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Java Swing - JTable as Editable List

[Last Updated: Jul 4, 2018]

Following example shows how to use JTable to edit a list/collection.

Example

Extending JTable

We are going to extend JTable which will use a single column to edit a list.

Editing will be triggered by row selection.

New rows can be inserted by pressing 'Enter' key.

'Alt Enter' key can be used to insert new row before the current one.

Empty rows can be deleted by 'Delete' or 'Backspace' keys.

package com.logicbig.example;

import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.table.DefaultTableModel;
import javax.swing.table.TableColumn;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Objects;
import java.util.Vector;
import java.util.stream.Collectors;

public class TableAsEditableList extends JTable {
  private DefaultCellEditor cellEditor;
  private final DefaultTableModel model;
  public JTextField textField;

  public TableAsEditableList() {
      super(1, 1);
      this.model = (DefaultTableModel) getModel();
      init();
  }

  private void init() {
      initTable();
      initEditorComponent();
      initSelectionListener();
      initKeyListeners();
  }

  private void initTable() {
      setTableHeader(null);
  }

  private void initEditorComponent() {
      TableColumn column = getColumnModel().getColumn(0);
      textField = new JTextField();
      this.cellEditor = new DefaultCellEditor(textField);
      cellEditor.setClickCountToStart(1);
      column.setCellEditor(cellEditor);
      textField.setBorder(null);
      textField.setForeground(new Color(0, 100, 250));
  }

  private void initSelectionListener() {
      getSelectionModel().addListSelectionListener(e -> {
          int selectedRow = getSelectedRow();
          if (selectedRow == -1) {
              return;
          }
          startEditingAtRow(selectedRow);
      });
  }

  private void initKeyListeners() {
      //enter key will insert a new row at next row index
      Action insertRowAfterCurrentRowAction = createEnterKeyAction();
      bindKeyAction(
              insertRowAfterCurrentRowAction,
              KeyEvent.VK_ENTER,
              0, this, textField);
      //enter key will insert a new row a prev row index
      Action insertRowBeforeCurrentRowAction = createAltEnterKeyAction();
      bindKeyAction(insertRowBeforeCurrentRowAction,
              KeyEvent.VK_ENTER,
              InputEvent.ALT_DOWN_MASK,
              this, textField);
      //del and backspace keys will remove the empty rows
      textField.addKeyListener(createDelKeyListener());
  }

  private void bindKeyAction(Action action, int keyCode, int acceleratorKey, JComponent... components) {
      for (JComponent component : components) {
          KeyStroke keyStroke = KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(keyCode, acceleratorKey);
          component.registerKeyboardAction(action, keyStroke, JComponent.WHEN_FOCUSED);
      }
  }

  private Action createEnterKeyAction() {
      return new AbstractAction() {
          @Override
          public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
              final int selectedRow = getSelectedRow();
              if (selectedRow == -1) {
                  return;
              }
              insertNewRow(selectedRow + 1);
              selectRow(selectedRow + 1);
          }
      };
  }

  private Action createAltEnterKeyAction() {
      return new AbstractAction() {
          @Override
          public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
              int selectedRow = getSelectedRow();
              if (selectedRow == -1) {
                  return;
              }
              cellEditor.stopCellEditing();
              removeEditor();
              insertNewRow(selectedRow);
          }
      };
  }

  private KeyListener createDelKeyListener() {
      return new KeyAdapter() {
          @Override
          public void keyPressed(KeyEvent e) {
              int selectedRow = getSelectedRow();
              if (selectedRow == -1 || getRowCount() == 1) {
                  return;
              }
              boolean emptyField = textField.getText().trim().length() == 0;
              boolean del = e.getKeyCode() == KeyEvent.VK_DELETE;
              boolean bsp = e.getKeyCode() == KeyEvent.VK_BACK_SPACE;
              if ((del || bsp) && emptyField) {
                  removeRow(selectedRow);
                  int newSel = del ? selectedRow : selectedRow - 1;
                  if (newSel == -1) {
                      newSel = 0;
                      del = true;
                  }
                  if (newSel > getRowCount() - 1) {
                      newSel = getRowCount() - 1;
                      del = false;
                  }
                  selectRow(newSel);
                  e.consume();
                  if (del) {
                      textField.setCaretPosition(0);
                  } else {
                      textField.setCaretPosition(textField.getDocument().getLength());
                  }
              }
          }
      };
  }

  private void selectRow(int selectedRow) {
      setRowSelectionInterval(selectedRow, selectedRow);
  }

  private void startEditingAtRow(int row) {
      if (isCellEditable(row, 0)) {
          editCellAt(row, 0);
          changeSelection(row, 0, false, false);
          textField.requestFocusInWindow();
      }
  }

  private void insertNewRow(int newRowIndex) {
      model.insertRow(newRowIndex, new String[]{""});
  }

  private void removeRow(int selectedRow) {
      cellEditor.stopCellEditing();
      removeEditor();
      model.removeRow(selectedRow);
  }

  public List<String> getDataAsStringList() {
      Vector<Vector> vectors = model.getDataVector();
      List<String> rows = vectors.stream()
                                 .filter(Objects::nonNull)
                                 .map(vector -> vector.stream()
                                                      .findAny()
                                                      .orElse(null))
                                 .filter(Objects::nonNull)
                                 .map(Objects::toString)
                                 .filter(s -> !s.isEmpty())
                                 .collect(Collectors.toList());
      return rows;
  }
}

The main class

public class TableAsEditableListMain {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
      TableAsEditableList table = new TableAsEditableList();
      JLabel listDisplayLabel = new JLabel();
      initDisplayLabel(table, listDisplayLabel);
      JFrame frame = createFrame();
      frame.add(new JScrollPane(table));
      frame.add(listDisplayLabel, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
      frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
      frame.setVisible(true);
  }

  private static void initDisplayLabel(TableAsEditableList table, JLabel displayLabel) {
      table.getModel().addTableModelListener((event) -> {
          List<String> list = table.getDataAsStringList();
          displayLabel.setText("List: " + list);
      });
  }

  private static JFrame createFrame() {
      JFrame frame = new JFrame("JTable As Editable List Example");
      frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
      frame.setSize(new Dimension(600, 400));
      return frame;
  }
}

Output

Example Project

Dependencies and Technologies Used:

  • JDK 1.8
  • Maven 3.3.9

Editing List With JTable Select All Download
  • table-as-editable-list
    • src
      • main
        • java
          • com
            • logicbig
              • example
                • TableAsEditableList.java

    See Also