How to insert text into a Document without triggering insertUpdate()

Question

I want to create a Swing JTextPane that takes action when the user types text into it. But I also want to be able to alter the text in that pane without it treating that alteration as a user typing. How can I do this?

You could listen for `KeyEvents` and only look at the document then. Or you could put up an internal flag telling your listener that it is currently being modified by a programm and not by a user. — mercutio, Dec 09 '12 at 03:36
I like @mercutio's second idea better. KeyEvents can be deceiving, especially since there are other non-key ways to interact with a text component. — Hovercraft Full Of Eels, Dec 09 '12 at 03:55
*alter the text in that pane without it treating that alteration as a user typing* I dont think that is possible via API... with that being said maybe your codes logic is a bit skewed, as you should fix the entire text they input and than you would reset that text via `insertString(..)` for example, that call would of course fire `insertUpdate(..)`, but because the text was previously changed to match constraints, it should pass through all validations thus no alterations being done i.e `insertString(..)` is not called IMO. Something similar to this: http://stackoverflow.com/a/13721186/1133011 — David Kroukamp, Dec 09 '12 at 08:21

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 09 '12 at 11:43

If you don't let update events fire, then chances are that your UI won't get updated either, depending on the actual implementation. So I agree that you might be better off by talking to the event handler, letting it know that the next alteration is going to be a programmatic change. Something like this:

try {
  listener.setProgrammaticChange(true);
  // change document
}
finally {
  listener.setProgrammaticChange(false);
}

How to insert text into a Document without triggering insertUpdate()

1 Answers1