JMenuItemTest.java - Menu Item Test Program

This section provides a tutorial example on how to use the javax.swing.JMenuItem class to create menu items and add them to different menus, sub menus, or the menu bar. Sub menus and menu items added to a menu will be listed vertically when the menu is selected.

Here is an example program I wrote to test the JMenuItem class:

/* JMenuItemTest.java
 * Copyright (c) 1997-2024 HerongYang.com. All Rights Reserved.
 */
import javax.swing.*;
public class JMenuItemTest {
   JFrame myFrame = null;
   public static void main(String[] a) {
      (new JMenuItemTest()).test();
   }
   private void test() {
      myFrame = new JFrame("Menu Item Test");
      myFrame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
      myFrame.setBounds(50,50,250,150);
      myFrame.setContentPane(new JDesktopPane());

      JMenuBar myMenuBar = new JMenuBar();
      JMenu myMenu = getFileMenu();
      myMenuBar.add(myMenu);
      myMenu = getColorMenu();
      myMenuBar.add(myMenu);
      myMenu = getOptionMenu();
      myMenuBar.add(myMenu);
      JMenuItem myItem = new JMenuItem("Help");
      myMenuBar.add(myItem);

      myFrame.setJMenuBar(myMenuBar);
      myFrame.setVisible(true);
   }
   private JMenu getFileMenu() {
      JMenu myMenu = new JMenu("File");
      JMenuItem myItem = new JMenuItem("Open");
      myMenu.add(myItem);
      myItem = new JMenuItem("Close");
      myItem.setEnabled(false);
      myMenu.add(myItem);
      myMenu.addSeparator();
      myItem = new JMenuItem("Exit");
      myMenu.add(myItem);
      return myMenu;
   }
   private JMenu getColorMenu() {
      JMenu myMenu = new JMenu("Color");
      JMenuItem myItem = new JMenuItem("Red");
      myMenu.add(myItem);
      myItem = new JMenuItem("Green");
      myMenu.add(myItem);
      myItem = new JMenuItem("Blue");
      myMenu.add(myItem);
      return myMenu;
   }
   private JMenu getOptionMenu() {
      JMenu myMenu = new JMenu("Option");
      JMenu mySubMenu = getOnOffMenu("Sound");
      myMenu.add(mySubMenu);
      mySubMenu = getOnOffMenu("Auto save");
      mySubMenu.setEnabled(false);
      myMenu.add(mySubMenu);
      return myMenu;
   }
   private JMenu getOnOffMenu(String title) {
      JMenu myMenu = new JMenu(title);
      JMenuItem myItem = new JMenuItem("On");
      myMenu.add(myItem);
      myItem = new JMenuItem("Off");
      myMenu.add(myItem);
      return myMenu;
   }
}

If you run this example, you will see the frame window shows up with the menu bar like this:

Menu Item Test
Menu Item Test

Interesting notes about this tutorial example:

Table of Contents

 About This Book

 JDK (Java Development Kit)

 Introduction of Java Swing Package

 Graphics Environment of the Local System

 JFrame - Main Frame Class

 JLabel - Swing Label Class

 JButton - Swing Button Class

 JCheckBox - Swing Check Box Class

 JRadioButton - Swing Radio Button Class

 JTextField - Swing Text Field Class

 JComboBox - Swing Combo Box Class

Menu Bar, Menus, Menu Items and Listeners

 JMenuBar, JMenu, and JMenuItem Classes

 JMenuBarTest.java - Menu Bar Test Program

 JMenuTest.java - Menu Test Program

JMenuItemTest.java - Menu Item Test Program

 JRadioButtonMenuItemTest.java - Radio Button Menu Item Test Program

 JCheckBoxMenuItemTest.java - Check Box Menu Item Test Program

 javax.swing.event.MenuListener - Menu Listener Interface

 JMenuItemActionListenerTest.java - Menu Item Action Listener Test

 Item Listener on Radio Button Menu Items

 Item Listener on Check Box Menu Items

 javax.swing.event.MenuKeyListener - Menu Key Listener Interface

 setMnemonic() - Setting Keyboard Mnemonics on Menu Items

 setAccelerator() - Setting Keyboard Accelerators on Menu Items

 setMnemonic() - Setting Keyboard Mnemonics on Menus

 Creating Internal Frames inside the Main Frame

 Layout of Components in a Container

 LookAndFeel and UIManager

 Option Dialog Boxes

 JEditorPane - The Editor Pane Class

 SwingWorker - The Background Task Worker

 AWT (Abstract Windows Toolkit)

 Integration with Desktop System

 Archived Tutorials

 References

 Full Version in PDF/EPUB