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how to output a user selected shape & color, whose location and dimensions depend upon the coordinate location of user clicks

As part of a larger project I'm trying to create a basic UI that will allow a user to click a JButton to select a desired color and then allow that user to click another JButton to designate a shape to be displayed, filled in according to the previously selected color. I understand that I must make use of action events.
Please note I am referencing this similar question:
GUI Application that allows the user to choose the shape and color of a drawing
My code thus far is:
import java.util.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.border.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
public class GUI extends JFrame implements ActionListener, WindowListener
{
private final JButton circleButton, rectangleButton, redButton;
private final JButton greenButton, blueButton, exitButton;
private final JTextArea textArea;
private final JLabel label1;
private final JPanel colorPane;
private String shapeColor = "black";
private String actualShape = "rectangle";
private static final int ROWS = 2, COLS = 3;
public GUI (String title)
{
super(title);
//setResizable(false);
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
colorPane = new JPanel();
label1 = new JLabel("current date here");
label1.setVerticalAlignment(SwingConstants.BOTTOM);
label1.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.LEFT);
label1.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(200,0));
getContentPane().add(label1, BorderLayout.WEST);
colorPane.setLayout(new GridLayout(ROWS,COLS));
getContentPane().add(colorPane, BorderLayout.CENTER);
redButton = makeButton("Red");
colorPane.add(redButton);
greenButton = makeButton("Green");
colorPane.add(greenButton);
blueButton = makeButton("Blue");
colorPane.add(blueButton);
rectangleButton = makeButton("Rectangle");
colorPane.add(rectangleButton);
circleButton = makeButton("Circle");
colorPane.add(circleButton);
exitButton = makeButton("Exit");
colorPane.add(exitButton);
textArea = new JTextArea(0,20);
getContentPane().add(textArea, BorderLayout.EAST);
pack();
}
public void paint(Graphics g, String color)
{
if (shapeColor.equalsIgnoreCase("blue") && actualShape.equalsIgnoreCase("rectangle"))
{
g.setColor(Color.BLUE);
g.fillRect(50, 90, 100, 50);
}
else if (shapeColor.equalsIgnoreCase("green") && actualShape.equalsIgnoreCase("circle"))
{
g.setColor(Color.GREEN);
g.fillOval(50, 180, 55, 55);
}
else if (shapeColor.equalsIgnoreCase("red") && actualShape.equalsIgnoreCase("rectangle"))
{
g.setColor(Color.RED);
g.fillRect(50, 90, 100, 50);
}
else if (shapeColor.equalsIgnoreCase("green") && actualShape.equalsIgnoreCase("rectangle"))
{
g.setColor(Color.GREEN);
g.fillRect(50,90,100,50);
}
else if (shapeColor.equalsIgnoreCase("blue") && actualShape.equalsIgnoreCase("circle"))
{
g.setColor(Color.BLUE);
g.fillOval(50, 180, 55, 55);
}
else if (shapeColor.equalsIgnoreCase("red") && actualShape.equalsIgnoreCase("circle"))
{
g.setColor(Color.RED);
g.fillOval(50, 180, 55, 55);
}
}
//method designed to create new JButtons while avoiding code duplication
private JButton makeButton(String text)
{
JButton b = new JButton(text);
b.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.LEFT);
b.addActionListener(this);
b.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(125,55));
return b;
}
#Override
public void windowOpened(WindowEvent e) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
#Override
public void windowClosing(WindowEvent e)
{
System.exit(0);
}
#Override
public void windowClosed(WindowEvent e) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
#Override
public void windowIconified(WindowEvent e) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
#Override
public void windowDeiconified(WindowEvent e) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
#Override
public void windowActivated(WindowEvent e) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
#Override
public void windowDeactivated(WindowEvent e) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
System.out.println( ( (JButton)e.getSource() ).getText() + " button pressed ");
if ( ( ((JButton) e.getSource()).getText().equalsIgnoreCase("Red")) )
{
setShapeColor("Red");
System.out.println("selected color is: " + shapeColor + " selected shape is: " + actualShape);
//paint(this.getGraphics());
}
else if ( ( ((JButton) e.getSource()).getText().equalsIgnoreCase("Blue")) )
{
setShapeColor("Blue");
System.out.println("selected color is: " + shapeColor + " selected shape is: " + actualShape);
//paint(this.getGraphics());
}
else if ( ( ((JButton) e.getSource()).getText().equalsIgnoreCase("Green")) )
{
setShapeColor("Green");
System.out.println("selected color is: " + shapeColor + " selected shape is: " + actualShape);
//paint(this.getGraphics());
}
if ( ( ((JButton) e.getSource()).getText().equalsIgnoreCase("Rectangle")) )
{
setActualShape("rectangle");
System.out.println("selected shape is: " + actualShape + " selected color is: " + shapeColor);
paint(this.getGraphics(), shapeColor);
}
else if ( ( ((JButton) e.getSource()).getText().equalsIgnoreCase("Circle")) )
{
setActualShape("circle");
System.out.println("selected shape is: " + actualShape + " selected color is: " + shapeColor);
paint(this.getGraphics(), shapeColor);
}
}
public String getShapeColor() {
return shapeColor;
}
public void setShapeColor(String shapeColor) {
this.shapeColor = shapeColor;
}
public String getActualShape() {
return actualShape;
}
public void setActualShape(String actualShape) {
this.actualShape = actualShape;
}
public static void main(String[] args)
{
new GUI("My Gui").setVisible(true);
}
}
What I've thus far achieved is an output that shows both the selected color as well as the selected shape to be rendered in the selected color.
Furthermore, I've been successful in outputting a shape whose position is hard-coded but whose type (either circle or square) and whose color (red, blue or green), is correctly output as a result of the user clicks.
The final phase, upon which I am struggling, is the implementation of the shape's output so that the user's sequence of clicks determines the location and dimensions of the shape output to the screen.
The goal is to achieve the functionality demonstrated here:
https://metrostate.learn.minnstate.edu/content/2020/4560296-20201000539/ICS372%20-%20Assignment%202%20Video.mp4?d2lSessionVal=ARifwbCHriCBrkgxBWpL9g8fL&ou=4560296
I'm relatively certain that the correct solution is similar to the following code:
import java.util.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.event.*;
/**
* Note: Normally the ButtonPanel and DrawingArea would not be static
classes.
* This was done for the convenience of posting the code in one class and
to
* highlight the differences between the two approaches. All the
differences
* are found in the DrawingArea class.
*/
public class DrawOnComponent
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
createAndShowGUI();
}
});
}
private static void createAndShowGUI()
{
DrawingArea drawingArea = new DrawingArea();
ButtonPanel buttonPanel = new ButtonPanel( drawingArea );
JFrame.setDefaultLookAndFeelDecorated(true);
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Draw On Component");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation( JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE );
frame.getContentPane().add(drawingArea);
frame.getContentPane().add(buttonPanel, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
frame.setSize(400, 400);
frame.setLocationRelativeTo( null );
frame.setVisible(true);
}
static class ButtonPanel extends JPanel implements ActionListener
{
private DrawingArea drawingArea;
public ButtonPanel(DrawingArea drawingArea)
{
this.drawingArea = drawingArea;
add( createButton(" ", Color.BLACK) );
add( createButton(" ", Color.RED) );
add( createButton(" ", Color.GREEN) );
add( createButton(" ", Color.BLUE) );
add( createButton(" ", Color.ORANGE) );
add( createButton(" ", Color.YELLOW) );
add( createButton("Clear Drawing", null) );
}
private JButton createButton(String text, Color background)
{
JButton button = new JButton( text );
button.setBackground( background );
button.addActionListener( this );
return button;
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
JButton button = (JButton)e.getSource();
if ("Clear Drawing".equals(e.getActionCommand()))
drawingArea.clear();
else
drawingArea.setForeground( button.getBackground() );
}
}
static class DrawingArea extends JPanel
{
private final static int AREA_SIZE = 400;
private ArrayList<ColoredRectangle> coloredRectangles = new ArrayList<ColoredRectangle>();
private Rectangle shape;
public DrawingArea()
{
setBackground(Color.WHITE);
MyMouseListener ml = new MyMouseListener();
addMouseListener(ml);
addMouseMotionListener(ml);
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize()
{
return isPreferredSizeSet() ?
super.getPreferredSize() : new Dimension(AREA_SIZE, AREA_SIZE);
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g)
{
super.paintComponent(g);
// Custom code to paint all the Rectangles from the List
Color foreground = g.getColor();
g.setColor( Color.BLACK );
g.drawString("Add a rectangle by doing mouse press, drag and release!", 40, 15);
for (DrawingArea.ColoredRectangle cr : coloredRectangles)
{
g.setColor( cr.getForeground() );
Rectangle r = cr.getRectangle();
g.drawRect(r.x, r.y, r.width, r.height);
}
// Paint the Rectangle as the mouse is being dragged
if (shape != null)
{
Graphics2D g2d = (Graphics2D)g;
g2d.setColor( foreground );
g2d.draw( shape );
}
}
public void addRectangle(Rectangle rectangle, Color color)
{
// Add the Rectangle to the List so it can be repainted
ColoredRectangle cr = new ColoredRectangle(color, rectangle);
coloredRectangles.add( cr );
repaint();
}
public void clear()
{
coloredRectangles.clear();
repaint();
}
class MyMouseListener extends MouseInputAdapter
{
private Point startPoint;
public void mousePressed(MouseEvent e)
{
startPoint = e.getPoint();
shape = new Rectangle();
}
public void mouseDragged(MouseEvent e)
{
int x = Math.min(startPoint.x, e.getX());
int y = Math.min(startPoint.y, e.getY());
int width = Math.abs(startPoint.x - e.getX());
int height = Math.abs(startPoint.y - e.getY());
shape.setBounds(x, y, width, height);
repaint();
}
public void mouseReleased(MouseEvent e)
{
if (shape.width != 0 || shape.height != 0)
{
addRectangle(shape, e.getComponent().getForeground());
}
shape = null;
}
}
class ColoredRectangle
{
private Color foreground;
private Rectangle rectangle;
public ColoredRectangle(Color foreground, Rectangle rectangle)
{
this.foreground = foreground;
this.rectangle = rectangle;
}
public Color getForeground()
{
return foreground;
}
public void setForeground(Color foreground)
{
this.foreground = foreground;
}
public Rectangle getRectangle()
{
return rectangle;
}
}
}
}
I know that I must override the 'paint' method and as a hard-coded exercise I have included the following in my code:
public void paint(Graphics g, String color)
{
if (shapeColor.equalsIgnoreCase("blue") && actualShape.equalsIgnoreCase("rectangle"))
{
g.setColor(Color.BLUE);
g.fillRect(50, 90, 100, 50);
}
else if (shapeColor.equalsIgnoreCase("green") && actualShape.equalsIgnoreCase("circle"))
{
g.setColor(Color.GREEN);
g.fillOval(50, 180, 55, 55);
}
else if (shapeColor.equalsIgnoreCase("red") && actualShape.equalsIgnoreCase("rectangle"))
{
g.setColor(Color.RED);
g.fillRect(50, 90, 100, 50);
}
else if (shapeColor.equalsIgnoreCase("green") && actualShape.equalsIgnoreCase("rectangle"))
{
g.setColor(Color.GREEN);
g.fillRect(50,90,100,50);
}
else if (shapeColor.equalsIgnoreCase("blue") && actualShape.equalsIgnoreCase("circle"))
{
g.setColor(Color.BLUE);
g.fillOval(50, 180, 55, 55);
}
else if (shapeColor.equalsIgnoreCase("red") && actualShape.equalsIgnoreCase("circle"))
{
g.setColor(Color.RED);
g.fillOval(50, 180, 55, 55);
}
}
}
I am unsure how to record coordinates of a user's button click and to then pass those coordinates into the constructor of the desired shape.

There are a couple of errors to change in your code:
Don't extend JFrame, see Extends JFrame vs. creating it inside the program, instead create an instance of it inside your class. If you need to extend from a JComponent let it be a more flexible one such as JPanel.
Don't override paint(...) method, you need to override JPanel's paintComponent(...) method and don't forget to call super.paintComponent(g) as the first line in it, otherwise you might break the paint chain and have funny / weird behaviors. Neither pass the getGraphics() object, see the Tutorial on Custom Painting
Use the Shape API rather than drawing directly on the JPanel as it provides more functionality. See this post: Create the square, rectangle, triangle of java in jframe
Don't call setPreferredSize, override the getPreferredSize, see: Should I avoid the use of set(Preferred|Maximum|Minimum)Size methods in Java Swing?
Place your program on the EDT, see point #7 in the linked post in point #3 in this same answer.
So, here's an example that follows the above recommendations:
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.geom.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
public class PaintExample {
private JFrame frame;
private JPanel pane;
private JPanel buttonsPane;
private CustomShape customShape;
private JButton squareButton;
private JButton circleButton;
private JButton purpleButton;
private JButton blueButton;
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> new PaintExample().createAndShowGUI());
}
private void createAndShowGUI() {
frame = new JFrame(getClass().getSimpleName()); //Create a new JFrame with a title = this class name
pane = new JPanel();
buttonsPane = new JPanel();
buttonsPane.setLayout(new GridLayout(2, 2, 5, 5)); // We generate a grid layout of 2 x 2 for our JButtons
squareButton = new JButton("Square");
circleButton = new JButton("Circle");
purpleButton = new JButton("Purple");
blueButton = new JButton("Blue");
squareButton.addActionListener(listener);
circleButton.addActionListener(listener);
purpleButton.addActionListener(listener);
blueButton.addActionListener(listener);
buttonsPane.add(squareButton);
buttonsPane.add(circleButton);
buttonsPane.add(purpleButton);
buttonsPane.add(blueButton);
customShape = new CustomShape(); // We create an instance of our custom JPanel class
pane.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
pane.add(customShape);
pane.add(buttonsPane, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
frame.add(pane);
frame.pack();
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
ActionListener listener = e -> { //Java 8+, for Java 7- add the actionPerformed method instead of the lambda expression
// We check which button was clicked and set the shape / color for our custom class
if (e.getSource().equals(squareButton)) {
customShape.setShape(ShapeToDraw.SQUARE);
} else if (e.getSource().equals(circleButton)) {
customShape.setShape(ShapeToDraw.CIRCLE);
} else if (e.getSource().equals(purpleButton)) {
customShape.setColor(Color.MAGENTA);
} else if (e.getSource().equals(blueButton)) {
customShape.setColor(Color.BLUE);
}
};
enum ShapeToDraw {
SQUARE, CIRCLE // You can define here other properties for each enum option
}
class CustomShape extends JPanel {
private Color color;
private ShapeToDraw shape;
public CustomShape() {
}
public Color getColor() {
return color;
}
public void setColor(Color color) {
this.color = color;
this.repaint(); // Everytime we set the color we ask the component to repaint itself
}
public ShapeToDraw getShape() {
return shape;
}
public void setShape(ShapeToDraw shape) {
this.shape = shape;
this.repaint(); // Everytime we set the shape we ask the component to repaint itself
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(200, 200); // We define the panel's size
}
#Override
public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
Graphics2D g2d = (Graphics2D) g;
g2d.setColor(color != null ? color : Color.BLACK); //If we haven't set the Color yet, we default it to black, otherwise we set the color to the one chosen by the user.
if (shape == ShapeToDraw.SQUARE) { //If the shape is a square, we draw a square
g2d.draw(new Rectangle2D.Double(50, 50, 100, 100)); // Change the coordinates that you get by user click using the MouseListener
} else if (shape == ShapeToDraw.CIRCLE) { // Or we draw a circle
g2d.draw(new Ellipse2D.Double(50, 50, 100, 100));
}
}
}
}
This is how the program looks like:
I am unsure how to record coordinates of a user's button click and to then pass those coordinates into the constructor of the desired shape.
To get the coordinates relative to your window see: How to get location of a mouse click relative to a swing window

The following is a suggested implementation, also incorporating the good guidance you got from Frakcool:
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.awt.Point;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.awt.event.MouseAdapter;
import java.awt.event.MouseEvent;
import java.awt.geom.Ellipse2D;
import java.awt.geom.Rectangle2D;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;
import javax.swing.ButtonGroup;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JTextArea;
import javax.swing.JToggleButton;
import javax.swing.SwingConstants;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
public class GUI
{
private final ButtonGroup colorGroup; //group buttons
private final ButtonGroup shapeGroup; //so only one can be selected at any given time
private final Map<String, Color> colors; //map colors to it names.
private Color color; // color for painting
private Shape shape; //shape to paint
private JFrame frame;
private JPanel buttonsPane;
private JTextArea textArea;
private static final int ROWS = 2, COLS = 3;
private static final String[] BUTTONS_LABELS = {"Rectangle", "Circle", "Exit"};
public GUI()
{
shapeGroup = new ButtonGroup(); colorGroup = new ButtonGroup();
colors = new HashMap<>();
colors.put("Red", Color.RED); colors.put("Green", Color.GREEN); colors.put("Blue", Color.BLUE);
}
private void createAndShowGUI(String title) {
frame = new JFrame(title);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
//use a GridLayout for the buttons pane
buttonsPane = new JPanel();
buttonsPane.setLayout(new GridLayout(ROWS, COLS));
frame.getContentPane().add(buttonsPane, BorderLayout.CENTER);//each BorderLayout position can hold ONE component
for(String colorName : colors.keySet()){
JToggleButton button = makeButton(colorName);
buttonsPane.add(button);
colorGroup.add(button);
button.addActionListener(changeColorAction());
}
for(String text : BUTTONS_LABELS){
JToggleButton button = makeButton(text);
buttonsPane.add(button);
shapeGroup.add(button);
button.addActionListener(changeShapeAction());
}
setDefaults();
frame.getContentPane().add(new Draw(), BorderLayout.WEST);
textArea = new JTextArea(0,20);
frame.getContentPane().add(textArea, BorderLayout.EAST);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
private JToggleButton makeButton(String text) {
JToggleButton b = new JToggleButton(text); //use toggle buttons
b.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.LEFT);
b.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(100, 80)); //set preferred and let Layout manager do its work
return b;
}
private ActionListener changeColorAction() {
return e->{
color = colors.get(((JToggleButton)e.getSource()).getText());
frame.repaint();
};
}
private ActionListener changeShapeAction() {
return e->{
switch (((JToggleButton)e.getSource()).getText()){
case "Circle":
shape = Shape.CIRCLE;
break;
case "Rectangle":
shape = Shape.RECTANGLE;
break;
default: System.exit(0);
}
frame.repaint();
};
}
private void setDefaults() {
colorGroup.getElements().nextElement().setSelected(true);
color = colors.get(colorGroup.getElements().nextElement().getText());
shapeGroup.getElements().nextElement().setSelected(true);
shape = Shape.RECTANGLE;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> new GUI().createAndShowGUI("My Gui"));
}
class Draw extends JPanel{
private final Point[] points; // an array to hold clicked points
private int mouseClicks = 0;
private static final int POINT_SIZE = 2;
Draw(){
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
setBackground(Color.WHITE);
setPreferredSize(new Dimension(200, 200));
JLabel help = new JLabel("Click 2 points to draw");
help.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
add(help, BorderLayout.PAGE_START);
JLabel timeLabel = new JLabel("current time here");
timeLabel.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.LEFT);
add(timeLabel, BorderLayout.PAGE_END);
points = new Point[2];
addMouseListener(new MouseAdapter(){
#Override
public void mouseClicked(MouseEvent e) {
addPoint(e.getX(), +e.getY() );
}
});
}
#Override
public void paintComponent(Graphics g){
super.paintComponent(g);
g.setColor(color);
for(Point point : points)
if(point != null){
g.drawOval(point.x, point.y, POINT_SIZE, POINT_SIZE);
}
drawShape((Graphics2D)g);
}
private void addPoint(int x, int y) {
if(mouseClicks ==2){
mouseClicks = 0;
points[1] = null;
}
points[mouseClicks++] = new Point(x, y);
repaint();
}
private void drawShape(Graphics2D g2d) {
if(points[0] == null || points[1] == null) return;
if(shape == Shape.RECTANGLE) {
drawRectangle(g2d);
}else{
drawCircle(g2d);
}
}
private void drawRectangle(Graphics2D g2D) {
int minX = Math.min(points[0].x, points[1].x);
int minY = Math.min(points[0].y, points[1].y);
int maxX = Math.max(points[0].x, points[1].x);
int maxY = Math.max(points[0].y, points[1].y);
int width = maxX - minX;
int height = maxY - minY;
Rectangle2D.Double rectangle = new Rectangle2D.Double(minX, minY, width, height);
g2D.draw(rectangle);
}
private void drawCircle(Graphics2D g2D) {
int minX = Math.min(points[0].x, points[1].x);
int minY = Math.min(points[0].y, points[1].y);
int maxX = Math.max(points[0].x, points[1].x);
int maxY = Math.max(points[0].y, points[1].y);
double dx = maxX - minX;
double dy = maxY - minY;
double radius = Math.sqrt(dx*dx + dy*dy)/2;
double centerX = minX + dx/2;
double centerY = minY + dy/2;
g2D.draw(new Ellipse2D.Double(centerX - radius , centerY - radius, 2* radius, 2* radius));
}
}
enum Shape {
RECTANGLE, CIRCLE
}
}

Free Drawing inside JPanel

I am new to Java.
I want to create a program, in which i need to draw freely on JPanel by dragging the mouse. I go through the basics of paint function and able to achieve this.
public class DrawLine extends JPanel {
public void paint(Graphics g)
{
g.drawLine(0, 0, 50, 50);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable(){
public void run()
{
JFrame frame=new JFrame("Top Level Demo");
frame.setSize(300, 250);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
JPanel myPanel=new JPanel();
myPanel.setLayout(null);
frame.add(myPanel);
frame.add(new DrawLine());
frame.setVisible(true);
}});
}}
But this generates an out put like this where the straight line is determined by coordinates.
Please some one help me to implement free drawing inside JPanel.

Override paintComponent() rather than paint() method of JPanel.
Create list of Point to be used in the paintComponent().
Iterate the list in a loop and For each pair of points from the list call
g.drawLine(currentPoint.x,currentPoint.y, nextPoint.x,nextPoint.y);
Add drag listening to store drag points in the list.

Try to use MouseListener and paintComponent method.
Try next simple example for drawing your line.
public class Test extends JPanel{
public static int xS = 0;
public static int yS = 0;
public static int xF = 0;
public static int yF = 0;
public static void main(String[] args){
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Movement of 2d Shapes");
frame.setSize(400,400);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
Test t = new Test();
t.setOpaque(true);
t.addMouseListener(getMouseListener(t));
frame.getContentPane().add(t);
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
private static MouseListener getMouseListener(final Test t) {
return new MouseAdapter() {
#Override
public void mousePressed(MouseEvent arg0) {
xS = arg0.getPoint().x;
yS = arg0.getPoint().y;
}
#Override
public void mouseReleased(MouseEvent arg0) {
xF = arg0.getPoint().x;
yF = arg0.getPoint().y;
t.repaint();
}
};
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
g.drawLine(xS,yS, xF, yF);
}
}

import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.event.MouseEvent;
import java.awt.event.MouseListener;
import java.awt.event.MouseMotionListener;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
public class DrawLine extends JFrame implements MouseMotionListener {
int x1,y1,x,y;
private boolean first = true;
public DrawLine() {
super("Top Level Demo");
setSize(300, 250);
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
setVisible(true);
setBackground(Color.white);
addMouseMotionListener(this);
}
#Override
public void mouseDragged(MouseEvent e) {
x =x1; y = y1;
x1 = e.getX();
y1 = e.getY();
if(first){
x = x1;
y = y1;
first = false;
}
repaint();
}
#Override
public void mouseMoved(MouseEvent e) {
}
public void paint(Graphics graphics){
graphics.drawLine(x, y, x1, y1);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
new DrawLine();
}
}

Implement color change using action listener

I have an assignment that calls for a ball to move around the screen based on which button the user clicks and for the ball to alternate between red and green with the click of another button. It all works but the color change. I have a listener and class reacting to the button click but I dont seem to get a change. Is there a better / simpler way to accomplish this?
Thanks in advance for the help!
Code I have:
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
public class Lab2b extends JFrame {
Lab2b(){
setTitle("Lab 2");
Lab2Panel p = new Lab2Panel();
add(p);
}
public static void main(String[] args){
Lab2b frame = new Lab2b();
frame.setTitle("Lab 2 - Ball Mover ");
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setSize(600, 400);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
}
class Lab2Panel extends JPanel{
Lab2Button canvas = new Lab2Button();
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
Lab2Panel () {
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
JButton leftButton = new JButton("left");
JButton rightButton = new JButton("right");
JButton upButton = new JButton("up");
JButton downButton = new JButton("down");
JButton colorButton = new JButton("Change Color");
panel.add(leftButton);
panel.add(rightButton);
panel.add(upButton);
panel.add(downButton);
panel.add(colorButton);
this.add(canvas, BorderLayout.CENTER);
this.add(panel, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
leftButton.addActionListener(new LeftListener(canvas));
rightButton.addActionListener(new RightListener(canvas));
upButton.addActionListener(new UpListener(canvas));
downButton.addActionListener(new DownListener(canvas));
colorButton.addActionListener(new ColorChangeListener(canvas));
}
}
class Lab2Button extends JPanel {
int radius = 5;
int x = -1;
int y = -1;
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g){
if (x<0 || y<0) {
x = getWidth() / 2 - radius;
y = getHeight() / 2 - radius;
}
super.paintComponent(g);
g.setColor(Color.RED);
g.drawOval(x,y, 2 * radius, 2 * radius);
}
public void moveLeft(){
x -= 5;
this.repaint();
}
public void moveRight(){
x += 5;
this.repaint();
}
public void moveUp(){
y -= 5;
this.repaint();
}
public void moveDown(){
y += 5;
this.repaint();
}
public void colorChange(){
this.repaint();
}
}
class LeftListener implements ActionListener{
private Lab2Button canvas;
LeftListener(Lab2Button canvas) {
this.canvas = canvas;
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){
canvas.moveLeft();
}
}
class RightListener implements ActionListener{
private Lab2Button canvas;
RightListener(Lab2Button canvas) {
this.canvas = canvas;
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){
canvas.moveRight();
}
}
class UpListener implements ActionListener{
private Lab2Button canvas;
UpListener(Lab2Button canvas) {
this.canvas = canvas;
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){
canvas.moveUp();
}
}
class DownListener implements ActionListener{
private Lab2Button canvas;
DownListener(Lab2Button canvas) {
this.canvas = canvas;
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){
canvas.moveDown();
}
}
class ColorChangeListener implements ActionListener {
private Lab2Button canvas;
ColorChangeListener(Lab2Button canvas) {
this.canvas = canvas;
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){
canvas.colorChange();
}
}
Button Movement Listener Class Code:
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
class Lab2MoveBallListener extends Lab2Button implements ActionListener {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){
this.moveLeft();
}
}
Okay, changed this code:
public void colorChange(){
this.repaint();
}
To this and it errors on compile with: error: cannot find symbol
if (g.getColor() = Color.RED){
public void colorChange(){
if (g.getColor() = Color.RED){
g.setColor(Color.GREEN);
}
else{
g.setColor(Color.RED);
}
this.repaint();
}

Have a look at using a JColorChooser. It can set the ball color as required. See How to Use Color Choosers
Here you have hard coded the color making it impossible to modify the ball color. Use a class member Color variable and assign it from getColor.
Aside: Remember to set the color before calling drawOval:
g.setColor(ballColor);
g.drawOval(x, y, 2 * radius, 2 * radius);

When you call your method colorChange() you never say to change a color, you just repaint the screen. You need to change the color somewhere. To do this I'd have a color variable and in if statement within your ActionPerformed method for the Color Button. The if would have boolean that if it's true, set the color variable equal to this color, else set it equal to the other color. Now instead of g.setColor(Color.RED); in your paintComponent(), you'd have g.setColor(colorVariable);. Hope this helps and solves your problem.

My screen will not repaint despite the rectangle being clicked

I have my code set up to where the Boolean boxDetect will be set to true if the mouse is clicked within the Rectangle startButton. The rest is just formatting nothing special! This is the initial screen before you press inside the rectangle, and once inside the rectangle and pressed it should repaint the screen to a rectangle at points 400,400.
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.MouseEvent;
import java.awt.event.MouseListener;
import java.io.*;
public class spaceInvadersIntroScreen implements MouseListener
{
private JFrame frame;
private MyPanel panel;
private double startButtonX = 0;
private double startButtonY = 0;
private Rectangle startButton;
private Boolean boxDetect = false;
public static void main(String[] args){ new spaceInvadersIntroScreen(); }
public spaceInvadersIntroScreen()
{
frame = new JFrame("Space Invaders");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
Dimension screenSize = Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getScreenSize();
startButtonX = screenSize.getWidth() / 2; //Finds the X value of the center of the screen
startButtonY = screenSize.getHeight() / 2; //Finds the Y value of the center of the screen
frame.setSize(screenSize); //width and height
panel = new MyPanel();
frame.getContentPane().add(panel);
frame.setVisible(true);
startButton = new Rectangle((int)(startButtonX - 200), (int)(startButtonY - 75), 400, 150); //Creates Rectangle in the middle of the screen
}
class MyPanel extends JPanel
{
private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
public void paint(Graphics g)
{
if(boxDetect == false)
{
Graphics2D g2d = (Graphics2D) g;
//Background
g2d.setColor(Color.BLACK);
g2d.fillRect(0,0, 1440, 870);
//Code for an X centered title regardless of the screen length
String title = "SPACE INVADERS";
Font textFont = new Font("monospaced", Font.BOLD, 150);
FontMetrics textMetrics = g2d.getFontMetrics(textFont);
g2d.setFont(textFont);
int centeredX = (this.getWidth()/2) - (textMetrics.stringWidth(title)/2);
//Prints SPACE INVADERS to the screen
g2d.setColor(Color.WHITE);
g2d.setFont(textFont);
g2d.drawString(title, centeredX, 200);
//draw the Button
g2d.setColor(Color.white);
g2d.fill(startButton);
}
else
{
g.setColor(Color.black);
g.drawRect(400, 400, 400, 400);
}
}
}
#Override
public void mouseReleased(MouseEvent e)
{
double xCoord = e.getX();
double yCoord = e.getY();
if(startButton.contains(xCoord,yCoord) == true)
{
boxDetect = true;
}
panel.repaint();
}
#Override
public void mouseClicked(MouseEvent e) {}
#Override
public void mousePressed(MouseEvent e) {}
#Override
public void mouseEntered(MouseEvent e) {}
#Override
public void mouseExited(MouseEvent e) {}
}

You need to add the MouseListener for it to work. Question: Where do you call addMouseListener(...)? Answer: you don't. Solution: make this method call to add the MouseListener to the component that needs it.

Window's content disappears when minimized

I have a simple class that draws a line when mouse dragging or a dot when mouse pressing(releasing).
When I minimize the application and then restore it, the content of the window disappears except the last dot (pixel). I understand that the method super.paint(g) repaints the background every time the window changes, but the result seems to be the same whether I use it or not. The difference between the two of them is that when I don't use it there's more than a pixel painted on the window, but not all my painting. How can I fix this?
Here is the class.
package painting;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.MouseAdapter;
import java.awt.event.MouseEvent;
import java.awt.event.MouseMotionAdapter;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
class CustomCanvas extends Canvas{
Point oldLocation= new Point(10, 10);
Point location= new Point(10, 10);
Dimension dimension = new Dimension(2, 2);
CustomCanvas(Dimension dimension){
this.dimension = dimension;
this.init();
addListeners();
}
private void init(){
oldLocation= new Point(0, 0);
location= new Point(0, 0);
}
public void paintLine(){
if ((location.x!=oldLocation.x) || (location.y!=oldLocation.y)) {
repaint(location.x,location.y,1,1);
}
}
private void addListeners(){
addMouseListener(new MouseAdapter(){
#Override
public void mousePressed(MouseEvent me){
oldLocation = location;
location = new Point(me.getX(), me.getY());
paintLine();
}
#Override
public void mouseReleased(MouseEvent me){
oldLocation = location;
location = new Point(me.getX(), me.getY());
paintLine();
}
});
addMouseMotionListener(new MouseMotionAdapter() {
#Override
public void mouseDragged(MouseEvent me){
oldLocation = location;
location = new Point(me.getX(), me.getY());
paintLine();
}
});
}
#Override
public void paint(Graphics g){
super.paint(g);
g.setColor(Color.red);
g.drawLine(location.x, location.y, oldLocation.x, oldLocation.y);
}
#Override
public Dimension getMinimumSize() {
return dimension;
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return dimension;
}
}
class CustomFrame extends JPanel {
JPanel displayPanel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
CustomCanvas canvas = new CustomCanvas(new Dimension(200, 200));
public CustomFrame(String titlu) {
canvas.setBackground(Color.white);
displayPanel.add(canvas, BorderLayout.CENTER);
this.add(displayPanel);
}
}
public class CustomCanvasFrame {
public static void main(String args[]) {
CustomFrame panel = new CustomFrame("Test Paint");
JFrame f = new JFrame();
f.add(panel);
f.pack();
SwingConsole.run(f, 700, 700);
}
}

You are not storing the state of the points you are drawing. When the panel is repainted, it only has information for the last point it drew.
Response to comment:
You would need to have a collection of Points, for instance ArrayList<Point> location = new ArrayList<Point>();
Then, in your listeners: location.add(new Point(me.getX(), me.getY()));
Finally, in paintLine():
for (Point location : locations) {
repaint(location.x,location.y,1,1);
}
The collection locations is usually referred to as a Display List. Most graphics programs use them.
Response to comment:
Yes, I expect so. I just tossed off an idea based on your code to give you a starting point. It is almost certainly a bad idea to do exactly as I have described.

Doesn't that mean I will draw all the points(instead of one) everytime I press or drag the mouse?
Yes, but #Dave's approach is perfectly satisfactory for thousands of nodes, as may be seen in GraphPanel. Beyond that, consider the flyweight pattern, as used by JTable renderers and illustrated here.
Addendum: Focusing on your AWTPainting questions, the variation below may illustrate the difference between System- and App-triggered Painting. As the mouse is dragged, repaint() invokes update(), which calls paint(); this is app-triggered. As you resize the window, only paint() is called (no red numbers are drawn); this is system-triggered. Note that there is a flicker when the mouse is released after resizing.
Flickering typically occurs when the entire component's background is cleared and redrawn:
4. If the component did not override update(), the default implementation of update() clears the component's background (if it's not a lightweight component) and simply calls paint().
import java.awt.Canvas;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Frame;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Panel;
import java.awt.Point;
import java.awt.event.MouseAdapter;
import java.awt.event.MouseEvent;
import java.awt.event.WindowAdapter;
import java.awt.event.WindowEvent;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
public class AWTPainting {
public static void main(String args[]) {
CustomPanel panel = new CustomPanel();
Frame f = new Frame();
f.addWindowListener(new WindowAdapter() {
#Override
public void windowClosing(WindowEvent e) {
System.exit(0);
}
});
f.add(panel);
f.pack();
f.setVisible(true);
}
}
class CustomPanel extends Panel {
public CustomPanel() {
this.add(new CustomCanvas(new Dimension(320, 240)));
}
}
class CustomCanvas extends Canvas {
private MouseAdapter handler = new MouseHandler();
private List<Point> locations = new ArrayList<Point>();
private Point sentinel = new Point();
private Dimension dimension;
CustomCanvas(Dimension dimension) {
this.dimension = dimension;
this.setBackground(Color.white);
this.addMouseListener(handler);
this.addMouseMotionListener(handler);
this.locations.add(sentinel);
}
#Override
public void paint(Graphics g) {
g.setColor(Color.blue);
Point p1 = locations.get(0);
for (Point p2 : locations.subList(1, locations.size())) {
g.drawLine(p1.x, p1.y, p2.x, p2.y);
p1 = p2;
}
}
#Override
public void update(Graphics g) {
paint(g);
g.clearRect(0, getHeight() - 24, 50, 20); // to background
g.setColor(Color.red);
g.drawString(String.valueOf(locations.size()), 8, getHeight() - 8);
}
private class MouseHandler extends MouseAdapter {
#Override
public void mousePressed(MouseEvent e) {
if (locations.get(0) == sentinel) { // reference identity
locations.set(0, new Point(e.getX(), e.getY()));
}
}
#Override
public void mouseDragged(MouseEvent e) {
locations.add(new Point(e.getX(), e.getY()));
repaint();
}
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return dimension;
}
}

#Andrew, #Dave, #trashgod Hi,
I did some research on this and, finally, this is what I've got. Please correct me if I'm wrong. You cannot override paint() so you call repaint() everytime you need to do app-triggered painting.
Repaint() calls update() which its default behavior is to call paint().
update() is used for incremental painting; that explains the flickering screen when paint() was doing all the work, which practically means it was painting the whole image at every step.
However, my question is if I add "locationsAdded = 0" in the update method that means everytime I drag the mouse I paint the whole image(like in paint), so why doesn't it blink like before?
I've also read something about painting in swing and I didn't understand why update() is never invoked for swing. Can you explain me why?
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.util.ArrayList;
class CustomCanvas extends Canvas{
ArrayList<Point> locations;
int locationsAdded;
Point oldLocation;
Point location;
Dimension dimension;
CustomCanvas(Dimension dimension){
locations = new ArrayList<>();
this.dimension = dimension;
this.init();
addListeners();
}
private void init(){
oldLocation= new Point(0, 0);
location= new Point(0, 0);
}
public void paintLine(Graphics g, int x){
Point p1 = (Point)locations.get(x);
Point p2 = (Point)locations.get(x+1);
g.drawLine(p1.x, p1.y, p2.x, p2.y);
locationsAdded++;
}
#Override
public void paint(Graphics g){
locationsAdded = 0;
g.setColor(Color.red);
for(int i = locationsAdded; i < locations.size()-1; i++){
paintLine(g, i);
}
}
public void update(Graphics g) {
//locationsAdded = 0;
for (int i = locationsAdded; i < locations.size()-1; i++) {
paintLine(g, i);
}
}
private void addListeners(){
addMouseMotionListener(new MouseMotionAdapter() {
#Override
public void mouseDragged(MouseEvent me){
oldLocation = location;
location = new Point(me.getX(), me.getY());
locations.add(location);
repaint();
}
});
}
#Override
public Dimension getMinimumSize() {
return dimension;
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return dimension;
}
}
class CustomFrame extends Panel {
Panel displayPanel = new Panel(new BorderLayout());
CustomCanvas canvas = new CustomCanvas(new Dimension(700, 700));
public CustomFrame(String titlu) {
canvas.setBackground(Color.white);
displayPanel.add(canvas, BorderLayout.CENTER);
this.add(displayPanel);
}
}
public class AWTPainting {
public static void main(String args[]) {
CustomFrame panel = new CustomFrame("Test Paint");
Frame f = new Frame();
f.add(panel);
f.pack();
f.setSize(700,700);
f.show();
}
}

set your layout to Null layout