Is it possible to highlight/select text in a JTextArea

Hi. I have a JTextArea for people to input text.
I have a default line in the JTextArea "Enter your text here!", however, what I want to do is to have this text highlighted so when the user clicks on to it all they have to do to get rid of the text is type a single character.

Is this possible (with simple coding)? I have not been able to find anything on the API.

Many thanks!

JTextArea (Java 2 Platform SE v1.4.2) try setSelectionStart() and setSelectionEnd()

Look at setSelectionStart() and setSelectionEnd() in the API (inherited from JTextComponent).

-Gary-

EDIT: (like iluxa says) :)

Hi. I have tried lines like:

jTextArea1.setText("Enter your text here!");
jTextArea1.setEditable(true);
jTextArea1.setLineWrap(true);
jTextArea1.setWrapStyleWord(true);
jTextArea1.setSelectionStart(0);
jTextArea1.setSelectionEnd(21);
jftInput.setViewportView(jTextArea1);

However, it does not work! The text appears as normal.

Have I done anything wrong?

Many thanks!

If you need more help post your SSCCE demonstrating the problem.

You could use a focus listener, so that when the field gets focus it clears itself the first time?

How do I add an focus listener? Do you have any examples?

The Swing tutorial has a section on "How to Write a Focus Listener".

You can also search the forum or the web for existing examples. What search keywords did you use before posting your last question?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AJArmstron@aol.com

How do I add an focus listener? Do you have any examples?

---

Google does! But the first place I'd (and you should) look would be the Sun Swing tutorials.

Did you look for anything based on what I said?
Maybe, say, a Focus Listener, or some way to add one to a component...

Good lord...that was a bit of a pile-on...poor chap.

Thank you for your emails. I have looked at the webpages and have seen on Netbeans that it has some FocusGain functions. what I want to do is if the text in the box is at its preset "Enter your text here!" then reset the box to "".

I am trying by using code along the following lines.

private void jTextArea1FocusGained(java.awt.event.FocusEvent evt) {

if (jTextArea1.getText()=="Enter your text here!")
{
jTextArea1.setText("");
System.out.println("HELLOGOOD!!");
}

However, the program fails to make the comparison (and will not print out HELLOGOOD). It just does not like the if comparison.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Many thanks!

equals().
Not ==.

along with equals() use trim() also

Thank you Tolls and RamyaSivakanth. I was really stuck there! I was also interested to learn about the trim() function.

This part of the program now works!

I note that when I enter JTextArea and type in the same original message (Enter your text here!) and then leave the JTextArea and then click back into it the JTextArea the program does not automatically delete the text. Is there a reason why?

Many thanks!

trim() - Returns a String value by removal of leading and trailing whitespace .

Please post your code with codetag

Hi. This is the code for the listener Gained. I note the program does what I want it to. I was just wondering why the program did not automatically deleted the same text when it was entered into the jTextArea1. It could be that somehow a white space is added.

<code>
private void jTextArea1FocusGained(java.awt.event.FocusEvent evt) {
// This code removes the default text in JTextArea1 when the mouse
// is clicked in it.

String compare=jTextArea1.getText();
if (compare.equals("Enter your text here!"))
{
jTextArea1.setText("");
}
}
</code>

Now it is myseriously working (I don't know why) - in that the program now does delete the text "Enter your text here!" if one types in the same text.

I now need to stop this from happening!! Is there a way around this?
I tried to create a variable (reset) using the below code.

private void jTextArea1FocusGained(java.awt.event.FocusEvent evt) {
// This code removes the default text in JTextArea1 when the mouse

if (reset !=1)
{
String compare=jTextArea1.getText();
if (compare.equals("Enter your text here!"))
{
jTextArea1.setText("");
reset=1;
}
}

I tried creating a variable int reset in other parts of the program (working out where they needed to be). However, when the program reaches the private void jTextArea1FocusGained - the program does not recognise the variable reset as being in existance (despite having initialised it in many other parts of the program). Can anyone help?

Code:

---

if (reset !=1)
{
String compare=[COLOR="Cyan"](string)[/COLOR]jTextArea1.getText();
if (compare.equals("Enter your text here!"))
{
jTextArea1.setText("");
reset=1;
}
}

---

this has always allowed me to compare, because it is now a string for use, but why not do this
,

Code:

---

if(jTextArea1.getText().equals("Enter your text here!"){
jTextArea1.setText("");
reset=1;
}
}

---

The reset flag (it should probably be a boolean) should be an attribute of whatever class that focusGained method is in.

Your code won't compile unless that's visible in any case. I would say don't initialise it "in many other parts of the program". That sounds like a way to break your code (or a sign of flailing round a problem).