Focus issue with CardLayout (Java 2 SDK, Standard Edition 1.4.0_01)

Question

I am having an issue with focus and CardLayout with Java 2 SDK, Standard Edition 1.4.0_01. I have created a small sample application to illustrate my problem. In general, I am trying to create a "Wizard" that the user will enter information and then press a "Next" button to proceed to the next step.
When the first card is displayed, the focus is on the first text field as expected.
When I go to the next card by clicking "Next", the focus is not on the text field that has requested it (through the requestFocusInWindow method). The focus is on the "Cancel" button, which is the next component to receive focus after the "Next" button on that panel. I do notice that if I use my mouse to bring focus to the window the text field will gain focus.
Similarly, when I proceed to the last card, the focus is not on the "Finish" button until the mouse moves over the window.
Is there something I am doing wrong or is there a bug with focus and CardLayout?
One other problem I have noticed is that the buttons no longer respond to the "Enter" key press and instead respond to the space bar. Any suggestions as to why this is the case?
Thanks,
S.L.
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class CardWindow extends JFrame implements ActionListener {
public CardWindow() {       
setTitle("Focus Problems with CardLayout");
setDefaultCloseOperation(EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
cards = new JPanel();
cardLayout = new CardLayout();
cards.setLayout(cardLayout);
cards.add(createFirstNamePanel(), "FirstNamePanel");
cards.add(createLastNamePanel(), "LastNamePanel");
cards.add(createFullNamePanel(), "FullNamePanel");
getContentPane().add(cards,BorderLayout.CENTER);
getContentPane().add(createButtonPanel(), BorderLayout.SOUTH);
resetButtonPanel();
pack();
private JPanel createFirstNamePanel() {
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
JLabel lblDescriptionProjectName = new JLabel("Please enter your first name:");
txtFirstName = new JTextField(20);
panel.add(lblDescriptionProjectName);
panel.add(txtFirstName);
return panel;
private JPanel createLastNamePanel() {
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
JLabel lblDescriptionProjectName = new JLabel("Please enter your last name:");
txtLastName = new JTextField(20);
panel.add(lblDescriptionProjectName);
panel.add(txtLastName);
return panel;
private JPanel createFullNamePanel(){
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
lblFullName = new JLabel();
resetTextOnFullNamePanel();
panel.add(lblFullName);
return panel;
private JPanel createButtonPanel() {
buttonPanel = new JPanel();
btnPrevious = new JButton("< " + "Back");
btnPrevious.setMnemonic('B');
btnPrevious.addActionListener(this);
btnNext = new JButton("Next" + " >");
btnNext.setMnemonic('N');
btnNext.addActionListener(this);
btnCancel = new JButton("Cancel");
btnCancel.setMnemonic('C');
btnCancel.addActionListener(this);
btnFinish = new JButton("Finish");
btnFinish.setMnemonic('F');
btnFinish.addActionListener(this);
buttonPanel.add(btnPrevious);
buttonPanel.add(btnNext);
buttonPanel.add(btnCancel);
buttonPanel.add(btnFinish);
return buttonPanel;
private void resetTextOnFullNamePanel(){
lblFullName.setText("Your name is: " + getFirstName() + " " + getLastName());
private void resetButtonPanel(){
Component c[] = buttonPanel.getComponents();
for(int i = 0; i < c.length; i++){
c.setVisible(false);
switch(iWizardStep){
case FIRSTNAMEPANEL:
btnPrevious.setVisible(true);
btnNext.setVisible(true);
btnCancel.setVisible(true);
break;
case LASTNAMEPANEL:
btnPrevious.setVisible(true);
btnNext.setVisible(true);
btnCancel.setVisible(true);
break;
case FULLNAMEPANEL:
btnFinish.setVisible(true);
break;
buttonPanel.validate();
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
Object object = e.getSource();
if (object == btnNext) {           
btnNextPressed();
} else if (object == btnPrevious) {           
btnPreviousPressed();
} else if (object == btnFinish) {
System.exit(0);
} else if (object == btnCancel) {
System.exit(0);
private void btnNextPressed() {       
switch (iWizardStep) {
case FIRSTNAMEPANEL:
setFirstName(txtFirstName.getText());
break;
case LASTNAMEPANEL:
setLastName(txtLastName.getText());
resetTextOnFullNamePanel();
break;
iWizardStep++;
resetButtonPanel();
this.cardLayout.next(this.cards);
switch (iWizardStep) {             
case LASTNAMEPANEL:
txtLastName.requestFocusInWindow();
break;
case FULLNAMEPANEL:
btnFinish.requestFocusInWindow();
break;
private void btnPreviousPressed() {
iWizardStep--;
resetButtonPanel();
this.cardLayout.previous(this.cards);
public void setFirstName(String value) {
firstName = value;
public String getFirstName() {
return firstName;
public void setLastName(String value) {
lastName = value;
public String getLastName() {
return lastName;
public static void main (String[] args) {
CardWindow c = new CardWindow();
c.show();
private CardLayout cardLayout;
private JPanel cards, buttonPanel;
private JTextField txtLastName, txtFirstName;
private JLabel lblFullName;
private JButton btnNext, btnPrevious, btnCancel, btnFinish;
private String firstName = "";
private String lastName = "";
private int iWizardStep = 0;
private static final int FIRSTNAMEPANEL = 0;
private static final int LASTNAMEPANEL = 1;
private static final int FULLNAMEPANEL = 2;

Answer 1

Manfred,
Thanks for your reply. I tried requestFocus() and it gives the same results. Also Sun's 1.4.0 API (http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4/docs/api/) mentions the following with respect to the requestFocus() method in the JComponent class:
Because the focus behavior of this method is platform-dependent, developers are strongly encouraged to use requestFocusInWindow when possible.
That is why I used requestFocusInWindow.
S.L.