I have a Java application and I want to open a new dialog from the main interface where the user can enter his name, surname and country and then click ok. How can I open a dialog which has a number of different input fields and then save that information in a variable?
Extend JDialog and add some JTextFields and maybe some JComboBoxes. then finish it off with some JButtons.
You could also look into JGoodies Forms framework; it's nice and free.
EDIT: Composition example
Based on Pete's comment I dug up this example using composition rather than overriding JDialog.
You would want to add getter like
public String getFirstName() {
return field.getTest();
}
To gain access to relevant input.
This forum post could be helpful.
One possibility to make a custom
JDialog is to create a custom JPanel
with all the bells and whistles that
you need and use that as the Component
in one of the static JOptionPane
functions.
With java and swing you have to write some code. I build a library which creates a dialog with different inputs in a few lines. It's called UiBooster.
FilledForm form = new UiBooster()
.createForm("Personal informations")
.addText("Whats your first name?")
.addTextArea("Tell me something about you")
.addSelection(
"Whats your favorite movie?",
Arrays.asList("Pulp Fiction", "Bambi", "The Godfather", "Hangover"))
.show();
Related
I've created a JPanel using the NetBeans designer filled with JTextFields and a submit button. I would like to get the values from those JTextFields and use them in my main class. How can I do that?
Also, what are some good tutorials that can help me further understand this? Thank you.
I'm guessing you mean JTextField and not TextField. Use the getText() method.
String text = yourTextField.getText();
Also works with the TextField class, actually.
You'll need an ActionListener on your submit button if you want to grab the text fields' values when a user clicks the button.
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if (e.getSource() == yourButtonsName) {
text = yourTextField.getText();
}
}
Don't forget to add the ActionListener!
yourButtonsName.addActionerListener(this);
Or you could use Java 8 lambda expression:
yourButtonsName.addActionerListener(e -> text = yourTextField.getText);
If you'd like to learn more about Java's graphical capabilities, I recommend the Oracle docs: http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/uiswing/.
"I've created a JPanel using the NetBeans designer filled with JTextFields and a submit button. I would like to get the values from those JTextFields and use them in my main class. How can I do that?"
Sounds like to me you're facing the class problem of how do I reference instance variables from one, in another.
An easy way would be to pass one class as reference to another and use proper getters and setters. You can see a solution here.
A better solution though would be to create an interface that one of the classes implements and pass that class as an interface to the second class. You can see an example here.
If you feel you're ready for more advanced topics, you should look into MCV Design patterns for this type of problem. MVC is designed for multi-component interaction.
Okay so I'm making a Library admin program and I have created a special frame where the user would enter details about a new book. However my method for adding a new book is in a separate class (methods). My question is how can I get the information the user enters in the text fields? Do I have to use something like getters, or is there an easier way. Also keep in mind that I am using the GUI layout (thing) in netbeans, and that I have already actually made the form. (I know it's frowned upon but I'm pressed for time and this is how we were taught.) This is a school project by the way. Thanks.
Okay so I'm making a Library admin program and I have created a special frame where the user would enter details about a new book.
Usually, a detail window should be a dialog, and likely a modal dialog. I suggest that you display this information in a modal JDialog, not a JFrame. Do this and it will make extracting information from the detail window much easier.
However my method for adding a new book is in a separate class (methods). My question is how can I get the information the user enters in the text fields? Do I have to use something like getters, or is there an easier way.
This begs the question -- what's so hard about using getters? And in fact his is exactly what I suggest that you use! Please note that your question essentially boils down to, "how can I get information on the state of one class's object from within another class's object", and for this getter methods are almost mandatory.
Also keep in mind that I am using the GUI layout (thing) in netbeans, and that I have already actually made the form. (I know it's frowned upon but I'm pressed for time and this is how we were taught.) This is a school project by the way.
This is unrelated to your current problem and should have little effect on its solution other than if you've hard-coded your "form" as a JFrame, then scrap it and re-do it as a JPanel.
I suggest:
Create an addEditBook modal JDialog
Give it getter methods to allow outside classes to be able to query its textfields for their contents.
Display the dialog from the main program.
Since it is modal the main program's code flow will pause until the dialog has been dealt with.
In your OK and Cancel button, set the dialog's state (OK_STATE or CANCEL_STATE) and close the dialog. The easiest way to do this actually is to use a JOptionPane as your modal dialog since it has mechanism for just this sort of thing. This is easily accomplished if your addEditBook is geared to create a JPanel, one that you display in the JOptionPane.
Program flow will then resume in your main program from right after where you showed the dialog
query the dialog for the contents of its fields.
For examples of the JOptionPane solutions, including option panes that request information from multiple fields similar to your window above, please see:
How can I make a JFrame modal like a JOptionPane?
Multiple input in JOptionPane.showInputDialog
Edit
You state in comment:
Oh and I was wondering how can I make the field of a normal JOptionpane input dialogue come up with a word already in it like for editing it will show the information stored already?
Please see the example answers that I have listed above as you'll see that they're not examples of a "normal JOptionPane" but rather JOptionPanes that display a GUI that you create. And just the same as it's easy to query the state of this GUI after it is displayed, it's just as easy to set the state of the GUI via setter methods before it is displayed.
My question is how can I get the information the user enters in the
text fields? Do I have to use something like getters, or is there an
easier way
You need to add actionListeners for you buttons, which means you will be overriding a method called actionPerformed. You basically need to associate your actionListeners with your 'Ok' and 'Cancel' buttons. When the 'ok' button is pressed, you should get a callback in the associated actionPerformed method. Then you should try to fetch the values of your textfiled using the getText method. Collect all the fileds and set the bean you have created to store that data. Then you can call your business logic to save/modify the books info.
This is a crosspost to the thread in Javaranch (includes some images): http://www.coderanch.com/t/567472/GUI/java/Optimal-solution-creating-multiple-dialog
I'm trying to develop a simple swing desktop application where I imagine alot of different dialog's jumping around to fetch user input. Would need to present labels, textfields, passwordfields, combobxes, checkboxes etc in various dialog windows.
For example: creating the database firsthand, creating the first admin account, adding users, changing user accounts etc.
I have an understanding that JOptionPane is used to create simple quick & easy modal dialog's. I would really like to know why one would choose one over another in this case. Which one is more preferable to use: JOptionPane vs. JDialog
Also I could use some pointers how one should appropriately design and implement this.
Thank you.
Here's a statement I found on the Java website that says one key point about the difference between the two.
How to make Dialogs
A Dialog can be modal. When a modal Dialog is visible, it blocks user input to all other windows in the program. JOptionPane creates JDialogs that are modal. To create a non-modal Dialog, you must use the JDialog class directly.
So it sounds like you would use JOptionPane if you want a user to have to make a choice and close the box before returning to the main screen. If you use a JDialog box, then they can just click around it and get back to the main screen without making a choice. For example, say you wanted to make a user choose the number of results before clicking submit, you wouldn't want them to be able to click around that window and click submit. You would use JOptionPane to force them to select a value first before going back to submit.
Check out http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/uiswing/components/dialog.html it pretty much has everything you would need.
As i understand it, JOptionPane is great for what it can do, but you can't really change the functionality beyond that (not easily). JDialog is better to inherit from if you want to create your own custom Dialogs.
I have this main JFrame (call it DrinkChooser) that shows another complex confirmation JFrame (call it ConfirmWin).
The ConfirmWin has only two JButtons, confirm and cancel.
I want to do this:
(in DrinkChooser, assume drinksChoosen is a Drink[])
public void handleAction(){
int choice = ConfirmWin.showDrinkConfirmation(drinksChoosen);
if(choice == ConfirmWin.CONFIRM)
//Handle confirmation.
else
//handle cancel, do nothing.
}
I want to achieve an effect that is as close as possible to the "JOptionPane effect", which is that the original DrinkChooser gets suspended, and the ConfirmWin returns the choice of the user.
Thanks.
Have a look at the trail How to Make Dialogs.
A Dialog window is an independent subwindow meant to carry temporary notice apart from the main Swing Application Window. Most Dialogs present an error message or warning to a user, but Dialogs can present images, directory trees, or just about anything compatible with the main Swing Application that manages them.
For convenience, several Swing component classes can directly instantiate and display dialogs. To create simple, standard dialogs, you use the JOptionPane class.
Here is a possibly related question:
Java - How to create a custom dialog box?
Don't forget that the value argument of all JOptionPane.showXXXX methods can be a JComponent. If you pass a component (in your example it might be a JList with a custom renderer), it will be embedded within the dialog and can be used to customize the appearance.
I am currently working on a project in which I have a Java GUI class and another class which contains its relevant methods.
I want a text area in the GUI to be updated with the content of a string in the other class whenever it changes. What is the easiest way to watch for these changes?
Cheers!
You're looking for data binding. Java unfortunately has no own support for that, but there are several libraries to choose from, like for example JGoodies data binding.
If you want to roll your own, there's the ubiquitous observer pattern which you doubtless already know from Swing :). Just add listener support to the class holding the strings and add a listener to it that updates the text area, when an event comes.
Make the "other class" a proper bean that supports PropertyChangeListeners. Then create a PropertyChangeLister which acts on changes in the "other class" and which updates the textarea.
Something like this:
otherClass.addPropertyChangeListener("propertyname", new PropertyChangeListener() {
void propertyChange(PropertyChangeEvent evt) {
textarea.setText(evt.getNewValue());
}
}
See
https://docs.oracle.com/javase/1.5.0/docs/api/java/beans/PropertyChangeListener.html
https://docs.oracle.com/javase/1.5.0/docs/api/java/beans/PropertyChangeSupport.html
http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/javabeans/properties/bound.html
Have a look at BeansBinding
It does almost exactly what you need. Only thing is that your otherClass must support Java Beans listeners, as described by #ordnungswidrig