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JavaFX FileChooser and DirectoryChooser Tutorial with Examples

  1. JavaFX FileChooser, DirectoryChooser
  2. FileChooser example
  3. DirectoryChooser example
  4. Configuring FileChooser, DirectoryChooser
  5. FileChooser Filters
  6. Save file example

1. JavaFX FileChooser, DirectoryChooser

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The FileChooser allows users to navigate the file system and choose a file or multiple files. A similar component is DirectoryChooser, which allows users to select a folder.
Below is the image of FileChooser/DirectoryChooser running on different OSs.
Mac OS
Windows
Linux

2. FileChooser example

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The following example, when the user clicks the button, a FileChooser will display for the user to select the file and open it.
OpenFileChooserDemo.java
package org.o7planning.javafx.filechooser;

import java.awt.Desktop;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.List;

import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.event.ActionEvent;
import javafx.event.EventHandler;
import javafx.geometry.Insets;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.control.Button;
import javafx.scene.control.TextArea;
import javafx.scene.layout.VBox;
import javafx.stage.FileChooser;
import javafx.stage.Stage;

public class OpenFileChooserDemo extends Application {

    private Desktop desktop = Desktop.getDesktop();

    @Override
    public void start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception {

        final FileChooser fileChooser = new FileChooser();

        TextArea textArea = new TextArea();
        textArea.setMinHeight(70);

        Button button1 = new Button("Select One File and Open");

        Button buttonM = new Button("Select Multi Files");

        button1.setOnAction(new EventHandler<ActionEvent>() {

            @Override
            public void handle(ActionEvent event) {
                textArea.clear();
                File file = fileChooser.showOpenDialog(primaryStage);
                if (file != null) {
                    openFile(file);
                    List<File> files = Arrays.asList(file);
                    printLog(textArea, files);
                }
            }
        });

        buttonM.setOnAction(new EventHandler<ActionEvent>() {

            @Override
            public void handle(ActionEvent event) {
                textArea.clear();
                List<File> files = fileChooser.showOpenMultipleDialog(primaryStage);

                printLog(textArea, files);
            }
        });

        VBox root = new VBox();
        root.setPadding(new Insets(10));
        root.setSpacing(5);

        root.getChildren().addAll(textArea, button1, buttonM);

        Scene scene = new Scene(root, 400, 200);

        primaryStage.setTitle("JavaFX FileChooser (o7planning.org)");
        primaryStage.setScene(scene);
        primaryStage.show();
    }

    private void printLog(TextArea textArea, List<File> files) {
        if (files == null || files.isEmpty()) {
            return;
        }
        for (File file : files) {
            textArea.appendText(file.getAbsolutePath() + "\n");
        }
    }

    private void openFile(File file) {
        try {
            this.desktop.open(file);
        } catch (IOException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Application.launch(args);
    }

}

3. DirectoryChooser example

Use DirectoryChooser to select a folder:
DirectoryChooserDemo.java
package org.o7planning.javafx.filechooser;

import java.io.File;

import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.event.ActionEvent;
import javafx.event.EventHandler;
import javafx.geometry.Insets;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.control.Button;
import javafx.scene.control.TextArea;
import javafx.scene.layout.VBox;
import javafx.stage.DirectoryChooser;
import javafx.stage.Stage;

public class DirectoryChooserDemo extends Application {

    @Override
    public void start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception {

        final DirectoryChooser directoryChooser = new DirectoryChooser();
        configuringDirectoryChooser(directoryChooser);

        TextArea textArea = new TextArea();
        textArea.setMinHeight(70);

        Button button = new Button("Open DirectoryChooser and select a directory");

        button.setOnAction(new EventHandler<ActionEvent>() {

            @Override
            public void handle(ActionEvent event) {
                File dir = directoryChooser.showDialog(primaryStage);
                if (dir != null) {
                    textArea.setText(dir.getAbsolutePath());
                } else {
                    textArea.setText(null);
                }
            }
        });

        VBox root = new VBox();
        root.setPadding(new Insets(10));
        root.setSpacing(5);

        root.getChildren().addAll(textArea, button);

        Scene scene = new Scene(root, 400, 200);

        primaryStage.setTitle("JavaFX DirectoryChooser (o7planning.org)");
        primaryStage.setScene(scene);
        primaryStage.show();
    }

    private void configuringDirectoryChooser(DirectoryChooser directoryChooser) {
        // Set title for DirectoryChooser
        directoryChooser.setTitle("Select Some Directories");

        // Set Initial Directory
        directoryChooser.setInitialDirectory(new File(System.getProperty("user.home")));
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Application.launch(args);
    }

}

4. Configuring FileChooser, DirectoryChooser

Set title & initial directory:
// Set title for FileChooser
fileChooser.setTitle("Select Some Files");

// Set Initial Directory
fileChooser.setInitialDirectory(new File(System.getProperty("user.home")));
ConfiguringFileChooserDemo.java
package org.o7planning.javafx.filechooser;

import java.io.File;

import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.event.ActionEvent;
import javafx.event.EventHandler;
import javafx.geometry.Insets;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.control.Button;
import javafx.scene.control.TextArea;
import javafx.scene.layout.VBox;
import javafx.stage.FileChooser;
import javafx.stage.Stage;

public class ConfiguringFileChooserDemo extends Application {

    @Override
    public void start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception {

        final FileChooser fileChooser = new FileChooser();
        configuringFileChooser(fileChooser);

        TextArea textArea = new TextArea();
        textArea.setMinHeight(70);

        Button button = new Button("Open File Chooser and select some files");

        button.setOnAction(new EventHandler<ActionEvent>() {

            @Override
            public void handle(ActionEvent event) {
                fileChooser.showOpenDialog(primaryStage);
            }
        });

        VBox root = new VBox();
        root.setPadding(new Insets(10));
        root.setSpacing(5);

        root.getChildren().addAll(button);

        Scene scene = new Scene(root, 400, 200);

        primaryStage.setTitle("JavaFX FileChooser (o7planning.org)");
        primaryStage.setScene(scene);
        primaryStage.show();
    }

    private void configuringFileChooser(FileChooser fileChooser) {
        // Set title for FileChooser
        fileChooser.setTitle("Select Some Files");

        // Set Initial Directory
        fileChooser.setInitialDirectory(new File(System.getProperty("user.home")));
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Application.launch(args);
    }

}

5. FileChooser Filters

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Next, you can configure FileChooser by adding filters in order to determine which types of file will be displayed on FileChooser. For example, create 3 filters, ALL filter displays all types of files, PNG filter displays png images, and JPG filter only displays jpg images.
// Add Extension Filters

fileChooser.getExtensionFilters().addAll(//
       new FileChooser.ExtensionFilter("All Files", "*.*"), 
       new FileChooser.ExtensionFilter("JPG", "*.jpg"), 
       new FileChooser.ExtensionFilter("PNG", "*.png"));
The filters:
ALL filter - Displays all types of files and folders.
PNG filter shows only the png images or folders.
View full example:
FilterFileChooserDemo.java
package org.o7planning.javafx.filechooser;

import java.io.File;

import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.event.ActionEvent;
import javafx.event.EventHandler;
import javafx.geometry.Insets;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.control.Button;
import javafx.scene.control.TextArea;
import javafx.scene.layout.VBox;
import javafx.stage.FileChooser;
import javafx.stage.Stage;

public class FilterFileChooserDemo extends Application {

  @Override
  public void start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception {

      final FileChooser fileChooser = new FileChooser();
      configuringFileChooser(fileChooser);

      TextArea textArea = new TextArea();
      textArea.setMinHeight(70);

      Button button = new Button("Select some Pictures");

      button.setOnAction(new EventHandler<ActionEvent>() {

          @Override
          public void handle(ActionEvent event) {
              fileChooser.showOpenDialog(primaryStage);
          }
      });

      VBox root = new VBox();
      root.setPadding(new Insets(10));
      root.setSpacing(5);

      root.getChildren().addAll(button);

      Scene scene = new Scene(root, 400, 200);

      primaryStage.setTitle("JavaFX FileChooser (o7planning.org)");
      primaryStage.setScene(scene);
      primaryStage.show();
  }

  private void configuringFileChooser(FileChooser fileChooser) {
      // Set title for FileChooser
      fileChooser.setTitle("Select Pictures");

      // Set Initial Directory
      fileChooser.setInitialDirectory(new File("C:/Users/tran/Pictures"));

      // Add Extension Filters
      fileChooser.getExtensionFilters().addAll(//
              new FileChooser.ExtensionFilter("All Files", "*.*"), //
              new FileChooser.ExtensionFilter("JPG", "*.jpg"), //
              new FileChooser.ExtensionFilter("PNG", "*.png"));
  }

  public static void main(String[] args) {
      Application.launch(args);
  }

}

6. Save file example

  • TODO
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