JList Control

Check boxes are useful controls for selecting items from a list. But, what if
your list has 100 items? Do you want 100 check boxes? No, but fortunately,
there is a tool that solves this problem. A list control displays a list of items
(with as many items as you like) from which the user can select one or more
items. Both single item and multiple item selections are supported.

List Properties:

model Establishes the items in the list.

font Font name, style, size.
background List background color.
foreground Color of text.
visibleRowCount Number of rows to display.
selectedIndex Zero-based index of the currently selected item in a
list.
selectedIndices Zero-based array of indices of all currently selected
items in the list.
selectedValue Currently selected item in the list.
selectedValues Array of selected items in list.
selectionMode Gets or sets the method in which items are selected
in list (allows single or multiple selections).
selectionEmpty Boolean variable indicating if any items are
selected.

List Methods:
setFont Sets font name, style, size.
setBackground Sets the list background color.
setForeground Sets color of text.
setVisibleRowCount Sets number of rows to display.
clearSelection Unselects specified in the list.
getSelectedIndex Returns a value indicating whether the specified
item is selected.
getSelectedIndices Returns an integer array of indices of selected
items.
setSelectedIndex Selects specified item in a list.
setSelectionMode Establishes selection mode.
isSelectionEmpty Checks to see if any items are selected.

List Event:

valueChanged Event (ListSelectionEvent) triggered when any

selections in the list change. Added with
ListSelectionListener (requires importation of
javax.swing.event.* files).

The valueChanged event is new in our work. To add a listener for such an
event to a list control named myList, use:
myList.addListSelectionListener(new ListSelectionListener() {
public void valueChanged(ListSelectionEvent e)
{
myListValueChanged(e);
}
});

And, the corresponding event code would be placed in a

myListValueChanged method: private void
myListValueChanged(ListSelectionEvent e) {
[method code]
}

The items listed in the list control are defined using the DefaultListModel
object. This model manages a resizable array of information, such as that
used with the list control Such a model (myListModel) is created using:
DefaultListModel myListModel = new DefaultListModel(); Once
created, items are added to the list using the addElement or
insertElementAt methods:

Add Item: myListModel.addElement(itemToAdd);

myListModel.insertElementAt(itemToAdd, index);

With addElement, the item is added to the end of the list. With
insertElementAt the item will be added at the given index value.

List controls normally list string data types, though other types are possible.
Many times, you want the items in a list control to be sorted, or in
alphabetical order. There are no automatic capabilities within the list control
to maintain sorted lists. If you want such capability, you need to do this
yourself using your Java coding skills.

To remove items from the list, there are three methods: removeElement,
removeElementAt, or removeAllElements. For our example list box, the
respective commands are:

Delete Item: myListModel.removeElement(itemToRemove);

myListModel.removeElementAt(index);
Clear list: myListModel.removeAllElements();

Note, when removing items, that indices for subsequent items in the list
change following a removal.

To refer to an individual element in the model, use the getElementAt

method: myListModel.getElementAt(index)
and the number of elements in the list is given by the getSize method:
myListModel.getSize();

To view, the last item in this list (zero-based), you would use:
myListModel.getElementAt(myListModel.getSize() 1) Once a list
model is established, it is assigned to the list control (myList) using the
setModel method: myList.setModel(myListModel);

Always be aware of when to work with the list control and when to work
with the list model. The primary thing to remember is that items are added
to and deleted from the list model using indices provided by the list control.

The selectionMode property specifies whether you want single item

selection or multiple selections. The choices are from the
ListSelectionModel class and there are three possible values:

MULTIPLE_INTERVAL_SELECTION Allows selection of several

ranges at a time.
SINGLE_INTERVAL_SELECTION Allows selection of one range.
SINGLE_SELECTION Allows selection of one item.

The default value allows multiple range selection. To change to single item
selection in the myList control, use:
myList.setSelectionMode(ListSelectionModel.SINGLE_SELECTION);
Typical use of list control:

Declare and create list control, assigning an identifiable name. For

myList, the code is: JList myList = new JList();
Set selectionMode property and populate the list using the list model
object (usually in the frame constructor).
Add control to layout manager.
Monitor valueChanged event for individual selections.
Use selectedIndex and selectIndices properties to determine selected
items.
Notice one thing we haven t discussed with the list control is what happens
when there are more items in the list than the control can display? The
answer is nothing you will not see the items off the list. The JList
control does not have any scrolling capabilities. To add such capabilities,
we use another Swing component, the JScrollPane to implement both
horizontal and vertical scroll bars. Let s look at that component.
JScrollPane Control

A very useful container control is the scroll pane. This control is like the
panel control with the added capability of being able to scroll any
component placed on the scroll pane. Hence, a large component can be
placed on a small piece of real estate in a GUI frame. Several Swing
controls rely on the scroll pane to provide scrolling capabilities, including
the JTextArea control described earlier and the JList component just
studied. Both horizontal and vertical scrolling of a control is possible.

Scroll Pane Properties:

enabled Indicates whether the scroll pane is

enabled. If false, the component in the
pane is disabled.
preferredSize Specified size (width, height) of scroll
pane.
horizontalScrollBarPolicy Determines how horizontal scroll bar is
displayed.
verticalScrollBarPolicy Determines how vertical scroll bar is
displayed.

Scroll Pane Methods:

setEnabled Sets whether panel is enabled.

setPreferredSize Establishes size of scroll pane.
setViewportView Establishes component hosted by
the scroll pane.
setHorizontalScrollBarPolicy Establishes how horizontal scroll
 bar (if any) is displayed.
setVerticalScrollBarPolicy Establishes how horizontal scroll
bar (if any) is displayed.

Using a scroll pane is relatively easy. Since the idea of the pane is to hold a
component larger than the pane itself, you need to establish how large you
want the pane to be. This is done using the setPreferredSize method, which
in turn uses the Dimension object. What all this means is to set the size of a
scroll pane, myPane, use: JScrollPane myPane = new JScrollPane();
myPane.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(width, height)); where
width and height are the desired dimensions in pixels. Once the pane is
established and sized, you can add components to it. A scroll pane can
have a layout manager like other controls, but usually you just add a
single control to the pane (this control might be a panel control with
many controls). A component (myControl) is added to the scroll pane
using the setViewportView method.

myPane.setViewportView(myControl);

At this point, the added control can be scrolled in the scroll pane it s
that easy! Of course, you need to add the scroll pane to the frame (with
associated gridConstraints) to make this happen:
getContentPane().add(myPane, new gridConstraints()); This is the
first time we have set preferred sizes for components. Up to now, we
have let the grid layout manager determine component size and it seems
to have worked just fine. Once you start setting sizes for components,
occasional strange behavior is seen (you ll see it in Example 3-3).
Sometimes, controls don t show up as you would expect. Many times, if
you set the preferred size for a control in one grid location, you need to
set sizes for all components on the grid. You ll start developing your own
ways to handle these strange behaviors. If something doesn t appear as it
should, the preferred size method is a place to start looking.

Scroll bars may or may not appear in the scroll pane, depending on settings
for the scroll bar policy. To establish the horizontal scrollbar policy, use
the setHorizontalScrollBarPolicy with one of three constants from the
ScrollPaneConstants: HORIZONTAL_SCROLLBAR_AS_NEEDED
Scroll bar appears when hosted component is wider than allocated space
(default).
HORIZONTAL_SCROLLBAR_ALWAYS Scroll bar always appears.
HORIZONTAL_SCROLLBAR_NEVER Scroll bar never appears.

To establish the vertical scrollbar policy, use the

setVerticalScrollBarPolicy with one of three constants from the
ScrollPaneConstants: VERTICAL_SCROLLBAR_AS_NEEDED Scroll
bar appears when hosted component is wider than allocated space (default).
VERTICAL_SCROLLBAR_ALWAYS Scroll bar always appears.
VERTICAL_SCROLLBAR_NEVER Scroll bar never appears.

You don t need any code to make the scroll bars work that capability
comes along with the scroll pane.

Typical use of scroll pane control:

Declare and create the scroll pane, assigning an identifiable name.

For myScrollPane, the code is: JScrollPane myScrollPane = new
JScrollPane();
Set the scroll pane preferred size and, perhaps, set scroll bar policies.
Establish the scroll pane viewport view.
Add scroll pane to proper layout manager.
Monitor events of the hosted control(s) in pane using usual
techniques.
JComboBox Control

The list control is equivalent to a group of check boxes (allowing multiple

selections in a long list of items). The equivalent control for a long list of
radio buttons is the combo box control. The combo box allows the selection
of a single item from a drop-down list. And, if desired, the user can type in
an alternate response. The combo box uses its own list model allowing
direct addition and removal of items from the drop-down list. It also
provides its own scrolling capabilities no need for a scroll pane.

Combo Box Properties:

model Establishes the items in the drop-down list

portion.
itemCount Number of items in combo box.
font Font name, style, size.
background Combo box background color.
foreground Color of text.
editable Specifies if selection can be typed by user
(default is false).
maximumRowCount Number of rows to display in drop-down
box (scroll bar will automatically appear if
there are more items than space).
selectedIndex Zero-based index of the currently selected
item in combo box.
selectedItem Currently selected item in the combo box.

Combo Box Methods:

setEditable Establishes whether selected item can be

edited.
 getItemCount Gets number of items in combo box.
setMaximumRowCount Sets number of items to display in drop-
down box.
setFont Sets font name, style, size.
setBackground Sets the combo box background color.
setForeground Sets color of text.
getSelectedItem Retrieves the selected item.
setSelectedIndex Selects specified item in combo box.

Combo Box Event:

actionPerformed Event triggered when user makes a selection

or presses <Enter>. Added with
ActionListener.

To add a listener for the actionPerformed event for a combo box control
named myComboBox, use: myComboBox.addActionListener(new
ActionListener()
{
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
myComboBoxActionPerformed(e);
}
});

And, the corresponding event code would be placed in a

myComboBoxActionPerformed method: private void
myComboBoxActionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
[method code]
}

The combo box has its own list model for adding and removing items from
its drop-down list, making list management easier than that of the list
control. Items are added to the combo box (myComboBox) using the
addItem or insertItemAt methods:

Add Item: myComboBox.addItem(itemToAdd);

myComboBox.insertItemAt(itemToAdd, index);

With addItem, the item will be added at the end of the list. With
insertItemAt the item will be added at the given index value.

Like list controls, there is no capability for sorted lists for such lists,
you need to add that capability using code.

To remove items from the combo box, there are three methods:
removeItem, removeItemAt, or removeAllItems. For our example combo
box, the respective commands are:

Delete Item: myComboBox.removeItem(itemToRemove);

myComboBox.removeItemAt(index);
Clear list: myComboBox.removeAllItems();

Note, when removing items, that indices for subsequent items in the list
change following a removal.

To refer to an individual item in the combo box, use the getItemAt method:
myComboBox.getItemAt(index)

and the number of items in the combo box is given by the getItemCount
method: myComboBox.getItemCount();

To view, the last item in this list, you would use:

myComboBox.getItemAt(myComboBox.getItemCount() 1) Typical
use of combo box control:

Declare and create combo box control, assigning an identifiable

name. For myComboBox, the code is: JComboBox myComboBox
= new JComboBox();
 Set editable property and add items to the combo box (usually in
frame constructor).
Place control within layout manager.
Monitor actionPerformed event for selections.
Read selectedItem property to identify choice.

Let s try to clear up all this new information about list controls, scroll panes
and combo boxes with an example.
 Example 3-3
Flight Planner
Start a new empty project in NetBeans. Name the project Flight. Delete
default code in Java file named Flight. In this example, you select a
destination city, a seat location, and a meal preference for airline
passengers. The finished product will look like this:

1. Place a scroll pane (which will hold a list control), two combo boxes,
three labels and two buttons on the frame. The GridBagLayout
arrangement for these controls should be:

Set the frame and control properties:

Flight Frame:
title Flight Planner
resizable false

citiesLabel:
 text Destination City
gridx 0
gridy 0
insets (10, 0, 0, 0)

citiesScrollPane:
preferredSize 150, 100
viewportView citiesList (JList control)
gridx 0
gridy 1
insets (10, 10, 10, 10)

seatLabel:
text Seat Location
gridx 1
gridy 0
insets (10, 0, 0, 0)

seatComboBox:
background WHITE
gridx 1
gridy 1
insets (10, 10, 0, 10)
anchor NORTH

mealLabel:
text Meal Preference
gridx 2
gridy 0
insets (10, 0, 0, 0);

mealComboBox:
editable true
 gridx 2
gridy 1
insets (10, 10, 0, 10)
anchor NORTH

assignButton:
text Assign
gridx 1
gridy 2
insets (0, 0, 10, 0)

exitButton:
text Exit
gridx 2
gridy 2
insets (0, 0, 10, 0)

2. We will build the project in the usual stages first code to establish the
basic framework: / *

* Flight.java
*/
package flight;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
public class Flight extends JFrame
{
public static void main(String args[])
{
// construct frame
new Flight().show();
}
 public Flight()
{
// create frame
setTitle("Flight Planner");
setResizable(false);
addWindowListener(new WindowAdapter()
{
public void windowClosing(WindowEvent e)
{
exitForm(e);
}
});
getContentPane().setLayout(new GridBagLayout());

pack();
Dimension screenSize =
Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getScreenSize();
setBounds((int) (0.5 * (screenSize.width -
getWidth())), (int) (0.5 * (screenSize.height -
getHeight())), getWidth(), getHeight());
}
private void exitForm(WindowEvent e)
{
System.exit(0);
}
}

Run to make sure the frame appears.

3. We will first add the scroll pane with the cities list control. Add these
class level declarations: JLabel citiesLabel = new JLabel();
JList citiesList = new JList();
JScrollPane citiesScrollPane = new JScrollPane();

Position and add each control to the frame (note how the cities list
control is placed in scroll pane): GridBagConstraints gridConstraints;
citiesLabel.setText("Destination City");
gridConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
gridConstraints.gridx = 0;
gridConstraints.gridy = 0;
gridConstraints.insets = new Insets(10, 0, 0, 0);
getContentPane().add(citiesLabel, gridConstraints);
citiesScrollPane.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(150, 100));
citiesScrollPane.setViewportView(citiesList);
gridConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
gridConstraints.gridx = 0;
gridConstraints.gridy = 1;
gridConstraints.insets = new Insets(10, 10, 10, 10);
getContentPane().add(citiesScrollPane, gridConstraints); Now, at the
end of the frame constructor, use this code to add elements to the cities
list control and initialize the choice to the top element:
DefaultListModel citiesListModel = new DefaultListModel();
citiesListModel.addElement("San Diego");
citiesListModel.addElement("Los Angeles");
citiesListModel.addElement("Orange County");
citiesListModel.addElement("Ontario");
citiesListModel.addElement("Bakersfield");
citiesListModel.addElement("Oakland");
citiesListModel.addElement("Sacramento");
citiesListModel.addElement("San Jose");
citiesListModel.addElement("San Francisco");
citiesListModel.addElement("Eureka");
citiesListModel.addElement("Eugene");
 citiesListModel.addElement("Portland");
citiesListModel.addElement("Spokane");
citiesListModel.addElement("Seattle");
citiesList.setModel(citiesListModel);
citiesList.setSelectedIndex(0);

Run the project the city selection list will appear:

Try scrolling through the cities using the scroll pane. Do you see how
easy it was to add scrolling capability?

4. Now, we ll add the combo box for picking a seat. Add these class level
declarations: JLabel seatLabel = new JLabel();

JComboBox seatComboBox = new JComboBox();

Position and add each control to the frame:

seatLabel.setText("Seat Location");
gridConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
gridConstraints.gridx = 1;
gridConstraints.gridy = 0;
gridConstraints.insets = new Insets(10, 0, 0, 0);
getContentPane().add(seatLabel, gridConstraints);
seatComboBox.setBackground(Color.WHITE);
gridConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
gridConstraints.gridx = 1;
gridConstraints.gridy = 1;
gridConstraints.insets = new Insets(10, 10, 0, 10);
gridConstraints.anchor = GridBagConstraints.NORTH;
getContentPane().add(seatComboBox, gridConstraints); Add code to
the frame constructor to populate the combo box:
seatComboBox.addItem("Aisle");
seatComboBox.addItem("Middle");
seatComboBox.addItem("Window");
seatComboBox.setSelectedIndex(0);

Rerun the project. Here s what I get:

Wait a minute!! What happened to the cities list control? As mentioned

earlier, when we start setting preferred sizes, odd things can happen. And
this is one of them. We set a preferred size for the scroll pane holding the
cities list control, but not for the combo box. The GridBagLayout has
trouble with this. The solution? Set a preferred size for the combo box. I
used 100 by 25: seatComboBox.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(100,
 25)); With this additional property, if you rerun, things should appear

properly:

You can now pick a city and a seat. The moral here: when you re setting
preferred sizes on some controls, but not others, weird things may
happen. Fortunately, the only time we usually need to set preferred sizes
is when using scroll panes.

5. Now, let s add the meal combo box and the two buttons (along with their
methods). Add the class level declarations: JLabel mealLabel = new
JLabel();

JComboBox mealComboBox = new JComboBox();

JButton assignButton = new JButton();
JButton exitButton = new JButton();

Use this code to position and add the controls (and events):
mealLabel.setText("Meal Preference");
gridConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
gridConstraints.gridx = 2;
gridConstraints.gridy = 0;
gridConstraints.insets = new Insets(10, 0, 0, 0);
getContentPane().add(mealLabel, gridConstraints);
mealComboBox.setEditable(true);
gridConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
gridConstraints.gridx = 2;
gridConstraints.gridy = 1;
gridConstraints.insets = new Insets(10, 10, 0, 10);
gridConstraints.anchor = GridBagConstraints.NORTH;
getContentPane().add(mealComboBox, gridConstraints);
assignButton.setText("Assign");
gridConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
gridConstraints.gridx = 1;
gridConstraints.gridy = 2;
gridConstraints.insets = new Insets(0, 0, 10, 0);
getContentPane().add(assignButton, gridConstraints);
assignButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
assignButtonActionPerformed(e);
}
});

exitButton.setText("Exit");
gridConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
gridConstraints.gridx = 2;
gridConstraints.gridy = 2;
gridConstraints.insets = new Insets(0, 0, 10, 0);
getContentPane().add(exitButton, gridConstraints);
exitButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener()
{
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
exitButtonActionPerformed(e);
}
});

Use this code in the frame constructor to add choices to the meal combo
box: mealComboBox.addItem("Chicken");
 mealComboBox.addItem("Mystery Meat");
mealComboBox.addItem("Kosher");
mealComboBox.addItem("Vegetarian");
mealComboBox.addItem("Fruit Plate");
mealComboBox.setSelectedItem("No Preference");

And, finally, add the two empty button events:

private void assignButtonActionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {

}

private void exitButtonActionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {

}

Rerun to see the finished control arrangement. Notice we didn t need to

set a preferred size for the meal combo box it shows up just as expected
without messing up any of the other controls:

6. We can now add code to the two event methods. First, the
actionPerformed event for the assignButton: private void
assignButtonActionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {

// Build message box that gives your assignment

String message;
message = "Destination: " +
 citiesList.getSelectedValue() + "\n";
message += "Seat Location: " +
seatComboBox.getSelectedItem() + "\n";
message += "Meal: " + mealComboBox.getSelectedItem() + "\n";
JOptionPane.showConfirmDialog(null, message, "Your
Assignment", JOptionPane.DEFAULT_OPTION,
JOptionPane.INFORMATION_MESSAGE); }

When the Assign button is clicked, this code forms a confirm dialog box
message by concatenating the selected city (from citiesList), seat choice
(from seatComboBox), and the meal preference (from
mealComboBox).

7. And, the code for the exitButton: private void

exitButtonActionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {

System.exit(0);
}

For reference purposes, here is the final Flight.java code listing (code
added to basic framework is shaded): / *
* Flight.java
*/
package flight;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;

public class Flight extends JFrame

{
JLabel citiesLabel = new JLabel();
JList citiesList = new JList();
JScrollPane citiesScrollPane = new JScrollPane(); JLabel seatLabel
= new JLabel();
JComboBox seatComboBox = new JComboBox();
JLabel mealLabel = new JLabel();
JComboBox mealComboBox = new JComboBox();
JButton assignButton = new JButton();
JButton exitButton = new JButton();

public static void main(String args[])

{
// construct frame
new Flight().show();
}

public Flight()
{
// create frame
setTitle("Flight Planner");
setResizable(false);
addWindowListener(new WindowAdapter()
{
public void windowClosing(WindowEvent e)
{
exitForm(e);
}
});
getContentPane().setLayout(new GridBagLayout());

// position controls
GridBagConstraints gridConstraints;
citiesLabel.setText("Destination City");
gridConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
gridConstraints.gridx = 0;
gridConstraints.gridy = 0;
 gridConstraints.insets = new Insets(10, 0, 0, 0);
getContentPane().add(citiesLabel, gridConstraints);
citiesScrollPane.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(150, 100));
citiesScrollPane.setViewportView(citiesList);
gridConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
gridConstraints.gridx = 0;
gridConstraints.gridy = 1;
gridConstraints.insets = new Insets(10, 10, 10, 10);
getContentPane().add(citiesScrollPane, gridConstraints);
seatLabel.setText("Seat Location");
gridConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
gridConstraints.gridx = 1;
gridConstraints.gridy = 0;
gridConstraints.insets = new Insets(10, 0, 0, 0);
getContentPane().add(seatLabel, gridConstraints);
seatComboBox.setBackground(Color.WHITE);
seatComboBox.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(100, 25));
gridConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
gridConstraints.gridx = 1;
gridConstraints.gridy = 1;
gridConstraints.insets = new Insets(10, 10, 0, 10);
gridConstraints.anchor = GridBagConstraints.NORTH;
getContentPane().add(seatComboBox, gridConstraints);
mealLabel.setText("Meal Preference");
gridConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
gridConstraints.gridx = 2;
gridConstraints.gridy = 0;
gridConstraints.insets = new Insets(10, 0, 0, 0);
getContentPane().add(mealLabel, gridConstraints);
mealComboBox.setEditable(true);
gridConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
gridConstraints.gridx = 2;
gridConstraints.gridy = 1;
 gridConstraints.insets = new Insets(10, 10, 0, 10);
gridConstraints.anchor = GridBagConstraints.NORTH;
getContentPane().add(mealComboBox, gridConstraints);
assignButton.setText("Assign");
gridConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
gridConstraints.gridx = 1;
gridConstraints.gridy = 2;
gridConstraints.insets = new Insets(0, 0, 10, 0);
getContentPane().add(assignButton, gridConstraints);
assignButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
assignButtonActionPerformed(e);
}
});

exitButton.setText("Exit");
gridConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
gridConstraints.gridx = 2;
gridConstraints.gridy = 2;
gridConstraints.insets = new Insets(0, 0, 10, 0);
getContentPane().add(exitButton, gridConstraints);
exitButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
exitButtonActionPerformed(e);
}
});

pack();
Dimension screenSize =
Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getScreenSize();
 setBounds((int) (0.5 * (screenSize.width - getWidth())), (int) (0.5 *
(screenSize.height - getHeight())), getWidth(), getHeight());
// populate cities
DefaultListModel citiesListModel = new DefaultListModel();
citiesListModel.addElement("San Diego");
citiesListModel.addElement("Los Angeles");
citiesListModel.addElement("Orange County");
citiesListModel.addElement("Ontario");
citiesListModel.addElement("Bakersfield");
citiesListModel.addElement("Oakland");
citiesListModel.addElement("Sacramento");
citiesListModel.addElement("San Jose");
citiesListModel.addElement("San Francisco");
citiesListModel.addElement("Eureka");
citiesListModel.addElement("Eugene");
citiesListModel.addElement("Portland");
citiesListModel.addElement("Spokane");
citiesListModel.addElement("Seattle");
citiesList.setModel(citiesListModel);
citiesList.setSelectedIndex(0);

// populate seats
seatComboBox.addItem("Aisle");
seatComboBox.addItem("Middle");
seatComboBox.addItem("Window");
seatComboBox.setSelectedIndex(0);

// meals
mealComboBox.addItem("Chicken");
mealComboBox.addItem("Mystery Meat");
mealComboBox.addItem("Kosher");
 mealComboBox.addItem("Vegetarian");
mealComboBox.addItem("Fruit Plate");
mealComboBox.setSelectedItem("No Preference");
}

private void assignButtonActionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {

// Build message box that gives your assignment
String message;
message = "Destination: " + citiesList.getSelectedValue() + "\n";
message += "Seat Location: " + seatComboBox.getSelectedItem() +
"\n"; message += "Meal: " + mealComboBox.getSelectedItem() +
"\n"; JOptionPane.showConfirmDialog(null, message, "Your
Assignment", JOptionPane.DEFAULT_OPTION,
JOptionPane.INFORMATION_MESSAGE); }
private void exitButtonActionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
System.exit(0);
}
private void exitForm(WindowEvent e)
{
System.exit(0);
}
}

Run the application. You may have to correct some compilation errors. My
finished screen with choices I made shows:
And, after clicking Assign, I see:

Save the project (saved as Example3-3 project in \LearnJava\LJ

Code\Class 3\ project group).