JOptionPane: odd key behaviour

Question

I use the JOptionPane like
int answer = JOptionPane.showConfirmDialog(parentComponent, question, title, JOptionPane.YES_NO_OPTION);This works well when using the mouse. But when the dialog is open, i can't move with the keyboard cursor keys - only with the tab key. In additon, i just can select the option with the SPACE key - if i press ENTER (which most users do when using the keyboard), the selected option is NOT selected, but the default one. (Which can be fatal for a request "Do you want to delete this record": user moves to "no" and presses the enter key => the "yes" option is selected!)

Answer 1

I had the same problem ... looking some info and ideas on forums I developed a solution for that ... it's a class extendes from JOptionPane ... and you could use it instead of the formal JOptionPane.
I customized the ENTER key to have a behavior of the SPACEBAR key in a JOptionPane.
==================================================================================
Archive Name: optionPane.java
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
public class optionPane extends JOptionPane
private JButton boton;
private int valor;
private Object[] opciones;
/* Parameters:
message : message to display
messageType : the same for an JOptionPane
icon : icon to be displayed
nomOpciones : array of names for the buttons.
public optionPane(Object message, int messageType, Icon icon, Object[] nomOpciones)
super(message,messageType);
opciones = customBoton(nomOpciones);
setIcon(icon);
setOptions(opciones);
setInitialValue(opciones[0]);
valor = -1;
// Method that customized the behavior of the button, add the ENTER key behavior
public static void enterPressesWhenFocused(JButton button)
button.registerKeyboardAction(
button.getActionForKeyStroke(
KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_SPACE, 0, false)),
KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_ENTER, 0, false),
JComponent.WHEN_FOCUSED);
button.registerKeyboardAction(
button.getActionForKeyStroke(
KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_SPACE, 0, true)),
KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_ENTER, 0, true),
JComponent.WHEN_FOCUSED);
//Method that add the customized button into an array of objects.
public Object[] customBoton(Object[] lista)
Object[] listaCustom = new Object[lista.length];
for (int i=0; i<lista.length; i++)
String nombre = (String) lista;
boton = new JButton(nombre);
enterPressesWhenFocused(boton);
boton.addActionListener(new java.awt.event.ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(java.awt.event.ActionEvent evt) {
actEnterActionPerformed(evt);
listaCustom[i] = boton;
return listaCustom;
private void actEnterActionPerformed(ActionEvent evt) {
// When the button is pressed , the value of its position in the array of buttons is recovered.
for(int i=0; i<opciones.length; i++)
String nomBoton = ((JButton) opciones[i]).getText().trim();
if (((JButton) opciones[i]).getText().equals(((JButton)evt.getSource()).getText()))
valor = i;
break;
// Dispose the JDialog where the optionPane is contained.
((JDialog)getRootPane().getParent()).dispose();
public int getOpcion()
//Method that return the postion of the option in the array of buttons
return valor;
Now ... there's an example how I called that customized JOptionPane
// message to be displayed
String message = "Se eliminar� el Conteo Nro. "+tblConsulta.getValueAt(tblConsulta.getSelectedRow(),0);
// array with the names to be displayed in the optionPane buttons and the index that have each name //detemines , the numer that the optionPane recovers.
Object[] nomOpciones = new Object[]{"Si","No"};
//Instance of optionPane
optionPane opcion = new optionPane(message,JOptionPane.QUESTION_MESSAGE,null,nomOpciones);
//Inserting in a JDialog
opcion.createDialog(frame, "Mensaje").setVisible(true);
//Recovering the index of the option selected
int respuesta = opcion.getOpcion();
if I pressed the button labeled with "Si", the optionPane give me a number 0
if I pressed the button labeled with "No", the optionPane give me a number 1
If you'd noticed ... those number are the position of those labels in the array of names
Well I guess these code coul help you ...
Cyap ... and good luck
mkrick_java
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