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javaswinguser-interfacejlistjtextarea

Select item in list, show text in text area

I am working on a rough draft of a gui, looking at different options. I was hopping to use a JList to show text in a JTextArea based on what item is selected. You can see the JList on the left and the JTextArea in the center.

Or is there a better way to do this? I am already using tabs that will be used for a broad category. I saw that the CardLayout, but don't quite like the look. Any tips?

enter image description here

Solution

  • Well, you can use a ListSelectionListener to set the content accordingly.. 

     JList list = new JList(someArrayofData);
 list.addListSelectionListener(new ListSelectionListener(){
      public void valueChanged(ListSelectionEvent e){
            int selectedIndex = list.getSelectedIndex();
            //refresh the content based on the index
            setContent(selectedIndex);
      }
});

    Its hard to say which gui layout will work the best for you without knowing what the application is for.