KeyStrokes with the Tab Key

Question

Hi,
I am making a Desktop Application using a JDesktopPane. I want to allow my users to cycle between internal frames quickly by pressing CTRL-TAB. I created the Action object and set its accelerator value, but the action refuses to trigger when i press CTRL-TAB. I have boiled the problem down to the following sample application. This is using jdk 1.5.0, i haven't tried other versions.
I create three actions, CTRL-ENTER, CTRL-TAB, and CTRL-SPACE. All three VK_ keys are listed in the javadoc for the KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(int keyCode,int modifiers) method.
Here is the sample application
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.event.*;
public class MyTest extends JFrame
   public MyTest()
      super( "My Test" );
      Action enter_action = new MyAction( "Enter" );
      enter_action.putValue( Action.ACCELERATOR_KEY, KeyStroke.getKeyStroke( KeyEvent.VK_ENTER, InputEvent.CTRL_DOWN_MASK ) );
      Action tab_action = new MyAction( "Tab" );
      tab_action.putValue( Action.ACCELERATOR_KEY, KeyStroke.getKeyStroke( KeyEvent.VK_TAB, InputEvent.CTRL_DOWN_MASK ) );
      Action space_action = new MyAction( "Space" );
      space_action.putValue( Action.ACCELERATOR_KEY, KeyStroke.getKeyStroke( KeyEvent.VK_SPACE, InputEvent.CTRL_DOWN_MASK ) );
      JMenuBar menu_bar = new JMenuBar();
      JMenu menu = new JMenu( "My Menu" );
      menu.add( enter_action );
      menu.add( tab_action );
      menu.add( space_action );
      menu_bar.add( menu );
      this.setJMenuBar( menu_bar );
   public static void main( String[] args )
      MyTest my_desk = new MyTest();
      my_desk.setDefaultCloseOperation( JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE );
      my_desk.setSize( 600, 600 );
      my_desk.setVisible( true );
   private static class MyAction extends AbstractAction
      public MyAction( String name )
      {  super( name );  }
      public void actionPerformed( ActionEvent e )
      {  System.out.println( this.getValue( Action.NAME ) + " Performed" );  }
}Why is the CTRL-TAB accelerator not working? Both the other actions work fine. The action fires if you choose the menu item, but not if you press the accelerator. Is this a bug with 1.5?
Thanks for any help,
Reg

Answer 1

Boy this road looks familiar.
If the objects are on the same panel navigation comes free.
Alternatively you can create an input map and action map.
This is how I solved keystroke issues in my project
for a component c you can use
c.getInputMap() and
c.getActionMap()
In the following example I modified a text editing component to undo the meaning of + - * and /
and replace it with specialized actions
hope this helps
    public void mapKeyStrokes(InputMap im, ActionMap am) {
        im.remove(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke('+'));
        im.remove(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke('-'));
        im.remove(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke('*'));
        im.remove(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke('/'));
        im.remove(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke('%'));
        im.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke('+'),"add");
        im.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke('-'),"sub");
        im.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke('*'),"mpy");
        im.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke('/'),"div");
        im.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke('%'),"percent");
        im.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_ENTER,0),"enter");
        im.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_ADD,0),"add");
        im.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_SUBTRACT,0),"sub");
        im.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_MULTIPLY,0),"mpy");
        im.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_DIVIDE,0),"div");
        am.put("enter",fixedActions[13]);
        am.put("add",fixedActions[8]);
        am.put("sub",fixedActions[3]);
        am.put("mpy",fixedActions[2]);
        am.put("div",fixedActions[1]);
        am.put("percent",tabbedActions[0][1]);
    }