Loading from a resource folder returns null

[john merritt]

Couldn't find file: resource\images\el.png. Couldn't find file: resource\images\er.png
I have created a resource\folder folder that shows up in the NetBeans files window displaying the files contained.
The path coded matches the path on my PC.
When I try and load the files it returns null.
Can somebody please point out what I am doing wrong with this code?
Thanks
John

String path1 = "resource\\images\\el.png";
 String path2 = "resource\\images\\er.png";
 ImageIcon ic1;
 ImageIcon ic2;
 ic1= createImageIcon(path1,"TEST");
ic2= createImageIcon(path2,"TEST");
 ImageIcon createImageIcon(String path, String description) {
    java.net.URL imgURL = getClass().getResource(path);
    if (imgURL != null) {
        return new ImageIcon(imgURL, description);
    } else {
        System.err.println("Couldn't find file: " + path);
        return null;
    }
}

[David Newton]

Since you're using a relative path, it's likely the execution directory isn't the one you believe it is.

[Ireneusz Kordal]

Hi,

I use this:

java.net.URL url = getClass().getClassLoader().getResource("test2/newfile.ini");    

I create resource folder in the source tree in Netbeans, not in the files window,
and it works fine - Netbeans packs this folder together with files into the jar,
and the code above loads the files from jar.

[john merritt]

Thanks for the reply guys. I apologise for my delay in responding; due to a health problem/disability I am not always well enough to work on the PC. Thanks for the advice I am no longer getting a null hopefully indicating the png files are being found and loaded ok. Only problem now is graphics are not being displayed in the labels. However I use this forum, as last port of call, so will spend time analysing my code to see where I have coded in error before returning. Thanks once again.