How do I change JPanel inside a JFrame on the fly?

Question

To put it simple, there's a simple java swing app that consists of JFrame with some components in it. One of the components is a JPanel that is meant to be replaced by another JPanel on user action.

So, what's the correct way of doing such a thing? I've tried

panel = new CustomJPanelWithComponentsOnIt(); parentFrameJPanelBelongsTo.pack(); 

but this won't work. What would you suggest?

Answer 1

Your use case, seems perfect for CardLayout.

In card layout you can add multiple panels in the same place, but then show or hide, one panel at a time.

Answer 2

1) Setting the first Panel:

JFrame frame=new JFrame(); frame.getContentPane().add(new JPanel()); 

2)Replacing the panel:

frame.getContentPane().removeAll(); frame.getContentPane().add(new JPanel()); 

Also notice that you must do this in the Event's Thread, to ensure this use the SwingUtilities.invokeLater or the SwingWorker