Item Listener on Check Box Menu Items

This section provides a tutorial example on how to use java.awt.event.ItemListener, radio button and check box item listener interface, to catch state changed item vents on check box menu item objects.

Like JRadioButtonMenuItem, JCheckBoxMenuItem class is a special menu item class, it supports another event listener, ItemListener, which allows you to catch radio button state changed events.

Here is an example program I wrote to test the ItemListener interface on check box menu items:

/* JCheckBoxMenuItemListenerTest.java
 * Copyright (c) 1997-2024 HerongYang.com. All Rights Reserved.
 */
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class JCheckBoxMenuItemListenerTest {
   JFrame myFrame = null;
   public static void main(String[] a) {
      (new JCheckBoxMenuItemListenerTest()).test();
   }
   private void test() {
      myFrame = new JFrame("Menu Listener Test");
      myFrame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
      myFrame.setBounds(50,50,250,150);
      myFrame.setContentPane(new JDesktopPane());

      JMenuBar myMenuBar = new JMenuBar();
      JMenu myMenu = getFileMenu();
      myMenuBar.add(myMenu);
      myMenu = getOptionMenu();
      myMenuBar.add(myMenu);

      MyMenuItem myItem = new MyMenuItem("Help");
      myMenuBar.add(myItem);

      myFrame.setJMenuBar(myMenuBar);
      myFrame.setVisible(true);
   }
   private JMenu getFileMenu() {
      JMenu myMenu = new JMenu("File");
      MyMenuItem myItem = new MyMenuItem("Open");
      myMenu.add(myItem);
      myItem = new MyMenuItem("Close");
      myMenu.add(myItem);
      myMenu.addSeparator();
      myItem = new MyMenuItem("Exit");
      myMenu.add(myItem);
      return myMenu;
   }
   private JMenu getOptionMenu() {
      JMenu myMenu = new JMenu("Option");
      JCheckBoxMenuItem myItem = new MyCheckBoxMenuItem("Sound");
      myItem.setSelected(true);
      myMenu.add(myItem);
      myItem = new MyCheckBoxMenuItem("Auto save");
      myMenu.add(myItem);
      return myMenu;
   }
   private class MyMenuItem extends JMenuItem 
      implements ActionListener {
      public MyMenuItem(String text) {
         super(text);
         addActionListener(this);
      }
      public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
         System.out.println("Item clicked: "+e.getActionCommand());
      }
   }
   private class MyCheckBoxMenuItem extends JCheckBoxMenuItem
      implements ActionListener, ItemListener {
      public MyCheckBoxMenuItem(String text) {
         super(text);
         addActionListener(this);
         addItemListener(this);
      }
      public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
         System.out.println("Item clicked: "+e.getActionCommand());
      }
      public void itemStateChanged(ItemEvent e) {
         System.out.println("State changed: "+e.getStateChange()
            +" on "+((MyCheckBoxMenuItem) e.getItem()).getText());
      }
   }
}

If you run this example, you will see the frame window shows up with the menu bar like this:

Check Box Menu Item Listener Test
Check Box Menu Item Listener Test

If you click the "Help" menu item and click menu items in the "Option" menu, you will see some messages printed on the Java console window:

State changed: 1 on Sound
Item clicked: Help
State changed: 1 on Auto save
Item clicked: Auto save
State changed: 2 on Sound
Item clicked: Sound
State changed: 2 on Auto save
Item clicked: Auto save
State changed: 1 on Auto save
Item clicked: Auto save

Interesting notes about this tutorial example:

Table of Contents

 About This Book

 JDK (Java Development Kit)

 Introduction of Java Swing Package

 Graphics Environment of the Local System

 JFrame - Main Frame Class

 JLabel - Swing Label Class

 JButton - Swing Button Class

 JCheckBox - Swing Check Box Class

 JRadioButton - Swing Radio Button Class

 JTextField - Swing Text Field Class

 JComboBox - Swing Combo Box Class

Menu Bar, Menus, Menu Items and Listeners

 JMenuBar, JMenu, and JMenuItem Classes

 JMenuBarTest.java - Menu Bar Test Program

 JMenuTest.java - Menu Test Program

 JMenuItemTest.java - Menu Item Test Program

 JRadioButtonMenuItemTest.java - Radio Button Menu Item Test Program

 JCheckBoxMenuItemTest.java - Check Box Menu Item Test Program

 javax.swing.event.MenuListener - Menu Listener Interface

 JMenuItemActionListenerTest.java - Menu Item Action Listener Test

 Item Listener on Radio Button Menu Items

Item Listener on Check Box Menu Items

 javax.swing.event.MenuKeyListener - Menu Key Listener Interface

 setMnemonic() - Setting Keyboard Mnemonics on Menu Items

 setAccelerator() - Setting Keyboard Accelerators on Menu Items

 setMnemonic() - Setting Keyboard Mnemonics on Menus

 Creating Internal Frames inside the Main Frame

 Layout of Components in a Container

 LookAndFeel and UIManager

 Option Dialog Boxes

 JEditorPane - The Editor Pane Class

 SwingWorker - The Background Task Worker

 AWT (Abstract Windows Toolkit)

 Integration with Desktop System

 Archived Tutorials

 References

 Full Version in PDF/EPUB