Module java.desktop
Package javax.swing

Class JCheckBoxMenuItem

All Implemented Interfaces:
ImageObserver, ItemSelectable, MenuContainer, Serializable, Accessible, MenuElement, SwingConstants

@JavaBean(description="A menu item which can be selected or deselected.")
public class JCheckBoxMenuItem
extends JMenuItem
implements SwingConstants, Accessible
A menu item that can be selected or deselected. If selected, the menu item typically appears with a checkmark next to it. If unselected or deselected, the menu item appears without a checkmark. Like a regular menu item, a check box menu item can have either text or a graphic icon associated with it, or both.

Either isSelected/setSelected or getState/setState can be used to determine/specify the menu item's selection state. The preferred methods are isSelected and setSelected, which work for all menus and buttons. The getState and setState methods exist for compatibility with other component sets.

Menu items can be configured, and to some degree controlled, by Actions. Using an Action with a menu item has many benefits beyond directly configuring a menu item. Refer to Swing Components Supporting Action for more details, and you can find more information in How to Use Actions, a section in The Java Tutorial.

Some times it is required to select several check box menu items from a menu. In this case it is useful that clicking on one check box menu item does not close the menu. Such behavior can be controlled either by client JComponent.putClientProperty(java.lang.Object, java.lang.Object) or the Look and Feel UIManager.put(java.lang.Object, java.lang.Object) property named "CheckBoxMenuItem.doNotCloseOnMouseClick". The default value is false. Setting the property to true prevents the menu from closing when it is clicked by the mouse. If the client property is set its value is always used; otherwise the L&F property is queried. Note: some L&Fs may ignore this property. All built-in L&Fs inherit this behaviour.

For further information and examples of using check box menu items, see How to Use Menus, a section in The Java Tutorial.

Warning: Swing is not thread safe. For more information see Swing's Threading Policy.

Warning: Serialized objects of this class will not be compatible with future Swing releases. The current serialization support is appropriate for short term storage or RMI between applications running the same version of Swing. As of 1.4, support for long term storage of all JavaBeans has been added to the java.beans package. Please see XMLEncoder.

Since:
1.2
  • Constructor Details

    • JCheckBoxMenuItem

      public JCheckBoxMenuItem()
      Creates an initially unselected check box menu item with no set text or icon.
    • JCheckBoxMenuItem

      public JCheckBoxMenuItem​(Icon icon)
      Creates an initially unselected check box menu item with an icon.
      Parameters:
      icon - the icon of the JCheckBoxMenuItem.
    • JCheckBoxMenuItem

      public JCheckBoxMenuItem​(String text)
      Creates an initially unselected check box menu item with text.
      Parameters:
      text - the text of the JCheckBoxMenuItem
    • JCheckBoxMenuItem

      public JCheckBoxMenuItem​(Action a)
      Creates a menu item whose properties are taken from the Action supplied.
      Parameters:
      a - the action of the JCheckBoxMenuItem
      Since:
      1.3
    • JCheckBoxMenuItem

      public JCheckBoxMenuItem​(String text, Icon icon)
      Creates an initially unselected check box menu item with the specified text and icon.
      Parameters:
      text - the text of the JCheckBoxMenuItem
      icon - the icon of the JCheckBoxMenuItem
    • JCheckBoxMenuItem

      public JCheckBoxMenuItem​(String text, boolean b)
      Creates a check box menu item with the specified text and selection state.
      Parameters:
      text - the text of the check box menu item.
      b - the selected state of the check box menu item
    • JCheckBoxMenuItem

      public JCheckBoxMenuItem​(String text, Icon icon, boolean b)
      Creates a check box menu item with the specified text, icon, and selection state.
      Parameters:
      text - the text of the check box menu item
      icon - the icon of the check box menu item
      b - the selected state of the check box menu item
  • Method Details

    • getUIClassID

      @BeanProperty(bound=false) public String getUIClassID()
      Returns the name of the L&F class that renders this component.
      Overrides:
      getUIClassID in class JMenuItem
      Returns:
      the string "CheckBoxMenuItemUI"
      See Also:
      JComponent.getUIClassID(), UIDefaults.getUI(javax.swing.JComponent)
    • getState

      public boolean getState()
      Returns the selected-state of the item. This method exists for AWT compatibility only. New code should use isSelected() instead.
      Returns:
      true if the item is selected
    • setState

      @BeanProperty(bound=false, hidden=true, description="The selection state of the check box menu item") public void setState​(boolean b)
      Sets the selected-state of the item. This method exists for AWT compatibility only. New code should use setSelected() instead.
      Parameters:
      b - a boolean value indicating the item's selected-state, where true=selected
    • getSelectedObjects

      @BeanProperty(bound=false) public Object[] getSelectedObjects()
      Returns an array (length 1) containing the check box menu item label or null if the check box is not selected.
      Specified by:
      getSelectedObjects in interface ItemSelectable
      Overrides:
      getSelectedObjects in class AbstractButton
      Returns:
      an array containing one Object -- the text of the menu item -- if the item is selected; otherwise null
    • paramString

      protected String paramString()
      Returns a string representation of this JCheckBoxMenuItem. 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 JMenuItem
      Returns:
      a string representation of this JCheckBoxMenuItem.
    • getAccessibleContext

      @BeanProperty(bound=false) public AccessibleContext getAccessibleContext()
      Gets the AccessibleContext associated with this JCheckBoxMenuItem. For JCheckBoxMenuItems, the AccessibleContext takes the form of an AccessibleJCheckBoxMenuItem. A new AccessibleJCheckBoxMenuItem instance is created if necessary.
      Specified by:
      getAccessibleContext in interface Accessible
      Overrides:
      getAccessibleContext in class JMenuItem
      Returns:
      an AccessibleJCheckBoxMenuItem that serves as the AccessibleContext of this AccessibleJCheckBoxMenuItem