Related
I set up multiple custom controllers during the creation of an app and would need some help in organizing these controllers with setControllerFactory in JavaFX.
I'm fairly inexperienced with JavaFX but invested quite some time in creating a small app with Scenebuilder and JavaFX.
Background of the app
The app consists of:
- a map (implemented as an imageView)
- a sidebar with buttons and icons for drag and drop events.
- the map also has separate layers as the target for the drag and drop of different icon types.
As a prototype of my drag and drop event I used the instructions of Joel Graff (https://monograff76.wordpress.com/2015/02/17/developing-a-drag-and-drop-ui-in-javafx-part-i-skeleton-application/). He writes "in order for an object to be visible beyond a container’s edges, it must be a child of a parent or other ancestral container – it must belong to a higher level of the hierarchy. In the case of our drag-over icon, this means we had to add it as a child to the RootLayout’s top-level AnchorPane." and he uses dynamic roots for his project.
To teach myself how to use custom control with FXML I used Irina Fedortsova's tutorial https://docs.oracle.com/javafx/2/fxml_get_started/custom_control.htm.
And to learn how to set up multiple screens I used the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GsdaZWDcdY and associating code from https://github.com/acaicedo/JFX-MultiScreen.
After building my app the logic tier of my app got more and more entangled with the presentation tier, and I feel as if my code would benefit greatly from some refactoring.
My problem seems to be a lack in the understanding of the load and initialize process of controller classes. Since the drag icons and the RootLayout have to be loaded from the beginning, it is a mystery to me how I can load these classes in a way that I can call them again at a later time.
When I was looking for further solutions, I repeatedly came across the method setControllerFactory. Unfortunately I can't find a good explanation for how to use it properly and what it's specific purpose is.
The only tutorial I found was: https://riptutorial.com/javafx/example/8805/passing-parameters-to-fxml---using-a-controllerfactory, unfortunately it seems to be a bit insufficient for my purpose.
I feel as if I would benefit the most from a methode/class with which I could organize all my custom controllers, load and initialize them at the appropriate time and then later access them again (similar to the interface and superclass in the video for JFX-MultiScreen).
I repeatedly came across the method setControllerFactory. Unfortunately I can't find a good explanation for how to use it properly and what it's specific purpose is
By default, the FXMLLoader.load() method instantiates the controller named in the fxml document using the 0-arg constructor. The FXMLLoader.setControllerFactory method is used when you want your FXMLLoader object to instantiate controllers in a certain way, e.g. use a different controller constructor on specific arguments, call a method on the controller before it's returned, etc, as in
FXMLLoader loader = new FXMLLoader(...);
loader.setControllerFactory(c -> {
return new MyController("foo", "bar");
});
Now when you call loader.load() the controller will be created as above. However, calling the FXMLLoader.setController method on a preexisting controller may be easier.
I feel as if I would benefit the most from a methode/class with which I could organize all my custom controllers, load and initialize them at the appropriate time and then later access them again
When I first came across this problem, as you have, I tried and retried many approaches. What I finally settled on was turning my main application class into a singleton. The singleton pattern is great when you need to create one instance of a class which should be accessible throughout your program. I know there are many people who will take issue with that (in that it's essentially a global variable with added structure), but I've found that it reduced complexity significantly in that I no longer had to manage a somewhat artificial structure of object references going every which way.
The singleton lets controllers communicate with your main application class by calling, for example, MyApp.getSingleton(). Still in the main application class, you can then organize all of your views in a private HashMap and add public add(...), remove(...), and activate(...) methods which can add or remove views from the map or activate a view in the map (i.e. set the scene's root to your new view).
For an application with many views that may be placed in different packages, you can organize their locations with an enum:
public enum View {
LOGIN("login/Login.fxml"),
NEW_USER("register/NewUser.fxml"),
USER_HOME("user/UserHome.fxml"),
ADMIN_HOME("admin/AdminHome.fxml");
public final String location;
View(String location) {
this.location = "/views/" + location;
}
}
Below is an example of the main application class:
public final class MyApp extends Application {
// Singleton
private static MyApp singleton;
public MyApp() { singleton = this; }
public static MyApp getSingleton() { return singleton; }
// Main window
private Stage stage;
private Map<View, Parent> parents = new HashMap<>();
#Override
public void start(Stage primaryStage) {
stage = primaryStage;
stage.setTitle("My App");
add(View.LOGIN);
stage.setScene(new Scene(parents.get(View.LOGIN)));
stage.show();
}
public void add(View view) {
var loader = new FXMLLoader(getClass().getResource(view.location));
try {
Parent root = loader.load();
parents.put(view, root);
} catch (IOException e) { /* Do something */ }
}
public void remove(View view) {
parents.remove(view);
}
public void activate(View view) {
stage.getScene().setRoot(parents.get(view));
}
public void removeAllAndActivate(View view) {
parents.clear();
add(view);
activate(view);
}
}
If you have application-wide resources you can put them in the app class and add getters/setters so your controllers can access them. Here is an example controller class:
public final class Login implements Initializable {
MyApp app = MyApp.getSingleton();
// Some #FXML variables here..
#FXML private void login() {
// Authenticate..
app.removeAllAndActivate(View.USER_HOME);
}
#FXML private void createAccount() {
app.add(View.NEW_USER);
app.activate(View.NEW_USER);
}
#Override
public void initialize(URL url, ResourceBundle rb) {}
}
I have 2 fxml files:
Layout (header, menubars and content)
Anchorpane (it's supposed to be placed inside the content from the other fxml file)
I would like to know how can I load the second file inside the content space from the "Master" scene. And is that a good thing to do working in javaFX or is it better to load a new scene?
I'm trying to do something like this, but it doesn't work:
#FXML
private AnchorPane content;
#FXML
private void handleButtonAction(ActionEvent event) {
content = (AnchorPane) FXMLLoader.load("vista2.fxml");
}
Thanks for the help.
Why your code does not work
The loader creates a new AnchorPane, but you never add the new pane to a parent in the scene graph.
Quick Fix
Instead of:
content = (AnchorPane) FXMLLoader.load("vista2.fxml");
Write:
content.getChildren().setAll(FXMLLoader.load("vista2.fxml"));
Replacing the content children with your new vista. The content itself remains in the scene graph, so when you set it's children, you are also attaching them to the scene graph at the same time.
You might need to play around with layout (e.g. work with auto resizing layouts like StackPanes rather than AnchorPanes) to get the exact behaviour you want.
Rather than just adopting the quick fix, I would advise reviewing the simple framework linked below as that might provide you with a more general purpose mechanism to get the behaviour you want.
Reference FXML Navigation Framework
I created a small framework for swapping fxml controlled content panes in and out of a portion of the main scene.
The mechanism of the framework is the same as suggested in kithril's answer.
A main pane for the outer fxml acts as a holder for child panes.
The main controller for the outer fxml supplies a public method that can be used to swap the child panes.
A convenience navigator class is statically initialized with the main controller for the outer layout.
The navigator provides a public static method to load a new child pane into the main container (by invoking a method on the main controller).
Child panes are generated in the navigator by their respective fxml loaders.
Why a Framework
The framework seems like overkill for answering your question, and perhaps it is. However, I have found that the two most asked topic related to FXML are:
Navigation between panes generated by FXML (this question).
How to pass data between FXML controllers.
So I felt that a small demo framework was warranted for this case.
Sample Framework Output
The first screen shows the application layout displaying the first vista. The contents are a header which is defined in the main application layout and an aliceblue colored interchangable child content pane.
In the next screen, the user has navigated to the second vista, which retains the constant header from the main layout and replaces the original child pane with a new coral colored child content pane. The new child has been loaded from a new fxml file.
Looking for Something More Substantial?
A lightweight framework which is more extensive and better supported than the sample framework from this question is afterburner.fx.
Looking for Something Even Simpler?
Just swap out the scene root: Changing Scenes in JavaFX.
Other Options?
Animated Transitions and others: Switch between panes in JavaFX
Im not sure about how effective this is, but seems to be just fine and what's more, much simpler to methods above.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDVztNtJWOo
As far as I understood what is happening here is this(its really similiar to what is happening in Start() method in application class) :
private void buttonGoToWindow3Action(ActionEvent event) throws IOException{
Parent window3; //we need to load the layout that we want to swap
window3 = (StackPane)FXMLLoader.load(getClass().getResource("/ScenePackage/FXMLWindow3"));
Scene newScene; //then we create a new scene with our new layout
newScene = new Scene(window3);
Stage mainWindow; //Here is the magic. We get the reference to main Stage.
mainWindow = (Stage) ((Node)event.getSource()).getScene().getWindow();
mainWindow.setScene(newScene); //here we simply set the new scene
}
However Im not a java expert and quite new to programing so it would be good if someone experienced would evaluate it.
EDIT:
Ive found even simpler method;
Go to MainApplication class and make static Stage parentWindow.
public static Stage parentWindow;
#Override
public void start(Stage stage) throws Exception {
parentWindow = stage;
Parent root = FXMLLoader.load(getClass().getResource("/ScenePackage/FXMLMainScene.fxml"));
Scene scene = new Scene(root);
stage.setScene(scene);
stage.show();
}
Now you get acces to your main Stage so anywhere in a program you can do something like that to change the scene:
Parent window1;
window1 = FXMLLoader.load(getClass().getResource("/ScenePackage/FXMLWindow1.fxml"));
//Scene newSceneWindow1 = new Scene(window1);
Stage mainStage;
//mainStage = (Stage) ((Node)event.getSource()).getScene().getWindow();
mainStage = MainApplication.parentWindow;
mainStage.getScene().setRoot(newSceneWindow1); //we dont need to change whole sceene, only set new root.
Others may have a better solution, but my solution has been to have a simple container like VBox in the outer fxml, then load the new content and add it as a child of the container. If you're only loading one or two forms, this might be the way go to go. However, for a more complete framework, I found this blog post helpful: https://blogs.oracle.com/acaicedo/entry/managing_multiple_screens_in_javafx1 She has source code for her framework which includes fancy transitions. Although it's meant to manage top level scenes, I found it easy to adapt for managing inner content regions too.
My example of the mask.
Using:
Main.getNavigation().load(View2.URL_FXML).Show();
Main.getNavigation().GoBack();
In this case, I recommend you to use custom component instead. First create a custom component for your content:
class Content2 extends AnchorPane {
Content() {
FXMLLoader loader = new FXMLLoader(getClass().getResource("vista2.fxml");
loader.setRoot(this);
loader.setController(this);
loader.load();
}
}
Replace the AnchorPane markup in the root of your vista2.fxml file with fx:root:
<fx:root type="javafx.scene.layout.AnchorPane" xmlns:fx="http://javafx.com/fxml">
...
</fx:root>
Then, you can do this simply by using custom event binding and arrow function. Add event handler property to your Content class:
private final ObjectProperty<EventHandler<ActionEvent>> propertyOnPreviousButtonClick = new SimpleObjectProperty<EventHandler<ActionEvent>>();
#FXML
private void onPreviousButtonClick(ActionEvent event) {
propertyOnPreviousButtonClick.get().handle(event)
}
public void setOnPreviousButtonClick(EventHandler<ActionEvent> handler) {
propertyOnPreviousButtonClick.set(handler);
}
Finally, bind your custom event handler in your java code or fxml:
#FXML
onNextButtonClick() {
Content2 content2 = new Content2();
content2.setOnPreviousButtonClick((event) -> {
Content1 content1 = new Content1();
layout.getChildren().clear();
layout.getChildren().add(content1);
});
layout.getChildren().clear();
layout.getChildren().add(content2);
}
If you don't want to add content dynamically, just setVisible() to true or false
Got stuck up in this too
Tried out most of the answers, wasn't what I wanted so I just used the ideals given to do this:
public class Main extends Application {
public static Stage homeStage;
#Override
public void start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception{
homeStage = primaryStage;
Parent root = FXMLLoader.load(getClass().getResource("mainView.fxml"));
root.getStylesheets().add(getClass().getResource("stylesheet/custom.css").toExternalForm());
homeStage.setTitle("Classification of Living Organisms");
homeStage.setScene(new Scene(root, 600, 500));
homeStage.show();
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
launch(args);
}
}
this is my main class. Main.java with the landing window/page mainView.fxml.
Used a little of #Tomasz idea, although confused me a lil before I did this in my mainController.java class:
public void gotoSubMenu(Event event) {
Parent window1;
try {
window1 = FXMLLoader.load(getClass().getResource("src/displayView.fxml"));
Stage window1Stage;
Scene window1Scene = new Scene(window1, 600, 500);
window1Stage = Main.homeStage;
window1Stage.setScene(window1Scene);
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
created a new Parent window called 'window1' that loaded the second fxml file called 'displayView.fxml' in the src directory.
created an object of the main view stage and set the scene to the newly created scene whose root is window1.
Hope this helps the ones coming into #JavaFX now.
If you're looking for a way to make the button call the new fxml file, this worked for me.
#FXML
private void mainBClicked(ActionEvent event) throws IOException {
Stage stage;
Parent root;
stage=(Stage) ((Button)(event.getSource())).getScene().getWindow();
root = FXMLLoader.load(getClass().getResource("MainMenu.fxml"));
Scene scene = new Scene(root);
stage.setScene(scene);
stage.show();
}
Keeping the same scene container but changing the view inside the scene container...
Say the scene container you want to pass a new view and controller into is a GridPane layout named sceneContainer.
Establish a FXMLLoader object of the new view.
FXMLLoader fxmlLoader = new FXMLLoader(getClass().getResource("Notifications.fxml"));
Create a matching container and loading the contents of the new view into it.
GridPane yourNewView = fxmlLoader.load();
set the new view to the sceneContainer. (setAll clears all children first)
sceneContainer.getChildren().setAll(yourNewView);
Get the controller object for the new view and call your method that starts the class logic
Notifications notifications = fxmlLoader.getController();
notifications.passUserName(userName);
A full example would look like this :
#FXML
public void setNotificationsViewToScene() {
try {
FXMLLoader fxmlLoader = new FXMLLoader(getClass().getResource("Notifications.fxml"));
GridPane yourNewView = fxmlLoader.load();
sceneContainer.getChildren().setAll(yourNewView);
Notifications notifications = fxmlLoader.getController();
notifications.passUserName(userName);
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
Wow, >8 years old with lots of complicated answers and no mention of the >10 year old solution.
There is a dedicated fx:include element for nesting FXML files. It's not in the SceneBuilder library, so you need to write it manually. SceneBuilder can load and display nested FXML just fine though.
<AnchorPane fx:id="content">
<children>
<fx:include fx:id="nestedVista" source="vista2.fxml" />
</children>
</AnchorPane>
You can reference the nested Pane and controller using the fx:id and fx:id+"Controller"
#FXML
Pane nestedVista;
#FXML
VistaController nestedVistaController;
Documentation link: https://docs.oracle.com/javafx/2/api/javafx/fxml/doc-files/introduction_to_fxml.html#nested_controllers
I have 2 fxml files:
Layout (header, menubars and content)
Anchorpane (it's supposed to be placed inside the content from the other fxml file)
I would like to know how can I load the second file inside the content space from the "Master" scene. And is that a good thing to do working in javaFX or is it better to load a new scene?
I'm trying to do something like this, but it doesn't work:
#FXML
private AnchorPane content;
#FXML
private void handleButtonAction(ActionEvent event) {
content = (AnchorPane) FXMLLoader.load("vista2.fxml");
}
Thanks for the help.
Why your code does not work
The loader creates a new AnchorPane, but you never add the new pane to a parent in the scene graph.
Quick Fix
Instead of:
content = (AnchorPane) FXMLLoader.load("vista2.fxml");
Write:
content.getChildren().setAll(FXMLLoader.load("vista2.fxml"));
Replacing the content children with your new vista. The content itself remains in the scene graph, so when you set it's children, you are also attaching them to the scene graph at the same time.
You might need to play around with layout (e.g. work with auto resizing layouts like StackPanes rather than AnchorPanes) to get the exact behaviour you want.
Rather than just adopting the quick fix, I would advise reviewing the simple framework linked below as that might provide you with a more general purpose mechanism to get the behaviour you want.
Reference FXML Navigation Framework
I created a small framework for swapping fxml controlled content panes in and out of a portion of the main scene.
The mechanism of the framework is the same as suggested in kithril's answer.
A main pane for the outer fxml acts as a holder for child panes.
The main controller for the outer fxml supplies a public method that can be used to swap the child panes.
A convenience navigator class is statically initialized with the main controller for the outer layout.
The navigator provides a public static method to load a new child pane into the main container (by invoking a method on the main controller).
Child panes are generated in the navigator by their respective fxml loaders.
Why a Framework
The framework seems like overkill for answering your question, and perhaps it is. However, I have found that the two most asked topic related to FXML are:
Navigation between panes generated by FXML (this question).
How to pass data between FXML controllers.
So I felt that a small demo framework was warranted for this case.
Sample Framework Output
The first screen shows the application layout displaying the first vista. The contents are a header which is defined in the main application layout and an aliceblue colored interchangable child content pane.
In the next screen, the user has navigated to the second vista, which retains the constant header from the main layout and replaces the original child pane with a new coral colored child content pane. The new child has been loaded from a new fxml file.
Looking for Something More Substantial?
A lightweight framework which is more extensive and better supported than the sample framework from this question is afterburner.fx.
Looking for Something Even Simpler?
Just swap out the scene root: Changing Scenes in JavaFX.
Other Options?
Animated Transitions and others: Switch between panes in JavaFX
Im not sure about how effective this is, but seems to be just fine and what's more, much simpler to methods above.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDVztNtJWOo
As far as I understood what is happening here is this(its really similiar to what is happening in Start() method in application class) :
private void buttonGoToWindow3Action(ActionEvent event) throws IOException{
Parent window3; //we need to load the layout that we want to swap
window3 = (StackPane)FXMLLoader.load(getClass().getResource("/ScenePackage/FXMLWindow3"));
Scene newScene; //then we create a new scene with our new layout
newScene = new Scene(window3);
Stage mainWindow; //Here is the magic. We get the reference to main Stage.
mainWindow = (Stage) ((Node)event.getSource()).getScene().getWindow();
mainWindow.setScene(newScene); //here we simply set the new scene
}
However Im not a java expert and quite new to programing so it would be good if someone experienced would evaluate it.
EDIT:
Ive found even simpler method;
Go to MainApplication class and make static Stage parentWindow.
public static Stage parentWindow;
#Override
public void start(Stage stage) throws Exception {
parentWindow = stage;
Parent root = FXMLLoader.load(getClass().getResource("/ScenePackage/FXMLMainScene.fxml"));
Scene scene = new Scene(root);
stage.setScene(scene);
stage.show();
}
Now you get acces to your main Stage so anywhere in a program you can do something like that to change the scene:
Parent window1;
window1 = FXMLLoader.load(getClass().getResource("/ScenePackage/FXMLWindow1.fxml"));
//Scene newSceneWindow1 = new Scene(window1);
Stage mainStage;
//mainStage = (Stage) ((Node)event.getSource()).getScene().getWindow();
mainStage = MainApplication.parentWindow;
mainStage.getScene().setRoot(newSceneWindow1); //we dont need to change whole sceene, only set new root.
Others may have a better solution, but my solution has been to have a simple container like VBox in the outer fxml, then load the new content and add it as a child of the container. If you're only loading one or two forms, this might be the way go to go. However, for a more complete framework, I found this blog post helpful: https://blogs.oracle.com/acaicedo/entry/managing_multiple_screens_in_javafx1 She has source code for her framework which includes fancy transitions. Although it's meant to manage top level scenes, I found it easy to adapt for managing inner content regions too.
My example of the mask.
Using:
Main.getNavigation().load(View2.URL_FXML).Show();
Main.getNavigation().GoBack();
In this case, I recommend you to use custom component instead. First create a custom component for your content:
class Content2 extends AnchorPane {
Content() {
FXMLLoader loader = new FXMLLoader(getClass().getResource("vista2.fxml");
loader.setRoot(this);
loader.setController(this);
loader.load();
}
}
Replace the AnchorPane markup in the root of your vista2.fxml file with fx:root:
<fx:root type="javafx.scene.layout.AnchorPane" xmlns:fx="http://javafx.com/fxml">
...
</fx:root>
Then, you can do this simply by using custom event binding and arrow function. Add event handler property to your Content class:
private final ObjectProperty<EventHandler<ActionEvent>> propertyOnPreviousButtonClick = new SimpleObjectProperty<EventHandler<ActionEvent>>();
#FXML
private void onPreviousButtonClick(ActionEvent event) {
propertyOnPreviousButtonClick.get().handle(event)
}
public void setOnPreviousButtonClick(EventHandler<ActionEvent> handler) {
propertyOnPreviousButtonClick.set(handler);
}
Finally, bind your custom event handler in your java code or fxml:
#FXML
onNextButtonClick() {
Content2 content2 = new Content2();
content2.setOnPreviousButtonClick((event) -> {
Content1 content1 = new Content1();
layout.getChildren().clear();
layout.getChildren().add(content1);
});
layout.getChildren().clear();
layout.getChildren().add(content2);
}
If you don't want to add content dynamically, just setVisible() to true or false
Got stuck up in this too
Tried out most of the answers, wasn't what I wanted so I just used the ideals given to do this:
public class Main extends Application {
public static Stage homeStage;
#Override
public void start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception{
homeStage = primaryStage;
Parent root = FXMLLoader.load(getClass().getResource("mainView.fxml"));
root.getStylesheets().add(getClass().getResource("stylesheet/custom.css").toExternalForm());
homeStage.setTitle("Classification of Living Organisms");
homeStage.setScene(new Scene(root, 600, 500));
homeStage.show();
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
launch(args);
}
}
this is my main class. Main.java with the landing window/page mainView.fxml.
Used a little of #Tomasz idea, although confused me a lil before I did this in my mainController.java class:
public void gotoSubMenu(Event event) {
Parent window1;
try {
window1 = FXMLLoader.load(getClass().getResource("src/displayView.fxml"));
Stage window1Stage;
Scene window1Scene = new Scene(window1, 600, 500);
window1Stage = Main.homeStage;
window1Stage.setScene(window1Scene);
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
created a new Parent window called 'window1' that loaded the second fxml file called 'displayView.fxml' in the src directory.
created an object of the main view stage and set the scene to the newly created scene whose root is window1.
Hope this helps the ones coming into #JavaFX now.
If you're looking for a way to make the button call the new fxml file, this worked for me.
#FXML
private void mainBClicked(ActionEvent event) throws IOException {
Stage stage;
Parent root;
stage=(Stage) ((Button)(event.getSource())).getScene().getWindow();
root = FXMLLoader.load(getClass().getResource("MainMenu.fxml"));
Scene scene = new Scene(root);
stage.setScene(scene);
stage.show();
}
Keeping the same scene container but changing the view inside the scene container...
Say the scene container you want to pass a new view and controller into is a GridPane layout named sceneContainer.
Establish a FXMLLoader object of the new view.
FXMLLoader fxmlLoader = new FXMLLoader(getClass().getResource("Notifications.fxml"));
Create a matching container and loading the contents of the new view into it.
GridPane yourNewView = fxmlLoader.load();
set the new view to the sceneContainer. (setAll clears all children first)
sceneContainer.getChildren().setAll(yourNewView);
Get the controller object for the new view and call your method that starts the class logic
Notifications notifications = fxmlLoader.getController();
notifications.passUserName(userName);
A full example would look like this :
#FXML
public void setNotificationsViewToScene() {
try {
FXMLLoader fxmlLoader = new FXMLLoader(getClass().getResource("Notifications.fxml"));
GridPane yourNewView = fxmlLoader.load();
sceneContainer.getChildren().setAll(yourNewView);
Notifications notifications = fxmlLoader.getController();
notifications.passUserName(userName);
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
Wow, >8 years old with lots of complicated answers and no mention of the >10 year old solution.
There is a dedicated fx:include element for nesting FXML files. It's not in the SceneBuilder library, so you need to write it manually. SceneBuilder can load and display nested FXML just fine though.
<AnchorPane fx:id="content">
<children>
<fx:include fx:id="nestedVista" source="vista2.fxml" />
</children>
</AnchorPane>
You can reference the nested Pane and controller using the fx:id and fx:id+"Controller"
#FXML
Pane nestedVista;
#FXML
VistaController nestedVistaController;
Documentation link: https://docs.oracle.com/javafx/2/api/javafx/fxml/doc-files/introduction_to_fxml.html#nested_controllers
I have created some scenes using sceneBuilder and now i need to link those scenes.for example when the user click the "next" button the next scene is displayed.
In android it is possible to go from one activity(window) to another easily(using Intent and startActivity Method).
Is there anything like that in javafx.
If it isn't .what is the best way to navigate through scenes.
You navigate by replacing the children of your topmost container. In the simplest case, it is the primary stage. So:
public void start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception {
this.primaryStage = primaryStage;
...
primaryStage.setRoot(view1);
...
}
public void navigateToView2() {
primaryStage.setRoot(view1);
}
You may want to have a common template; in this case your topmost container will be the container of the template.
I have 2 fxml files:
Layout (header, menubars and content)
Anchorpane (it's supposed to be placed inside the content from the other fxml file)
I would like to know how can I load the second file inside the content space from the "Master" scene. And is that a good thing to do working in javaFX or is it better to load a new scene?
I'm trying to do something like this, but it doesn't work:
#FXML
private AnchorPane content;
#FXML
private void handleButtonAction(ActionEvent event) {
content = (AnchorPane) FXMLLoader.load("vista2.fxml");
}
Thanks for the help.
Why your code does not work
The loader creates a new AnchorPane, but you never add the new pane to a parent in the scene graph.
Quick Fix
Instead of:
content = (AnchorPane) FXMLLoader.load("vista2.fxml");
Write:
content.getChildren().setAll(FXMLLoader.load("vista2.fxml"));
Replacing the content children with your new vista. The content itself remains in the scene graph, so when you set it's children, you are also attaching them to the scene graph at the same time.
You might need to play around with layout (e.g. work with auto resizing layouts like StackPanes rather than AnchorPanes) to get the exact behaviour you want.
Rather than just adopting the quick fix, I would advise reviewing the simple framework linked below as that might provide you with a more general purpose mechanism to get the behaviour you want.
Reference FXML Navigation Framework
I created a small framework for swapping fxml controlled content panes in and out of a portion of the main scene.
The mechanism of the framework is the same as suggested in kithril's answer.
A main pane for the outer fxml acts as a holder for child panes.
The main controller for the outer fxml supplies a public method that can be used to swap the child panes.
A convenience navigator class is statically initialized with the main controller for the outer layout.
The navigator provides a public static method to load a new child pane into the main container (by invoking a method on the main controller).
Child panes are generated in the navigator by their respective fxml loaders.
Why a Framework
The framework seems like overkill for answering your question, and perhaps it is. However, I have found that the two most asked topic related to FXML are:
Navigation between panes generated by FXML (this question).
How to pass data between FXML controllers.
So I felt that a small demo framework was warranted for this case.
Sample Framework Output
The first screen shows the application layout displaying the first vista. The contents are a header which is defined in the main application layout and an aliceblue colored interchangable child content pane.
In the next screen, the user has navigated to the second vista, which retains the constant header from the main layout and replaces the original child pane with a new coral colored child content pane. The new child has been loaded from a new fxml file.
Looking for Something More Substantial?
A lightweight framework which is more extensive and better supported than the sample framework from this question is afterburner.fx.
Looking for Something Even Simpler?
Just swap out the scene root: Changing Scenes in JavaFX.
Other Options?
Animated Transitions and others: Switch between panes in JavaFX
Im not sure about how effective this is, but seems to be just fine and what's more, much simpler to methods above.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDVztNtJWOo
As far as I understood what is happening here is this(its really similiar to what is happening in Start() method in application class) :
private void buttonGoToWindow3Action(ActionEvent event) throws IOException{
Parent window3; //we need to load the layout that we want to swap
window3 = (StackPane)FXMLLoader.load(getClass().getResource("/ScenePackage/FXMLWindow3"));
Scene newScene; //then we create a new scene with our new layout
newScene = new Scene(window3);
Stage mainWindow; //Here is the magic. We get the reference to main Stage.
mainWindow = (Stage) ((Node)event.getSource()).getScene().getWindow();
mainWindow.setScene(newScene); //here we simply set the new scene
}
However Im not a java expert and quite new to programing so it would be good if someone experienced would evaluate it.
EDIT:
Ive found even simpler method;
Go to MainApplication class and make static Stage parentWindow.
public static Stage parentWindow;
#Override
public void start(Stage stage) throws Exception {
parentWindow = stage;
Parent root = FXMLLoader.load(getClass().getResource("/ScenePackage/FXMLMainScene.fxml"));
Scene scene = new Scene(root);
stage.setScene(scene);
stage.show();
}
Now you get acces to your main Stage so anywhere in a program you can do something like that to change the scene:
Parent window1;
window1 = FXMLLoader.load(getClass().getResource("/ScenePackage/FXMLWindow1.fxml"));
//Scene newSceneWindow1 = new Scene(window1);
Stage mainStage;
//mainStage = (Stage) ((Node)event.getSource()).getScene().getWindow();
mainStage = MainApplication.parentWindow;
mainStage.getScene().setRoot(newSceneWindow1); //we dont need to change whole sceene, only set new root.
Others may have a better solution, but my solution has been to have a simple container like VBox in the outer fxml, then load the new content and add it as a child of the container. If you're only loading one or two forms, this might be the way go to go. However, for a more complete framework, I found this blog post helpful: https://blogs.oracle.com/acaicedo/entry/managing_multiple_screens_in_javafx1 She has source code for her framework which includes fancy transitions. Although it's meant to manage top level scenes, I found it easy to adapt for managing inner content regions too.
My example of the mask.
Using:
Main.getNavigation().load(View2.URL_FXML).Show();
Main.getNavigation().GoBack();
In this case, I recommend you to use custom component instead. First create a custom component for your content:
class Content2 extends AnchorPane {
Content() {
FXMLLoader loader = new FXMLLoader(getClass().getResource("vista2.fxml");
loader.setRoot(this);
loader.setController(this);
loader.load();
}
}
Replace the AnchorPane markup in the root of your vista2.fxml file with fx:root:
<fx:root type="javafx.scene.layout.AnchorPane" xmlns:fx="http://javafx.com/fxml">
...
</fx:root>
Then, you can do this simply by using custom event binding and arrow function. Add event handler property to your Content class:
private final ObjectProperty<EventHandler<ActionEvent>> propertyOnPreviousButtonClick = new SimpleObjectProperty<EventHandler<ActionEvent>>();
#FXML
private void onPreviousButtonClick(ActionEvent event) {
propertyOnPreviousButtonClick.get().handle(event)
}
public void setOnPreviousButtonClick(EventHandler<ActionEvent> handler) {
propertyOnPreviousButtonClick.set(handler);
}
Finally, bind your custom event handler in your java code or fxml:
#FXML
onNextButtonClick() {
Content2 content2 = new Content2();
content2.setOnPreviousButtonClick((event) -> {
Content1 content1 = new Content1();
layout.getChildren().clear();
layout.getChildren().add(content1);
});
layout.getChildren().clear();
layout.getChildren().add(content2);
}
If you don't want to add content dynamically, just setVisible() to true or false
Got stuck up in this too
Tried out most of the answers, wasn't what I wanted so I just used the ideals given to do this:
public class Main extends Application {
public static Stage homeStage;
#Override
public void start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception{
homeStage = primaryStage;
Parent root = FXMLLoader.load(getClass().getResource("mainView.fxml"));
root.getStylesheets().add(getClass().getResource("stylesheet/custom.css").toExternalForm());
homeStage.setTitle("Classification of Living Organisms");
homeStage.setScene(new Scene(root, 600, 500));
homeStage.show();
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
launch(args);
}
}
this is my main class. Main.java with the landing window/page mainView.fxml.
Used a little of #Tomasz idea, although confused me a lil before I did this in my mainController.java class:
public void gotoSubMenu(Event event) {
Parent window1;
try {
window1 = FXMLLoader.load(getClass().getResource("src/displayView.fxml"));
Stage window1Stage;
Scene window1Scene = new Scene(window1, 600, 500);
window1Stage = Main.homeStage;
window1Stage.setScene(window1Scene);
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
created a new Parent window called 'window1' that loaded the second fxml file called 'displayView.fxml' in the src directory.
created an object of the main view stage and set the scene to the newly created scene whose root is window1.
Hope this helps the ones coming into #JavaFX now.
If you're looking for a way to make the button call the new fxml file, this worked for me.
#FXML
private void mainBClicked(ActionEvent event) throws IOException {
Stage stage;
Parent root;
stage=(Stage) ((Button)(event.getSource())).getScene().getWindow();
root = FXMLLoader.load(getClass().getResource("MainMenu.fxml"));
Scene scene = new Scene(root);
stage.setScene(scene);
stage.show();
}
Keeping the same scene container but changing the view inside the scene container...
Say the scene container you want to pass a new view and controller into is a GridPane layout named sceneContainer.
Establish a FXMLLoader object of the new view.
FXMLLoader fxmlLoader = new FXMLLoader(getClass().getResource("Notifications.fxml"));
Create a matching container and loading the contents of the new view into it.
GridPane yourNewView = fxmlLoader.load();
set the new view to the sceneContainer. (setAll clears all children first)
sceneContainer.getChildren().setAll(yourNewView);
Get the controller object for the new view and call your method that starts the class logic
Notifications notifications = fxmlLoader.getController();
notifications.passUserName(userName);
A full example would look like this :
#FXML
public void setNotificationsViewToScene() {
try {
FXMLLoader fxmlLoader = new FXMLLoader(getClass().getResource("Notifications.fxml"));
GridPane yourNewView = fxmlLoader.load();
sceneContainer.getChildren().setAll(yourNewView);
Notifications notifications = fxmlLoader.getController();
notifications.passUserName(userName);
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
Wow, >8 years old with lots of complicated answers and no mention of the >10 year old solution.
There is a dedicated fx:include element for nesting FXML files. It's not in the SceneBuilder library, so you need to write it manually. SceneBuilder can load and display nested FXML just fine though.
<AnchorPane fx:id="content">
<children>
<fx:include fx:id="nestedVista" source="vista2.fxml" />
</children>
</AnchorPane>
You can reference the nested Pane and controller using the fx:id and fx:id+"Controller"
#FXML
Pane nestedVista;
#FXML
VistaController nestedVistaController;
Documentation link: https://docs.oracle.com/javafx/2/api/javafx/fxml/doc-files/introduction_to_fxml.html#nested_controllers