dynamically adding hyperlinks to rtf file in JEditorPane

Question

I am currently building a word processor for use in a multi-window media annotation tool, written in Java. It is for film students to write essays and embed them with links to multimedia clips.

I want the user to be able to highlight text in an rtf document and create a link to a media file in the project. When clicked the link will display the media in its associated window.

I would like to know if it is possible to dynamically create hyperlinks in rtf documents in Java? As is possible in Word, for example.

At the moment I am using a JEditorPane with the Advanced RTF Editor Kit (http://java-sl.com/advanced_rtf_editor_kit.html). I am struggling to find any sort of a solution.

Any help or pointers greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Edit:

• code, with parts 1 & 3 from @ Eric's answer added

   `item3.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
      @Override
      public void actionPerformed(java.awt.event.ActionEvent e) {
          //use FX thread to open FileChooser
          Platform.runLater(new Runnable() {
              @Override
              public void run() {
                  FileChooser fileChooser = new FileChooser();
                  fileChooser.setTitle("create link");
                  String startDirectory = System.getProperty("user.home") + File.separator + "Pictures";
                  fileChooser.setInitialDirectory(new File(startDirectory));
                  FileChooser.ExtensionFilter extFilter = new FileChooser.ExtensionFilter("JPEG files (*.jpg)", "*.jpg");
                  FileChooser.ExtensionFilter extFilter2 = new FileChooser.ExtensionFilter("PNG files (*.png)", "*.png"); 
                  FileChooser.ExtensionFilter extFilter3 = new FileChooser.ExtensionFilter("JPG files (*.jpeg)", "*.jpeg"); 
                  fileChooser.getExtensionFilters().addAll(extFilter,extFilter2, extFilter3);
  
                  File imageFile = fileChooser.showOpenDialog(stage);
                  if(imageFile != null){
                      Image image = ImageViewerController.getImage(); 
  
                      try {               
                          image = new Image(imageFile.toURI().toURL().toExternalForm().toString());
  
  
                      int start = textArea.getSelectionStart();
                      int end = textArea.getSelectionEnd();   
                      textArea.getDocument().remove(start, end);  
                      String newString = "{\field{\*\fldinst HYPERLINK 'http://www.google.com/'}{\fldrslt http://www.google.com}}";
                      textArea.getDocument().insertString(start, newString , null);
                          textArea.addHyperlinkListener(new HyperlinkListener() {
                                  @Override
                                  public void hyperlinkUpdate(HyperlinkEvent hle) {
                                      if (HyperlinkEvent.EventType.ACTIVATED.equals(hle.getEventType())) {
                                          System.out.println(hle.getURL());
                                          Desktop desktop = Desktop.getDesktop();
                                          try { 
                                              desktop.browse(hle.getURL().toURI());
                                          } catch (Exception ex) {
                                              ex.printStackTrace();
                                          }
                                      }
                                  }
                              });     
                      } catch (Exception e1) {
                          e1.printStackTrace();
                      }           
                  }
              }
  
         });`
  

Answer 1

I think there are various parts in your question:

1. Replace selected text in a Document:

Get the selected range with:

int start = editorpane.getSelectionStart();
int end = editorpane.getSelectionEnd();

Replace the text with:

editorpane.getDocument().remove(start,end);
editorpane.getDocument().insertString(start, newString, null);

Note: replace null with actual attribute set if needed.

2. Create a RTF-formatted hyperlink. I think this post has everything.

3. React to hyperlink clicks: As explained in the docs, you must add a HyperlinkListener to the editor pane to open the corresponding media. However a condition for this to work is that the editor kit generates HyperlinkEvents when hyperlinks are clicked. This is definitely the case for HTML documents, but since you are using a 3rd party library, I cannot confirm it will work the same way...