JFileChooser's approve button text changes when file

Question

I have a JFileChooser used for loading some XML file(s). We want the approve button's text to be "Load". When I bring up the dialog, the button text initially reads "Load", when I select a directory, it reads "Open", if I select a file again, it goes back to "Load". So far, so good.
The problem comes when using it in a non-English language. When I bring up the dialog, the button text initially reads the appropriately translated "Load". However, when I select a directory, it changes to the English "Open". I do not see a method to use to adjust this text. Am I missing something, or is this a bug?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Jamie

Answer 1

Here's some code I'll put into the public domain:
package com.graphbuilder.desktop;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.util.Stack;
import java.util.Vector;
import java.util.StringTokenizer;
import java.io.File;
<p>Attempt to improve the behaviour of the JFileChooser.  Anyone who has used the
the JFileChooser will probably remember that it lacks several useful features.
The following features have been added:
<ul>
<li>Double click to choose a file</li>
<li>Enter key to choose a file after typing the filename</li>
<li>Enter key to change to a different directory after typing the filename</li>
<li>Automatic rescanning of directories</li>
<li>A getSelectedFiles method that returns the correct selected files</li>
<li>Escape key cancels the dialog</li>
<li>Access to common GUI components, such as the OK and Cancel buttons</li>
<li>Removal of the useless Update and Help buttons in Motif L&F</li>
</ul>
<p>There are a lot more features that could be added to make the JFileChooser more
user friendly.  For example, a drop-down combo-box as the user is typing the name of
the file, a list of currently visited directories, user specified file filtering, etc.
<p>The look and feels supported are Metal, Window and Motif.  Each look and feel
puts the OK and Cancel buttons in different locations and unfortunately the JFileChooser
doesn't provide direct access to them.  Thus, for each look-and-feel the buttons must
be found.
<p>The following are known issues:  Rescanning doesn't work when in Motif L&F.  Some
L&Fs have components that don't become available until the user clicks a button.  For
example, the Metal L&F has a JTable but only when viewing in details mode.  The double
click to choose a file does not work in details mode.  There are probably more unknown
issues, but the changes made so far should make the JFileChooser easier to use.
public class FileChooserFixer implements ActionListener, KeyListener, MouseListener, Runnable {
     Had to make new buttons because when the original buttons are clicked
     they revert back to the original label text.  I.e. some programmer decided
     it would be a good idea to set the button text during an actionPerformed
     method.
     private JFileChooser fileChooser = null;
     private JButton okButton = new JButton("OK");
     private JButton cancelButton = new JButton("Cancel");
     private JList fileList = null;
     private JTextField filenameTextField = null;
     private ActionListener actionListener = null;
     private long rescanTime = 20000;
     public FileChooserFixer(JFileChooser fc, ActionListener a) {
          fileChooser = fc;
          actionListener = a;
          fileChooser.setFileSelectionMode(JFileChooser.DIRECTORIES_ONLY);
          okButton.setMnemonic('O');
          cancelButton.setMnemonic('C');
          JButton oldOKButton = null;
          JButton oldCancelButton = null;
          JTextField[] textField = getTextFields(fc);
          JButton[] button = getButtons(fc);
          JList[] list = getLists(fc);
          String laf = javax.swing.UIManager.getLookAndFeel().getClass().getName();
          if (laf.equals("javax.swing.plaf.metal.MetalLookAndFeel")) {
               oldOKButton = button[0];
               oldCancelButton = button[1];
               filenameTextField = textField[0];
               fileList = list[0];
          else if (laf.equals("com.sun.java.swing.plaf.windows.WindowsLookAndFeel")) {
               oldOKButton = button[0];
               oldCancelButton = button[1];
               filenameTextField = textField[0];
               fileList = list[0];
          else if (laf.equals("com.sun.java.swing.plaf.motif.MotifLookAndFeel")) {
               oldOKButton = button[0];
               oldCancelButton = button[2];
               button[1].setVisible(false); // hides the do-nothing 'Update' button
               button[3].setVisible(false); // hides the disabled 'Help' button
               filenameTextField = textField[1];
               fileList = list[0];
          fix(oldOKButton, okButton);
          fix(oldCancelButton, cancelButton);
          okButton.addActionListener(this);
          cancelButton.addActionListener(this);
          fileList.addMouseListener(this);
          addKeyListeners(fileChooser);
          new Thread(this).start(); // note: rescanning in Motif feel doesn't work
     public void run() {
          try {
               while (true) {
                    Thread.sleep(rescanTime);
                    Window w = SwingUtilities.windowForComponent(fileChooser);
                    if (w != null && w.isVisible())
                         fileChooser.rescanCurrentDirectory();
          } catch (Throwable err) {}
     public long getRescanTime() {
          return rescanTime;
     public void setRescanTime(long t) {
          if (t < 200)
               throw new IllegalArgumentException("Rescan time >= 200 required.");
          rescanTime = t;
     private void addKeyListeners(Container c) {
          for (int i = 0; i < c.getComponentCount(); i++) {
               Component d = c.getComponent(i);
               if (d instanceof Container)
                    addKeyListeners((Container) d);
               d.addKeyListener(this);
     private static void fix(JButton oldButton, JButton newButton) {
          int index = getIndex(oldButton);
          Container c = oldButton.getParent();
          c.remove(index);
          c.add(newButton, index);
          newButton.setPreferredSize(oldButton.getPreferredSize());
          newButton.setMinimumSize(oldButton.getMinimumSize());
          newButton.setMaximumSize(oldButton.getMaximumSize());
     private static int getIndex(Component c) {
          Container p = c.getParent();
          for (int i = 0; i < p.getComponentCount(); i++) {
               if (p.getComponent(i) == c)
                    return i;
          return -1;
     public JButton getOKButton() {
          return okButton;
     public JButton getCancelButton() {
          return cancelButton;
     public JList getFileList() {
          return fileList;
     public JTextField getFilenameTextField() {
          return     filenameTextField;
     public JFileChooser getFileChooser() {
          return fileChooser;
     protected JButton[] getButtons(JFileChooser fc) {
          Vector v = new Vector();
          Stack s = new Stack();
          s.push(fc);
          while (!s.isEmpty()) {
               Component c = (Component) s.pop();
               if (c instanceof Container) {
                    Container d = (Container) c;
                    for (int i = 0; i < d.getComponentCount(); i++) {
                         if (d.getComponent(i) instanceof JButton)
                              v.add(d.getComponent(i));
                         else
                              s.push(d.getComponent(i));
          JButton[] arr = new JButton[v.size()];
          for (int i = 0; i < arr.length; i++)
               arr[i] = (JButton) v.get(i);
          return arr;
     protected JTextField[] getTextFields(JFileChooser fc) {
          Vector v = new Vector();
          Stack s = new Stack();
          s.push(fc);
          while (!s.isEmpty()) {
               Component c = (Component) s.pop();
               if (c instanceof Container) {
                    Container d = (Container) c;
                    for (int i = 0; i < d.getComponentCount(); i++) {
                         if (d.getComponent(i) instanceof JTextField)
                              v.add(d.getComponent(i));
                         else
                              s.push(d.getComponent(i));
          JTextField[] arr = new JTextField[v.size()];
          for (int i = 0; i < arr.length; i++)
               arr[i] = (JTextField) v.get(i);
          return arr;
     protected JList[] getLists(JFileChooser fc) {
          Vector v = new Vector();
          Stack s = new Stack();
          s.push(fc);
          while (!s.isEmpty()) {
               Component c = (Component) s.pop();
               if (c instanceof Container) {
                    Container d = (Container) c;
                    for (int i = 0; i < d.getComponentCount(); i++) {
                         if (d.getComponent(i) instanceof JList)
                              v.add(d.getComponent(i));
                         else
                              s.push(d.getComponent(i));
          JList[] arr = new JList[v.size()];
          for (int i = 0; i < arr.length; i++)
               arr[i] = (JList) v.get(i);
          return arr;
     public File[] getSelectedFiles() {
          File[] f = fileChooser.getSelectedFiles();
          if (f.length == 0) {
               File file = fileChooser.getSelectedFile();
               if (file != null)
                    f = new File[] { file };
          return f;
     public void mousePressed(MouseEvent evt) {
          Object src = evt.getSource();
          if (src == fileList) {
               if (evt.getModifiers() != InputEvent.BUTTON1_MASK) return;
               int index = fileList.locationToIndex(evt.getPoint());
               if (index < 0) return;
               fileList.setSelectedIndex(index);
               File[] arr = getSelectedFiles();
               if (evt.getClickCount() == 2 && arr.length == 1 && arr[0].isFile())
                    actionPerformed(new ActionEvent(okButton, 0, okButton.getActionCommand()));
     public void mouseReleased(MouseEvent evt) {}
     public void mouseClicked(MouseEvent evt) {}
     public void mouseEntered(MouseEvent evt) {}
     public void mouseExited(MouseEvent evt) {}
     public void keyPressed(KeyEvent evt) {
          Object src = evt.getSource();
          int code = evt.getKeyCode();
          if (code == KeyEvent.VK_ESCAPE)
               actionPerformed(new ActionEvent(cancelButton, 0, cancelButton.getActionCommand()));
          if (src == filenameTextField) {
               if (code != KeyEvent.VK_ENTER) return;
               fileList.getSelectionModel().clearSelection();
               actionPerformed(new ActionEvent(okButton, 0, "enter"));
     public void keyReleased(KeyEvent evt) {}
     public void keyTyped(KeyEvent evt) {}
     public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent evt) {
          Object src = evt.getSource();
          if (src == cancelButton) {
               if (actionListener != null)
                    actionListener.actionPerformed(evt);
          else if (src == okButton) {
               File[] selectedFiles = getSelectedFiles();
               Object obj = fileList.getSelectedValue(); // is null when no file is selected in the JList
               String text = filenameTextField.getText().trim();
               if (text.length() > 0 && (obj == null || selectedFiles.length == 0)) {
                    File d = fileChooser.getCurrentDirectory();
                    Vector vec = new Vector();
                    StringTokenizer st = new StringTokenizer(text, "\"");
                    while (st.hasMoreTokens()) {
                         String s = st.nextToken().trim();
                         if (s.length() == 0) continue;
                         File a = new File(s);
                         if (a.isAbsolute())
                              vec.add(a);
                         else
                              vec.add(new File(d, s));
                    File[] arr = new File[vec.size()];
                    for (int i = 0; i < arr.length; i++)
                         arr[i] = (File) vec.get(i);
                    selectedFiles = arr;
               if (selectedFiles.length == 0) {
                    Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().beep();
                    return;
               if (selectedFiles.length == 1) {
                    File f = selectedFiles[0];
                    if (f.exists() && f.isDirectory() && text.length() > 0 && evt.getActionCommand().equals("enter")) {
                         fileChooser.setCurrentDirectory(f);
                         filenameTextField.setText("");
                         filenameTextField.requestFocus();
                         return;
               boolean filesOnly = (fileChooser.getFileSelectionMode() == JFileChooser.FILES_ONLY);
               boolean dirsOnly = (fileChooser.getFileSelectionMode() == JFileChooser.DIRECTORIES_ONLY);
               if (filesOnly || dirsOnly) {
                    for (int i = 0; i < selectedFiles.length; i++) {
                         File f = selectedFiles;
                         if (filesOnly && f.isDirectory() || dirsOnly && f.isFile()) {
                              Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().beep();
                              return;
               fileChooser.setSelectedFiles(selectedFiles);
               if (actionListener != null)
                    actionListener.actionPerformed(evt);