Swing Replacements for AWT Components

Use the following table as a guide for choosing a Swing replacement for each AWT component used in your program.

AWT Component Closest Swing Equivalent Notes
java.applet.Applet JApplet AWT applets and Swing applets differ in several ways. See Converting Applets.
Button JButton A Swing button can include an image and/or text.
Canvas JPanel, JLabel, or another appropriate Swing component
Your choice depends on what the program uses the canvas for. See Converting Canvases for a discussion of your conversion options.
Checkbox JCheckBox or
JRadioButton Note the 'B' is capitalized in the Swing class name but not in the AWT class name.
CheckboxMenuItem JCheckBoxMenuItem Note the 'B' is capitalized in the Swing class name but not in the AWT class name. Also, note that Swing menu components are true components.
Choice JComboBox Replace a Choice with an uneditable (the default) JComboBox. You might have to re-write code that handles item events. Refer to Converting Choices.
Dialog JDialog or
JOptionPane AWT programs add components directly to a dialog and directly set its layout manager. In contrast, Swing programs add components to and set the layout manager on a JDialog's content pane.
FileDialog JFileChooser FileDialog is a dialog, while JFileChooser is a component that you can place in any top-level container. For convenience, JFileChooser provides methods that make it easy to put a file chooser in a dialog.
Frame JFrame AWT programs add components directly to the frame and directly set its layout manager. In contrast, Swing programs add components to and set the layout manager on a JFrame's content pane.
Label JLabel A Swing label can include an image and/or text. To support accessibility, use setLabelFor to associate each label with the component it describes (if any).
List JList AWT lists and swing lists differ in many ways. See Converting Lists for information and examples.
Menu JMenu Swing menu components are true components.
MenuBar JMenuBar Swing menu components are true components.
MenuItem JMenuItem Swing menu components are true components.
Panel JPanel
PopupMenu JPopupMenu Swing menu components are true components.
Scrollbar JScrollPane or
JSlider or
JProgressBar
ScrollPane JScrollPane
TextArea JTextArea Typicaly, requires some re-coding to convert. See Converting Text Components for information and examples.
TextField JTextField For simple uses, JTextField is source-compatible with TextField. If you use TextListeners you need to modify your code to use a different type of listener. If you need a password field, use JPasswordField instead. See Converting Text Components for information about non-trivial conversions and examples.
Window JWindow or
JToolTip [PENDING: use a non-window component (e.g. JLabel) in a top layer

AWT Component	Closest Swing Equivalent	Notes
`java.applet.Applet`	`JApplet`	AWT applets and Swing applets differ in several ways. See Converting Applets.
`Button`	`JButton`	A Swing button can include an image and/or text.
`Canvas`	`JPanel`, `JLabel`, or another appropriate Swing component	Your choice depends on what the program uses the canvas for. See Converting Canvases for a discussion of your conversion options.
`Checkbox`	`JCheckBox` or `JRadioButton`	Note the 'B' is capitalized in the Swing class name but not in the AWT class name.
`CheckboxMenuItem`	`JCheckBoxMenuItem`	Note the 'B' is capitalized in the Swing class name but not in the AWT class name. Also, note that Swing menu components are true components.
`Choice`	`JComboBox`	Replace a `Choice` with an uneditable (the default) `JComboBox`. You might have to re-write code that handles item events. Refer to Converting Choices.
`Dialog`	`JDialog` or `JOptionPane`	AWT programs add components directly to a dialog and directly set its layout manager. In contrast, Swing programs add components to and set the layout manager on a `JDialog`'s content pane.
`FileDialog`	`JFileChooser`	`FileDialog` is a dialog, while `JFileChooser` is a component that you can place in any top-level container. For convenience, `JFileChooser` provides methods that make it easy to put a file chooser in a dialog.
`Frame`	`JFrame`	AWT programs add components directly to the frame and directly set its layout manager. In contrast, Swing programs add components to and set the layout manager on a `JFrame`'s content pane.
`Label`	`JLabel`	A Swing label can include an image and/or text. To support accessibility, use `setLabelFor` to associate each label with the component it describes (if any).
`List`	`JList`	AWT lists and swing lists differ in many ways. See Converting Lists for information and examples.
`Menu`	`JMenu`	Swing menu components are true components.
`MenuBar`	`JMenuBar`	Swing menu components are true components.
`MenuItem`	`JMenuItem`	Swing menu components are true components.
`Panel`	`JPanel`
`PopupMenu`	`JPopupMenu`	Swing menu components are true components.
`Scrollbar`	`JScrollPane` or `JSlider` or `JProgressBar`
`ScrollPane`	`JScrollPane`
`TextArea`	`JTextArea`	Typicaly, requires some re-coding to convert. See Converting Text Components for information and examples.
`TextField`	`JTextField`	For simple uses, `JTextField` is source-compatible with `TextField`. If you use `TextListener`s you need to modify your code to use a different type of listener. If you need a password field, use `JPasswordField` instead. See Converting Text Components for information about non-trivial conversions and examples.
`Window`	`JWindow` or `JToolTip`	[PENDING: use a non-window component (e.g. JLabel) in a top layer

Converting to Swing