Thread: Having trouble with a JComboBox in a JFileChooser. Issue with removing elements and items.

I have no idea quite what it's doing in the ComboBoxModel section part with all the arrays of Object. I have tried what I thought should and have tried removing all the elements, hoping that would work, but it doesn't even remove them at all. They're still in there.

Worse, it seems I need to call init() to show the new items, but, everything I've tried has made it so that the old items for the previous directories I've visited, still are there and I don't want that.

 
import javax.swing.JFileChooser;
import java.io.File;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import javax.swing.JOptionPane;
import javax.swing.JComboBox;
import javax.swing.event.DocumentListener;
import javax.swing.event.DocumentEvent;
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Component;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.Window;
import java.awt.event.KeyAdapter;
import java.awt.event.KeyEvent;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import javax.swing.DefaultComboBoxModel;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JComboBox;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JList;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
import javax.swing.MutableComboBoxModel;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
import javax.swing.plaf.basic.BasicComboBoxEditor;
import javax.swing.plaf.basic.BasicComboBoxRenderer;
import javax.swing.plaf.basic.BasicComboPopup;
import java.beans.PropertyChangeEvent;
import java.beans.PropertyChangeListener;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JCheckBox;
import javax.swing.BorderFactory;
 
 
public class FileChooserWithDelete extends JFileChooser
{
 
 
   private JIntelligentComboBox comboBox;
   private DefaultComboBoxModel dcm;
 
 
 
 
   public FileChooserWithDelete()
   {
      super("./");
      dcm = new DefaultComboBoxModel();
 
 
      java.io.File f = getCurrentDirectory();
 
      java.io.File[] files = f.listFiles();
 
      for (int i =0; i < files.length; i++)
      {
 
         dcm.addElement(new Object[] {files[i].getName(), "", 0});
 
      }
 
 
 
 
      comboBox = new JIntelligentComboBox(dcm);
 
 
      addPropertyChangeListener(
            new PropertyChangeListener() {
               public void propertyChange(PropertyChangeEvent evt) {
                  if (JFileChooser.DIRECTORY_CHANGED_PROPERTY.equals(evt.getPropertyName())) {
                     JFileChooser chooser = (JFileChooser) evt.getSource();
                     java.io.File oldDir = (java.io.File) evt.getOldValue();
                     java.io.File newDir = (java.io.File) evt.getNewValue();
 
                     java.io.File curDir = chooser.getCurrentDirectory();
                     System.out.println(curDir.getName());
 
 
 
                     //dcm.removeAllElements();
                     comboBox.removeAllItems();
                     dcm.removeAllElements();
 
 
 
 
                     java.io.File[] moreFiles = curDir.listFiles();
 
 
 
 
                     for (int i =0; i < moreFiles.length; i++)
                     {
 
 
 
                        dcm.addElement(new Object[] {moreFiles[i].getName(), "", 0});
 
 
 
                     }
 
 
                    // comboBox.init();
 
 
                  }
               }
            });
 
 
 
 
      java.awt.Container cont = (java.awt.Container) (getComponents()[3]);
 
      java.awt.Container cont2 = (java.awt.Container) (cont.getComponents()[3]);
      java.awt.Container cont3 = (java.awt.Container) (cont.getComponents()[0]);
 
 
      cont3.remove(1);
 
      cont3.add(comboBox, 1);
 
   }
 
 
 
 
   protected class JIntelligentComboBox extends JComboBox {
 
      private List<Object> itemBackup = new ArrayList<Object>();
 
      public JIntelligentComboBox(MutableComboBoxModel aModel) {
         super(aModel);
         init();
      }
 
      private void init() {
         this.setRenderer(new searchRenderer());
         this.setEditor(new searchComboBoxEditor());
         this.setEditable(true);
         int size = this.getModel().getSize();
         Object[] tmp = new Object[this.getModel().getSize()];
         for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) {
            tmp[i] = this.getModel().getElementAt(i);
 
 
            itemBackup.add(tmp[i]);
         }
         this.removeAllItems();
         this.getModel().addElement(new Object[]{"", "", 0});
         for (int i = 0; i < tmp.length; i++) {
            this.getModel().addElement(tmp[i]);
         }
         final JTextField jtf = (JTextField) this.getEditor().getEditorComponent();
         jtf.addKeyListener(
               new KeyAdapter() {
 
                  @Override
                  public void keyReleased(KeyEvent e) {
                     searchAndListEntries(jtf.getText());
                  }
               });
      }
 
      @Override
      public MutableComboBoxModel getModel() {
         return (MutableComboBoxModel) super.getModel();
      }
 
      private void searchAndListEntries(Object searchFor) {
         List<Object> found = new ArrayList<Object>();
         for (int i = 0; i < this.itemBackup.size(); i++) {
            Object tmp = this.itemBackup.get(i);
            if (tmp == null || searchFor == null) {
               continue;
            }
            Object[] o = (Object[]) tmp;
            String s = (String) o[0];
 
 
            if (s.startsWith((String) searchFor))
               found.add(new Object[] {((Object[]) tmp) [0],  searchFor, ((Object[]) tmp) [2]});}
 
         this.removeAllItems();
         this.getModel().addElement(new Object[]{searchFor, searchFor, 0});
         for (int i = 0; i < found.size(); i++) {
            this.getModel().addElement(found.get(i));
         }
         this.setPopupVisible(true);
         // [url=http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7605995]java - Set Size of JComboBox PopupMenu - Stack Overflow[/url]
         BasicComboPopup popup =
            (BasicComboPopup) this.getAccessibleContext().getAccessibleChild(0);
         Window popupWindow = SwingUtilities.windowForComponent(popup);
         Window comboWindow = SwingUtilities.windowForComponent(this);
 
         if (comboWindow.equals(popupWindow)) {
            Component c = popup.getParent();
            Dimension d = c.getPreferredSize();
            c.setPreferredSize(d);
 
         } 
         else {
            popupWindow.pack();
         }
      }
 
      class searchRenderer extends BasicComboBoxRenderer {
 
         @Override
         public Component getListCellRendererComponent(JList list,
             Object value, int index, boolean isSelected, boolean cellHasFocus) {
            if (index == 0) {
               setText("");
               return this;
            }
            Object[] v = (Object[]) value;
            String s = (String) v[0];
            String lowerS = s.toLowerCase();
            String sf = (String) v[1];
            String lowerSf = sf.toLowerCase();
            List<String> notMatching = new ArrayList<String>();
 
            if (!sf.equals("")) {
               int fs = -1;
               int lastFs = 0;
               while ((fs = lowerS.indexOf(lowerSf, (lastFs == 0) ? -1 : lastFs)) > -1) {
                  notMatching.add(s.substring(lastFs, fs));
                  lastFs = fs + sf.length();
               }
               notMatching.add(s.substring(lastFs));
            }
            String html = "";
            if (notMatching.size() > 1) {
               html = notMatching.get(0);
               int start = html.length();
               int sfl = sf.length();
               for (int i = 1; i < notMatching.size(); i++) {
                  String t = notMatching.get(i);
                  html += "<b style=\"color: black;\">"
                     + s.substring(start, start + sfl) + "</b>" + t;
                  start += sfl + t.length();
               }
            }
            this.setText("<html><head></head><body style=\"color: gray;\">"
               + html + "</body></head>");
            return this;
         }
      }
 
      class searchComboBoxEditor extends BasicComboBoxEditor {
 
         public searchComboBoxEditor() {
            super();
         }
 
         @Override
         public void setItem(Object anObject) {
            if (anObject == null) {
               super.setItem(anObject);
            } 
 
 
            else {
               Object[] o = (Object[]) anObject;
               super.setItem(o[0]);
            }
 
 
         }
 
         @Override
         public Object getItem() {
            return new Object[]{super.getItem(), super.getItem(), 0};
         }
      }
   }
 
 
}

I found some of this online and had to use it as is. I'm not sure what the itemBackup object is doing. I'm wondering if that's part of the reason it's not ever removing anything.

In the PropertyChangeListener, I thought I told it to remove all the items and then add the elements from the current directory, but it's not adding the new ones and the old ones are still there.

I've tried both calling removeAllElements() from the model and removeAllItems() on the combo box itself, but the old stuff is still there.

You start your post complaining about the help you've received from people who are doing this for free in their spare time.

You then say that you got this code from online and pasted it in without really understanding what it's doing.

Then you post a ton of code and expect somebody else to debug it for you.

Nope.

I think you know that this isn't going to work, but you're just frustrated. We've all been there, so take a couple days to cool off, and come back with a question that we can help you with.

I don't quite get why it needs to have Object arrays as elements. However, it does have all of the items it should, it's just not displaying them.

It appears to be in the method searchAndListEntries that things are going wrong.

I had a println before the stuff in the method and it was looking in the right directory before that as it is storing all the correct items. However, I had another println at the end of the method and now the stuff suddenly is only showing stuff from the old directory in the find results.

 for (int i = 0; i < this.itemBackup.size(); i++) {
            Object tmp = this.itemBackup.get(i);
            if (tmp == null || searchFor == null) {
               continue;
            }
            Object[] o = (Object[]) tmp;
            String s = (String) o[0];
 
 
            if (s.startsWith((String) searchFor))
               found.add(new Object[] {((Object[]) tmp) [0],  searchFor, ((Object[]) tmp) [2]});}
 
 
 
 
         this.removeAllItems();
         this.getModel().addElement(new Object[]{searchFor, searchFor, 0});
         for (int i = 0; i < found.size(); i++) {
            this.getModel().addElement(found.get(i));
         }

itemBackUp has the correct things in it because I checked before it went to the for loop.


It seems to be going wrong somewhere in here.

Originally Posted by GregBrannon

Why the 'tude, Dude? How's that going to help?

I reviewed all of your started threads requesting help with Java that were not marked SOLVED or social posts, and none of them included an SSCCE. None. If I missed it, please post a link.

Post your own code and explain what you need help with. None of your posts in this thread describe what the program should do, what it does do that you'd like to change, or what you need help with. What's your question?

I don't know what a SSCCE is. I thought it was a program that was a short as could be made that included the problem, and, if possible, compiled.


This one doesn't have a main method, true. I forgot to put that. I forgot that I had it in a package.

The thing is that I was trying to replace the JTextField in the JFileChooser class with a JComboBox. It was going to display all files (in the current directory, which is what I'm having problems with and hence why I made a separate thread on this from the one I started earlier that asked how to set it up.) The code that I somebody, at Stack Overflow, recommended java - Set Size of JComboBox PopupMenu - Stack Overflow was good for what I was trying to do, save that it involved a simple letter pattern instead of Files in a Directory.

I got that to display it and it was working. The drawback was that it was only showing the current directory. The feature was supposed to be a suggestion combo box that, like the one in Windows stuff and lots of other things like Firefox, will add to the combo box all the files that, in the current directory, start with the characters in the JComboBox.

This feature DOES work if I always stay in the current directory. However, if I move up or down in the file hierarchy, it will still show the first one, and I could move many up or down and it would still show the one that it started with.

I tried calling the init() method, which did work, but had the nasty drawback of keeping everything in the old directories, though it did show the new stuff.


Wow, that was it. I spent hours on that and couldn't figure it out.





I admit, the part of the Object arrays in the ComboBoxModel is a bit confusing. (Sadly, this has no comments explaining what they were doing.) Why didn't they just use Object instead? (Was it part of an interface requirement?)


I tried figuring out where it's going wrong. Something in the init() method will help it find the stuff in the new directories but calling init() again isn't a fix, and indeed breaks it in some ways.


All of the objects seem to be working. It's somewhere in the searchAndListEntries method that it's going wrong.


Even stranger, at some point in the execution, it can't find anything at all it seems. It just lost the data. (Though maybe I fixed that.)



Maybe I'm wrong, but it almost seems to me that the issue likely isn't what IS in there that's causing this but what ISN'T in there but should be that is.


------Update-------


I think I saw the problem. itemBackup is never changing after it's first initialized. Hence why it was only showing the first directory and never changing.


It also explained why if I called init(), it showed both as it never was removing the old ones from itemBackup but was causing it now to add the new ones.