highlight the treeNode in the Jtree using the treeNode itself

Question

I have a JTree (myTree) and in another class, I have a DefaultMutableTreeNode which was taken from myTree.

In a certain function, I want the JTree to highlight the node.

I tried:

myTree.setSelectionPath(new TreePath(treeNode));

but visually nothing is happening.

any ideas?

UPDATE:

I have also another JTable which is rendered based on the selected treeNode in myTree. The table is updating correctly. It's just the myTree which refused to update visually.

Is the tree focused at the time the function is called? I would not need to ask if you'd posted an [SSCCE](http://sscce.org/). — Andrew Thompson, Jan 17 '12 at 15:01
@AndrewThompson No, Actually the focus is in another JTree. Sorry I cannot post more code because it is highly confidential. I don't know if I am permitted to post a question here :P — Adel Boutros, Jan 17 '12 at 15:05

JB Nizet · Accepted Answer · 2012-01-17T15:16:51.237

4

You need to use the actual tree path of the node. Not just an instance of TreePath:

myTree.setSelectionPath(new TreePath(treeModel.getPathToRoot(treeNode)));

Also, the javadoc says:

If any component of the path is hidden (under a collapsed node), and getExpandsSelectedPaths is true it is exposed (made viewable)

So make sure that getExpandsSelectedPaths is true.

edited Jan 17 '12 at 15:16

answered Jan 17 '12 at 14:58

JB Nizet

678,734
91
1,224
1,255

Nope, it didn't work. I think it has something to do with the fact that the tree is not focused like @AndrewThompson suggested – Adel Boutros Jan 17 '12 at 15:10
Sorry, it was a minor bug elsewhere – Adel Boutros Jan 17 '12 at 15:23
@AdelBoutros: are you aware that the answer you just accepted says exactly the same thing as my answer? It's been half an hour that I gave you the solution. – JB Nizet Jan 17 '12 at 15:30
I read your answer many times, and yes you are right. At first it looked different. Sorry for the inconvenience – Adel Boutros Jan 17 '12 at 15:38
See my answer below which incorporates this one. – Steve Oct 28 '13 at 07:41

score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 17 '12 at 15:22

4

From the java API, we get the description of TreePath below:

Represents a path to a node. A TreePath is an array of Objects that are vended from a TreeModel. The elements of the array are ordered such that the root is always the first element (index 0) of the array.

so, a valid TreePath must be constructed from an array including all nodes on the path from the root node and the node you want to select.

answered Jan 17 '12 at 15:22

Alanmars

1,267
1
11
21

Sorry but I didn't notice that @JBNizet replied first. You will get an upvote – Adel Boutros Jan 17 '12 at 15:38

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 28 '13 at 07:38

Many Swing bugs, quirks and other shortcomings can be worked around using SwingUtilities.invokeLater(Runnable):

SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
    @Override
    public void run() {
        // JB Nizet's solution:
        myTree.setSelectionPath(new TreePath(treeModel.getPathToRoot(treeNode)));
    }
});

This also solves the same problem with JTree.setSelectionPaths(TreePath[]).

highlight the treeNode in the Jtree using the treeNode itself

3 Answers3

Linked