Reading only Image Files from a Directory and ignoring the rest

Question

i am wanting to be able to read a directory but only obtain the Image files (ie, gif, jpeg, tiff, png etc) and ignore all other type of files.
i have made a custom ImageFIlter class which extends FileFilter which works for adding a photo singly, as only image files are shown in the JFileChooser. however i am wanting to add a folder of photos at once.
here is the code so far:
File dir;
                    JFileChooser fc = new JFileChooser();
                    fc.setFileSelectionMode(JFileChooser.DIRECTORIES_ONLY);
                    //Handle open button action.
                    int returnVal = fc.showOpenDialog(MainAppGUI.this);
                    if (returnVal == JFileChooser.APPROVE_OPTION) {
                         dir = fc.getSelectedFile();
                         if (dir.isDirectory()) {
                              File[] files = dir.listFiles(new ImageFilter());
                              for (int i = 0; i < files.length; i++) {
                                   if (files.isFile()) {
                                        try {
                                             Photo PhotoAdded = workingCollection.addManyPhotos(files[i], canvas.getChangedMaxDim());
                                             //need to also add it to the relevant vectors, ie
                                             //for mouse over operations, or photos added after
                                             //save.
                                             if(!workingCollection.isDuplicate()){
                                                  photosToCheck.add(photoAdded);
                                                  canvas.addToGrid(photoAdded);
                                                  photosAddedAfterLoad.add(photoAdded);
                                                  canvas.repaint();
                                             else{
                                                  //do nothing as it is already in the vectors.
                                        } catch (Exception er) {
                                             // Do nothing. Bad mp3, don't add.
                                   // recurse through directories
                                   else {
                         } else {
                              try {
                                   throw new IOException(
                                             "Error loading files from a directory: "
                                                       + dir.getAbsolutePath() + " is not a "
                                                       + "directory");
                              } catch (IOException e1) {
                                   // TODO Auto-generated catch block
                                   e1.printStackTrace();
any ideas?

Answer 1

I'm confused.
You already ARE using a FileFilter to only pick up image files. Whats the problem?
If you need to recurse directories you need to change your code only a little.
Write your method
JFileChooser fc = new JFileChooser();
fc.setFileSelectionMode(JFileChooser.DIRECTORIES_ONLY);
//Handle open button action.
int returnVal = fc.showOpenDialog(MainAppGUI.this);
if (returnVal == JFileChooser.APPROVE_OPTION) {
  dir = fc.getSelectedFile();
if (dir.isDirectory()) {
  scanDirectory(dir);
else{
  // not a directory
public void scanDirectoryForPhotos(File directory){
  // taking your code
if (dir.isDirectory()) {
  File[] files = dir.listFiles(new ImageFilter());
  for (int i = 0; i < files.length; i++) {
    if (files.isFile()) {
// details deleted
// recurse through directories
else {
scanDirectory(files[i]);
Your exception handling is a little strange. You throw an exception only to catch it immediately to print a stack trace? Not exactly the most common handling I've seen. You should probably just throw the exception and let the next level down handle it.
Cheers,
evnafets