Chapter 16

JavaFX UI Controls and Multimedia

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 Motivations
A graphical user interface (GUI) makes a system
user-friendly and easy to use. Creating a GUI
requires creativity and knowledge of how GUI
components work. Since the GUI components in
Java are very flexible and versatile, you can create
a wide assortment of useful user interfaces.

Previous chapters briefly introduced several GUI

components. This chapter introduces the
frequently used GUI components in detail.
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 Objectives
• To create graphical user interfaces with various user-interface controls (§§16.2–16.11).
• To create a label with text and graphic using the Label class and explore properties in the abstract
Labeled class (§16.2).
• To create a button with text and graphic using the Button class and set a handler using the
setOnAction method in the abstract ButtonBase class (§16.3).
• To create a check box using the CheckBox class (§16.4).
• To create a radio button using the RadioButton class and group radio buttons using a ToggleGroup
(§16.5).
• To enter data using the TextField class and password using the PasswordField class (§16.6).
• To enter data in multiple lines using the TextArea class (§16.7).
• To select a single item using ComboBox (§16.8).
• To select a single or multiple items using ListView (§16.9).
• To select a range of values using ScrollBar (§16.10).
• To select a range of values using Slider and explore differences between ScrollBar and Slider
(§16.11).
• To develop a tic-tac-toe game (§16.12).
• To view and play video and audio using the Media, MediaPlayer, and MediaView (§16.13).
• To develop a case study for showing the national flag and play anthem (§16.14).

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 Frequently Used UI Controls

Throughout this book, the prefixes lbl, bt, chk, rb, tf, pf, ta, cbo, lv,
scb, sld, and mp are used to name reference variables for Label,
Button, CheckBox, RadioButton, TextField, PasswordField,
TextArea, ComboBox, ListView, ScrollBar, Slider, and
MediaPlayer.
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 Labeled
A label is a display area for a short text, a node, or both. It is often used to label
other controls (usually text fields). Labels and buttons share many common
properties. These common properties are defined in the Labeled class.

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 Label
The Label class defines labels.

LabelWithGraphic Run
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 ButtonBase and Button
A button is a control that triggers an action event when clicked. JavaFX provides
regular buttons, toggle buttons, check box buttons, and radio buttons. The common
features of these buttons are defined in ButtonBase and Labeled classes.

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Button Example

ButtonDemo Run
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 CheckBox
A CheckBox is used for the user to make a selection. Like Button, CheckBox
inherits all the properties such as onAction, text, graphic, alignment,
graphicTextGap, textFill, contentDisplay from ButtonBase and Labeled.

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CheckBox Example

CheckBoxDemo Run
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 RadioButton
Radio buttons, also known as option buttons, enable you to choose a single item from
a group of choices. In appearance radio buttons resemble check boxes, but check
boxes display a square that is either checked or blank, whereas radio buttons display
a circle that is either filled (if selected) or blank (if not selected).

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RadioButton Example

RadioButtonDemo Run
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 TextField
A text field can be used to enter or display a string. TextField is a
subclass of TextInputControl.

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TextField Example

TextFieldDemo Run
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 TextArea
A TextArea enables the user to enter multiple lines of text.

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TextArea Example

DescriptionPane

TextAreaDemo Run
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 ComboBox

A combo box, also known as a choice list or drop-down list, contains a list of items from
which the user can choose.

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 ComboBox Example

This example lets users view an image and a

description of a country's flag by selecting the
country from a combo box.

ComboBoxDemo Run
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 ListView

A list view is a component that performs basically the same function as a

combo box, but it enables the user to choose a single value or multiple values.

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 Example: Using ListView
This example gives a
program that lets
users select
countries in a list
and display the flags
of the selected
countries in the
labels.

ListViewDemo Run
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 ScrollBar
A scroll bar is a control that enables the user to select from a range of values. The
scrollbar appears in two styles: horizontal and vertical.

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Scroll Bar Properties

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 Example: Using Scrollbars
This example uses
horizontal and vertical
scrollbars to control a
message displayed on a
panel. The horizontal
scrollbar is used to move
the message to the left or
the right, and the vertical
scrollbar to move it up and
down.

ScrollBarDemo Run
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 Slider
Slider is similar to ScrollBar, but Slider has more properties
and can appear in many forms.

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 Example: Using Sliders
Rewrite the preceding
program using the sliders
to control a message
displayed on a panel
instead of using scroll
bars.

SliderDemo Run
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 Case Study: Bounce Ball
Listing 15.17 gives a program that displays a bouncing ball.
You can add a slider to control the speed of the ball
movement.

Slider Demo Run

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Case Study: TicTacToe

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 Case Study: TicTacToe, cont.

TicTacToe Run
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 Media
You can use the Media class to obtain the source of the media, the MediaPlayer class to
play and control the media, and the MediaView class to display the video.

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 MediaPlayer
The MediaPlayer class playes and controls the media with properties such as autoPlay,
currentCount, cycleCount, mute, volume, and totalDuration.

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 MediaView
The MediaView class is a subclass of Node that provides a view of the Media
being played by a MediaPlayer. The MediaView class provides the properties for
viewing the media.

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 Example: Using Media
This example displays a
video in a view. You can use
the play/pause button to
play or pause the video and
use the rewind button to
restart the video, and use
the slider to control the
volume of the audio.

MediaDemo Run
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Case Study: National Flags and Anthems
This case study presents a program that displays a
nation’s flag and plays its anthem.

FlagAnthem Run
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