Working With Swing Components: Java GUI

Working with the basic Swing Controls in Java GUI programming i.e using the simple data members(properties) and methods.

Used to display a short text.
Cannot insert a line break within the text in a label.
Can be used to display images.
Generally used describe text-fields

The table below reveals the methods that can be used to set the basic properties for a label

Method	Description	Example
setText	To set a single line text that the label will display.	jLabel1.setText(“A String”);
setIcon	To display a image in a label.	jLabel1.setIcon(new ImageIcon(“D:\books.jpeg”));
setEnabled	The enabled state of component.True if enabled else false (Boolean)	jLabel1.setEnabled(true);
setBackground	To set a background colour for label.	jLabel1.setBackground(new java.awt.Color (255, 255, 51 ));

 

A simple ‘push’ button used to perform some action or function.
All the properties of button are almost similar to the above mentioned properties for a label. Other useful properties are:-

Method	Description	Example
setMnemonic	Lets you specify the shortcut key or the access key, that you can combine with Alt to invoke the button	jButton1.setMnemonic(‘K’);
setToolTipText	Sets the text(tool tip) to be displayed when you rollover mouse over button	jTextField1.setToolTipText(“Click!”);

 

Used as a input field from which we can obtain text
Only single line input allowed
Can be used to display text

The methods above for the label component can also be used for a text-field except the setIcon method.
The other useful methods for a textfield are described below

Method	Description	Example
getText	To retrieve a single line text as a String.	String a=jTextField1.getText();
setEditable	Sets whether the user can edit the text in the textfield.	jTextField1.setEditable(false);
setToolTipText	Sets the text(tool tip) to be displayed on mouse over	jTextField1.setToolTipText(“Enter Name”);

 

Used as a input field for multi-line text. eg- address
Can be used to display multi-line text eg- displaying some codes
You can set desired number of rows.

Apart from the basic methods that you have read for the text-field, the useful methods for a Text Area are:-

Method	Description	Example
.append	Adds the specified text to the end of the already existing text	jTextArea1.append(“End of text”);
setLineWrap	Sets whether lines are wrapped if they are too long to fit within the allocated width	jTextArea1.setLineWrap(true);
setWrapStyleWord	Sets whether lines can be wrapped at white space or at any character	jTextArea1.setWrapStyleWord(true);

 

Used to get an option out of several mutually exclusive options eg- Gender(Male or Female)
They must be added to a button group so that a user cannot select more than one , otherwise they will act as check boxes
If, in a buttonGroup if a user selects a option then the other is automatically deselected.

Method	Description	Example
setText	Sets the display text for the Radio Button	jRadioButton1.setText(“Male);
setEnabled	To enable the component. True to enable else false (Boolean)	jTextArea1.setLineWrap(true);
isSelected	Returns the state of component.True if selected else false	if (jRadioButton1.isSelected()) gender=”Male”;
setSelected	To change the state of component. True to select else deselect	jRadioButton1.setSelected(false);

Note: To clear(deselect) all radio buttons in a button group, use buttonGroup1.clearSelection();

Used to get one or more options out of several options which are not mutually exclusive eg- Hobbies(a user may select more than 1)
It is not necessary to put them in a button group, but it is recommended so that you can perform group actions like deselecting all.
Almost all the properties for Radio button are applicable here.

Below you can see a image depicting the basic use of the above mentioned simple swing controls.

Simple Java Swing Controls

Related Video Tutorial: