Create editable JList which contains JTextFields

Question

I want to create editable JList . This is my sample code:

package okienko;

import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.Insets;
import java.awt.event.KeyEvent;
import java.awt.event.KeyListener;

import javax.swing.DefaultListModel;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JList;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JScrollPane;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
import javax.swing.border.EmptyBorder;

class Frane extends JFrame {

    private JPanel contentPane;
    private JList<String> list;
    private JLabel lblLabel;
    private DefaultListModel<String> model;


    public static void main(String[] args) {
        EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {

            public void run() {
                try {
                    Frane frame = new Frane();
                    frame.setVisible(true);
                } catch (Exception e) {
                    e.printStackTrace();
                }
            }
        });
    }


    public Frane() {
        setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        setBounds(100, 100, 450, 300);
        contentPane = new JPanel();
        contentPane.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(5, 5, 5, 5));
        setContentPane(contentPane);
        GridBagLayout gbl_contentPane = new GridBagLayout();
        gbl_contentPane.columnWidths = new int[]{0, 0};
        gbl_contentPane.rowHeights = new int[]{0, 0, 0};
        gbl_contentPane.columnWeights = new double[]{1.0, Double.MIN_VALUE};
        gbl_contentPane.rowWeights = new double[]{0.0, 1.0, Double.MIN_VALUE};
        contentPane.setLayout(gbl_contentPane);

        lblLabel = new JLabel("LABEL");
        GridBagConstraints gbc_lblLabel = new GridBagConstraints();
        gbc_lblLabel.insets = new Insets(0, 0, 5, 0);
        gbc_lblLabel.gridx = 0;
        gbc_lblLabel.gridy = 0;
        contentPane.add(lblLabel, gbc_lblLabel);

        JScrollPane scrollPane = new JScrollPane();
        GridBagConstraints gbc_scrollPane = new GridBagConstraints();
        gbc_scrollPane.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
        gbc_scrollPane.gridx = 0;
        gbc_scrollPane.gridy = 1;
        contentPane.add(scrollPane, gbc_scrollPane);

        model = new DefaultListModel<String>();
        list = new JList<String>(model);
        JTextField field = new JTextField("TEXT");
        field.setEditable(true);
        model.addElement(field.getText());

        scrollPane.setViewportView(list);
        list.addKeyListener(new KeyListener() {

            @Override
            public void keyTyped(KeyEvent e) {
            }

            @Override
            public void keyReleased(KeyEvent e) {
            }

            @Override
            public void keyPressed(KeyEvent e) {
                if (e.getExtendedKeyCode() == 10) {
                    JTextField tf = new JTextField("A");
                    model.addElement(tf.getText());
                }
            }
        });
    }

}

So I want to have a list where I could enter new lines where each line will be a separate JTextField . My code creates a list with one textfield and after ENTER key is pressed next JTextField is added. But it shows only the text passed to the constructor of JTextField .

After I press ENTER key, I want to write my own text, and when I press ENTER key again, I want a new field to be created.
Also I want to switch between fields by clicking the mouse and to edit these fields.
Is it possible to create this kind of a JList ? Maybe there are other solutions to my problem. I'm open for suggestions.

Answer 1

When new item(some kind of a Object ) is added to a JList , that Object 's toString() method is called. And the resulting String is showed in the JList as a JLabel . So you cannot directly add a JTextField to a JList . Because toString() of JTextField wont return any readable information.

If you want to add JTextField s inside a JList you will have to create your List class by extending JList and you will have to modify it to add JTextField as items instead of JLabel s. But I wont think it would be a simple task to you and it would be so messy..

Simplest way to do your task is to have a JTextField in the JFrame and when you type a text and press enter , that text will appear as a item in the JLabel .

And to edit items you can have another JTextField . You can make it hidden. And when you double click on an item in the JList , it will be visible. You can edit the text there and after you press enter, that item will be updated and that JTextField will be hidden again..

I think this might be helpful to you..