Open new JFrame with JButton Click - Java Swing

Question

I am trying to open a new JFrame window with a button click event. There is lots of info on this site but nothing that helps me because I think it is not so much the code I have, but the order it is executed (however I am uncertain).

This is the code for the frame holding the button that I want to initiate the event:

package messing with swing;

import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.io.*;
import java.util.*;
import javax.swing.border.EmptyBorder;


public class ReportGUI extends JFrame{
    //Fields
    private JButton viewAllReports = new JButton("View All Program Details");
    private JButton viewPrograms = new JButton("View Programs and Majors Associated with this course"); 
    private JButton viewTaughtCourses = new JButton("View Courses this Examiner Teaches"); 
    private JLabel courseLabel = new JLabel("Select a Course: ");
    private JLabel examinerLabel = new JLabel("Select an Examiner: "); 
    private JPanel panel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(6,2,4,4));  
    private ArrayList<String> list = new ArrayList<String>(); 
    private ArrayList<String> courseList = new ArrayList<String>();  


     public ReportGUI(){   
           reportInterface();
           allReportsBtn();     
           examinnerFileRead();
           courseFileRead();
           comboBoxes();
     }        

     private void examinnerFileRead(){
         try{
             Scanner scan = new Scanner(new File("Examiner.txt"));

             while(scan.hasNextLine()){
                 list.add(scan.nextLine());
             }
             scan.close();
         }
         catch (FileNotFoundException e){
             e.printStackTrace();
         }
     }
      private void courseFileRead(){
         try{
             Scanner scan = new Scanner(new File("Course.txt"));

             while(scan.hasNextLine()){
                 courseList.add(scan.nextLine());
             }
             scan.close();
         }
         catch (FileNotFoundException e){
             e.printStackTrace();
         }
     }

    private void reportInterface(){         
          setTitle("Choose Report Specifications");                   
          setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
          JPanel panel = new JPanel(new FlowLayout());        
          add(panel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
          setSize(650,200);
          setVisible(true);    
          setResizable(false);
          setLocationRelativeTo(null);
}    
    private void allReportsBtn(){
        JPanel panel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(1,1)); 
        panel.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(70, 50, 70, 25));
        panel.add(viewAllReports);        
        viewAllReports.addActionListener(new ActionListener(){
            @Override
            public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){
                JFrame AllDataGUI = new JFrame();
                new AllDataGUI();
            }
        });         
        add(panel, BorderLayout.LINE_END);
    }       
    private void comboBoxes(){                
        panel.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(0, 5, 5, 10));
        String[] comboBox1Array = list.toArray(new String[list.size()]);
        JComboBox comboBox1 = new JComboBox(comboBox1Array);          
        panel.add(examinerLabel);
        panel.add(comboBox1);          
        panel.add(viewTaughtCourses);
         viewTaughtCourses.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
            @Override
            public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {                 
                JFrame ViewCourseGUI = new JFrame();
                new ViewCourseGUI();
            }
        });  
         String[] comboBox2Array = courseList.toArray(new String[courseList.size()]);
         JComboBox comboBox2 = new JComboBox(comboBox2Array);
         panel.add(courseLabel);         
         panel.add(comboBox2); 
         panel.add(viewPrograms);
         add(panel, BorderLayout.LINE_START); 

    }

If you don't want to delve into the above code, the button ActionListener is here:

 panel.add(viewTaughtCourses);
             viewTaughtCourses.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
                @Override
                public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {                 
                    JFrame ViewCourseGUI = new JFrame();
                    new ViewCourseGUI();
                }
            });

This is the code in the class holding the JFrame I want to open:

package messing with swing;

import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JScrollPane;
import javax.swing.JTextArea;
import javax.swing.border.EmptyBorder;


public class ViewCourseGUI extends JFrame{ 
    private JButton saveCloseBtn = new JButton("Save Changes and Close");
    private JButton closeButton = new JButton("Exit Without Saving");
    private JFrame frame=new JFrame("Courses taught by this examiner");
    private JTextArea textArea = new JTextArea();



     public void ViewCoursesGUI(){
         panels();
     }        

    private void panels(){        
          JPanel panel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(1,1));
          panel.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(5, 5, 5, 5));
          JPanel rightPanel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(15,0,10,10));
          rightPanel.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(15, 5, 5, 10));
          JScrollPane scrollBarForTextArea=new JScrollPane(textArea,JScrollPane.VERTICAL_SCROLLBAR_AS_NEEDED,JScrollPane.HORIZONTAL_SCROLLBAR_AS_NEEDED);
          panel.add(scrollBarForTextArea); 
          frame.add(panel);
          frame.getContentPane().add(rightPanel,BorderLayout.EAST);
          rightPanel.add(saveCloseBtn);
          rightPanel.add(closeButton);

           frame.setSize(1000, 700);
           frame.setVisible(true);   
           frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);

}
}

Could someone please point me in the right direction?

I don't know why you are setting the viewCourseGUI to be equal to a new JFrame. Do this: JFrame ViewCourseGUI = new ViewCourseGUI(); — Sesame, Jun 06 '14 at 21:10
I'll give it a go. I'm not sure either, still learning these little nuances. — Splunk, Jun 06 '14 at 21:10
`public void ViewCoursesGUI()` is **not** a constructor and will not be called when using `new` keyword. Remove `void`. Constructors cannot have **any** declared return type, even `void`. — PM 77-1, Jun 06 '14 at 21:11
Combine that with the fact that I called it ViewCoursesGUI() instead of ViewCourseGUI()... And now it works. Many thanks. — Splunk, Jun 06 '14 at 21:14
See [The Use of Multiple JFrames, Good/Bad Practice?](http://stackoverflow.com/a/9554657/418556) — Andrew Thompson, Jun 07 '14 at 02:09

score 1 · Answer 1 · edited Jul 05 '16 at 05:38

1

Set the visibility of the JFrame you want to open, to true in the actionListener:

ViewCourseGUI viewCourseGUI = new ViewCourseGUI();
viewCourseGUI.setVisible(true);

This will open the new JFrame window once you click the button.

edited Jul 05 '16 at 05:38

Suhas Pai

45
10

answered Jun 06 '14 at 21:13

Saba Jamalian

750
2
10
24

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 06 '14 at 21:16

1

As pointed out by PM 77-3

I had:

 public void ViewCoursesGUI(){
     panels();
 }

When I should have had:

public ViewCourseGUI(){
     panels();
 }

A Combination of syntax and spelling errors.

answered Jun 06 '14 at 21:16

Splunk

311
3
6
20

3

also check [The use of multiple JFrames a good or bad practice](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9554636/the-use-of-multiple-jframes-good-bad-practice/9554657#9554657) it's really interesting. – Frakcool Jun 06 '14 at 21:26
Are you using an IDE? – David Yee Jun 06 '14 at 22:48

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 06 '14 at 21:20

Let ReportGUI implement ActionListener. Then you will implement actionPerformed for the button click. On button click, create the second frame (if it doesn't exist). Finally, set the second frame visible (if it is currently not visible):

import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.FlowLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;

public class ReportGUI  extends JFrame implements ActionListener {
    private static final long serialVersionUID = 8679886300517958494L;

    private JButton button;
    private ViewCourseGUI frame2 = null;

    public ReportGUI() {

        //frame1 stuff
        setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        setSize(300,200);
        setLayout(new FlowLayout());

        //create button
        button = new JButton("Open other frame");
        button.addActionListener(this);
        add(button);

    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
            public void run() {
                try {
                    ReportGUI  frame = new ReportGUI();
                    frame.setVisible(true);

                } catch (Exception e) {
                    e.printStackTrace();
                }
            }
        });
    }

    @Override
    public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
        if (e.getSource() == button) {
            if (frame2 == null)
                frame2 = new ViewCourseGUI();
            if (!frame2.isVisible())
                frame2.setVisible(true);
        }

    }

}

This is a simple example. You'll have to add the rest of your code here.

Open new JFrame with JButton Click - Java Swing

3 Answers3