
button3.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
}
});
button4.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
}
});
button5.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
}
});
button6.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
}
});
button7.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
}
});
button8.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
}
});
button9.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
}
});
panel.add(button1);
panel.add(button2);
panel.add(button3);
panel.add(button4);
panel.add(button5);
panel.add(button6);
panel.add(button7);
panel.add(button8);
panel.add(button9);
frame.setVisible(true);
panel.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args)
{
TicTacToe gui = new TicTacToe();
gui.go();
}
}

Remember, ActionListener can be used on a number of different types of components, so the source reference is generalized. You need to cast to back to the expected value
button9.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
Object source = e.getSource();
if (source instanceof JButton) {
JButton btn = (JButton)source;
// Go ahead and do what you like
}
}
});
While I know your ActionListener as it stands can pretty much guarantee that the source type of the Object will be a JButton, I never like blindly casting objects, but that's me

If you are receiving errors then you should post them but I am assuming it is because you aren't asserting that the source object is in fact a button. There are two straightforward solutions to what you are doing.
First is that since you are only adding one action listener to each button, you can assume that it is the object that the action event is referring to. Just note that the button either needs to be an instance variable or declared final:
button1.addActionListener(new ActionListener(){
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
button1.setText("X/Y");
}
});
Second, which would fix the cause of your error, is by asserting that the ActionEvent source object is in fact a button. This is done by checking that the source is an instance of JButton:
button1.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if (e.getSource() instanceof JButton) {
((JButton) e.getSource()).setText("X/Y");
}
}
});

I went through and cleaned up your code a little bit. I'm not quite sure why your code had errors, but I didn't get any. I suggest, since you have common code, to reuse it like I did in an array. I also added a boolean to switch between players on each button click.
Lastly, I suggest setting up the JFrame in the constructor, or in a private method called by the constructor (more complex user interfaces might have a lot of code, and breaking it up is a good habit for maintainability of your code) like I showed below.
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
public class TicTacToe {
public static final boolean PLAYER_X = false;
public static final boolean PLAYER_O = true;
public static int counter;
private JFrame frame;
private JLabel label;
private JPanel panel;
private JButton[] buttons;
private boolean player;
public TicTacToe() {
frame = new JFrame("TicTacToe");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
panel = new JPanel();
panel.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(500, 500));
panel.setLayout(new GridLayout(3, 3, 10, 10));
frame.add(BorderLayout.CENTER, panel);
label = new JLabel("TIC TAC TOE");
frame.add(BorderLayout.NORTH, label);
/* Set the initial player turn to player X */
player = PLAYER_X;
/* Create the JButtons */
buttons = new JButton[9];
/* Loop through and set all of them up */
for (int i = 0; i < buttons.length; i++) {
buttons[i] = new JButton();
buttons[i].addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if (e.getSource() instanceof JButton) {
((JButton)e.getSource()).setText(player ? "O" : "X"); /* Set button text */
player = !player; /* Switch turns */
}
}
});
/* Add all of the buttons to the panel. */
panel.add(buttons[i]);
}
/* Pack the frame to the contents. Basically a "fit to contents". */
frame.pack();
}
public void go() {
frame.setVisible(true);
panel.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
TicTacToe gui = new TicTacToe();
gui.go();
}
}

Why wont the submit button work on the GUI

I have created an ActionListener and the button but the button doesn't work.
The action listener is supposed to be integrated with the submit button, please help?
Code:
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.event.DocumentListener;import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
public class Executer {
private JLabel lblCommand;
private JTextField txtEnter;
private JButton btNext, btPrevious, btSubmit;
private JPanel panel;
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Executer();
}
public Executer() {
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Script Executer");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setSize(500,300);
frame.setVisible(true);
myPanel();
Text();
Fields();
Buttons();
frame.add(panel);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public void myPanel() {
panel = new JPanel();
panel.setLayout(null);
}
public void Text() {
lblCommand = new JLabel("Enter Here");
lblCommand.setBounds(145, 100, 150, 20);
Font styleOne = new Font("Arial", Font.BOLD, 13);
lblCommand.setFont(styleOne);
panel.add(lblCommand);
}
public void Fields() {
txtEnter = new JTextField();
txtEnter.setBounds(230, 100, 120, 20);
panel.add(txtEnter);
}
public void Buttons() {
btNext = new JButton ("Next");
btNext.setBounds(300,215,100,20);
panel.add(btNext);
btPrevious = new JButton ("Previous");
btPrevious.setBounds(190,215,100,20);
panel.add(btPrevious);
btSubmit = new JButton("Submit");
btSubmit.setBounds(80,215,100,20);
panel.add(btSubmit);
btSubmit.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
String userEntered = txtEnter.getText();
if(userEntered.equalsIgnoreCase("yes"))
{
//run your script
}
}
});
}
}

Your code appears fine.
Enter a print statement and you can see it is working.
btSubmit.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
// here the click happend so you can check your Textfield
String userEntered = txtEnter.getText();
System.out.println("User enterd: " + userEntered);
if(userEntered.equalsIgnoreCase("yes"))
{
System.out.println("Entered Yes");
}
}
});

GUI multiple frames switch

I am writing a program for a black jack game. It is an assignment we are not to use gui's but I am doing it for extra credit I have created two frames ant they are working. On the second frame I want to be able to switch back to the first when a button is pressed. How do I do this?
first window.............
import javax.swing.* ;
import java.awt.event.* ;
import java.awt.* ;
import java.util.* ;
public class BlackJackWindow1 extends JFrame implements ActionListener
{
private JButton play = new JButton("Play");
private JButton exit = new JButton("Exit");
private JPanel pane=new JPanel();
private JLabel lbl ;
public BlackJackWindow1()
{
super();
JPanel pane=new JPanel();
setTitle ("Black Jack!!!!!") ;
JFrame frame = new JFrame("");
setVisible(true);
setSize (380, 260) ;
setLocation (450, 200) ;
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation (JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE) ;
setLayout(new FlowLayout());
play = new JButton("Start");
exit = new JButton("exit");
lbl = new JLabel ("Welcome to Theodores Black Jack!!!!!");
add (lbl) ;
add(play, BorderLayout.CENTER);
play.addActionListener (this);
add(exit,BorderLayout.CENTER);
exit.addActionListener (this);
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent event)
{
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
BlackJackWindow2 bl = new BlackJackWindow2();
if (event.getSource() == play)
{
bl.BlackJackWindow2();
}
else if(event.getSource() == exit){
System.exit(0);
}
}
second window....
import javax.swing.* ;
import java.awt.event.* ;
import java.awt.* ;
import java.util.* ;
public class BlackJackWindow2 extends JFrame implements ActionListener
{
private JButton hit ;
private JButton stay ;
private JButton back;
//private JLabel lbl;
public void BlackJackWindow2()
{
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
JPanel pane=new JPanel();
setTitle ("Black Jack!!!!!") ;
JFrame frame = new JFrame("");
setVisible(true);
setSize (380, 260) ;
setLocation (450, 200) ;
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation (JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE) ;
setLayout(new FlowLayout());
hit = new JButton("Hit");
stay = new JButton("stay");
back = new JButton("return to main menu");
// add (lbl) ;
add(hit, BorderLayout.CENTER);
hit.addActionListener (this) ;
add(stay,BorderLayout.CENTER);
stay.addActionListener (this) ;
add(back,BorderLayout.CENTER);
back.addActionListener (this) ;
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent event)
{
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
BlackJackWindow1 bl = new BlackJackWindow1();
if (event.getSource() == hit)
{
//code for the game goes here i will complete later
}
else if(event.getSource() == stay){
//code for game goes here i will comeplete later.
}
else
{
//this is where i want the frame to close and go back to the original.
}
}
}

The second frame needs a reference to the first frame so that it can set the focus back to the first frame.
Also your classes extend JFrame but they are also creating other frames in their constructors.

A couple of suggestions:
You're adding components to a JPanel that uses FlowLayout but are using BorderLayout constants when doing this which you shouldn't do as it doesn't make sense:
add(play, BorderLayout.CENTER);
Rather, if using FlowLayout, just add the components without those constants.
Also, rather than swap JFrames, you might want to consider using a CardLayout and swapping veiws in a single JFrame. For instance:
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class FooBarBazDriver {
private static final String INTRO = "intro";
private static final String GAME = "game";
private CardLayout cardlayout = new CardLayout();
private JPanel mainPanel = new JPanel(cardlayout);
private IntroPanel introPanel = new IntroPanel();
private GamePanel gamePanel = new GamePanel();
public FooBarBazDriver() {
mainPanel.add(introPanel.getMainComponent(), INTRO);
mainPanel.add(gamePanel.getMainComponent(), GAME);
introPanel.addBazBtnActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
cardlayout.show(mainPanel, GAME);
}
});
gamePanel.addBackBtnActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
cardlayout.show(mainPanel, INTRO);
}
});
}
private JComponent getMainComponent() {
return mainPanel;
}
private static void createAndShowUI() {
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Foo Bar Baz");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.getContentPane().add(new FooBarBazDriver().getMainComponent());
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
java.awt.EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
createAndShowUI();
}
});
}
}
class IntroPanel {
private JPanel mainPanel = new JPanel();
private JButton baz = new JButton("Baz");
private JButton exit = new JButton("Exit");
public IntroPanel() {
mainPanel.setLayout(new FlowLayout());
baz = new JButton("Start");
exit = new JButton("exit");
mainPanel.add(new JLabel("Hello World"));
mainPanel.add(baz);
mainPanel.add(exit);
exit.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
Window win = SwingUtilities.getWindowAncestor(mainPanel);
win.dispose();
}
});
}
public void addBazBtnActionListener(ActionListener listener) {
baz.addActionListener(listener);
}
public JComponent getMainComponent() {
return mainPanel;
}
}
class GamePanel {
private static final Dimension MAIN_SIZE = new Dimension(400, 200);
private JPanel mainPanel = new JPanel();
private JButton foo;
private JButton bar;
private JButton back;
public GamePanel() {
foo = new JButton("Foo");
bar = new JButton("Bar");
back = new JButton("return to main menu");
mainPanel.add(foo);
mainPanel.add(bar);
mainPanel.add(back);
mainPanel.setPreferredSize(MAIN_SIZE);
}
public JComponent getMainComponent() {
return mainPanel;
}
public void addBackBtnActionListener(ActionListener listener) {
back.addActionListener(listener);
}
}

Since I had to test it myself if it is in fact so easy to implement, I built this simple example. It demonstrates a solution to your problem. Slightly inspired by #jzd's answer (+1 for that).
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.HeadlessException;
import java.awt.event.MouseAdapter;
import java.awt.event.MouseEvent;
import java.awt.event.MouseListener;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
public class FocusChangeTwoFrames
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable()
{
#Override
public void run()
{
createGUI();
}
});
}
private static void createGUI() throws HeadlessException
{
final JFrame f2 = new JFrame();
f2.getContentPane().setBackground(Color.GREEN);
final JFrame f1 = new JFrame();
f1.getContentPane().setBackground(Color.RED);
f1.setSize(400, 300);
f1.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
f1.setVisible(true);
MouseListener ml = new MouseAdapter()
{
#Override
public void mousePressed(MouseEvent e)
{
if(f1.hasFocus())
f2.requestFocus();
else
f1.requestFocus();
}
};
f1.addMouseListener(ml);
f2.setSize(400, 300);
f2.setLocation(200, 150);
f2.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
f2.setVisible(true);
f2.addMouseListener(ml);
}
}
Enjoy, Boro.