JavaFx Chat TextField and Button Key Listener - javafx

Question

Im a beginner working on a simple Chat with javafx, i have already searched for similar problems and didnt find a fitting solution. The first thing i need to do is the Graphics. My first Problem is, that my MousEvent Listener for the Button isnt working, i simply cant click the Button somehow. My second problem is, once the application is running and i click somewhere outside of the TextField, i cant return to it and enter new Text. Like the Listeners of the TextField, which listen for KeyStroke events dont run anymore. Code:
import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.event.EventHandler;
import javafx.geometry.Insets;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.control.Button;
import javafx.scene.control.ScrollPane;
import javafx.scene.control.ScrollPane.ScrollBarPolicy;
import javafx.scene.control.TextArea;
import javafx.scene.control.TextField;
import javafx.scene.input.KeyCode;
import javafx.scene.input.KeyEvent;
import javafx.scene.layout.Pane;
import javafx.scene.layout.StackPane;
import javafx.scene.layout.VBox;
import javafx.scene.paint.Color;
import javafx.stage.Stage;
public class ChatView extends Application {
String s;
#Override
public void start(Stage stage){
s = "";
StackPane rootPane = new StackPane();
TextField enterMessageField = new TextField();
enterMessageField.setEditable(true);
TextArea displayAllMessages = new TextArea();
displayAllMessages.setPrefHeight(500);
displayAllMessages.setEditable(false);
ScrollPane scrollPane = new ScrollPane();
scrollPane.setContent(displayAllMessages);
scrollPane.setVbarPolicy(ScrollBarPolicy.ALWAYS);
displayAllMessages.setPrefWidth(650);
Button button = new Button("Send Message");
VBox vBoxChat = new VBox();
vBoxChat.setPadding(new Insets(650, 200, 20, 20));
vBoxChat.getChildren().addAll( enterMessageField);
VBox vBoxChatIncoming = new VBox();
vBoxChatIncoming.setPadding(new Insets(20, 20, 20, 20));
vBoxChatIncoming.getChildren().addAll( scrollPane);
VBox vBoxEnter = new VBox();
vBoxEnter.setPadding(new Insets(650, 20, 20, 550));
vBoxEnter.getChildren().add(button);
rootPane.getChildren().addAll(vBoxChat, vBoxEnter, vBoxChatIncoming);
Scene scene = new Scene(rootPane, 700, 700, Color.WHITE);
stage.setScene(scene);
stage.setTitle("Chat");
stage.show();
enterMessageField.setOnKeyPressed(new EventHandler <KeyEvent> () {
#Override
public void handle(KeyEvent event){
if (event.getCode() == KeyCode.ENTER){
s = enterMessageField.getText() + "\n";
enterMessageField.setText("");
displayAllMessages.appendText(s);
}
}
});
button.setOnAction((event) -> {
s = enterMessageField.getText() + "\n";
enterMessageField.setText("");
System.out.println(s);
});
}
public static void main(String[] args){
launch(args);
}
}
Thank you for your help!

Answer 1

I changed the rootPane to GridPane and this fact fixed the problems.
Actually the StackPane is not suitable type for multicomponent interface. See the similar problem here: Mouse Events get Ignored on the Underlying Layer
See a bit improved code below:
public class ChatView extends Application {
String s = "";
#Override
public void start(Stage stage) {
TextField enterMessageField = new TextField();
enterMessageField.setEditable(true);
TextArea displayAllMessages = new TextArea();
displayAllMessages.setPrefHeight(500);
displayAllMessages.setEditable(false);
ScrollPane scrollPane = new ScrollPane();
scrollPane.setContent(displayAllMessages);
scrollPane.setVbarPolicy(ScrollPane.ScrollBarPolicy.ALWAYS);
displayAllMessages.setPrefWidth(650);
Button button = new Button("Send Message");
button.setDefaultButton(true);
VBox vBoxChat = new VBox(enterMessageField);
vBoxChat.setPadding(new Insets(10, 10, 10, 10));
VBox vBoxChatIncoming = new VBox(displayAllMessages);
vBoxChatIncoming.setPadding(new Insets(10, 10, 10, 10));
VBox vBoxEnter = new VBox(button);
vBoxEnter.setPadding(new Insets(10, 10, 10, 10));
GridPane rootPane = new GridPane();
rootPane.add(vBoxChatIncoming, 0, 0);
rootPane.add(vBoxChat, 0, 1);
rootPane.add(vBoxEnter, 1, 1);
Scene scene = new Scene(rootPane, 800, 700, Color.WHITE);
stage.setScene(scene);
stage.setTitle("Chat");
stage.show();
enterMessageField.setOnKeyPressed(event -> {
if (event.getCode() == KeyCode.ENTER) {
s = enterMessageField.getText() + "\n";
enterMessageField.setText("");
displayAllMessages.appendText(s);
}
});
button.setOnAction((event) -> {
s = enterMessageField.getText() + "\n";
enterMessageField.setText("");
System.out.println(s);
});
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
launch(args);
}
}