The Java TM Tutorial

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

## How to Write a Tree Expansion Listener

> Sometimes when using a tree, you might need to react when a branch becomes expanded or collapsed. For example, you might need to load or save data. Or you might need to prevent the user from expanding a particular node.

> Two kinds of listeners report expansion and collapse occurrences: tree expansion listeners and tree-will-expand listeners. This page discusses the former. A tree expansion listener detects when an expansion or collapse has happened. In general, you should implement a tree expansion listener unless you might need to prevent an expansion or collapse from happening.

> Tree-will-expand listeners are discussed in How to Write a Tree-Will-Expand Listener. A tree-will-expand listener detects when an expansion or collapse is about to happen.

> The following applet demonstrates a simple tree expansion listener. The text area at the bottom of the applet displays a message every time a tree expansion event occurs. It's a straightforward, boring applet. To see a more interesting version that can veto expansions, go to How to Write a Tree-Will-Expand Listener.

> 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.

> The following code shows how the program handles expansion events. You can find all the applet's source code in `TreeExpandEventDemo.java`.

> >     public class TreeExpandEventDemo ... {
> >         ...
> >         void saySomething(String eventDescription, TreeExpansionEvent e) {
> >             textArea.append(eventDescription + "; "
> >                             + "path = " + e.getPath()
> >                             + newline);
> >         }

> >         class DemoArea ... implements TreeExpansionListener {
> >             ...
> >             public DemoArea() {
> >                 ...
> >                 tree.addTreeExpansionListener(this);
> >                 ...
> >             }
> >             ...
> >             // Required by TreeExpansionListener interface.
> >             public void treeExpanded(TreeExpansionEvent e) {
> >                 saySomething("Tree-expanded event detected", e);
> >             }

> >             // Required by TreeExpansionListener interface.
> >             public void treeCollapsed(TreeExpansionEvent e) {
> >                 saySomething("Tree-collapsed event detected", e);
> >             }
> >         }
> >     }

### The Tree Expansion Event API

> The `TreeExpansionListener` interface contains two methods:
> `void treeCollapsed(TreeExpansionEvent)`
>   Called just after a tree node collapses.
> `void treeExpanded(TreeExpansionEvent)`
>   Called just after a tree node expands.
> Both methods have a single parameter: a `TreeExpansionEvent` object. The `TreeExpansionEvent` class defines the following method:
> `TreePath getPath()`
>   Returns a `TreePath` object that identifies each node from the root of the tree to the collapsed/expanded node, inclusive.
> Another useful method is `getSource`, which `TreeExpansionEvent` inherits from `EventObject`.

### Examples that Use Tree Expansion Listeners

> The following table lists the examples that use tree expansion listeners.

> Example | Where Described | Notes
> --- | --- | ---
> `TreeExpandEventDemo` | This section | Displays a message whenever a tree expansion event occurs.
> `TreeExpandEventDemo2` | How to Write a Tree-Will-Expand Listener | Adds a tree-will-expand listener to `TreeExpandEventDemo`.

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