Value Change Listener to JTextField

Question

I want the message box to appear immediately after the user changes the value in the textfield. Currently, I need to hit the enter key to get the message box to pop out. Is there anything wrong with my code?

textField.addActionListener(new java.awt.event.ActionListener() {
    public void actionPerformed(java.awt.event.ActionEvent e) {

        if (Integer.parseInt(textField.getText())<=0){
            JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,
                    "Error: Please enter number bigger than 0", "Error Message",
                    JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE);
        }       
    }
}

Any help would be appreciated!

Answer 1

Add a listener to the underlying Document, which is automatically created for you.

// Listen for changes in the text
textField.getDocument().addDocumentListener(new DocumentListener() {
  public void changedUpdate(DocumentEvent e) {
    warn();
  }
  public void removeUpdate(DocumentEvent e) {
    warn();
  }
  public void insertUpdate(DocumentEvent e) {
    warn();
  }

  public void warn() {
     if (Integer.parseInt(textField.getText())<=0){
       JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,
          "Error: Please enter number bigger than 0", "Error Massage",
          JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE);
     }
  }
});

Answer 2

The usual answer to this is "use a DocumentListener". However, I always find that interface cumbersome. Truthfully the interface is over-engineered. It has three methods, for insertion, removal, and replacement of text, when it only needs one method: replacement. (An insertion can be viewed as a replacement of no text with some text, and a removal can be viewed as a replacement of some text with no text.)

Usually all you want is to know is when the text in the box has changed, so a typical DocumentListener implementation has the three methods calling one method.

Therefore I made the following utility method, which lets you use a simpler ChangeListener rather than a DocumentListener. (It uses Java 8's lambda syntax, but you can adapt it for old Java if needed.)

/**
 * Installs a listener to receive notification when the text of any
 * {@code JTextComponent} is changed. Internally, it installs a
 * {@link DocumentListener} on the text component's {@link Document},
 * and a {@link PropertyChangeListener} on the text component to detect
 * if the {@code Document} itself is replaced.
 * 
 * @param text any text component, such as a {@link JTextField}
 *        or {@link JTextArea}
 * @param changeListener a listener to receieve {@link ChangeEvent}s
 *        when the text is changed; the source object for the events
 *        will be the text component
 * @throws NullPointerException if either parameter is null
 */
public static void addChangeListener(JTextComponent text, ChangeListener changeListener) {
    Objects.requireNonNull(text);
    Objects.requireNonNull(changeListener);
    DocumentListener dl = new DocumentListener() {
        private int lastChange = 0, lastNotifiedChange = 0;

        @Override
        public void insertUpdate(DocumentEvent e) {
            changedUpdate(e);
        }

        @Override
        public void removeUpdate(DocumentEvent e) {
            changedUpdate(e);
        }

        @Override
        public void changedUpdate(DocumentEvent e) {
            lastChange++;
            SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> {
                if (lastNotifiedChange != lastChange) {
                    lastNotifiedChange = lastChange;
                    changeListener.stateChanged(new ChangeEvent(text));
                }
            });
        }
    };
    text.addPropertyChangeListener("document", (PropertyChangeEvent e) -> {
        Document d1 = (Document)e.getOldValue();
        Document d2 = (Document)e.getNewValue();
        if (d1 != null) d1.removeDocumentListener(dl);
        if (d2 != null) d2.addDocumentListener(dl);
        dl.changedUpdate(null);
    });
    Document d = text.getDocument();
    if (d != null) d.addDocumentListener(dl);
}

Unlike with adding a listener directly to the document, this handles the (uncommon) case that you install a new document object on a text component. Additionally, it works around the problem mentioned in Jean-Marc Astesana's answer, where the document sometimes fires more events than it needs to.

Anyway, this method lets you replace annoying code which looks like this:

someTextBox.getDocument().addDocumentListener(new DocumentListener() {
    @Override
    public void insertUpdate(DocumentEvent e) {
        doSomething();
    }

    @Override
    public void removeUpdate(DocumentEvent e) {
        doSomething();
    }

    @Override
    public void changedUpdate(DocumentEvent e) {
        doSomething();
    }
});

With:

addChangeListener(someTextBox, e -> doSomething());

Code released to public domain. Have fun!

Answer 3

Use a KeyListener (which triggers on any key) rather than the ActionListener (which triggers on enter)

Answer 4

Just crate an interface that extends DocumentListener and implements all DocumentListener methods:

@FunctionalInterface
public interface SimpleDocumentListener extends DocumentListener {
    void update(DocumentEvent e);

    @Override
    default void insertUpdate(DocumentEvent e) {
        update(e);
    }
    @Override
    default void removeUpdate(DocumentEvent e) {
        update(e);
    }
    @Override
    default void changedUpdate(DocumentEvent e) {
        update(e);
    }
}

and then:

jTextField.getDocument().addDocumentListener(new SimpleDocumentListener() {
    @Override
    public void update(DocumentEvent e) {
        // Your code here
    }
});

or you can even use lambda expression:

jTextField.getDocument().addDocumentListener((SimpleDocumentListener) e -> {
    // Your code here
});

Answer 5

I know this relates to a really old problem, however, it caused me some problems too. As kleopatra responded in a comment above, I solved the problem with a JFormattedTextField. However, the solution requires a bit more work, but is neater.

The JFormattedTextField doesn't by default trigger a property change after every text changes in the field. The default constructor of JFormattedTextField does not create a formatter.

However, to do what the OP suggested, you need to use a formatter which will invoke the commitEdit() method after each valid edit of the field. The commitEdit() method is what triggers the property change from what I can see and without the formatter, this is triggered by default on a focus change or when the enter key is pressed.

See http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/uiswing/components/formattedtextfield.html#value for more details.

Create a default formatter (DefaultFormatter) object to be passed to the JFormattedTextField either via its constructor or a setter method. One method of the default formatter is setCommitsOnValidEdit(boolean commit), which sets the formatter to trigger the commitEdit() method every time the text is changed. This can then be picked up using a PropertyChangeListener and the propertyChange() method.

Answer 6

textBoxName.getDocument().addDocumentListener(new DocumentListener() {
   @Override
   public void insertUpdate(DocumentEvent e) {
       onChange();
   }

   @Override
   public void removeUpdate(DocumentEvent e) {
      onChange();
   }

   @Override
   public void changedUpdate(DocumentEvent e) {
      onChange();
   } 
});

But I would not just parse anything the user (maybe on accident) touches on his keyboard into an Integer. You should catch any Exceptions thrown and make sure the JTextField is not empty.