Icon initialization problem

[saz25]

Hi,
I am using Netbeans 5.0 to write my Java GUI app.
I have a strange problem. In my java application, I have a JLabel that I'm using as an icon. Actually, I have several of these. A default icon is supposed to appear when the app starts up. When the user clicks on certain buttons (and things happen), the code changes the icon to a different gif file. Here is the code I use to initialize one of them:

sdConfig8.setIcon(new javax.swing.ImageIcon("C:\\filepath\\mycangui\\off .gif"));

When I run my app on my own PC (the one I used to build the app), the icons are all initialized correctly. When I run the app on another PC, these icons are not initialized. So the icon doesn't appear. When the user clicks on the specific button to generate a specific event, the code execution changes the icon to the correct gif. This works fine on all machines.

The issue is why can't I get the icons to initialize on machines other than my development PC?

Thanks in advance,
Steve

[tim]

Your problem lies here:

Code:

sdConfig8.setIcon(new javax.swing.ImageIcon("C:\\filepath\\mycangui\\off .gif"));

Firstly, not all directories are described by the backslash operator. To make your directory references independent of the operating system that you are running on, use File.seperator. Secondly, the image will not be loaded because it does not automatically exist on the other machine's hard drive at that location. (unless you put it there) It is safer to use file names that are relative to the directory of your application. For example:

Code:

ImageIcon icon = new ImageIcon("data" + File.seperator + "off .gif");

I assume that you intended the space in "off .gif".

Inside your application's directory folder, you could have another folder called "data" with the image in there.