Source Code : File Dialog Box Program

File Dialog Box Program

Here is example Java code showing how to make a file dialog box. This program uses the JFileChooser to make an open file dialog box and a save file dialog box.

When run this program shows a frame with a text area, an open dialog button and a save dialog button. The text aream will track the buttons the user presses on the file dialogs and the files selected. The open dialog button calls the showOpenDialog method and the save dialog button calls the showSaveDialog method of a JFileChooser object.

The article relating to this code is Presenting a File Dialog Box to the User. Also, have a look at JFileChooser Overview if you want more specific information about the JFileChooser class.

Note: For this Java program to work it needs to be saved in a file called FileDialogProgram.java

//Imports are listed in full to show what's being used
//could just import javax.swing.* and java.awt.* etc..
import javax.swing.JFileChooser;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JTextArea;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.io.File;


public class FileDialogProgram {
   
  JFrame guiFrame;
  JTextArea tracker;
  JPanel optPanel;
  JFileChooser fileDialog;
   
  //Note: Typically the main method will be in a
  //separate class. As this is a simple one class
  //example it's all in the one class.
  public static void main(String[] args) {
   
  //Use the event dispatch thread for Swing components
  EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable()
  {
   
  @Override
  public void run()
  {  new FileDialogProgram();   
  }
  });
   
  }
   
  //handles the creation of the JFrame and
  //all it's components
  public FileDialogProgram()
  {
  guiFrame = new JFrame();
  //make sure the program exits when the frame closes
  guiFrame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
  guiFrame.setTitle("Dialog Box Example");
  guiFrame.setSize(500,300);
   
  //This will center the JFrame in the middle of the screen
  guiFrame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
   
   
  guiFrame.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
   
  //create an instance of JFileChooser class
  fileDialog = new JFileChooser();//"C:\\Documents and Settings\\Owner\\My Documents"
   
  //Using a JTextArea to diplay feedback
  tracker = new JTextArea("File Tracker:");
  tracker.setVisible(true);
  guiFrame.add(tracker, BorderLayout.NORTH);
   
  optPanel = new JPanel();
  optPanel.setLayout(new GridLayout(1,2));
   
   
  guiFrame.add(optPanel,BorderLayout.SOUTH);

  JButton openButton = new JButton("Open Dialog");
  openButton.setActionCommand("Open Dialog");
  openButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener()
  {
  public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent event)
  {
  openDialog();
  }
  });
   
  optPanel.add(openButton);
   
  JButton saveButton = new JButton("Save Dialog");
  saveButton.setActionCommand("Save Dialog");
  saveButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener()
  {
  public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent event)
  {
  saveDialog();
  }
  });
   
  optPanel.add(saveButton);
   
  guiFrame.setVisible(true);
  }
   
  //Show a open file dialog box
  private void openDialog()
  {
  int openChoice = fileDialog.showOpenDialog(guiFrame);
   
  //display choice using tracker
  logChoice(openChoice, "Open Dialog");
   
  if (openChoice == JFileChooser.APPROVE_OPTION)
  {
  //Put open file code in here
  File openFile = fileDialog.getSelectedFile();
  tracker.append("\nThe file selected is " + openFile.getName());
  tracker.append("\nThe file's path is " + openFile.getPath());
  }
  }
   
  //Show a save file dialog box
  private void saveDialog()
  {
  int saveChoice = fileDialog.showSaveDialog(guiFrame);
   
  //display choice using tracker
  logChoice(saveChoice, "Open Dialog");
   
  if (saveChoice == JFileChooser.APPROVE_OPTION)
  {
  //Put save file code in here
  File saveFile = fileDialog.getSelectedFile();
  tracker.append("\nThe file selected is " + saveFile.getName());
  tracker.append("\nThe file's path is " + saveFile.getPath());
  }
  }
   
  //append the button choice to the tracker JTextArea
  private void logChoice(int choice, String dialog)
  {
  switch (choice)
  {
  //The user pressed cancel button
  case JFileChooser.CANCEL_OPTION:
  tracker.append("\nCancel Option received from " + dialog);
  break;
   
  //The user pressed the open/save button
  case JFileChooser.APPROVE_OPTION:
  tracker.append("\nApprove Option received from " + dialog);
  break;
   
  //The user dismissed the dialog without pressing a button
  case JFileChooser.ERROR_OPTION:
  tracker.append("\nError Option received from " + dialog);
  break;
  }
  }
}