Dynamically changing GUI items on command panel

URCap Development
1

Hi,

I wish to implement a URCap that provides multiple different commands, which each have different parameters. I envision to choose a command from a pull-down menu with different GUI items appearing/hiding based on this choice.

An example of such a behavior is the “Move” command, which allows the user to choose between MoveL, MoveJ, or MoveC, and new fields dynamically appearing.

What is the best way to implement this behavior? I tried to put a switch statement into the BuildUI method of my view, but it does not allow accessing data from the contribution.

Thanks,
Nikolaus

2

Hi Nikolaus.

Do you mean you would like to display different pages of a GUI upon the selection of item from a drop-down menu? If so you would need to do something like this:

at the top of your code, define the following elements:

private JPanel           pagesPanel;
private JComboBo<String> dropDown;
private CardLayout       pages;

the JPanel pagesPanel will hold your different pages, and the JComboBox is the drop down meanu that will control which page is shown.

In buildUI() defeine your JComboBox however you wish, for more info see this tutorial.
Also set the layout of pagesPanel to pages, and add both pagesPanel and dropDown to the panel passed as an argument in buildUI(). and add as many new JPanels as you need to pagesPanel these will be your different “pages”.

add to your JComboBox an actionListener, which changes the pages, and here put your switch case statement/series of if statements, based on dropDown.getSelectedIndex() to control which page the CardLayout should make visible.
For how to use CardLayout see this tutorial

Hope this helps.
Sam

3 Likes