jcomboboxes linked to textarea displays

[Max Lipshitz]

Here's what I'm trying to do;

I have 4 jcombobox's that need to contain several letters each, when a letter is selected it will display the corresponding text in one of four jtextarea's

I am very new to this, I can generally modify existing code but have never really started from scratch, I got as far as creating the containers and controls but I am stumped as to how to get the comboboxes to work and data to display in the text areas

This code is what I have so far, I am using NetBeans IDE 6.5.1, a screenshot of the interface is included.


Thanks

This is what it looks like in the IDE



I have it working as an excel spreadsheet, it looks like this;



updated code (3/29/09 9:45am)

/*
 * To change this template, choose Tools | Templates
 * and open the template in the editor.
 */

/*
 * CableIDUI.java
 *
 * Created on Mar 28, 2009, 2:31:30 PM
 */

package CableID;

/**
 *
 * @author Administrator
 */
public class CableIDUI extends javax.swing.JPanel {

    /** Creates new form CableIDUI */
    public CableIDUI() {
        initComponents();
    }

    /** This method is called from within the constructor to
     * initialize the form.
     * WARNING: Do NOT modify this code. The content of this method is
     * always regenerated by the Form Editor.
     */
    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
    // <editor-fold defaultstate="collapsed" desc="Generated Code">
    private void initComponents() {
        bindingGroup = new org.jdesktop.beansbinding.BindingGroup();

        jPanel1 = new javax.swing.JPanel();
        jComboBox1 = new javax.swing.JComboBox();
        jScrollPane1 = new javax.swing.JScrollPane();
        jTextArea1 = new javax.swing.JTextArea();
        jComboBox2 = new javax.swing.JComboBox();
        jScrollPane2 = new javax.swing.JScrollPane();
        jTextArea2 = new javax.swing.JTextArea();
        jScrollPane3 = new javax.swing.JScrollPane();
        jTextArea3 = new javax.swing.JTextArea();
        jScrollPane4 = new javax.swing.JScrollPane();
        jTextArea4 = new javax.swing.JTextArea();
        jComboBox3 = new javax.swing.JComboBox();
        jComboBox4 = new javax.swing.JComboBox();
        jLabel1 = new javax.swing.JLabel();
        jLabel2 = new javax.swing.JLabel();
        jLabel3 = new javax.swing.JLabel();
        jLabel4 = new javax.swing.JLabel();
        jLabel5 = new javax.swing.JLabel();

        jPanel1.setName("jPanel1"); // NOI18N

        jComboBox1.setModel(new javax.swing.DefaultComboBoxModel(new String[] { "1st Letter", "A", "B", "C", "D", "K" }));
        jComboBox1.setName("jComboBox1"); // NOI18N

        org.jdesktop.beansbinding.Binding binding = org.jdesktop.beansbinding.Bindings.createAutoBinding(org.jdesktop.beansbinding.AutoBinding.UpdateStrategy.READ_WRITE, new javax.swing.JTextArea(), org.jdesktop.beansbinding.ObjectProperty.create(), jComboBox1, org.jdesktop.beansbinding.BeanProperty.create("elements"));
        bindingGroup.addBinding(binding);

        jComboBox1.addActionListener(new java.awt.event.ActionListener() {
            public void actionPerformed(java.awt.event.ActionEvent evt) {
                jComboBox1ActionPerformed(evt);
            }
        });

        jScrollPane1.setName("jScrollPane1"); // NOI18N

        jTextArea1.setColumns(20);
        jTextArea1.setEditable(false);
        jTextArea1.setRows(5);
        jTextArea1.setName("jTextArea1"); // NOI18N

        binding = org.jdesktop.beansbinding.Bindings.createAutoBinding(org.jdesktop.beansbinding.AutoBinding.UpdateStrategy.READ_WRITE, jComboBox1, org.jdesktop.beansbinding.ObjectProperty.create(), jTextArea1, org.jdesktop.beansbinding.BeanProperty.create("text"));
        bindingGroup.addBinding(binding);

        jScrollPane1.setViewportView(jTextArea1);

        jComboBox2.setModel(new javax.swing.DefaultComboBoxModel(new String[] { "2nd Letter", "A", "B", "C", "D", "E", "F", "G", "H", "J", "K", "L", "M", "N", "R" }));
        jComboBox2.setName("jComboBox2"); // NOI18N

        binding = org.jdesktop.beansbinding.Bindings.createAutoBinding(org.jdesktop.beansbinding.AutoBinding.UpdateStrategy.READ_WRITE, jTextArea2, org.jdesktop.beansbinding.ObjectProperty.create(), jComboBox2, org.jdesktop.beansbinding.BeanProperty.create("elements"));
        bindingGroup.addBinding(binding);

        jScrollPane2.setName("jScrollPane2"); // NOI18N

        jTextArea2.setColumns(20);
        jTextArea2.setEditable(false);
        jTextArea2.setRows(5);
        jTextArea2.setName("jTextArea2"); // NOI18N

        binding = org.jdesktop.beansbinding.Bindings.createAutoBinding(org.jdesktop.beansbinding.AutoBinding.UpdateStrategy.READ_WRITE, jComboBox2, org.jdesktop.beansbinding.ObjectProperty.create(), jTextArea2, org.jdesktop.beansbinding.BeanProperty.create("text"));
        bindingGroup.addBinding(binding);

        jScrollPane2.setViewportView(jTextArea2);

        jScrollPane3.setName("jScrollPane3"); // NOI18N

        jTextArea3.setColumns(20);
        jTextArea3.setRows(5);
        jTextArea3.setName("jTextArea3"); // NOI18N
        jScrollPane3.setViewportView(jTextArea3);

        jScrollPane4.setName("jScrollPane4"); // NOI18N

        jTextArea4.setColumns(20);
        jTextArea4.setRows(5);
        jTextArea4.setName("jTextArea4"); // NOI18N
        jScrollPane4.setViewportView(jTextArea4);

        jComboBox3.setModel(new javax.swing.DefaultComboBoxModel(new String[] { "3rd Letter", "A", "B", "C", "D", "F", "K", "M", "T" }));
        jComboBox3.setName("jComboBox3"); // NOI18N

        binding = org.jdesktop.beansbinding.Bindings.createAutoBinding(org.jdesktop.beansbinding.AutoBinding.UpdateStrategy.READ_WRITE, jTextArea3, org.jdesktop.beansbinding.ObjectProperty.create(), jComboBox3, org.jdesktop.beansbinding.BeanProperty.create("elements"));
        bindingGroup.addBinding(binding);

        jComboBox4.setModel(new javax.swing.DefaultComboBoxModel(new String[] { "4th Letter", "A", "C", "E", "G", "H", "L", "M", "P", "R", "S", "V", "W", "X", "Y", "Z" }));
        jComboBox4.setName("jComboBox4"); // NOI18N

        binding = org.jdesktop.beansbinding.Bindings.createAutoBinding(org.jdesktop.beansbinding.AutoBinding.UpdateStrategy.READ_WRITE, jTextArea4, org.jdesktop.beansbinding.ObjectProperty.create(), jComboBox4, org.jdesktop.beansbinding.BeanProperty.create("elements"));
        bindingGroup.addBinding(binding);

        jLabel1.setText("Cable Design Type");
        jLabel1.setName("jLabel1"); // NOI18N

        jLabel2.setText("Conductor Insulation");
        jLabel2.setName("jLabel2"); // NOI18N

        jLabel3.setText("Conductor Gauge");
        jLabel3.setName("jLabel3"); // NOI18N

        jLabel4.setText("Sheath Type");
        jLabel4.setName("jLabel4"); // NOI18N

        jLabel5.setText("Choose 1st 4 Letters");
        jLabel5.setName("jLabel5"); // NOI18N

        javax.swing.GroupLayout jPanel1Layout = new javax.swing.GroupLayout(jPanel1);
        jPanel1.setLayout(jPanel1Layout);
        jPanel1Layout.setHorizontalGroup(
            jPanel1Layout.createParallelGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.LEADING)
            .addGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.TRAILING, jPanel1Layout.createSequentialGroup()
                .addContainerGap()
                .addGroup(jPanel1Layout.createParallelGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.LEADING)
                    .addComponent(jLabel2, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, Short.MAX_VALUE)
                    .addComponent(jLabel5, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, Short.MAX_VALUE)
                    .addComponent(jLabel4, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, 100, Short.MAX_VALUE)
                    .addComponent(jLabel3, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, 100, Short.MAX_VALUE)
                    .addComponent(jLabel1, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, 100, Short.MAX_VALUE))
                .addPreferredGap(javax.swing.LayoutStyle.ComponentPlacement.RELATED)
                .addGroup(jPanel1Layout.createParallelGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.LEADING)
                    .addComponent(jScrollPane1, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, 339, Short.MAX_VALUE)
                    .addComponent(jScrollPane4, javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.TRAILING, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, 339, Short.MAX_VALUE)
                    .addComponent(jScrollPane3, javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.TRAILING, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, 339, Short.MAX_VALUE)
                    .addComponent(jScrollPane2, javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.TRAILING, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, 339, Short.MAX_VALUE)
                    .addGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.TRAILING, jPanel1Layout.createSequentialGroup()
                        .addComponent(jComboBox1, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE)
                        .addGap(18, 18, 18)
                        .addComponent(jComboBox2, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE)
                        .addGap(18, 18, 18)
                        .addComponent(jComboBox3, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE)
                        .addPreferredGap(javax.swing.LayoutStyle.ComponentPlacement.UNRELATED)
                        .addComponent(jComboBox4, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE)
                        .addPreferredGap(javax.swing.LayoutStyle.ComponentPlacement.RELATED)))
                .addGap(20, 20, 20))
        );
        jPanel1Layout.setVerticalGroup(
            jPanel1Layout.createParallelGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.LEADING)
            .addGroup(jPanel1Layout.createSequentialGroup()
                .addContainerGap()
                .addGroup(jPanel1Layout.createParallelGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.LEADING)
                    .addGroup(jPanel1Layout.createParallelGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.BASELINE)
                        .addComponent(jComboBox4, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE)
                        .addComponent(jComboBox3, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE)
                        .addComponent(jComboBox2, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE)
                        .addComponent(jComboBox1, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE))
                    .addComponent(jLabel5, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE, 22, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE))
                .addGap(8, 8, 8)
                .addGroup(jPanel1Layout.createParallelGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.LEADING)
                    .addComponent(jLabel1, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE, 26, javax.swing.GroupLayout.PREFERRED_SIZE)
                    .addComponent(jScrollPane1, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, 30, Short.MAX_VALUE))
                .addPreferredGap(javax.swing.LayoutStyle.ComponentPlacement.RELATED)
                .addGroup(jPanel1Layout.createParallelGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.TRAILING)
                    .addComponent(jLabel2, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, 30, Short.MAX_VALUE)
                    .addComponent(jScrollPane2, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, 30, Short.MAX_VALUE))
                .addPreferredGap(javax.swing.LayoutStyle.ComponentPlacement.RELATED)
                .addGroup(jPanel1Layout.createParallelGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.TRAILING, false)
                    .addComponent(jLabel3, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, Short.MAX_VALUE)
                    .addComponent(jScrollPane3, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, 30, Short.MAX_VALUE))
                .addPreferredGap(javax.swing.LayoutStyle.ComponentPlacement.RELATED)
                .addGroup(jPanel1Layout.createParallelGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.TRAILING, false)
                    .addComponent(jLabel4, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, Short.MAX_VALUE)
                    .addComponent(jScrollPane4, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, 30, Short.MAX_VALUE))
                .addGap(22, 22, 22))
        );

        javax.swing.GroupLayout layout = new javax.swing.GroupLayout(this);
        this.setLayout(layout);
        layout.setHorizontalGroup(
            layout.createParallelGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.LEADING)
            .addComponent(jPanel1, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, Short.MAX_VALUE)
        );
        layout.setVerticalGroup(
            layout.createParallelGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.LEADING)
            .addGroup(javax.swing.GroupLayout.Alignment.TRAILING, layout.createSequentialGroup()
                .addContainerGap()
                .addComponent(jPanel1, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, javax.swing.GroupLayout.DEFAULT_SIZE, Short.MAX_VALUE))
        );

        bindingGroup.bind();
    }// </editor-fold>

    private void jComboBox1ActionPerformed(java.awt.event.ActionEvent evt) {                                           
        // TODO add your handling code here:
    }                                          


    // Variables declaration - do not modify
    private javax.swing.JComboBox jComboBox1;
    private javax.swing.JComboBox jComboBox2;
    private javax.swing.JComboBox jComboBox3;
    private javax.swing.JComboBox jComboBox4;
    private javax.swing.JLabel jLabel1;
    private javax.swing.JLabel jLabel2;
    private javax.swing.JLabel jLabel3;
    private javax.swing.JLabel jLabel4;
    private javax.swing.JLabel jLabel5;
    private javax.swing.JPanel jPanel1;
    private javax.swing.JScrollPane jScrollPane1;
    private javax.swing.JScrollPane jScrollPane2;
    private javax.swing.JScrollPane jScrollPane3;
    private javax.swing.JScrollPane jScrollPane4;
    private javax.swing.JTextArea jTextArea1;
    private javax.swing.JTextArea jTextArea2;
    private javax.swing.JTextArea jTextArea3;
    private javax.swing.JTextArea jTextArea4;
    private org.jdesktop.beansbinding.BindingGroup bindingGroup;
    // End of variables declaration

}

[Rob Spoor]

Please Use Code Tags. You can use the Edit button to update your post.

[Max Lipshitz]

I'm a little further along, I have the correct selections in the combobox's now. I still need to display text in the ScrollPane / TextArea's that correspond to the selection in the corresponding combobox.

For example, looking at the excel screenshot, the letters in the yellow boxes correspond to the text that is in the 4 boxes below the letters, in the 1st yellow box is the letter "D". In the data fields below, the "D" corresponds to "Duct PIC" so "Duct PIC" is displayed in the chart next to "cable design". This is what I am trying to do.

I need to know where in the code to put the data that is to be looked up and displayed when a value is chosen in the drop down combobox and how to link the combobox to the Scrollpane/TextArea so that the text associated with the combobox choice is displayed in it.

I also updated the code above to reflect the choices in the comboboxes

[Michael Dunn]

here's a simple demo of what I think you're trying to do

    
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
class Testing
{
  public void buildGUI()
  {
    final JComboBox cbo = new JComboBox(new ComboOption[]{new ComboOption("Pic Filled","A"),new ComboOption("Pic Air Co","B"),
    new ComboOption("PULP","C"),new ComboOption("Duct Pic","D"),new ComboOption("Screened","K")});
    cbo.setSelectedIndex(-1);
    cbo.setPrototypeDisplayValue("               ");
    JPanel p = new JPanel();
    p.add(cbo);
    final JTextArea ta = new JTextArea();
    JFrame f = new JFrame();
    f.getContentPane().add(p,BorderLayout.NORTH);
    f.getContentPane().add(new JScrollPane(ta));
    f.setSize(300,200);
    f.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
    f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
    f.setVisible(true);
    cbo.addActionListener(new ActionListener(){
      public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae){
        ta.setText(((ComboOption)cbo.getSelectedItem()).data);
      }
    });
  }
  public static void main(String[] args)
  {
    SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable(){
      public void run(){
        new Testing().buildGUI();
      }
    });
  }
}
class ComboOption
{
  String data;
  String display;
  public ComboOption(String d1,String d2)
  {
    data = d1; display = d2;
  }
  public String toString(){return display;}
}

note:
generally, posting netbeans-generated code is a waste of time.
few, if any, will read it, and unless using netbeans, it cant' be copied into other ide's and run 'as-is'

if you have a problem with a component, don't post all your code, create another program and strip
it down to the problem component, similar to above code i.e. just enough code that can be compiled
and the problem seen.

[Max Lipshitz]

Michael, yes, that is very similar to what I am looking for, applying this to the code I already have, can you point out which section looks for the letter chosen in the dropdown box and which section outputs the text to the text box? Thanks

[Michael Dunn]

this is the method that handles both, and the message says it all

    
     private void jComboBox1ActionPerformed(java.awt.event.ActionEvent evt) {                                             
         // TODO add your handling code here:  
     }                                       

[Bear Bibeault]

"Max Tech", please check your private messages for an important administrative matter.