TextComponent (Java SE 25 & JDK 25)
Description: declaration: module: java.desktop, package: java.awt, class: TextComponent
Keywords: java.awt.TextComponent class

# Class TextComponent

java.lang.Object
java.awt.Component
java.awt.TextComponent

All Implemented Interfaces:
  `ImageObserver, MenuContainer, Serializable, Accessible`

Direct Known Subclasses:
  `TextArea, TextField`

public sealed class TextComponent extends Component implements Accessible permits TextArea, TextField
The `TextComponent` class is the superclass of any component that allows the editing of some text.

A text component embodies a string of text. The `TextComponent` class defines a set of methods that determine whether or not this text is editable. If the component is editable, it defines another set of methods that supports a text insertion caret.

In addition, the class defines methods that are used to maintain a current selection from the text. The text selection, a substring of the component's text, is the target of editing operations. It is also referred to as the selected text.

Sealed Class Hierarchy Graph:
Since:
  1.0
See Also:
  - Serialized Form

- ## Nested Class Summary

  Nested Classes
  Modifier and Type
  Class
  Description
  `protected class`
  `TextComponent.AccessibleAWTTextComponent`
  This class implements accessibility support for the `TextComponent` class.

  ### Nested classes/interfaces declared in class Component

  `Component.AccessibleAWTComponent, Component.BaselineResizeBehavior, Component.BltBufferStrategy, Component.FlipBufferStrategy`

- ## Field Summary

  Fields
  Modifier and Type
  Field
  Description
  `protected TextListener`
  `textListener`
  A list of listeners that will receive events from this object.

  ### Fields declared in class Component

  `accessibleContext, BOTTOM_ALIGNMENT, CENTER_ALIGNMENT, LEFT_ALIGNMENT, RIGHT_ALIGNMENT, TOP_ALIGNMENT`

  ### Fields declared in interface ImageObserver

  `ABORT, ALLBITS, ERROR, FRAMEBITS, HEIGHT, PROPERTIES, SOMEBITS, WIDTH`

- ## Method Summary

  Modifier and Type
  Method
  Description
  `void`
  `addNotify()`
  Makes this Component displayable by connecting it to a native screen resource.
  `void`
  `addTextListener(TextListener l)`
  Adds the specified text event listener to receive text events from this text component.
  `void`
  `enableInputMethods(boolean enable)`
  Enables or disables input method support for this text component.
  `AccessibleContext`
  `getAccessibleContext()`
  Gets the AccessibleContext associated with this TextComponent.
  `Color`
  `getBackground()`
  Gets the background color of this text component.
  `int`
  `getCaretPosition()`
  Returns the position of the text insertion caret.
  `<T extends EventListener>
  T[]`
  `getListeners(Class<T> listenerType)`
  Returns an array of all the objects currently registered as `FooListener`s upon this `TextComponent`.
  `String`
  `getSelectedText()`
  Returns the selected text from the text that is presented by this text component.
  `int`
  `getSelectionEnd()`
  Gets the end position of the selected text in this text component.
  `int`
  `getSelectionStart()`
  Gets the start position of the selected text in this text component.
  `String`
  `getText()`
  Returns the text that is presented by this text component.
  `TextListener[]`
  `getTextListeners()`
  Returns an array of all the text listeners registered on this text component.
  `boolean`
  `isEditable()`
  Indicates whether or not this text component is editable.
  `protected String`
  `paramString()`
  Returns a string representing the state of this `TextComponent`.
  `protected void`
  `processEvent(AWTEvent e)`
  Processes events on this text component.
  `protected void`
  `processTextEvent(TextEvent e)`
  Processes text events occurring on this text component by dispatching them to any registered `TextListener` objects.
  `void`
  `removeNotify()`
  Removes the `TextComponent`'s peer.
  `void`
  `removeTextListener(TextListener l)`
  Removes the specified text event listener so that it no longer receives text events from this text component If `l` is `null`, no exception is thrown and no action is performed.
  `void`
  `select(int selectionStart, int selectionEnd)`
  Selects the text between the specified start and end positions.
  `void`
  `selectAll()`
  Selects all the text in this text component.
  `void`
  `setBackground(Color c)`
  Sets the background color of this text component.
  `void`
  `setCaretPosition(int position)`
  Sets the position of the text insertion caret.
  `void`
  `setEditable(boolean b)`
  Sets the flag that determines whether or not this text component is editable.
  `void`
  `setSelectionEnd(int selectionEnd)`
  Sets the selection end for this text component to the specified position.
  `void`
  `setSelectionStart(int selectionStart)`
  Sets the selection start for this text component to the specified position.
  `void`
  `setText(String t)`
  Sets the text that is presented by this text component to be the specified text.

  ### Methods declared in class Component

  `action, add, addComponentListener, addFocusListener, addHierarchyBoundsListener, addHierarchyListener, addInputMethodListener, addKeyListener, addMouseListener, addMouseMotionListener, addMouseWheelListener, addPropertyChangeListener, addPropertyChangeListener, applyComponentOrientation, areFocusTraversalKeysSet, bounds, checkImage, checkImage, coalesceEvents, contains, contains, createImage, createImage, createVolatileImage, createVolatileImage, deliverEvent, disable, disableEvents, dispatchEvent, doLayout, enable, enable, enableEvents, firePropertyChange, firePropertyChange, firePropertyChange, firePropertyChange, firePropertyChange, firePropertyChange, firePropertyChange, firePropertyChange, firePropertyChange, getAlignmentX, getAlignmentY, getBaseline, getBaselineResizeBehavior, getBounds, getBounds, getColorModel, getComponentAt, getComponentAt, getComponentListeners, getComponentOrientation, getCursor, getDropTarget, getFocusCycleRootAncestor, getFocusListeners, getFocusTraversalKeys, getFocusTraversalKeysEnabled, getFont, getFontMetrics, getForeground, getGraphics, getGraphicsConfiguration, getHeight, getHierarchyBoundsListeners, getHierarchyListeners, getIgnoreRepaint, getInputContext, getInputMethodListeners, getInputMethodRequests, getKeyListeners, getLocale, getLocation, getLocation, getLocationOnScreen, getMaximumSize, getMinimumSize, getMouseListeners, getMouseMotionListeners, getMousePosition, getMouseWheelListeners, getName, getParent, getPreferredSize, getPropertyChangeListeners, getPropertyChangeListeners, getSize, getSize, getToolkit, getTreeLock, getWidth, getX, getY, gotFocus, handleEvent, hasFocus, hide, imageUpdate, inside, invalidate, isBackgroundSet, isCursorSet, isDisplayable, isDoubleBuffered, isEnabled, isFocusable, isFocusCycleRoot, isFocusOwner, isFocusTraversable, isFontSet, isForegroundSet, isLightweight, isMaximumSizeSet, isMinimumSizeSet, isOpaque, isPreferredSizeSet, isShowing, isValid, isVisible, keyDown, keyUp, layout, list, list, list, list, list, locate, location, lostFocus, minimumSize, mouseDown, mouseDrag, mouseEnter, mouseExit, mouseMove, mouseUp, move, nextFocus, paint, paintAll, postEvent, preferredSize, prepareImage, prepareImage, print, printAll, processComponentEvent, processFocusEvent, processHierarchyBoundsEvent, processHierarchyEvent, processInputMethodEvent, processKeyEvent, processMouseEvent, processMouseMotionEvent, processMouseWheelEvent, remove, removeComponentListener, removeFocusListener, removeHierarchyBoundsListener, removeHierarchyListener, removeInputMethodListener, removeKeyListener, removeMouseListener, removeMouseMotionListener, removeMouseWheelListener, removePropertyChangeListener, removePropertyChangeListener, repaint, repaint, repaint, repaint, requestFocus, requestFocus, requestFocus, requestFocus, requestFocusInWindow, requestFocusInWindow, requestFocusInWindow, reshape, resize, resize, revalidate, setBounds, setBounds, setComponentOrientation, setCursor, setDropTarget, setEnabled, setFocusable, setFocusTraversalKeys, setFocusTraversalKeysEnabled, setFont, setForeground, setIgnoreRepaint, setLocale, setLocation, setLocation, setMaximumSize, setMinimumSize, setMixingCutoutShape, setName, setPreferredSize, setSize, setSize, setVisible, show, show, size, toString, transferFocus, transferFocusBackward, transferFocusUpCycle, update, validate`

  ### Methods declared in class Object

  `clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait`

- ## Field Details

  - ### textListener

    protected transient TextListener textListener
    A list of listeners that will receive events from this object.

- ## Method Details

  - ### enableInputMethods

    public void enableInputMethods(boolean enable)
    Enables or disables input method support for this text component. If input method support is enabled and the text component also processes key events, incoming events are offered to the current input method and will only be processed by the component or dispatched to its listeners if the input method does not consume them. Whether and how input method support for this text component is enabled or disabled by default is implementation dependent.
    Overrides:
      `enableInputMethods` in class `Component`
    Parameters:
      `enable` - true to enable, false to disable
    Since:
      1.2
    See Also:
      - `Component.processKeyEvent(KeyEvent)`

  - ### addNotify

    public void addNotify()
    Makes this Component displayable by connecting it to a native screen resource. This method is called internally by the toolkit and should not be called directly by programs.
    Overrides:
      `addNotify` in class `Component`
    See Also:
      - `removeNotify()`

  - ### removeNotify

    public void removeNotify()
    Removes the `TextComponent`'s peer. The peer allows us to modify the appearance of the `TextComponent` without changing its functionality.
    Overrides:
      `removeNotify` in class `Component`
    See Also:
      - `Component.isDisplayable()`
      - `Component.addNotify()`

  - ### setText

    public void setText(String t)
    Sets the text that is presented by this text component to be the specified text.
    Parameters:
      `t` - the new text; if this parameter is `null` then the text is set to the empty string ""
    See Also:
      - `getText()`

  - ### getText

    public String getText()
    Returns the text that is presented by this text component. By default, this is an empty string.
    Returns:
      the value of this `TextComponent`
    See Also:
      - `setText(String)`

  - ### getSelectedText

    public String getSelectedText()
    Returns the selected text from the text that is presented by this text component.
    Returns:
      the selected text of this text component
    See Also:
      - `select(int, int)`

  - ### isEditable

    public boolean isEditable()
    Indicates whether or not this text component is editable.
    Returns:
      `true` if this text component is editable; `false` otherwise.
    Since:
      1.0
    See Also:
      - `setEditable(boolean)`

  - ### setEditable

    public void setEditable(boolean b)
    Sets the flag that determines whether or not this text component is editable.

    If the flag is set to `true`, this text component becomes user editable. If the flag is set to `false`, the user cannot change the text of this text component. By default, non-editable text components have a background color of SystemColor.control. This default can be overridden by calling setBackground.

    Parameters:
      `b` - a flag indicating whether this text component is user editable.
    Since:
      1.0
    See Also:
      - `isEditable()`

  - ### getBackground

    public Color getBackground()
    Gets the background color of this text component. By default, non-editable text components have a background color of SystemColor.control. This default can be overridden by calling setBackground.
    Overrides:
      `getBackground` in class `Component`
    Returns:
      This text component's background color. If this text component does not have a background color, the background color of its parent is returned.
    Since:
      1.0
    See Also:
      - `setBackground(Color)`

  - ### setBackground

    public void setBackground(Color c)
    Sets the background color of this text component.
    Overrides:
      `setBackground` in class `Component`
    Parameters:
      `c` - The color to become this text component's color. If this parameter is null then this text component will inherit the background color of its parent.
    Since:
      1.0
    See Also:
      - `getBackground()`

  - ### getSelectionStart

    public int getSelectionStart()
    Gets the start position of the selected text in this text component.
    Returns:
      the start position of the selected text
    See Also:
      - `setSelectionStart(int)`
      - `getSelectionEnd()`

  - ### setSelectionStart

    public void setSelectionStart(int selectionStart)
    Sets the selection start for this text component to the specified position. The new start point is constrained to be at or before the current selection end. It also cannot be set to less than zero, the beginning of the component's text. If the caller supplies a value for `selectionStart` that is out of bounds, the method enforces these constraints silently, and without failure.
    Parameters:
      `selectionStart` - the start position of the selected text
    Since:
      1.1
    See Also:
      - `getSelectionStart()`
      - `setSelectionEnd(int)`

  - ### getSelectionEnd

    public int getSelectionEnd()
    Gets the end position of the selected text in this text component.
    Returns:
      the end position of the selected text
    See Also:
      - `setSelectionEnd(int)`
      - `getSelectionStart()`

  - ### setSelectionEnd

    public void setSelectionEnd(int selectionEnd)
    Sets the selection end for this text component to the specified position. The new end point is constrained to be at or after the current selection start. It also cannot be set beyond the end of the component's text. If the caller supplies a value for `selectionEnd` that is out of bounds, the method enforces these constraints silently, and without failure.
    Parameters:
      `selectionEnd` - the end position of the selected text
    Since:
      1.1
    See Also:
      - `getSelectionEnd()`
      - `setSelectionStart(int)`

  - ### select

    public void select(int selectionStart, int selectionEnd)
    Selects the text between the specified start and end positions.

    This method sets the start and end positions of the selected text, enforcing the restriction that the start position must be greater than or equal to zero. The end position must be greater than or equal to the start position, and less than or equal to the length of the text component's text. The character positions are indexed starting with zero. The length of the selection is `endPosition` - `startPosition`, so the character at `endPosition` is not selected. If the start and end positions of the selected text are equal, all text is deselected.

    If the caller supplies values that are inconsistent or out of bounds, the method enforces these constraints silently, and without failure. Specifically, if the start position or end position is greater than the length of the text, it is reset to equal the text length. If the start position is less than zero, it is reset to zero, and if the end position is less than the start position, it is reset to the start position.

    Parameters:
      `selectionStart` - the zero-based index of the first character (`char` value) to be selected
      `selectionEnd` - the zero-based end position of the text to be selected; the character (`char` value) at `selectionEnd` is not selected
    See Also:
      - `setSelectionStart(int)`
      - `setSelectionEnd(int)`
      - `selectAll()`

  - ### selectAll

    public void selectAll()
    Selects all the text in this text component.
    See Also:
      - `select(int, int)`

  - ### setCaretPosition

    public void setCaretPosition(int position)
    Sets the position of the text insertion caret. The caret position is constrained to be between 0 and the last character of the text, inclusive. If the passed-in value is greater than this range, the value is set to the last character (or 0 if the `TextComponent` contains no text) and no error is returned. If the passed-in value is less than 0, an `IllegalArgumentException` is thrown.
    Parameters:
      `position` - the position of the text insertion caret
    Throws:
      `IllegalArgumentException` - if `position` is less than zero
    Since:
      1.1

  - ### getCaretPosition

    public int getCaretPosition()
    Returns the position of the text insertion caret. The caret position is constrained to be between 0 and the last character of the text, inclusive. If the text or caret have not been set, the default caret position is 0.
    Returns:
      the position of the text insertion caret
    Since:
      1.1
    See Also:
      - `setCaretPosition(int)`

  - ### addTextListener

    public void addTextListener(TextListener l)
    Adds the specified text event listener to receive text events from this text component. If `l` is `null`, no exception is thrown and no action is performed.

    Refer to AWT Threading Issues for details on AWT's threading model.

    Parameters:
      `l` - the text event listener
    See Also:
      - `removeTextListener(TextListener)`
      - `getTextListeners()`
      - `TextListener`

  - ### removeTextListener

    public void removeTextListener(TextListener l)
    Removes the specified text event listener so that it no longer receives text events from this text component If `l` is `null`, no exception is thrown and no action is performed.

    Refer to AWT Threading Issues for details on AWT's threading model.

    Parameters:
      `l` - the text listener
    Since:
      1.1
    See Also:
      - `addTextListener(TextListener)`
      - `getTextListeners()`
      - `TextListener`

  - ### getTextListeners

    public TextListener[] getTextListeners()
    Returns an array of all the text listeners registered on this text component.
    Returns:
      all of this text component's `TextListener`s or an empty array if no text listeners are currently registered
    Since:
      1.4
    See Also:
      - `addTextListener(TextListener)`
      - `removeTextListener(TextListener)`

  - ### getListeners

    public <T extends EventListener> T[] getListeners(Class<T> listenerType)
    Returns an array of all the objects currently registered as `FooListener`s upon this `TextComponent`. `FooListener`s are registered using the `addFooListener` method.

    You can specify the `listenerType` argument with a class literal, such as `FooListener.class`. For example, you can query a `TextComponent t` for its text listeners with the following code:

        TextListener[] tls = (TextListener[])(t.getListeners(TextListener.class));

    If no such listeners exist, this method returns an empty array.
    Overrides:
      `getListeners` in class `Component`
    Type Parameters:
      `T` - the type of the listeners
    Parameters:
      `listenerType` - the type of listeners requested; this parameter should specify an interface that descends from `java.util.EventListener`
    Returns:
      an array of all objects registered as `FooListener`s on this text component, or an empty array if no such listeners have been added
    Throws:
      `ClassCastException` - if `listenerType` doesn't specify a class or interface that implements `java.util.EventListener`
    Since:
      1.3
    See Also:
      - `getTextListeners()`

  - ### processEvent

    protected void processEvent(AWTEvent e)
    Processes events on this text component. If the event is a `TextEvent`, it invokes the `processTextEvent` method else it invokes its superclass's `processEvent`.

    Note that if the event parameter is `null` the behavior is unspecified and may result in an exception.

    Overrides:
      `processEvent` in class `Component`
    Parameters:
      `e` - the event
    See Also:
      - `Component.processComponentEvent(ComponentEvent)`
      - `Component.processFocusEvent(FocusEvent)`
      - `Component.processKeyEvent(KeyEvent)`
      - `Component.processMouseEvent(MouseEvent)`
      - `Component.processMouseMotionEvent(MouseEvent)`
      - `Component.processInputMethodEvent(InputMethodEvent)`
      - `Component.processHierarchyEvent(HierarchyEvent)`
      - `Component.processMouseWheelEvent(MouseWheelEvent)`

  - ### processTextEvent

    protected void processTextEvent(TextEvent e)
    Processes text events occurring on this text component by dispatching them to any registered `TextListener` objects.

    NOTE: This method will not be called unless text events are enabled for this component. This happens when one of the following occurs:

    - A `TextListener` object is registered via `addTextListener`
    - Text events are enabled via `enableEvents`

    Note that if the event parameter is `null` the behavior is unspecified and may result in an exception.

    Parameters:
      `e` - the text event
    See Also:
      - `Component.enableEvents(long)`

  - ### paramString

    protected String paramString()
    Returns a string representing the state of this `TextComponent`. This method is intended to be used only for debugging purposes, and the content and format of the returned string may vary between implementations. The returned string may be empty but may not be `null`.
    Overrides:
      `paramString` in class `Component`
    Returns:
      the parameter string of this text component

  - ### getAccessibleContext

    public AccessibleContext getAccessibleContext()
    Gets the AccessibleContext associated with this TextComponent. For text components, the AccessibleContext takes the form of an AccessibleAWTTextComponent. A new AccessibleAWTTextComponent instance is created if necessary.
    Specified by:
      `getAccessibleContext` in interface `Accessible`
    Overrides:
      `getAccessibleContext` in class `Component`
    Returns:
      an AccessibleAWTTextComponent that serves as the AccessibleContext of this TextComponent
    Since:
      1.3