The Java TM Tutorial

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Trail: Creating a GUI with JFC/Swing
Lesson: Writing Event Listeners

## How to Write a Document Listener

> A Swing text component uses a `Document` to hold and edit its text. Document events occur when the content of a document changes in any way. You attach a document listener to a text component's document, rather than to the text component itself.

> The following applet demonstrates document events on two plain text components.

> This is a picture of the applet's GUI. To run the applet, click the picture. The applet will appear in a new browser window.

> > Try this:
> > 1. Type in the text field at the upper left of the applet or the text area beneath the text field.
> >    One document event is fired for each character typed.
> > 2. Delete text with the backspace key.
> >    One document event is fired for each backspace key typed.
> > 3. Select text and then delete it by typing backspace or by using a keyboard command such as `CTRL-X` (cut).
> >    One document event is fired for the entire deletion.
> > 4. Copy text from one text component into the other using keyboard commands such as `CTRL-C` (copy) and `CTRL-V` (paste).
> >    One document event is fired for the entire paste operation regardless of the length of the text pasted. If text is selected in the target text component before the paste command is issued, an additional document event is fired because the selected text is deleted first.

> You can find the applet's code in `DocumentEventDemo.java`. Here is the applet's document event handling code:

> >     public class DocumentEventDemo ... {
> >         ...//where initialization occurs:
> >         textField = new JTextField(20);
> >         textField.addActionListener(new MyTextActionListener());
> >         textField.getDocument().addDocumentListener(new MyDocumentListener());
> >         textField.getDocument().putProperty("name", "Text Field");

> >         textArea = new JTextArea();
> >         textArea.getDocument().addDocumentListener(new MyDocumentListener());
> >         textArea.getDocument().putProperty("name", "Text Area");
> >         ...
> >     }

> >     class MyDocumentListener implements DocumentListener {
> >         String newline = System.getProperty("line.separator");

> >         public void insertUpdate(DocumentEvent e) {
> >             updateLog(e, "inserted into");
> >         }
> >         public void removeUpdate(DocumentEvent e) {
> >             updateLog(e, "removed from");
> >         }
> >         public void changedUpdate(DocumentEvent e) {
> >             //Plain text components don't fire these events
> >         }

> >         public void updateLog(DocumentEvent e, String action) {
> >             Document doc = (Document)e.getDocument();
> >             int changeLength = e.getLength();
> >             displayArea.append(
> >                 changeLength + " character" +
> >                 ((changeLength == 1) ? " " : "s ") +
> >                 action + doc.getProperty("name") + "." + newline +
> >                 "  Text length = " + doc.getLength() + newline);
> >         }
> >     }

> Document listeners shouldn't modify the contents of the document; The change is already complete by the time the listener is notified of the change. Instead, write a custom document that overrides the `insertString` or `remove` methods, or both. See Listening for Changes on a Document for details.

### The Document Event API

> The `DocumentListener` interface contains these three methods:
> `void changedUpdate(DocumentEvent)`
>   Called when the style of some of the text in the listened-to document changes. This sort of event is fired only from a `StyledDocument` -- a `PlainDocument` does not fire these events.

> `void insertUpdate(DocumentEvent)`
>   Called when text is inserted into the listened-to document.

> `void removeUpdate(DocumentEvent)`
>   Called when text is removed from the listened-to document.
> Each document event method has a single parameter: an instance of a class that implements the `DocumentEvent` interface. Typically, the object passed into this method will be an instance of `DefaultDocumentEvent` which is defined in `AbstractDocument`.

> To get the document that fired the event, you can use `DocumentEvent`'s `getDocument` method. Note that as an interface, `DocumentEvent` does not inherit from `EventObject`. Thus, it does not inherit the `getSource` method.

> In addition to `getDocument`, the `DocumentEvent` interface requires these methods:

> `int getLength()`
>   Returns the length of the change.
> `int getOffset()`
>   Returns the location within the document of the first character changed.
> `ElementChange getChange(Element)`
>   Returns details about what elements in the document have changed and how. `ElementChange` is an interface defined within the `DocumentEvent` interface.
> `EventType getType()`
>   Returns the type of change that occurred. `EventType` is a class defined within the `DocumentEvent` interface that enumerates the possible changes that can occur on a document: insert text, remove text, and change text style.

### Examples that Use Document Listeners

> The following table lists the examples that use document listeners.

> Example | Where Described | Notes
> --- | --- | ---
> `DocumentEventDemo` | This section | Reports all document events that occur on the documents for both a text field and a text area. One listener listens to both text components and uses a client property on the document to determine which component fired the event.
> `TextComponentDemo` | Listening for Changes on a Document | Updates a change log every time text in the listened-to document changes. The document in this example supports styled text, so `changedUpdate` gets called in this example. Requires this additional source file: `LimitedStyledDocument`
> `TextFieldDemo` | Using a Document Listener on a Text Field | Registers one document listener on three text fields. The listener computes a numeric value based on numeric values entered into the three text fields by the user.

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