increment date with + but preventing the + from being put in the textfield

[Michelle Nicholes]

I want to increment my date with + key and I want to decrement date with - key.  Similar to Quicken.
I am getting the date to increment and decrement but the character is still being placed in the textfield which obviously I dont want.  I googled, one person suggested a documentListener but I couldnt figure out how to get the key event and abandoned that one.  Another suggestion was doing some kind of filter but his listener was nothing like mine so I was quite confused on how to try what was being suggested.  

Focus on the Date Field for this post.

import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Font;
import java.awt.Toolkit;
import java.awt.event.KeyAdapter;
import java.awt.event.KeyEvent;
import java.math.BigDecimal;
import java.text.DateFormat;
import java.text.NumberFormat;
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.Calendar;
import java.util.Date;
import javax.swing.JFormattedTextField;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.SwingConstants;
import javax.swing.UIManager;
import javax.swing.UnsupportedLookAndFeelException;
import javax.swing.plaf.nimbus.NimbusLookAndFeel;
import javax.swing.text.DateFormatter;

public class TestFormattedText extends JPanel 
{
    private final DateFormat dateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("MM-dd-yy");
    private BigDecimal rate;
    private BigDecimal dollar;
    private Date date;
    private JFormattedTextField dateTF;
    //For Testing
    private final JFrame frame;

    public TestFormattedText(JFrame frame)
    {
        this.frame = frame;
        rate = BigDecimal.valueOf(.123);
        dollar = BigDecimal.valueOf(1000000.00);
        date = new Date();
        jbInit();
    }
    
    private void jbInit()
    {
        Font font = new Font("Verdana", Font.PLAIN, 24);
        setFont(font);
        setPreferredSize(new Dimension(350,150));
        setBackground( new Color(18, 30, 49));   

        NumberFormat rateFormat = NumberFormat.getPercentInstance();
        rateFormat.setMaximumFractionDigits(3);
        JFormattedTextField rateTF = new JFormattedTextField(rateFormat);
        rateTF.setColumns(10);
        rateTF.setFont(font);
        rateTF.setValue(rate);

        JLabel label1 = new JLabel("Rate");
        label1.setFont(font);
        label1.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.RIGHT);
        label1.setLabelFor(rateTF);
        add(label1);

        add(rateTF);

        NumberFormat dollarFormat = NumberFormat.getCurrencyInstance();
        dollarFormat.setMaximumFractionDigits(2);
        JFormattedTextField dollarTF = new JFormattedTextField(dollarFormat);
        dollarTF.setColumns(10);
        dollarTF.setFont(font);
        dollarTF.setValue(dollar);

        JLabel label2 = new JLabel("Dollar");
        label2.setFont(font);
        label2.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.RIGHT);
        label2.setLabelFor(dollarTF);
        add(label2);

        add(dollarTF);
        
        DateFormatter dateFormatter = new DateFormatter(dateFormat);
        dateTF = new JFormattedTextField(dateFormatter);
        dateTF.setFont(font);
        dateTF.setValue(date);
        dateTF.addKeyListener(new KeyAdapter() 
        {
            @Override
            public void keyPressed(KeyEvent evt) 
            {
                if (evt.getKeyCode() == 45 ||
                    evt.getKeyCode() == 109)
                {
                    minuskeyPressed(evt);
                    evt.consume();
                }
                else if (evt.getKeyCode() == 107 ||
                    evt.getKeyCode() == 521)
                    pluskeyPressed(evt);
            }
        });

        JLabel label3 = new JLabel("Date");
        label3.setFont(font);
        label3.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.RIGHT);
        label3.setLabelFor(dateTF);
        add(label3);

        add(dateTF);
        
    }
        
    private void minuskeyPressed(KeyEvent evt) 
    {                
        Calendar c = Calendar.getInstance();
        c.setTime(date);
        c.add(Calendar.DATE, -1);
        date = c.getTime();
        dateTF.setText(dateFormat.format(date));
    }                                 

    private void pluskeyPressed(KeyEvent evt) 
    {  
        Calendar c = Calendar.getInstance();
        c.setTime(date);
        c.add(Calendar.DATE, 1);
        date = c.getTime();
        dateTF.setText(dateFormat.format(date));
    }                                 

    public static void makeUI() throws UnsupportedLookAndFeelException 
    {
        // Dark LAF
        UIManager.setLookAndFeel(new NimbusLookAndFeel());
        UIManager.put("control", new Color(128, 128, 128));
        UIManager.put("info", new Color(128, 128, 128));
        UIManager.put("nimbusBase", new Color(18, 30, 49));
        UIManager.put("nimbusAlertYellow", new Color(248, 187, 0));
        UIManager.put("nimbusDisabledText", new Color(128, 128, 128));
        UIManager.put("nimbusFocus", new Color(115, 164, 209));
        UIManager.put("nimbusGreen", new Color(176, 179, 50));
        UIManager.put("nimbusInfoBlue", new Color(66, 139, 221));
        UIManager.put("nimbusLightBackground", new Color(18, 30, 49));
        UIManager.put("nimbusOrange", new Color(191, 98, 4));
        UIManager.put("nimbusRed", new Color(169, 46, 34));
        UIManager.put("nimbusSelectedText", new Color(255, 255, 255));
        UIManager.put("nimbusSelectionBackground", new Color(104, 93, 156));
        UIManager.put("text", new Color(230, 230, 230));
        try 
        {
            for (javax.swing.UIManager.LookAndFeelInfo info : javax.swing.UIManager.getInstalledLookAndFeels()) 
            {
              if ("Nimbus".equals(info.getName())) {
                  javax.swing.UIManager.setLookAndFeel(info.getClassName());
                  break;
              }
            }
        } 
        catch (ClassNotFoundException | IllegalAccessException | InstantiationException | UnsupportedLookAndFeelException e) 
        {
            e.printStackTrace();
        } 
        
        JFrame frame = new JFrame("Formatted Test");
        frame.setSize(40,40) ;
        
        Dimension screenSize = Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getScreenSize();
        Dimension frameSize = frame.getSize();
        if (frameSize.height > screenSize.height)
        {
           frameSize.height = screenSize.height;
        }
        if (frameSize.width > screenSize.width)
        {
           frameSize.width = screenSize.width;
        }
        frame.setLocation((screenSize.width - frameSize.width) / 2, (screenSize.height - frameSize.height) / 2);
        TestFormattedText form = new TestFormattedText( frame);
        frame.getContentPane().add(form);
        frame.pack();
        frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        frame.setVisible(true);
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {

        //UIManager.setLookAndFeel("com.sun.java.swing.plaf.windows.WindowsLookAndFeel");
        makeUI();
    }
}

[Carey Brown]

		dateTF.addKeyListener( new KeyAdapter()
		{
			@Override
			public void keyTyped( KeyEvent evt )
			{
				evt.consume();
			}

			@Override
			public void keyPressed( KeyEvent evt )
			{
				if( evt.getKeyCode() == '-' )
				{
					evt.consume();
					minuskeyPressed( evt );
				}
				else if( evt.getKeyCode() == '+' || evt.getKeyCode() == '=' )
				{
					evt.consume();
					pluskeyPressed( evt );
				}
			}

			@Override
			public void keyReleased( KeyEvent evt )
			{
				evt.consume();
			}
		} );

[Carey Brown]

After playing with the code some more I came to the conclusion that it's impossible (?) to detect the difference between the hyphens in the date format and the hyphen meaning decrement. You could write your own formatter or you could use slashes as the date delimiters.

[Paul Clapham]

Carey Brown wrote:After playing with the code some more I came to the conclusion that it's impossible (?) to detect the difference between the hyphens in the date format and the hyphen meaning decrement.

The same thing is going to happen with the DocumentListener, I expect. However, I'm not familiar with Quicken but from the requirements given it looks like +/- are supposed to increment dates which are already fully typed into the input field. So the KeyListener/DocumentListener would need to have access to the contents of the field, but not only that, it would have to have access to partially-typed data which has not been accepted to be the contents of the field. To me that makes a DocumentListener perhaps more practical, I think.

Or perhaps it would be possible to re-invent the requirements and put "+" and "-" buttons next to the field for the purpose of changing the date in the field?

[Rob Camick]

Still not understanding the concept of an SSCCE. Only code directly related to the stated problem should be include. This way we can see exactly what you are doing and don't have to filter out the rest of the code not relevant to the problem.

What you are doing correct:

1. all the code is in a single file

What is unnecessary

1. only the date text field is needed. The other labels and text fields are irrelevant
2. the UIManager properties are irrelevant
3. custom frame size code is irrelevant
4. custom Fonts and Colors are irrelevant

The code should be as simple as possible to make sure the irrelevant code is not causing the problem.

I am getting the date to increment and decrement but the character is still being placed in the textfield which obviously I dont want

Don't use a KeyListener. Swing was designed to be used with Key Binding to associate an Action with a KeyStroke:

I removed 100 lines of code from your SSCCE so you can easily see the changes made to support the Key Bindings:

import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.text.DateFormat;
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.Calendar;
import java.util.Date;
import javax.swing.JFormattedTextField;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.text.DateFormatter;

public class TestFormattedText extends JPanel
{
    private final DateFormat dateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("MM-dd-yy");
    private Date date;
    private JFormattedTextField dateTF;
    //For Testing

    public TestFormattedText(JFrame frame)
    {
        date = new Date();
        jbInit();
    }

    private void jbInit()
    {
    	setLayout( new BorderLayout());
        DateFormatter dateFormatter = new DateFormatter(dateFormat);
        dateTF = new JFormattedTextField(dateFormatter);
        dateTF.setValue(date);
        add(dateTF);

		InputMap im = dateTF.getInputMap();
		ActionMap am = dateTF.getActionMap();
		KeyStroke up = KeyStroke.getKeyStroke( "typed +");
		im.put(up, "up");
		am.put("up", new DateAction("Increment Date", 1));
		KeyStroke down = KeyStroke.getKeyStroke( "typed -");
		im.put(down, "down");
		am.put("down", new DateAction("Increment Date", -1));
    }

    public static void makeUI() throws UnsupportedLookAndFeelException
    {
        JFrame frame = new JFrame("Formatted Test");
        frame.setSize(40,40) ;
        TestFormattedText form = new TestFormattedText( frame);
//        frame.getContentPane().add(form);
        frame.add(form);
        frame.pack();
        frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        frame.setLocationRelativeTo( null );
        frame.setVisible(true);
    }

	class DateAction extends AbstractAction
	{
		private int direction;

		public DateAction(String name, int direction)
		{
			putValue( Action.NAME, name );
			this.direction = direction;
		}

		public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
		{
			// Handle the user typing in date

			if (e.getActionCommand().equals("-")
			&&  dateTF.getText().length() < 8)
			{
				dateTF.replaceSelection("-");
				return;
			}

	        Calendar c = Calendar.getInstance();
    	    c.setTime(date);
        	c.add(Calendar.DATE, direction);
	        date = c.getTime();
    	    dateTF.setText(dateFormat.format(date));
		}
	}

    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {

        makeUI();
    }
}

In addition to incrementing/decrementing the date, the DateAction will handle insertions of "-" when the user types the date in manually.

one person suggested a documentListener

Won't help because the listener is invoked AFTER the Document has already been updated

Another suggestion was doing some kind of filter

There is a DocumentFilter but I don't think this approach will work because the JFormattedTextField uses its own DocumentFilter and filters can't be combined.

[Carey Brown]

Very good Rob. Better than what I had. I still can't delete the default date, put in a new date, and decrement. Don't know where to look.

[Michelle Nicholes]

I ended up adding a MaskFormatter and that solved the problem.  However, I need to look into what Rob said regarding using KeyBinding instead of KeyListener.  BTW, I thought you wanted an SSCE that you could copy and paste into an editor and it ran to illustrate the problem.  Which is what I did.  I am finding it extremely difficult to please you.  But there are people you can never ask the question right and you will never please them.  I am not trying to offend you but... Cant you give a forced retired 60 year old a break.

[Michelle Nicholes]

package com.cs.common.formatters;

import java.text.DateFormat;
import java.text.ParseException;
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.Date;
import java.util.logging.Level;
import java.util.logging.Logger;
import javax.swing.text.MaskFormatter;

public class DateFormatter extends MaskFormatter
{
    private final DateFormat dateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("MM/dd/yy");
    
    public DateFormatter()
    {
        try 
        {
            setMask("##/##/##");
            setPlaceholderCharacter('0');
            setAllowsInvalid(false);
            setOverwriteMode(true);
        } 
        catch (ParseException ex) 
        {
            Logger.getLogger(DateFormatter.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);
        }
    }

    @Override
    public Object stringToValue(String string) throws ParseException 
    {
        if (string == null) 
        {
            string = "00/00/00";
        }
        return dateFormat.parse(string);
    }

    @Override
    public String valueToString(Object value) throws ParseException 
    {
        if (value == null) {
            value = new Date(0);
        }
        return dateFormat.format((Date) value);
    }

}

        MaskFormatter mf = new DateFormatter();
        dateTF = new JFormattedTextField(mf);

[Michelle Nicholes]

After further testing, I discovered this only works the first time.  It fails once you leave the editor and return to the editor.  I know your going to complain that I never mentioned an editor.  That was because I would have had to put an entire table in the test code and I thought you would have complained about that.

[Carey Brown]

Here's an SSCCE I made using your code and I added a second JTextField for the "editor". Depending on what behavior you were expecting it seems to work to me when I tab back and forth between the fields. I did change your valueToString() method.

import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Component;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.text.DateFormat;
import java.text.ParseException;
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.Date;
import java.util.logging.Level;
import java.util.logging.Logger;

import javax.swing.JFormattedTextField;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
import javax.swing.text.MaskFormatter;

public class SwingDateFormatter
{
	public static void main( String[] args )
	{
		JFrame		frame = new JFrame();
		frame.setDefaultCloseOperation( JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE );
		
		MaskFormatter mf = new DateFormatter();
        JFormattedTextField dateTF = new JFormattedTextField(mf);
        setSize( dateTF, 100, 20 );
        dateTF.setBackground( Color.LIGHT_GRAY );
        frame.add( dateTF, BorderLayout.NORTH );
        
        JTextField textField2 = new JTextField();
        setSize( textField2, 300, 20 );
        textField2.setBackground( Color.yellow );     
        frame.add( textField2, BorderLayout.SOUTH );
        
        frame.pack();
        frame.setLocationRelativeTo( null );
        frame.setVisible( true );
	}
	
	static void setSize( Component c, int width, int height )
	{
		Dimension	d = new Dimension( width, height );
		c.setSize( d );
		c.setPreferredSize( d );
		c.setMinimumSize( d );
		c.setMaximumSize( d );
	}
}

@SuppressWarnings("serial")
class DateFormatter
extends MaskFormatter
{
	private final DateFormat dateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat( "MM/dd/yy" );

	public DateFormatter()
	{
		try
		{
			setMask( "##/##/##" );
			setPlaceholderCharacter( '0' );
			setAllowsInvalid( false );
			setOverwriteMode( true );
		}
		catch( ParseException ex )
		{
			Logger.getLogger( DateFormatter.class.getName() ).log( Level.SEVERE,
					null, ex );
		}
	}

	@Override
	public Object stringToValue( String string ) throws ParseException
	{
		if( string == null )
		{
			string = "00/00/00";
		}
		return dateFormat.parse( string );
	}

	@Override
	public String valueToString( Object value ) throws ParseException
	{
		if( value == null )
			return "00/00/00";
		return dateFormat.format( (Date)value );
	}
}

[Michelle Nicholes]

The SSCCE does not implement or test the problem I am trying to overcome.  using the + key to increment dates and - to decrement dates.  I added the Mask to prevent the + or - from being appended to the end of the date.  That was the issue to begin with.  The problem I now have is it only works the first time.  Not the second time.  And I am using this field as an inline editor for a JTable and so to post an SSCCE would require quite a bit of code to illustrate what is actually happening.  When I first posted the test code it was happening there but now that I have added the mask its not happening the test code.  I guess I will have to create a small app to illustrate it.

[Michelle Nicholes]

okay, I have tried to make this as small as I could and still reproduce somewhat the environment I am actually using.
If I dont have it right, give me some credit for trying

import com.cs.common.editors.DateCellEditor;
import com.cs.common.renderers.DateRenderer;
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Font;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JTable;
import javax.swing.UnsupportedLookAndFeelException;
import javax.swing.table.TableCellRenderer;
import javax.swing.table.TableColumnModel;

public class TestFormattedText extends JPanel 
{
    //For Testing
    private final JFrame frame;

    private JTable table;
    private final MyModel myModel;
    private final JLabel statusBar = new JLabel(" ");

    public TestFormattedText(JFrame frame)
    {
        this.frame = frame;
        myModel = new MyModel();
        jbInit();
    }
    
    private void jbInit()
    {
        Font font = new Font("Verdana", Font.PLAIN, 24);
        setFont(font);
        setPreferredSize(new Dimension(350,150));
        setBackground( new Color(18, 30, 49)); 
        setLayout(new BorderLayout());
        
        DateRenderer dateRenderer = new DateRenderer();
        table = new JTable(myModel)
        {
            public TableCellRenderer getCellRenderer(int row, int column) 
            {
                switch (column)
                {
                    case 0:
                        return dateRenderer;
                    default:
                        return super.getCellRenderer(row, column);
                }
            }        
        };
        TableColumnModel  tcm =  table.getColumnModel();
        tcm.getColumn(0).setCellEditor(new DateCellEditor(statusBar));
        table.setRowHeight(30);
        table.setRowSelectionAllowed(true);
        table.setColumnSelectionAllowed(false);
        

        add(table, BorderLayout.NORTH);
        
    }
        
    public static void makeUI() throws UnsupportedLookAndFeelException 
    {
        JFrame frame = new JFrame("Formatted Test");
        frame.setSize(40,40) ;
        TestFormattedText form = new TestFormattedText( frame);
        frame.getContentPane().add(form);
        frame.pack();
        frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        frame.setVisible(true);
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {

        //UIManager.setLookAndFeel("com.sun.java.swing.plaf.windows.WindowsLookAndFeel");
        makeUI();
    }
}

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Date;
import java.util.List;
import javax.swing.table.AbstractTableModel;

public class MyModel extends AbstractTableModel
{
    public static final int DATE = 0;
    public static final int ACCOUNT = 1;
    public static List<String> columnNames = Arrays.asList("Date", "Account");
    private static final Class[] types = new Class [] 
    {
        Date.class, Integer.class
    };
    private static final boolean[] canEdit = new boolean [] 
    {
        true, true
    };
    private List<Object[]> data;
    
    public MyModel()
    {
        super();
        this.data = new ArrayList<>();
        Object[] o;
        o = new Object[2];
        o[0] = new Date();
        o[1] = 500;
        this.data.add(o);
    }
    @Override
    public Class getColumnClass(int columnIndex) 
    {
        return types [columnIndex];
    }

    @Override
    public boolean isCellEditable(int rowIndex, int columnIndex) 
    {
        return canEdit [columnIndex];
    }

    @Override
    public int getRowCount() 
    {
        return data.size();
    }

    @Override
    public int getColumnCount() 
    {
        return columnNames.size();
    }

    @Override
    public String getColumnName(int column) 
    {
        return columnNames.get(column);
    }
    
    @Override
    public Object getValueAt(int rowIndex, int columnIndex) 
    {
        Object[] dto = data.get(rowIndex);
        Object retValue = null;
        switch (columnIndex)
        {
            case DATE:
                retValue = (Date)dto[0];
                break;
            case ACCOUNT:
                retValue = dto[1];
                break;
        }
        return retValue;
    }
            
    @Override
    public void setValueAt(Object value, int rowIndex, int columnIndex) 
    {
        Object[] dto = data.get(rowIndex);
        switch (columnIndex)
        {
            case DATE:
                dto[0] = (Date)value;
                break;

            case ACCOUNT:
                dto[1] = (Integer) value;
                break;
        }
    }
}

package com.cs.common.renderers;

import com.cs.common.ComnDef;
import java.text.DateFormat;
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.Date;
import javax.swing.table.DefaultTableCellRenderer;

public class DateRenderer extends DefaultTableCellRenderer 
{
    DateFormat formatter;
    public DateRenderer() { super(); }

    @Override
    public void setValue(Object value) 
    {
        if (formatter == null)
            formatter = new SimpleDateFormat(ComnDef.DATEFORMAT);
        Date date = (Date)value;
        setText((value == null) ? "" : formatter.format(date));
    }
}

package com.cs.common.editors;

import com.cs.common.ComnDef;
import com.cs.common.formatters.DateFormatter;
import java.awt.Component;
import java.awt.Font;
import java.awt.event.KeyAdapter;
import java.awt.event.KeyEvent;
import java.text.ParseException;
import java.util.Calendar;
import java.util.Date;
import java.util.EventObject;
import java.util.logging.Level;
import java.util.logging.Logger;
import javax.swing.JFormattedTextField;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JTable;
import javax.swing.event.CellEditorListener;
import javax.swing.event.ChangeEvent;
import javax.swing.event.EventListenerList;
import javax.swing.table.TableCellEditor;
import javax.swing.text.MaskFormatter;

public class DateCellEditor extends JFormattedTextField implements TableCellEditor
{
    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
    private final MaskFormatter formatter = new DateFormatter();

    protected EventListenerList listeners = new EventListenerList();
    protected ChangeEvent event = new ChangeEvent(this);
    
    private final Font font = new Font("Verdana", Font.PLAIN, 24);
    
    private final JLabel statusBar;
    private Date date;
    
    public DateCellEditor(JLabel statusBar)
    {
        super();
        setFormatter(formatter);
        setFont(font);
        this.statusBar = statusBar;
        addKeyListener(new KeyAdapter() {
            @Override
            public void keyPressed(KeyEvent evt) 
            {
                if (evt.getKeyCode() == 45 ||
                    evt.getKeyCode() == 109)
                    minuskeyPressed(evt);
                else if (evt.getKeyCode() == 107 ||
                    evt.getKeyCode() == 521)
                    pluskeyPressed(evt);
            }
        });

    }
    
    private void minuskeyPressed(KeyEvent evt) 
    {                
        Calendar c = Calendar.getInstance();
        c.setTime(date);
        c.add(Calendar.DATE, -1);
        date = c.getTime();
        try {
            setText(formatter.valueToString(date));
        } catch (ParseException ex) {
            Logger.getLogger(DateCellEditor.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);
        }
    }                                 

    private void pluskeyPressed(KeyEvent evt) 
    {  
        Calendar c = Calendar.getInstance();
        c.setTime(date);
        c.add(Calendar.DATE, 1);
        date = c.getTime();
        try {
            setText(formatter.valueToString(date));
        } catch (ParseException ex) {
            Logger.getLogger(DateCellEditor.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);
        }
    }                                 

    @Override
    public Component getTableCellEditorComponent(JTable table, Object value, boolean isSelected, int row, int column) 
    {
        if (value instanceof Date) 
        {
            date = (Date) value;
        }
        try {
            setText((value == null) ? "" : formatter.valueToString(date));
        } catch (ParseException ex) {
            Logger.getLogger(DateCellEditor.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);
        }
        return this;
    }

    @Override
    public Object getCellEditorValue() 
    {
        try
        {
            if (this.getText().trim().length() == 0)
                return null; 

            return formatter.stringToValue(this.getText().trim());
        }
        catch (ParseException e)
        {
            statusBar.setText(ComnDef.DATEINVALID);
            return this.getText();
        }
     }

    @Override
    public boolean isCellEditable(EventObject anEvent) {
        return true;
    }

    @Override
    public boolean shouldSelectCell(EventObject anEvent) 
    {
        return true;
    }

    @Override
    public boolean stopCellEditing() 
    {
        fireEditingStopped();
        return true;
    }

    @Override
    public void cancelCellEditing() {
        fireEditingCanceled();
    }

    @Override
    public void addCellEditorListener(CellEditorListener l) {
        listeners.add(CellEditorListener.class, l);
    }

    @Override
    public void removeCellEditorListener(CellEditorListener l) {
        listeners.remove(CellEditorListener.class, l);
    }
    
    protected void fireEditingCanceled() 
    {
        CellEditorListener[] aListeners = listeners.getListeners(CellEditorListener.class);
        // can't use for-each loop because we need to traverse in order from last to first
        for (int j = aListeners.length - 1; j >= 0; j -= 1) 
        {
            aListeners[j].editingCanceled(event);
        }
    }

    protected void fireEditingStopped() 
    {
        CellEditorListener[] aListeners = listeners.getListeners(CellEditorListener.class);
        // traverse in order from last to first
        for (int j = aListeners.length - 1; j >= 0; j -= 1) 
        {
            aListeners[j].editingStopped(event);
        }
    }
}

package com.cs.common.formatters;

import com.cs.common.ComnDef;
import java.text.DateFormat;
import java.text.ParseException;
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.Date;
import java.util.logging.Level;
import java.util.logging.Logger;
import javax.swing.text.MaskFormatter;

public class DateFormatter extends MaskFormatter
{
    public static final DateFormat dateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat(ComnDef.DATEFORMAT);
    
    public DateFormatter()
    {
        try 
        {
            setMask("##/##/##");
            setPlaceholderCharacter('0');
            setAllowsInvalid(false);
            setOverwriteMode(true);
        } 
        catch (ParseException ex) 
        {
            Logger.getLogger(DateFormatter.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);
        }
    }

    @Override
    public Object stringToValue(String string) throws ParseException 
    {
        if (string == null) 
        {
            string = "00/00/00";
        }
        return dateFormat.parse(string);
    }

    @Override
    public String valueToString(Object value) throws ParseException 
    {
        if (value == null) 
        {
            return "00/00/00";
        }
        return dateFormat.format((Date) value);
    }
}

public final class ComnDef 
{
    public static final String DATEFORMAT = "MM/dd/yy";
}

I hope I got it all.  Some of this code is in production so I really didnt want to change it and it didnt make sense to make a copy.  Notice it works the first time.  but when you click the next field and then click back it puts the + or - in but when you exit it gets rid of it.  but having it in is janky.

[Carey Brown]

Handle individual character response including increment and decrement using documentListener. This could be refactored so that it's all rolled into a LocalDateTextField class.

import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Component;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.time.LocalDate;
import java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter;
import java.time.format.DateTimeParseException;

import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
import javax.swing.event.DocumentEvent;
import javax.swing.event.DocumentListener;
import javax.swing.text.BadLocationException;
import javax.swing.text.Document;

public class SwingDateFormatter
{
	public static void main( String[] args )
	{
		JFrame		frame = new JFrame();
		frame.setDefaultCloseOperation( JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE );
		
		LocalDateTextField textField1 = new LocalDateTextField(); //***
        setSize( textField1, 100, 20 );
        textField1.setBackground( Color.LIGHT_GRAY );
        frame.add( textField1, BorderLayout.NORTH );
        
        JTextField textField2 = new JTextField();
        setSize( textField2, 300, 20 );
        textField2.setBackground( Color.yellow );     
        frame.add( textField2, BorderLayout.SOUTH );
        
        frame.pack();
        frame.setLocationRelativeTo( null );
        frame.setVisible( true );
	}
	
	static void setSize( Component c, int width, int height )
	{
		Dimension	d = new Dimension( width, height );
		c.setSize( d );
		c.setPreferredSize( d );
		c.setMinimumSize( d );
		c.setMaximumSize( d );
	}
}

@SuppressWarnings("serial")
class LocalDateTextField
extends JTextField
{
	static final DateTimeFormatter	formatter =
			DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern( "MM/dd/yy" );

	public LocalDateTextField()
	{
		getDocument().addDocumentListener( new LocalDateDocListener() ); //***
	}
	
	public LocalDate getLocalDate()
	throws BadLocationException, DateTimeParseException
	{
		Document		doc = getDocument();
		return LocalDate.parse( doc.getText( 0, doc.getLength() ), formatter );
	}
}

class LocalDateDocListener
implements DocumentListener
{
	static final DateTimeFormatter	formatter =
			DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern( "MM/dd/yy" );

	@Override
	public void insertUpdate( DocumentEvent e )
	{
		peek(e,"insert");
		SwingUtilities.invokeLater( ()->handleInsert(e) );
	}

	@Override
	public void removeUpdate( DocumentEvent e )
	{
		peek(e,"remove");
	}

	@Override
	public void changedUpdate( DocumentEvent e )
	{
		peek(e,"changed");
	}
	
	static void peek( DocumentEvent e, String type )
	{
		System.out.print( type + " - " );
		Document doc = e.getDocument();
		try
		{
			String text = doc.getText( 0, doc.getLength() );
			System.out.print( text );
		}
		catch( BadLocationException e1 )
		{
			e1.printStackTrace();
		}
		System.out.println( " - " + e.getOffset() + ", " + e.getLength() );
	}
	
	static void handleInsert( DocumentEvent e )
	{
		Document doc = e.getDocument();
		if( e.getLength() == 1 )
		{
			char c = 0;
			try
			{
				c = doc.getText( e.getOffset(), 1 ).charAt( 0 );
				if( c == '+' || c == '=' )
				{
					doc.remove( e.getOffset(), e.getLength() );
					addDays( doc, 1 );
				}
				else if( c == '-' )
				{
					doc.remove( e.getOffset(), e.getLength() );
					addDays( doc, -1 );
				}
				else if( c >= '0' && c <= '9' )
					;
				else if( c == '/' )
					;
				else
					doc.remove( e.getOffset(), e.getLength() );

				if( doc.getLength() == 8 )
				{
					System.out.println(
							"valid: " + isValidMMDDYY( doc.getText( 0, 8 ) ) );
				}
			}
			catch( BadLocationException e1 )
			{
				e1.printStackTrace();
			}
		}
	}
	
	static LocalDate getLocalDate( String s )
	{
		return LocalDate.parse( s, formatter );
	}
	
	static boolean isValidMMDDYY( String s )
	{
		if( s == null || s.isBlank() )
			return false;
		try
		{
			getLocalDate( s );
		}
		catch( DateTimeParseException e )
		{
			return false;
		}
		return true;
	}
	
	static void addDays( Document doc, int n )
	{
		System.out.println( "addDay" );
		try
		{
			String s = doc.getText( 0, doc.getLength() );
			LocalDate date = getLocalDate( s );
			date = date.plusDays( n );
			String s2 = formatter.format( date );
			doc.remove( 0, doc.getLength() );
			doc.insertString( 0, s2, null );
		}
		catch( DateTimeParseException | BadLocationException e )
		{
		}
	}
}

[Michelle Nicholes]

Rob Camick wrote:

		InputMap im = dateTF.getInputMap();
		ActionMap am = dateTF.getActionMap();
		KeyStroke up = KeyStroke.getKeyStroke( "typed +");
		im.put(up, "up");
		am.put("up", new DateAction("Increment Date", 1));
		KeyStroke down = KeyStroke.getKeyStroke( "typed -");
		im.put(down, "down");
		am.put("down", new DateAction("Increment Date", -1));

Did you use "Increment Date" in both cases to only use one name in the action list or was that a mistake?

Also, when I put this in my Cell Editor which implements TableCellEditor, the fireEdditingCancel or Stop doesnt seem to be working any longer.  Do you think this way of capturing the + and - is interfering with the TableCellEditor Parent?

[Rob Camick]

3 weeks ago you got multiple answers/suggestions to your original question.

Yet you didn't respond to either reply and now you expect more help even though you still haven't posted a reasonable SSCCE?

I thought you wanted an SSCE that you could copy and paste into an editor and it ran to illustrate the problem.  Which is what I did.  

And I gave you pointers on how you can improve upon the SSCCE in future questions.

Some of this code is in production so I really didnt want to change it and it didnt make sense to make a copy

And you still don't understand the basic concept of a SSCCE (so you haven't learned from my pointers).

We don't care about your application. We care about the stated problem.

Your question is about using a custom Date editor:

1. So you need a custom DateEditor class
2. You need a simple GUI to test the custom DateEditor class
3. You don't need a custom TableModel to test the DateEditor.
4. You don't need a custom renderer to test an editor.
5. You don't need custom application classes. Your code includes package statements and import statement for your application classes. I am not going go copy all those classes and create a directory structure that matches your package names. The one positive comment I gave to your original SSCCE was that is was contained in a single class file. Now you have 6 class files? How is that a SSCCE?

Below is some old code I have demonstrating a simple custom editor in the form of a SSCCE:

import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.util.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.border.*;
import javax.swing.table.*;

public class TableFiveCharacterEditor extends DefaultCellEditor
{
	private long lastTime = System.currentTimeMillis();

	public TableFiveCharacterEditor()
	{
		super( new JTextField() );
	}

	public boolean stopCellEditing()
	{
		JTable table = (JTable)getComponent().getParent();

		try
		{
			String editingValue = (String)getCellEditorValue();

			if(editingValue.length() != 5)
			{
				JTextField textField = (JTextField)getComponent();
				textField.setBorder(new LineBorder(Color.red));
				textField.selectAll();
				textField.requestFocusInWindow();

				JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(
					table,
					"Please enter string with 5 letters.",
					"Alert!",JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE);
				return false;
			}
		}
		catch(ClassCastException exception)
		{
			return false;
		}

		return super.stopCellEditing();
	}

	public Component getTableCellEditorComponent(JTable table, Object value, boolean isSelected, int row, int column)
	{
		Component c = super.getTableCellEditorComponent(table, value, isSelected, row, column);
		((JComponent)c).setBorder(new LineBorder(Color.black));

		return c;
	}

	private static void createAndShowUI()
	{
		JTable table = new JTable(5, 5)
		{
			@Override
			public Class getColumnClass(int column)
			{
				switch (column)
			    {
			        case 0: return String.class;
			        case 1: return String.class;
			    }

				return super.getColumnClass(column);
			}
		};
		table.setPreferredScrollableViewportSize(table.getPreferredSize());
		JScrollPane scrollPane = new JScrollPane(table);

		//  Use a custom editor

		TableCellEditor fce = new TableFiveCharacterEditor();
		table.setDefaultEditor(String.class, fce);
		//table.getColumnModel().getColumn(0).setCellEditor( fce );

		JFrame frame = new JFrame("Table Five Character Editor");
		frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
		frame.add( scrollPane );
		frame.pack();
		frame.setLocationByPlatform( true );
		frame.setVisible( true );
	}

	public static void main(String[] args)
	{
		EventQueue.invokeLater(() -> createAndShowUI());
	}
}

The idea of the SSCCE is to create your reusable editor code and create a simple test GUI. If you write the editor correctly, once you finish testing it then you just plug it into your application because it should not be dependent on any specific application logic.

If you can't get the editor to work then you have simple code to post on a help site that requires no application specific code.

Did you use "Increment Date" in both cases to only use one name in the action list or was that a mistake?

Yes it was a mistake, the name will be used when you add the Action to a JMenuItem or a JButton so it should be different, but it doesn't affect processing.

See: How to Use Actions for more information and examples.

Also check out Using an Editor to Validate User Entered Text. It is a complete working example that uses a JFormattedTextField to validate Integer data in a specified range. This should be a good starting point to create your custom DateEditor. It shows which methods you need to override. It is better to extend from the base class rather than implement all methods. The code already uses an ActionMap for some of the processing so you should be able to implement my earlier suggestions based on that code.

I am definitely NOT an expert on creating editors for a JTable. I have never done this before especially with a JFormattedTextField. Even if you post a SSCCE that more closely resembles the structure of the code above there is no guarantee that I can help.

However, I will not even attempt to look at the code you just posted. It is not even close to a SSCCE for me to look at. My time is valuable. This is the last time I will rant about a SSCCE. How you choose to post a question is up to you. Which questions I choose to answer is up to me.

[Carey Brown]

Still a bit over-weight for an SSCCE but it's all in one file, it compiles, and it works.

import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Component;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.text.DateFormat;
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.time.LocalDate;
import java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter;
import java.time.format.DateTimeParseException;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.List;

import javax.swing.AbstractCellEditor;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JTable;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
import javax.swing.UnsupportedLookAndFeelException;
import javax.swing.event.DocumentEvent;
import javax.swing.event.DocumentListener;
import javax.swing.table.AbstractTableModel;
import javax.swing.table.DefaultTableCellRenderer;
import javax.swing.table.TableCellEditor;
import javax.swing.table.TableCellRenderer;
import javax.swing.table.TableColumnModel;
import javax.swing.text.BadLocationException;
import javax.swing.text.Document;
  
//======================================================================
@SuppressWarnings("serial")
public class SwingLocalDateTest99
extends JPanel 
{
    private final JFrame	frame;
    private JTable			table;
    private final MyModel99	myModel;
 
	public SwingLocalDateTest99( JFrame frame )
	{
		this.frame = frame;
		myModel = new MyModel99();
		jbInit();
	}
     
	private void jbInit()
	{
		setPreferredSize( new Dimension( 350, 150 ) );
		setBackground( new Color( 18, 30, 49 ) );
		setLayout( new BorderLayout() );

		LocalDateStringRenderer99 localDateRenderer = new LocalDateStringRenderer99();
		table = new JTable( myModel )
		{
			public TableCellRenderer getCellRenderer( int row, int column )
			{
				switch( column )
				{
				case 0:
					return localDateRenderer;
				default:
					return super.getCellRenderer( row, column );
				}
			}
		};
		TableColumnModel tcm = table.getColumnModel();
		tcm.getColumn( 0 ).setCellEditor( new LocalDateStringEditor() );
		table.setRowHeight( 30 );
		table.setRowSelectionAllowed( true );
		table.setColumnSelectionAllowed( false );

		add( table, BorderLayout.NORTH );
	}
         
	public static void makeUI()
	throws UnsupportedLookAndFeelException
	{
		JFrame frame = new JFrame( "Formatted Test" );
		frame.setSize( 40, 40 );
		SwingLocalDateTest99 form = new SwingLocalDateTest99( frame );
		frame.getContentPane().add( form );
		frame.pack();
		frame.setDefaultCloseOperation( JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE );
		frame.setLocationRelativeTo( null );
		frame.setVisible( true );
	}
 
	public static void main( String[] args )
	throws Exception
	{
		makeUI();
	}
}

//======================================================================
@SuppressWarnings("serial")
class MyModel99
extends AbstractTableModel
{
    public static final int		LOCALDATE = 0;
    public static final int		ACCOUNT = 1;
    public static List<String>	columnNames = Arrays.asList("Date", "Account");
    private static final Class[]	types = new Class [] 
    {
        String.class, Integer.class
    };
    private static final boolean[]	canEdit = new boolean [] 
    {
        true, true
    };
    private List<Object[]>		data;
     
	public MyModel99()
	{
		super();
		this.data = new ArrayList<>();
		Object[] o;
		o = new Object[2];
		o[0] = "00/00/00";
		o[1] = 500;
		this.data.add( o );
	}
    
	@Override
	public Class getColumnClass( int columnIndex )
	{
		return types[columnIndex];
	}
 
	@Override
	public boolean isCellEditable( int rowIndex, int columnIndex )
	{
		return canEdit[columnIndex];
	}
 
	@Override
	public int getRowCount()
	{
		return data.size();
	}
 
	@Override
	public int getColumnCount()
	{
		return columnNames.size();
	}
 
	@Override
	public String getColumnName( int column )
	{
		return columnNames.get( column );
	}
     
	@Override
	public Object getValueAt( int rowIndex, int columnIndex )
	{
		Object[] dto = data.get( rowIndex );
		Object retValue = null;
		switch( columnIndex )
		{
		case LOCALDATE:
			retValue = (String)dto[0];
			break;
		case ACCOUNT:
			retValue = dto[1];
			break;
		}
		return retValue;
	}
             
	@Override
	public void setValueAt( Object value, int rowIndex, int columnIndex )
	{
		Object[] dto = data.get( rowIndex );
		switch( columnIndex )
		{
		case LOCALDATE:
			dto[0] = (String)value;
			break;

		case ACCOUNT:
			dto[1] = (Integer)value;
			break;
		}
	}
}

//======================================================================
@SuppressWarnings("serial")
class LocalDateStringRenderer99
extends DefaultTableCellRenderer 
{
    DateFormat formatter;
    public LocalDateStringRenderer99() { super(); }
 
	@Override
	public void setValue( Object value )
	{
		if( formatter == null )
			formatter = new SimpleDateFormat( ComnDef99.DATEFORMAT );
		String localDate = (String)value;
		setText( ( value == null ) ? "" : localDate.replaceAll( "[^0-9/]", "" ) );
	}
}

//======================================================================
@SuppressWarnings("serial")
class LocalDateStringEditor
extends AbstractCellEditor
implements TableCellEditor
{
	private JTextField	textField;
	private Document	doc;

	public LocalDateStringEditor() {
        textField = new JTextField();
        textField.addActionListener( new ActionListener()
        {
			@Override
			public void actionPerformed( ActionEvent e )
			{
                stopCellEditing();
			}
        } );
    }

	@Override
	public Object getCellEditorValue()
	{
		return textField.getText().replaceAll( "[^0-9/]", "" );
	}

	@Override
	public Component getTableCellEditorComponent( JTable table, Object value,
			boolean isSelected, int row, int column )
	{
		String			s = "";
		if( value != null )
		{
			s = value.toString().replaceAll( "[^0-9/]", "" );
		}
		textField.setText( s );
		doc = textField.getDocument();
		doc.addDocumentListener( new LocalDateDocListener99() ); //***

		return textField;
	}
}

//======================================================================
final class ComnDef99 
{
    public static final String DATEFORMAT = "MM/dd/yy";
    public static final String DATEINVALID = "Invalid";
}

//======================================================================
class LocalDateDocListener99
implements DocumentListener
{
	static final DateTimeFormatter	formatter =
			DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern( "MM/dd/yy" );

	@Override
	public void insertUpdate( DocumentEvent e )
	{
		SwingUtilities.invokeLater( ()->handleInsert(e) );
	}

	@Override
	public void removeUpdate( DocumentEvent e )
	{
	}

	@Override
	public void changedUpdate( DocumentEvent e )
	{
	}
	
	static void handleInsert( DocumentEvent e )
	{
		Document doc = e.getDocument();
		if( e.getLength() == 1 )
		{
			try
			{
				char c = doc.getText( e.getOffset(), 1 ).charAt( 0 );
				if( c == '+' || c == '=' )
				{
					doc.remove( e.getOffset(), e.getLength() );
					addDays( doc, 1 );
				}
				else if( c == '-' )
				{
					doc.remove( e.getOffset(), e.getLength() );
					addDays( doc, -1 );
				}
				else if( c >= '0' && c <= '9' )
					;
				else if( c == '/' )
					;
				else
					doc.remove( e.getOffset(), e.getLength() );
			}
			catch( BadLocationException e1 )
			{
				e1.printStackTrace();
			}
		}
	}
	
	static LocalDate getLocalDate( String s )
	{
		return LocalDate.parse( s, formatter );
	}
	
	static void addDays( Document doc, int n )
	{
		try
		{
			String s = doc.getText( 0, doc.getLength() );
			LocalDate localDate = getLocalDate( s );
			localDate = localDate.plusDays( n );
			String s2 = formatter.format( localDate );
			doc.remove( 0, doc.getLength() );
			doc.insertString( 0, s2, null );
		}
		catch( DateTimeParseException | BadLocationException e )
		{
		}
	}
}

[Michelle Nicholes]

Rob Camick wrote:
3 weeks ago you got multiple answers/suggestions to your original question.

Yet you didn't respond to either reply and now you expect more help even though you still haven't posted a reasonable SSCCE?

Three weeks ago I gave up on Swing.
A friend talked me into trying Python ttk which before long I was jumping through even worse hoops.
I then looked into other frontend frameworks.  But it seems as if all the new ones build the pages on the server side and then ship all that info over the network.  Not what I want
And so I came back to Swing.

Your question is about using a custom Date editor:

At first, I was able to reproduce the problem without using a table and so that made it simple.  Which is why my original post was not about a table cell editor.  However, as I implemented yours and Caseys suggestions, the simple one worked but not the table one so that made things more complicated.  So then the only way to reproduce the problem was in a table and a simple example no longer was going to cut it.  Which I did state this in a previous post.  Maybe you missed that one.

BTW, the cell editor I have is pretty much the one you helped me with on another question.  So the code I have came from you. You, being Rob.  And that code worked fine other than the one extra character with the + and -.  that was until I added the Mask and added your binding code rather than the keylistener.  Once I added both those, that is when the editor no longer stopped or cancelled itself when you exited the edit.  It actually stayed on the screen when I clicked another tab for a different form.  Its as if the Mask and the new action binding are fighting each other.  or something is missing.

Sadly, this question has evolved.  I was actually closing out this question because for the scope of the original question we somewhat answered it as a stand alone field editor.  I was actually thinking of posting a new question with the editor in a table.  I am planning on looking at Robs last posted code to see what is different from this one verses the one he gave me in a previous question and if it still does not work, then I will attempt an SSCCE I hope even Rob will be okay with.


As for Caseys Code, I tested it.  The Mask part didnt work.  I endered 010223 and instead of filling in the date it just inserted the date.   Once I hand put in the date the + and minus worked.  however, when I left the field and came back in and pressed the - key I got a BadLocationException:  Invalid Remove.  And of course, Rob claimed I needed to use Bindings and yours uses a document listener.  If your had of worked. I would have gladly replaced Robs example.

javax.swing.text.BadLocationException: Invalid remove
at javax.swing.text.AbstractDocument.handleRemove(AbstractDocument.java:605)
at javax.swing.text.AbstractDocument.remove(AbstractDocument.java:590)
at LocalDateDocListener99.handleInsert(SwingLocalDateTest99.java:307)
at LocalDateDocListener99.lambda$insertUpdate$0(SwingLocalDateTest99.java:271)
at java.awt.event.InvocationEvent.dispatch(InvocationEvent.java:311)
at java.awt.EventQueue.dispatchEventImpl(EventQueue.java:758)
at java.awt.EventQueue.access$500(EventQueue.java:97)
at java.awt.EventQueue$3.run(EventQueue.java:709)
at java.awt.EventQueue$3.run(EventQueue.java:703)
at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
at java.security.ProtectionDomain$JavaSecurityAccessImpl.doIntersectionPrivilege(ProtectionDomain.java:74)
at java.awt.EventQueue.dispatchEvent(EventQueue.java:728)
at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpOneEventForFilters(EventDispatchThread.java:205)
at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEventsForFilter(EventDispatchThread.java:116)
at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEventsForHierarchy(EventDispatchThread.java:105)
at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEvents(EventDispatchThread.java:101)
at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEvents(EventDispatchThread.java:93)
at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.run(EventDispatchThread.java:82)

So lets just end this question.

[Michelle Nicholes]

I did finally find the solution.  When I was doing my cell ComboBox to get it to work we used this type of class definition:

public class FilterCBCellEditor extends FilterComboBox implements TableCellEditor

However, for some reason when I did the same thing for the Formatted Text Field it didnt work.

public class DateCellEditor extends JFormattedTextField implements TableCellEditor

    public DateCellEditor()
    {
        super();
        formatter = new DateMaskFormatter();
        setFormatter(formatter);

If you google JFormattedTextField and TableCellEditor you only get two good results.  Both are using this format:

public class DateCellEditor extends AbstractCellEditor implements TableCellEditor

    public DateCellEditor()
    {
        formatter = new DateMaskFormatter();
        tf = new JFormattedTextField(formatter);

And you let the Cell Editor manage all the other methods.  and as far as I can tell, it now works.  I have no idea why the first way I did it didnt work but it seemed as if somehow it lost reference to the Mask Formatter and the second way seems to have maintained it.  So the first way works great with Combo Boxes and the second way with FormattedTextFields.  Hope this crazy thread helps someone one day.  

[Paul Clapham]

Thanks for that!

Even when Swing was less of a niche Java topic, very few people dared to attempt writing a TableCellEditor. So I guess that's why you won't find much online about them.

[Rob Camick]

public class DateCellEditor extends JFormattedTextField implements TableCellEditor

Swing provides many Abstract classes that implement most of the methods. In many cases they also provide "default" implementations of an interface. I guess the trick is to know when to extend the Abstract class or the "default" class.

I would suggest you not attempt to implement all the methods of an interface yourself. By minimizing the code you write you minimize the change in default behaviour and you minimize the risk of introducing an error.

If you google JFormattedTextField and TableCellEditor you only get two good results.

Gee, and I provided you with two working examples in this question and neither extend AbstractCellEditor.

You never actually replied if you tested the IntegerEditor. Since this editor uses a JFormattedTextField and adds bindings to the ActionMap/InputMap I thought it would have been a good place to start.

By extending AbstractCellEditor you are changing the default behaviour of your editor from default editors. The default editor for text, numbers etc. is only focused when you double click on the cell. Since the AbstractCellEditor doesn't have this "click count" concept to start editing I would guess it starts editing as soon as you click on the cell. Just a thought.