Java Swing, textarea as input/output?

Question

I want to load up a window using the java swing, something like this

However I want to be able to use it for text input also not just to dump data into it..

any idea how to do it?

Answer 1

JTextAreas are editable by default, so input is trivial. Just put one into a test UI and see for yourself.

From a design perspective, using the same JTextArea for both input and output strikes me as unwise. The only example I can think of is a shell interface, and that imposes stronger limits on how input and output works than a JTextArea will provide out of the box.

Answer 2

Check out this Sun toturial:

http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/uiswing/components/textarea.html

In particular, scroll down to the "TextAreaDemo" example.

Answer 3

I'm not sure if I got the point of your question, but you can get the text the user has typed in using the getText() method:

JTextArea ta = new JTextArea(); String input = ta.getText();