Prevent column width resizing - javafx

Question

How can I prevent column width resizing? I have a table, and I'm wondering if I can simply disable the option to drag to resize width of the columns. Is there any way to do this, or will I have to manually set the max and min width of each column just so that it can't be manipulated by the user? The problem with this is that the text in the title/header of my table is smaller than what's in the row underneath it. Setting the width to the column width forces it smaller, and then you can't see the info in the cell underneath.
Also, if there's a way to disable rearranging the columns, that'd be nice too. I basically want what I have set to not be changed at all. If this can't be done, I might just replace each table with an image of itself, so that it can't be manipulated at all.

Answer 1

Prevent Resizing Columns
From here, we can know that setResizable(boolean) allows you to choose whether the user can resize a column. Setting the max and min width to the same value does prevents the user from resizing the column, but not a preferred method. Also, the user will see the resizing cursor but not the default cursor when attempting to resize the column.
Prevent Reordering Columns
JavaFX 9
For preventing the user from reordering the columns, there isn't a straight-forward solution until JavaFX 9, which introduces setReorderable(boolean), isReorderable(), reorderableProperty methods, and the reorderable field in the TableColumnBase class. Here is a snippet of the source code:
package javafx.scene.control;
//some imports and JavaDoc comments
#IDProperty("id")
public abstract class TableColumnBase<S,T> implements EventTarget, Styleable {
//some code
// --- Reorderable
/**
* A boolean property to toggle on and off the 'reorderability' of this column
* (with drag and drop - reordering by modifying the appropriate <code>columns</code>
* list is always allowed). When this property is true, this column can be reordered by
* users simply by dragging and dropping the columns into their desired positions.
* When this property is false, this ability to drag and drop columns is not available.
*
* #since 9
*/
private BooleanProperty reorderable;
public final BooleanProperty reorderableProperty() {
if (reorderable == null) {
reorderable = new SimpleBooleanProperty(this, "reorderable", true);
}
return reorderable;
}
public final void setReorderable(boolean value) {
reorderableProperty().set(value);
}
public final boolean isReorderable() {
return reorderable == null ? true : reorderable.get();
}
//some code
}
If your application bases on JavaFX 9, then you are lucky. Simply invoke setReorderable(false) on your desired table column and there you go.
JavaFX 8
If your application bases on JavaFX 8 or older versions, you can use com.sun.javafx.scene.control.skin.TableHeaderRow, which has isReordering, setReordering, reorderingProperty methods, and reorderingProperty field. Here is a snippet of the source code:
package com.sun.javafx.scene.control.skin;
//some imports and JavaDoc comments
public class TableHeaderRow extends StackPane {
//some code
private BooleanProperty reorderingProperty = new BooleanPropertyBase() {
#Override protected void invalidated() {
TableColumnHeader r = getReorderingRegion();
if (r != null) {
double dragHeaderHeight = r.getNestedColumnHeader() != null ?
r.getNestedColumnHeader().getHeight() :
getReorderingRegion().getHeight();
dragHeader.resize(dragHeader.getWidth(), dragHeaderHeight);
dragHeader.setTranslateY(getHeight() - dragHeaderHeight);
}
dragHeader.setVisible(isReordering());
}
#Override
public Object getBean() {
return TableHeaderRow.this;
}
#Override
public String getName() {
return "reordering";
}
};
public final void setReordering(boolean value) { reorderingProperty().set(value); }
public final boolean isReordering() { return reorderingProperty.get(); }
public final BooleanProperty reorderingProperty() { return reorderingProperty; }
//some code
}
The methods and fields work the same as the one in TableColumnBase in JavaFX 9, just with different names.
You want to obtain the TableHeaderRow object as a children of the skin of the TableView:
TableView<MyType> table = new TableView<MyType>();
//some code
//DISPLAY THE TABLE OR GETSKIN WILL RETURN NULL
com.sun.javafx.scene.control.skin.TableHeaderRow header = null;
for (Node node : table.getSkin().getChildren())
if (node instanceof com.sun.javafx.scene.control.skin.TableHeaderRow)
header = (com.sun.javafx.scene.control.skin.TableHeaderRow) node;
if (header == null); //Table not rendered
header.setReorderable(false);
You must have the TableView rendered before accessing the skin, because the TableViewSkin obtained from TableView.getSkin() is a visual representation of user interface controls. As the official JavaFx JavaDoc says, Skin is a
Base class for defining the visual representation of user interface
controls by defining a scene graph of nodes to represent the skin. A
user interface control is abstracted behind the Skinnable interface.
Therefore, the Skin will be null if the TableView is not rendered because there is nothing visual to represent.
Note that the second method cannot be used in Java 9 or later due to the modules in Java API block your access towards any sun packages.
EDIT:
In JavaFX 8 or older, there is a method called impl_setReorderable(boolean) which is deprecated, but works flawlessly, pretty much same as setReorderable(boolean) in JavaFX 9.