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TransferHandler.javaAPI DocJava SE 5 API31340Fri Aug 26 14:57:58 BST 2005javax.swing

TransferHandler

public class TransferHandler extends Object implements Serializable
This class is used to handle the transfer of a Transferable to and from Swing components. The Transferable is used to represent data that is exchanged via a cut, copy, or paste to/from a clipboard. It is also used in drag-and-drop operations to represent a drag from a component, and a drop to a component. Swing provides functionality that automatically supports cut, copy, and paste keyboard bindings that use the functionality provided by an implementation of this class. Swing also provides functionality that automatically supports drag and drop that uses the functionality provided by an implementation of this class. The Swing developer can concentrate on specifying the semantics of a transfer primarily by setting the transferHandler property on a Swing component.

This class is implemented to provide a default behavior of transferring a component property simply by specifying the name of the property in the constructor. For example, to transfer the foreground color from one component to another either via the clipboard or a drag and drop operation a TransferHandler can be constructed with the string "foreground". The built in support will use the color returned by getForeground as the source of the transfer, and setForeground for the target of a transfer.

Please see How to Use Drag and Drop and Data Transfer, a section in The Java Tutorial, for more information.

author
Timothy Prinzing
version
1.30 08/26/05
since
1.4

Fields Summary
public static final int
NONE
An int representing no transfer action.
public static final int
COPY
An int representing a "copy" transfer action. This value is used when data is copied to a clipboard or copied elsewhere in a drag and drop operation.
public static final int
MOVE
An int representing a "move" transfer action. This value is used when data is moved to a clipboard (i.e. a cut) or moved elsewhere in a drag and drop operation.
public static final int
COPY_OR_MOVE
An int representing a source action capability of either "copy" or "move".
private static final int
LINK
An int representing a "link" transfer action. This value is used to specify that data should be linked in a drag and drop operation.
private String
propertyName
private static SwingDragGestureRecognizer
recognizer
private static DropTargetListener
dropLinkage
static final Action
cutAction
static final Action
copyAction
static final Action
pasteAction
Constructors Summary
public TransferHandler(String property)
Constructs a transfer handler that can transfer a Java Bean property from one component to another via the clipboard or a drag and drop operation.

param
property the name of the property to transfer; this can be null if there is no property associated with the transfer handler (a subclass that performs some other kind of transfer, for example)

	propertyName = property;
    
protected TransferHandler()
Convenience constructor for subclasses.

	this(null);
    
Methods Summary
public booleancanImport(javax.swing.JComponent comp, java.awt.datatransfer.DataFlavor[] transferFlavors)
Indicates whether a component would accept an import of the given set of data flavors prior to actually attempting to import it.

param
comp the component to receive the transfer; this argument is provided to enable sharing of TransferHandlers by multiple components
param
transferFlavors the data formats available
return
true if the data can be inserted into the component, false otherwise

	PropertyDescriptor prop = getPropertyDescriptor(comp);
	if (prop != null) {
	    Method writer = prop.getWriteMethod();
	    if (writer == null) {
		// read-only property. ignore
		return false;
	    }
	    Class[] params = writer.getParameterTypes();
	    if (params.length != 1) {
		// zero or more than one argument, ignore
		return false;
	    }
	    DataFlavor flavor = getPropertyDataFlavor(params[0], transferFlavors);
	    if (flavor != null) {
		return true;
	    }
	}
	return false;
    
protected java.awt.datatransfer.TransferablecreateTransferable(javax.swing.JComponent c)
Creates a Transferable to use as the source for a data transfer. Returns the representation of the data to be transferred, or null if the component's property is null

param
c the component holding the data to be transferred; this argument is provided to enable sharing of TransferHandlers by multiple components
return
the representation of the data to be transferred, or null if the property associated with c is null

	PropertyDescriptor property = getPropertyDescriptor(c);
	if (property != null) {
	    return new PropertyTransferable(property, c);
	}
	return null;
    
public voidexportAsDrag(javax.swing.JComponent comp, java.awt.event.InputEvent e, int action)
Causes the Swing drag support to be initiated. This is called by the various UI implementations in the javax.swing.plaf.basic package if the dragEnabled property is set on the component. This can be called by custom UI implementations to use the Swing drag support. This method can also be called by a Swing extension written as a subclass of JComponent to take advantage of the Swing drag support.

The transfer will not necessarily have been completed at the return of this call (i.e. the call does not block waiting for the drop). The transfer will take place through the Swing implementation of the java.awt.dnd mechanism, requiring no further effort from the developer. The exportDone method will be called when the transfer has completed.

param
comp the component holding the data to be transferred; this argument is provided to enable sharing of TransferHandlers by multiple components
param
e the event that triggered the transfer
param
action the transfer action initially requested; this should be a value of either COPY or MOVE; the value may be changed during the course of the drag operation

        int srcActions = getSourceActions(comp);
	int dragAction = srcActions & action;
	if (! (e instanceof MouseEvent)) {
	    // only mouse events supported for drag operations
	    dragAction = NONE;
	}
	if (dragAction != NONE && !GraphicsEnvironment.isHeadless()) {
	    if (recognizer == null) {
		recognizer = new SwingDragGestureRecognizer(new DragHandler());
	    }
	    recognizer.gestured(comp, (MouseEvent)e, srcActions, dragAction);
	} else {
            exportDone(comp, null, NONE);
        }
    
protected voidexportDone(javax.swing.JComponent source, java.awt.datatransfer.Transferable data, int action)
Invoked after data has been exported. This method should remove the data that was transferred if the action was MOVE.

This method is implemented to do nothing since MOVE is not a supported action of this implementation (getSourceActions does not include MOVE).

param
source the component that was the source of the data
param
data The data that was transferred or possibly null if the action is NONE.
param
action the actual action that was performed

    
public voidexportToClipboard(javax.swing.JComponent comp, java.awt.datatransfer.Clipboard clip, int action)
Causes a transfer from the given component to the given clipboard. This method is called by the default cut and copy actions registered in a component's action map.

The transfer will take place using the java.awt.datatransfer mechanism, requiring no further effort from the developer. Any data transfer will be complete and the exportDone method will be called with the action that occurred, before this method returns. Should the clipboard be unavailable when attempting to place data on it, the IllegalStateException thrown by {@link Clipboard#setContents(Transferable, ClipboardOwner)} will be propogated through this method. However, exportDone will first be called with an action of NONE for consistency.

param
comp the component holding the data to be transferred; this argument is provided to enable sharing of TransferHandlers by multiple components
param
clip the clipboard to transfer the data into
param
action the transfer action requested; this should be a value of either COPY or MOVE; the operation performed is the intersection of the transfer capabilities given by getSourceActions and the requested action; the intersection may result in an action of NONE if the requested action isn't supported
throws
IllegalStateException if the clipboard is currently unavailable
see
Clipboard#setContents(Transferable, ClipboardOwner)


	int clipboardAction = getSourceActions(comp) & action;
	if (clipboardAction != NONE) {
            Transferable t = createTransferable(comp);
            if (t != null) {
                try {
                    clip.setContents(t, null);
                    exportDone(comp, t, clipboardAction);
                    return;
                } catch (IllegalStateException ise) {
                    exportDone(comp, t, NONE);
                    throw ise;
                }
            }
        }

        exportDone(comp, null, NONE);
    
public static javax.swing.ActiongetCopyAction()
Returns an Action that behaves like a 'copy' operation. That is, this will invoke exportToClipboard with a COPY argument on the TransferHandler associated with the JComponent that is the source of the ActionEvent.

return
cut Action

        return copyAction;
    
public static javax.swing.ActiongetCutAction()
Returns an Action that behaves like a 'cut' operation. That is, this will invoke exportToClipboard with a MOVE argument on the TransferHandler associated with the JComponent that is the source of the ActionEvent.

return
cut Action



                                             
        
        return cutAction;
    
private static java.awt.dnd.DropTargetListenergetDropTargetListener()


        
	if (dropLinkage == null) {
	    dropLinkage = new DropHandler();
	}
	return dropLinkage;
    
public static javax.swing.ActiongetPasteAction()
Returns an Action that behaves like a 'paste' operation. That is, this will invoke importData on the TransferHandler associated with the JComponent that is the source of the ActionEvent.

return
cut Action

        return pasteAction;
    
private java.awt.datatransfer.DataFlavorgetPropertyDataFlavor(java.lang.Class k, java.awt.datatransfer.DataFlavor[] flavors)
Fetches the data flavor from the array of possible flavors that has data of the type represented by property type. Null is returned if there is no match.

	for(int i = 0; i < flavors.length; i++) {
	    DataFlavor flavor = flavors[i];
	    if ("application".equals(flavor.getPrimaryType()) &&
		"x-java-jvm-local-objectref".equals(flavor.getSubType()) &&
		k.isAssignableFrom(flavor.getRepresentationClass())) {

		return flavor;
	    }
	}
	return null;
    
private java.beans.PropertyDescriptorgetPropertyDescriptor(javax.swing.JComponent comp)
Fetches the property descriptor for the property assigned to this transfer handler on the given component (transfer handler may be shared). This returns null if the property descriptor can't be found or there is an error attempting to fetch the property descriptor.

	if (propertyName == null) {
	    return null;
	}
	Class k = comp.getClass();
	BeanInfo bi;
	try {
	    bi = Introspector.getBeanInfo(k);
	} catch (IntrospectionException ex) {
	    return null;
	}
	PropertyDescriptor props[] = bi.getPropertyDescriptors();
	for (int i=0; i < props.length; i++) {
	    if (propertyName.equals(props[i].getName())) {
                Method reader = props[i].getReadMethod();

                if (reader != null) {
                    Class[] params = reader.getParameterTypes();

                    if (params == null || params.length == 0) {
                        // found the desired descriptor
                        return props[i];
                    }
                }
	    }
	}
	return null;
    
public intgetSourceActions(javax.swing.JComponent c)
Returns the type of transfer actions supported by the source. Some models are not mutable, so a transfer operation of COPY only should be advertised in that case.

param
c the component holding the data to be transferred; this argument is provided to enable sharing of TransferHandlers by multiple components.
return
COPY if the transfer property can be found, otherwise returns NONE; a return value of of NONE disables any transfers out of the component

	PropertyDescriptor prop = getPropertyDescriptor(c);
	if (prop != null) {
	    return COPY;
	}
	return NONE;
    
public javax.swing.IcongetVisualRepresentation(java.awt.datatransfer.Transferable t)
Returns an object that establishes the look of a transfer. This is useful for both providing feedback while performing a drag operation and for representing the transfer in a clipboard implementation that has a visual appearance. The implementation of the Icon interface should not alter the graphics clip or alpha level. The icon implementation need not be rectangular or paint all of the bounding rectangle and logic that calls the icons paint method should not assume the all bits are painted. null is a valid return value for this method and indicates there is no visual representation provided. In that case, the calling logic is free to represent the transferable however it wants.

The default Swing logic will not do an alpha blended drag animation if the return is null.

param
t the data to be transferred; this value is expected to have been created by the createTransferable method
return
null, indicating there is no default visual representation

	return null;
    
public booleanimportData(javax.swing.JComponent comp, java.awt.datatransfer.Transferable t)
Causes a transfer to a component from a clipboard or a DND drop operation. The Transferable represents the data to be imported into the component.

param
comp the component to receive the transfer; this argument is provided to enable sharing of TransferHandlers by multiple components
param
t the data to import
return
true if the data was inserted into the component, false otherwise

	PropertyDescriptor prop = getPropertyDescriptor(comp);
	if (prop != null) {
	    Method writer = prop.getWriteMethod();
	    if (writer == null) {
		// read-only property. ignore
		return false;
	    }
	    Class[] params = writer.getParameterTypes();
	    if (params.length != 1) {
		// zero or more than one argument, ignore
		return false;
	    }
	    DataFlavor flavor = getPropertyDataFlavor(params[0], t.getTransferDataFlavors());
	    if (flavor != null) {
		try {
		    Object value = t.getTransferData(flavor);
		    Object[] args = { value };
		    MethodUtil.invoke(writer, comp, args);
		    return true;
		} catch (Exception ex) {
		    System.err.println("Invocation failed");
		    // invocation code
		}
	    }
	}
	return false;