How to reference JFrame

Question

I have a problem which is most likely "simple" however I can't figure it out. I am trying to reference my current JFrame so that I can dispose of it, and create a new one, thus "resetting" the program, however I and having trouble figuring out how to reference the JFrame, I have tried, super, this and getParent(), but none of the seem to work. Thanks for any / all help. ^^

Here is my code:

Main Class, just sets up the Jframe and calls the class that creates everything:

    public static void main(String args[]) {
    JFrame window = new JFrame();
    Director director = new Director(window, args);
    window.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
    window.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
    window.pack();
    window.setVisible(true);
}

}

Class the creates everything:

    import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.ButtonGroup;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JComponent;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JRadioButton;


public class Director extends JFrame implements CollisionListener {

    private BrickWall wall;
    private JLabel gameTitle, gameScore, gameLives;
    private JPanel controlPanel;
    private JButton reset, quit;
    private JRadioButton hard, normal, easy;
    private int score = 6, lives = 5;
    private ButtonGroup difficulty;


    public Director(JFrame window, String[] args) {
        window.getContentPane().add(makeGamePanel(), BorderLayout.CENTER);
        window.getContentPane().add(gameControlPanel(), BorderLayout.NORTH);

    }


    public void collisionDetected(CollisionEvent e) {
        wall.setBrick(e.getRow(), e.getColumn(), null);
    }

    private JComponent makeGamePanel() {
        wall = new BrickWall();
        wall.addCollisionListener(this);
        wall.buildWall(3, 6, 1, wall.getColumns(), Color.GRAY);
        return wall;
    }

    // Reset method I'm trying to dispose of the JFrame in.
    private void reset() {
        JFrame frame = new JFrame();

        frame.getContentPane().add(makeGamePanel(), BorderLayout.CENTER);
        frame.getContentPane().add(gameControlPanel(), BorderLayout.NORTH);
        frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        frame.pack();
        frame.setVisible(true);

    }

    private JComponent gameControlPanel() {

        // CONTROL PANEL PANEL!
        controlPanel = new JPanel();

        gameTitle = new JLabel("Brickles");
        gameScore = new JLabel("Score:" + "   " + score);
        gameLives = new JLabel("Lives:" + "   " + lives);
        reset = new JButton("Reset");
        quit = new JButton("Quit");
        hard = new JRadioButton("Hard", false);
        normal = new JRadioButton("Normal", true);
        easy = new JRadioButton("Easy", false);
        difficulty = new ButtonGroup();
        difficulty.add(hard);
        difficulty.add(normal);
        difficulty.add(easy);
        controlPanel.setLayout(new GridLayout(4, 2));
        controlPanel.add(gameTitle);
        controlPanel.add(gameScore);
        controlPanel.add(hard);
        controlPanel.add(gameLives);
        controlPanel.add(normal);
        controlPanel.add(reset);
        controlPanel.add(easy);
        controlPanel.add(quit);

        // Action Listener, where I'm caling the reset method.

        reset.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {

            public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {

                reset();
            }
        });
        return controlPanel;
    }

}

See [The Use of Multiple JFrames, Good/Bad Practice?](http://stackoverflow.com/a/9554657/418556) — Andrew Thompson, Jun 02 '14 at 02:21

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 01 '14 at 16:07

4

You can refer to the "outer this" from a nested class with the following syntax:

reset.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
    public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
         Director.this.reset();
    }
});

answered Jun 01 '14 at 16:07

DSquare

2,458
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score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 01 '14 at 16:14

4

Yes, you can refer to the outer class by specifying it with the class name as noted in DSquare's good answer (1+ to it), but I urge you not to fling JFrame's at the user as you're program is trying to do. I recommend:

Instead of opening and closing multiple JFrames, use only one JFrame as the main application's window.
If you need helper windows, such as modal windows to get critical information that is absolutely needed, before the program can progress, use modal dialogs such as JDialogs or JOptionPanes.
If you need to swap GUI's, instead of swapping JFrames, swap "views" inside the JFrame via a CardLayout.
Gear your code towards creating these JPanel views and not JFrames as it will make your Swing GUI's much more flexible and portable.

answered Jun 01 '14 at 16:14

Hovercraft Full Of Eels

283,665
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I tried to do that, but when I tried "Resetting" the values, such as score, lives and the wall, it wouldn't change anything. Could this be because I need to readd the contentPane()'s, in my reset method? If so how I would approach that? Also; thanks for your help. – user1719605 Jun 01 '14 at 16:31
1

@user1719605: You're doing it wrong, perhaps resetting the wrong reference, but who knows without code. I suggest that you ask this as a separate question, showing your code attempt, and let's see if we can give you a more complete answer. – Hovercraft Full Of Eels Jun 01 '14 at 16:41

How to reference JFrame

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