Keeping text intact in disabled checkbox

Question

hi all,
If I disable a checkbox, I want to keep it's name/text not disabled
(normal) would it be possible?
Thanks

Answer 1

You could probably get into overriding paint methods or creating a new UI delegate for the checkbox, but both of those are going to be fairly daunting. One solution would be to just create a label and place it next to a 'blank' checkbox. Change the foreground color to the same color you would expect the checkbox to use (I did it the sloppy way, I hardcoded it) and your set. If you run this little app you'll notice that the label doesn't quite line up like it would with a real checkbox, but it won't be noticeable as long as you don't have any other checkboxes nearby.
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class CheckBoxTestFrame extends JFrame
   private JCheckBox _chkDummy;
   private JCheckBox _chkDisablingCheckbox;
   public CheckBoxTestFrame()
      super("Checkbox test frame");
      Container content = getContentPane();
      content.add(getCheckboxComponent(), BorderLayout.NORTH);
      content.add(getButtonPanel(), BorderLayout.SOUTH);
      setDefaultCloseOperation(EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
      pack();     
      setVisible(true);
   private Component getCheckboxComponent()
      JPanel panel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
      GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
      _chkDisablingCheckbox = new JCheckBox();
      _chkDisablingCheckbox.setMnemonic('n');
      gbc.anchor = gbc.WEST;
      panel.add(_chkDisablingCheckbox, gbc);
      JLabel lblNonDisablingLabel = new JLabel("Non disabling label");
      lblNonDisablingLabel.setForeground(Color.black);
      lblNonDisablingLabel.setLabelFor(_chkDisablingCheckbox);
      lblNonDisablingLabel.setDisplayedMnemonic(_chkDisablingCheckbox.getMnemonic());
      gbc.gridx = 1;
      gbc.weightx = 1.0;
      gbc.weighty = 1.0;
      panel.add(lblNonDisablingLabel, gbc);
      _chkDummy = new JCheckBox("Dummy checkbox for comparison");
      gbc.gridy = 1;
      gbc.gridx = 0;
      gbc.gridwidth = 2;
      gbc.weightx = 0.0;
      gbc.weighty = 0.0;
      panel.add(_chkDummy, gbc);
      return panel;     
   private Component getButtonPanel()
      JPanel panel = new JPanel();
      final JButton btnDisableEnable = new JButton("Disable");
      btnDisableEnable.setMnemonic('a');
      btnDisableEnable.addActionListener(new ActionListener()
         public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
            boolean isDisable = btnDisableEnable.getText().startsWith("Dis");
            _chkDisablingCheckbox.setEnabled(!isDisable);
            _chkDummy.setEnabled(!isDisable);
            btnDisableEnable.setText(isDisable ? "Enable" : "Disable");
      panel.add(btnDisableEnable);
      return panel;
   public static void main(String[] args)
      new CheckBoxTestFrame();
}