Create Lists using JList Class

Overview

In this tutorial, we will learn steps to create lists using JList class. A list is a GUI component that allows users to choose either a single selection or multiple selections.

JList Class

The JList itself does not support scroll-through list items but relies on the JScrollPane class.

We can import the class with the following statement:

import javax.swing.JList;

To create a list, we can use the JList class.

JList list = new JList(argument);

JList is a raw type. References to generic type JList<E> should be parameterized

Java Program

package com.testingdocs.swing.components;

/**********************************************
 * FileName: JListDemo.java
 * Package : com.testingdocs.swing.components
 * 
 * Java Tutorials - www.TestingDocs.com
 **********************************************/

import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;

import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JList;
import javax.swing.JOptionPane;
import javax.swing.JScrollPane;


public class JListDemo {

 public static void main(String[] args) {
 final int N = 10;
 JFrame frame = new JFrame("JList -www.TestingDocs.com");

 // Initialize list
 String[] listItems = new String[N];
 for (int i = 0; i < N; i++) {
 listItems[i] = "List Item " + i;
 }

 JList list = new JList(listItems);
 JScrollPane pane = new JScrollPane(list);
 
 // Create a button 
 JButton btnGet = new JButton("Get Selected Items");
 // Action listener
 btnGet.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
 public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
 String selectedItems = "";
 int selectedIndices[] = list.getSelectedIndices();
 for (int j = 0; j < selectedIndices.length; j++) {
 String elem =
 (String) list.getModel().getElementAt(selectedIndices[j]);
 selectedItems += "\n" + elem;

 }
 JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(frame,
 "Selected List Items:" + selectedItems);
 }
 });

 frame.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
 frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
 frame.getContentPane().add(pane, BorderLayout.CENTER);
 frame.getContentPane().add(btnGet, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
 frame.setSize(500, 500);
 frame.setVisible(true);
 }
}