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How to switch JPanels in a JFrame from within the panel?

So, I'm trying to make a basic functional menu for a simple game. I tried to do this by creating 2 JPanels, one for the actual game, and another for my menu.
What I'm trying to do is have a button on my Menu panel that when pressed, switches the JPanel being displayed in the parent JFrame from that of the menu to that of the actual game.
Here is my code:
class Menu extends JPanel
{
public Menu()
{
JButton startButton = new JButton("Start!");
startButton.addActionListener(new Listener());
add(startButton);
}
private class Listener implements ActionListener
{
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
Container container = getParent();
Container previous = container;
System.out.println(getParent());
while (container != null)
{
previous = container;
container = container.getParent();
}
previous.setContentPane(new GamePanel());
}
}
}
As you can see, I created a Listener for my start button. Inside the listener, I used a while loop to get to the JFrame, via the getParent() method. The program is getting the JFrame object, however it's not letting me call the setContentPane method...
Does anyone know how to get this to work, or a better way to switch back and forth between a menu and game?

Like so :
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.CardLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
public class CardLayoutDemo extends JFrame {
public final String YELLOW_PAGE = "yellow page";
public final String RED_PAGE = "red page";
private final CardLayout cLayout;
private final JPanel mainPane;
boolean isRedPaneVisible;
public CardLayoutDemo(){
setTitle("Card Layout Demo");
setDefaultCloseOperation(EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
setLocationRelativeTo(null);
mainPane = new JPanel();
mainPane.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(250,150));
cLayout = new CardLayout();
mainPane.setLayout(cLayout);
JPanel yellowPane = new JPanel();
yellowPane.setBackground(Color.YELLOW);
JPanel redPane = new JPanel();
redPane.setBackground(Color.RED);
mainPane.add(YELLOW_PAGE, yellowPane);
mainPane.add(RED_PAGE, redPane);
showRedPane();
JButton button = new JButton("Switch Panes");
button.addActionListener(e -> switchPanes() );
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
add(mainPane,BorderLayout.CENTER);
add(button,BorderLayout.SOUTH);
pack();
setVisible(true);
}
void switchPanes() {
if (isRedPaneVisible) {showYelloPane();}
else { showRedPane();}
}
void showRedPane() {
cLayout.show(mainPane, RED_PAGE);
isRedPaneVisible = true;
}
void showYelloPane() {
cLayout.show(mainPane, YELLOW_PAGE);
isRedPaneVisible = false;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
new CardLayoutDemo();
}
}

Update JLabel text

I'm working on a simple GUI. On Button press i want to increase/decrease a variable and update the corresponding JLabel.
class JFrameSetUp
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class JFrameSetUp extends JFrame implements ActionListener {
private int RecHeight = 0;
private int RecWidth = 0;
//Here Buttons
JButton HeightIncrease = new JButton("+");
JButton HeightDecrease = new JButton("-");
JLabel height = new JLabel(Integer.toString(RecHeight));
JLabel width = new JLabel(Integer.toString(RecWidth));
GridLayout gridLayout = new GridLayout(2, 4);
public JFrameSetUp(){
}
public void addComponentsToPane(final Container pane){
//Create GridPanel and set Layout
JPanel grid = new JPanel();
grid.setLayout(gridLayout);
//Create buttondrawPanel and set Layout
JPanel buttondraw = new JPanel();
buttondraw.setLayout(new GridLayout(2, 0));
//Adding Components to GridPanel
//Adding Layouts to pane
pane.add(grid, BorderLayout.NORTH);
pane.add(new JSeparator(), BorderLayout.CENTER);
pane.add(buttondraw, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
//Setting up ActionListener to Buttons
if (e.getSource() == this.HeightDecrease) {
RecHeight -= 1;
height.setText(Integer.toString(RecHeight));
} else if (e.getSource() == this.HeightIncrease) {
RecHeight += 1;
height.setText(Integer.toString(RecHeight));
}
}
}
Class with MainMethod
import javax.swing.JFrame;
public class Program {
public static void main(String[] args) {
javax.swing.SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
createAndShowGUI();
}
});
}
private static void createAndShowGUI() {
//Create and set up the window.
JFrameSetUp frame = new JFrameSetUp();
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
//Set up the content pane.
frame.addComponentsToPane(frame.getContentPane());
//Display the window.
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
}
I'm aware, that's kind a newbish question. I think I'm wrong with my Code Structure. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

You never register any ActionListeners to the buttons...
HeightIncrease.addActionListener(this);
HeightDecrease.addActionListener(this);
You also never add the buttons to the GUI
buttondraw.add(HeightIncrease);
buttondraw.add(HeightDecrease);
You also never add the labels to the GUI either...
grid.add(height);
grid.add(width);
I reworked the code, because your example was messing with my mind, hope you don't mind...
It's conceptually the same idea, just done slightly more efficently
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
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.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JSeparator;
import javax.swing.UIManager;
import javax.swing.UnsupportedLookAndFeelException;
public class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Test();
}
public Test() {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
} catch (ClassNotFoundException | InstantiationException | IllegalAccessException | UnsupportedLookAndFeelException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
}
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Testing");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.add(new TestPane());
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
public class TestPane extends JPanel {
private int recHeight = 0;
private int recWidth = 0;
//Here Buttons
JButton heightIncrease = new JButton("+");
JButton heightDecrease = new JButton("-");
JLabel height = new JLabel(Integer.toString(recHeight));
JLabel width = new JLabel(Integer.toString(recWidth));
GridLayout gridLayout = new GridLayout(2, 4);
public TestPane() {
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
//Create GridPanel and set Layout
JPanel grid = new JPanel();
grid.setLayout(gridLayout);
grid.add(height);
grid.add(width);
//Create buttondrawPanel and set Layout
JPanel buttondraw = new JPanel();
buttondraw.setLayout(new GridLayout(2, 0));
heightIncrease.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
recHeight += 1;
height.setText(Integer.toString(recHeight));
}
});
heightDecrease.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
recHeight -= 1;
height.setText(Integer.toString(recHeight));
}
});
buttondraw.add(heightIncrease);
buttondraw.add(heightDecrease);
//Adding Components to GridPanel
//Adding Layouts to pane
add(grid, BorderLayout.NORTH);
add(new JSeparator(), BorderLayout.CENTER);
add(buttondraw, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
}
}
}
I would encourage you to spend some time having a look at How to Use Buttons, Check Boxes, and Radio Buttons and How to Write an Action Listeners for more details

After changing the value call
frame.repaint();

Good to see you learning Java! A few things I should point out.
Firstly, your variable names are good, but they don't follow the Java naming convention. Even though it seems small, it's just good practice to follow.
Of course, your actual problem; the action listener you've implemented is on the JFrame. (See how you extend JFrame and implement ActionListener?) This ActionListener should be on the button. You'll can do this a few ways.
Method 1: By adding it inline with your code
JButton heightButton = new JButton("Increase Height");
heightButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener(){
#Override
public void run(){
//run method here
}
});
Method 2: Create a class which implements ActionListener
class ButtonListener implements ActionListener{
#Override
public void run(){
//actionListener code here
}
}
And then instantiate an object of this type and add it directly to your code.
ActionListner buttonListener = new ButtonListener(); //or ButtonListener buttonListener = new ButtonListener();
JButton heightButton = new JButton("Increase Height");
heightButton.addActionListener(buttonListener);
Of course, as in MadProgrammers answer, don't forget to add the labels and such to your JFrame or JPanel. Good luck learning Java!

I bet that your program just shows nothing, isn't it? That's because in addComponentsToPane method, you didn't add any component but empty JPanels. After the comment //Adding Components to GridPanel, you should:
buttondraw.add(HeightIncrease);
buttondraw.add(HeightDecrease);
grid.add(height);
grid.add(width);
Then, to listen to button event, you should also add :
HeightIncrease.addActionListener(this);
HeightDecrease.addActionListener(this);
"this" is because your frame JFrameSetUp implements ActionListener, so when either bootton is clicked the method actionPerformed is invoked.
As JLabel.setText method will repaint itself and consequently its component hierarchi is repainted as well, you haven't to do anything othr.

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
}

How would I use a button in Java to open Jframe over existing Jframe

I have 2 frames, the first frame has the nothing more and a button, which leads to another frame which will have all the components, like tabs which have more components.
The code I am using is:
button_1.addActionListener(new ActionListener()
{
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
JFrame Frame_2 = new JFrame();
Frame_1.setVisible(false);
Frame_2.setVisible(true);
}
});
this is creating a new separate frame , but i want to create new JFrame over existing JFrame
update
#VinceEmigh +1
Thanks for the detail custom solution. It shows that someone is really willing to help, I am a self learner , started just 3 months ago so your code is bit difficult to understand, but the idea of using cardlayout did the work and i came up with a solution.
JFrame guiFrame = new JFrame();
CardLayout cards;
JPanel cardPane;
JButton B_1 = new JButton("Next Card");
B_1.setActionCommand("Next Card");
B_1.addActionListener(new ActionListener()
{
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent event)
{
cards.next(cardPane);
}
});
cards = new CardLayout();
cardPane = new JPanel();
cardPane.setLayout(cards);
cards.show(cardPane, "Main");
JPanel Card_1 = new JPanel();
JLabel background_1 = new JLabel(new ImageIcon("C:\\Users\\ME\\Desktop\\Back1.jpg"));
Card_1.add(background_1);
Card_1.add(B_1);
JPanel Card_2 = new JPanel();
JLabel background_2 = new JLabel(new ImageIcon("C:\\Users\\ME\\Desktop\\Back2.jpg"));
Card_2.add(background_2);
cardPane.add(Card_1, "Main");
cardPane.add(Card_2, "Sub");

You shouldnt use 2 frames. You should use 1 frame, then switch between panels in the frame using CardLayout. Unless you're referring to nesting a frame within a frame, creating 2 different frames for 1 applicarion is typically bad practice, and should be avoided if possible.
Set your frames layout to CardLayout, add 2 panels to your frame. One panel contains the button, the other has the components.
When your button event triggers throuhh an actionlistener, switch out the panels using the cardlayout you put for the frames layout.
import java.awt.CardLayout;
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 App extends JFrame {
private CardLayout cl = new CardLayout();
private JPanel firstPanel = new FirstPanel();
private JPanel secondPanel = new SecondPanel();
public App() {
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
setSize(500, 500);
setLayout(cl);
add(firstPanel, "first");
add(secondPanel, "second");
setLocationRelativeTo(null);
setVisible(true);
}
public void switchPanel(String name) {
cl.show(getContentPane(), name);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
App app = new App();
}
});
}
class FirstPanel extends JPanel implements ActionListener {
private JButton button = new JButton("Button");
public FirstPanel() {
button.addActionListener(this);
add(button);
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if(e.getSource() == button) {
switchPanel("second");
}
}
}
class SecondPanel extends JPanel { }
}

Adding jinternalframe class to jdesktoppane using other jinternalframe class

I'm creating a very simple program.
I have created this classes :
MainJframeClass, JDesktopPaneClass, JinternalFrameClass1 and JinternalFrameClass2.
what ive done is that i instantiated my jdesktoppaneclass and named it desktoppane1 and i added it to the MainJframeclass. i have also instantiated the 2 jinternalframes and named it internal1 and internal2. Now, i have button in mainjframeclass that when i press, i add the internal1 to desktoppane1. what my problem now is how to add the internal2 to desktoppane1 using a button placed somewhere in internal1. i know that why could i just add another button to desktoppane1 and add the internal2. but i have done it already, i just want to solve this problem. if you can help me please. sorry for my english by the way.

It's simply a matter of references. The code that adds something to the JDesktopPane must have a reference to it, and so you will need to pass that reference into the class that needs it say via either a constructor parameter or a method parameter.
Edit 1
For example:
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.util.Random;
import javax.swing.*;
public class ReferenceExample extends JPanel {
private JDesktopPane desktop = new JDesktopPane();
private Random random = new Random();
public ReferenceExample() {
JButton addInternalFrameBtn = new JButton("Add Internal Frame");
addInternalFrameBtn.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
addInternalFrame();
}
});
JPanel btnPanel = new JPanel();
btnPanel.add(addInternalFrameBtn);
setPreferredSize(new Dimension(600, 450));
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
add(new JScrollPane(desktop), BorderLayout.CENTER);
add(btnPanel, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
}
public void addInternalFrame() {
MyInternalFrame intFrame = new MyInternalFrame(ReferenceExample.this);
int x = random.nextInt(getWidth() - intFrame.getPreferredSize().width);
int y = random.nextInt(getHeight() - intFrame.getPreferredSize().height);
intFrame.setLocation(x, y);
desktop.add(intFrame);
intFrame.setVisible(true);
}
private static void createAndShowUI() {
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Reference Eg");
frame.getContentPane().add(new ReferenceExample());
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
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 MyInternalFrame extends JInternalFrame {
// pass in the reference in the constructor
public MyInternalFrame(final ReferenceExample refEg) {
setPreferredSize(new Dimension(200, 200));
setClosable(true);
JButton addInternalFrameBtn = new JButton("Add Internal Frame");
addInternalFrameBtn.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
// use the reference here
refEg.addInternalFrame();
}
});
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
panel.add(addInternalFrameBtn);
getContentPane().add(panel);
pack();
}
}

how to add the internal2 to desktoppane1 using a button placed somewhere in internal1.
In the ActionListener added to your button you can use code like the following to get a reference to the desktop pane:
Container container = SwingUtilities.getAncestorOfClass(JDesktopPane.class, (Component)event.getSource());
if (container != null)
{
JDesktopPane desktop = (JDesktopPane)container;
JInternalFrame frame = new JInternalFrame(...);
desktop.add( frame );
}