Java JTextField with input hint

Question

I would like to add a hint value to my javax swing JTextField  It should look like Firefox rendering of  lt input type  text  title  bla  gt   This creates an edit field with the text  bla  in the background  If the textbox has focus the title-text disappears and just reappears if the user leaves the editbox without text   Is there a  free  swing component that does something like this

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If you still look for a solution  here s one that combined other answers  Bart Kiers and culmat  for your reference   import javax swing    import javax swing text JTextComponent  import java awt    import java awt event FocusEvent  import java awt event FocusListener    public class HintTextField extends JTextField implements FocusListener        private String hint       public HintTextField                  this                 public HintTextField final String hint                setHint hint           super addFocusListener this              public void setHint String hint                this hint   hint          setUI new HintTextFieldUI hint  true              setText this hint               public void focusGained FocusEvent e                if this getText   length      0                        super setText                           public void focusLost FocusEvent e                if this getText   length      0                        setHint hint                        public String getText                 String typed   super getText            return typed equals hint     typed           class HintTextFieldUI extends javax swing plaf basic BasicTextFieldUI implements FocusListener        private String hint      private boolean hideOnFocus      private Color color       public Color getColor                 return color             public void setColor Color color                this color   color          repaint               private void repaint                 if getComponent      null                        getComponent   repaint                         public boolean isHideOnFocus                 return hideOnFocus             public void setHideOnFocus boolean hideOnFocus                this hideOnFocus   hideOnFocus          repaint               public String getHint                 return hint             public void setHint String hint                this hint   hint          repaint               public HintTextFieldUI String hint                this hint  false              public HintTextFieldUI String hint  boolean hideOnFocus                this hint  hideOnFocus  null              public HintTextFieldUI String hint  boolean hideOnFocus  Color color                this hint   hint          this hideOnFocus   hideOnFocus          this color   color              protected void paintSafely Graphics g                super paintSafely g           JTextComponent comp   getComponent            if hint    null  amp  amp  comp getText   length      0  amp  amp     hideOnFocus  amp  amp  comp hasFocus                            if color    null                                g setColor color                             else                               g setColor Color gray                             int padding    comp getHeight   - comp getFont   getSize      2              g drawString hint  5  comp getHeight   - padding - 1                         public void focusGained FocusEvent e                if hideOnFocus  repaint                 public void focusLost FocusEvent e                if hideOnFocus  repaint               protected void installListeners                 super installListeners            getComponent   addFocusListener this              protected void uninstallListeners                 super uninstallListeners            getComponent   removeFocusListener this              Usage  HintTextField field   new HintTextField    field setHint  Here s a hint

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Take a look at this one  http   code google com p xswingx   It is not very difficult to implement it by yourself  btw  A couple of listeners and custom renderer and voila

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You could create your own   import java awt    import java awt event ActionEvent  import java awt event ActionListener  import java awt event FocusEvent  import java awt event FocusListener  import javax swing     public class Main      public static void main String   args         final JFrame frame   new JFrame         frame setLayout new BorderLayout          final JTextField textFieldA   new HintTextField  A hint here        final JTextField textFieldB   new HintTextField  Another hint here         frame add textFieldA  BorderLayout NORTH       frame add textFieldB  BorderLayout CENTER       JButton btnGetText   new JButton  Get text         btnGetText addActionListener new ActionListener            Override       public void actionPerformed ActionEvent e            String message   String format  textFieldA   s   textFieldB   s                textFieldA getText    textFieldB getText             JOptionPane showMessageDialog frame  message                        frame add btnGetText  BorderLayout SOUTH       frame setDefaultCloseOperation WindowConstants EXIT ON CLOSE       frame setVisible true       frame pack           class HintTextField extends JTextField implements FocusListener      private final String hint    private boolean showingHint     public HintTextField final String hint        super hint       this hint   hint      this showingHint   true      super addFocusListener this           Override   public void focusGained FocusEvent e        if this getText   isEmpty            super setText            showingHint   false               Override   public void focusLost FocusEvent e        if this getText   isEmpty            super setText hint         showingHint   true                Override   public String getText         return showingHint        super getText            If you re still on Java 1 5  replace the this getText   isEmpty   with this getText   length      0

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Here is a fully working example based on Adam Gawne-Cain s earlier Posting  His solution is simple and actually works exceptionally well   I ve used the following text in a Grid of multiple Fields   H     WWW     XXXX     WWW     H   this makes it possible to easily verify the x y alignment of the hinted text   A couple of observations  - there are any number of solutions out there  but many only work superficially and or are buggy - sun tools jconsole ThreadTab PromptingTextField is a simple solution  but it only shows the prompting text when the Field doesn t have the focus  amp  it s private  but nothing a little cut-and-paste won t fix   The following works on JDK 8 and upwards   import java awt    import java util stream    import javax swing            author DaveTheDane  based on a suggestion from Adam Gawne-Cain     public final class JTextFieldPromptExample extends JFrame        private static JTextField newPromptedJTextField  final String text  final String prompt             final String promptPossiblyNullButNeverWhitespace   prompt    null    prompt trim   isEmpty       null     prompt           return new JTextField text                 Override             public void paintComponent final Graphics    USE g2d INSTEAD                    final Graphics2D     g2d     Graphics2D  USE g2d INSTEAD                   super paintComponent g2d                    System out println  Paint       g2d                    if  getText   isEmpty                    amp  amp   promptPossiblyNullButNeverWhitespace    null                        g2d setRenderingHint RenderingHints KEY TEXT ANTIALIASING  RenderingHints VALUE TEXT ANTIALIAS ON                        final Insets      ins   getInsets                        final FontMetrics fm    g2d getFontMetrics                         final int cB   getBackground   getRGB                        final int cF   getForeground   getRGB                        final int m    0xfefefefe                      final int c2     cB  amp  m   gt  gt  gt  1      cF  amp  m   gt  gt  gt  1       for X in  A  R  G  B   Xnew    Xb   Xf    2                                                 The hint text color should be halfway between the foreground and background colors so it is always gently visible                         The variables c0 c1 m c2 calculate the halfway color s ARGB fields simultaneously without overflowing 8 bits                         Swing sets the Graphics  font to match the JTextField s font property before calling the  paint  method                         so the hint font will match the JTextField s font                         Don t think there are any side effects because Swing discards the Graphics after painting                         Adam Gawne-Cain  Aug 6 2019 at 15 55                                             g2d setColor new Color c2  true                        g2d drawString promptPossiblyNullButNeverWhitespace  ins left  getHeight   - fm getDescent   - ins bottom                                                 y Coordinate based on Descent  amp  Bottom-inset seems to align Text spot-on                         DaveTheDane  Apr 10 2020                                                                               private static final GridBagConstraints GBC LEFT    new GridBagConstraints        private static final GridBagConstraints GBC RIGHT   new GridBagConstraints                static           GBC LEFT  anchor      GridBagConstraints LINE START          GBC LEFT  fill        GridBagConstraints HORIZONTAL          GBC LEFT  insets      new Insets 8  8  0  0            GBC RIGHT gridwidth   GridBagConstraints REMAINDER          GBC RIGHT fill        GridBagConstraints HORIZONTAL          GBC RIGHT insets      new Insets 8  8  0  8              private  lt C extends Component gt  C addLeft  final C component            this     add            component           this gbl setConstraints component  GBC LEFT           return                  component            private  lt C extends Component gt  C addRight final C component            this     add            component           this gbl setConstraints component  GBC RIGHT           return                  component             private static final String ALIGN    H     WWW     XXXX     WWW     H        private final GridBagLayout gbl   new GridBagLayout         public JTextFieldPromptExample final String title            super title           this setLayout gbl            final java util List lt JTextField gt  texts   Stream of                  addLeft  newPromptedJTextField ALIGN          Top-Left       ALIGN                    addRight newPromptedJTextField ALIGN          Top-Right      ALIGN                     addLeft  newPromptedJTextField ALIGN          Middle-Left    ALIGN                    addRight newPromptedJTextField                        null   ALIGN                     addLeft  new        JTextField  x                             addRight newPromptedJTextField  x                              addLeft  new        JTextField null                           addRight newPromptedJTextField null   null                     addLeft  newPromptedJTextField ALIGN          Bottom-Left    ALIGN                    addRight newPromptedJTextField ALIGN          Bottom-Right   ALIGN     collect Collectors toList              final JButton button   addRight new JButton  Get texts                                    addRight Box createVerticalStrut 0       1 last time forces bottom inset          this setDefaultCloseOperation WindowConstants EXIT ON CLOSE           this setPreferredSize new Dimension 740  260            this pack            this setResizable false           this setVisible true            button addActionListener e - gt                texts forEach text - gt  System out println  Text        text getText                             public static void main final String   args            SwingUtilities invokeLater    - gt  new JTextFieldPromptExample  JTextField with Prompt

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For any Swing component  that is  anything that extends JComponent   you can call the setToolTipText String  method   For more information  reference the following links    API Documentation for setToolTipText  How to Use Tool Tips  tutorial

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Here is a simple way that looks good in any L amp F   public class HintTextField extends JTextField       public HintTextField String hint             hint   hint             Override     public void paint Graphics g            super paint g           if  getText   length      0                int h   getHeight                  Graphics2D g  setRenderingHint RenderingHints KEY TEXT ANTIALIASING RenderingHints VALUE TEXT ANTIALIAS ON               Insets ins   getInsets                FontMetrics fm   g getFontMetrics                int c0   getBackground   getRGB                int c1   getForeground   getRGB                int m   0xfefefefe              int c2     c0  amp  m   gt  gt  gt  1      c1  amp  m   gt  gt  gt  1               g setColor new Color c2  true                g drawString  hint  ins left  h   2   fm getAscent     2 - 2                       private final String  hint

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Here is a single class copy paste solution   import java awt Color  import java awt Graphics  import java awt event FocusEvent  import java awt event FocusListener   import javax swing plaf basic BasicTextFieldUI  import javax swing text JTextComponent    public class HintTextFieldUI extends BasicTextFieldUI implements FocusListener        private String hint      private boolean hideOnFocus      private Color color       public Color getColor             return color             public void setColor Color color            this color   color          repaint               private void repaint             if getComponent      null                getComponent   repaint                                    public boolean isHideOnFocus             return hideOnFocus             public void setHideOnFocus boolean hideOnFocus            this hideOnFocus   hideOnFocus          repaint               public String getHint             return hint             public void setHint String hint            this hint   hint          repaint              public HintTextFieldUI String hint            this hint false              public HintTextFieldUI String hint  boolean hideOnFocus            this hint hideOnFocus  null              public HintTextFieldUI String hint  boolean hideOnFocus  Color color            this hint   hint          this hideOnFocus   hideOnFocus          this color   color              Override     protected void paintSafely Graphics g            super paintSafely g           JTextComponent comp   getComponent            if hint  null  amp  amp  comp getText   length      0  amp  amp     hideOnFocus  amp  amp  comp hasFocus                   if color    null                    g setColor color                 else                   g setColor comp getForeground   brighter   brighter   brighter                                             int padding    comp getHeight   - comp getFont   getSize    2              g drawString hint  2  comp getHeight  -padding-1                                   Override     public void focusGained FocusEvent e            if hideOnFocus  repaint                 Override     public void focusLost FocusEvent e            if hideOnFocus  repaint               Override     protected void installListeners             super installListeners            getComponent   addFocusListener this              Override     protected void uninstallListeners             super uninstallListeners            getComponent   removeFocusListener this             Use it like this   TextField field   new JTextField    field setUI new HintTextFieldUI  Search   true      Note that it is happening in protected void paintSafely Graphics g

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This can be achieved by using a focus listener to update the text field content   Make the class implement the focus listener interface   class YourClass implements FocusListener   Add a method to catch when focus is gained that blanks the field   public void focusGained FocusEvent e        if JTextField1 getText   equals  Username              JTextField1 setText                Add a method to catch when focus is lost to redisplay the default entry if the field was blank   public void focusLost FocusEvent e        if JTextField1 getText   equals                JTextField1 setText  Username               you should prevent the form from being processed in this state            as it will literally contain  Username  for the username           Register your class as the focus listener for text field   textField addFocusListener this     Learn more at How to Write a Focus Listener in the Java Tutorials

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Have look at WebLookAndFeel at https   github com mgarin weblaf   WebTextField txtName   new com alee laf text WebTextField     txtName setHideInputPromptOnFocus false    txtName setInputPrompt  Name     txtName setInputPromptFont new java awt Font  Ubuntu   0  18     txtName setInputPromptForeground new java awt Color 102  102  102     txtName setInputPromptPosition 0

[java] Java JTextField with input hint

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