Display Simple Name of File Object in JList

Question

When I add a file object into a DefaultListModel, which is used to create a JList, with model.addElement(file), the displayed text in the JList is the path to the file. But I only want the file name to be displayed. I cannot do model.addElement(file.getName()), however, because I need access to the file object, not just a string, later on.

How can I add a file object to a list/model while displaying only the file name? Thank you!

Answer 1

You would do this by creating a custom renderer:

class FileRenderer extends DefaultListCellRenderer
{
    public Component getListCellRendererComponent(
        JList list, Object value, int index, boolean isSelected, boolean cellHasFocus)
    {
        super.getListCellRendererComponent(list, value, index, isSelected, cellHasFocus);

        File file = (File)value;
        setText( file.getName() );

        return this;
    }
}

Then you set the renderer for the JList using:

list.setCellRenderer( new FileRenderer() );

For more information and working examples see the section from the Swing tutorial on Writing a Custom Cell Renderer