JavaFX Select and Multi Select Example

In this JavaFX tutorial, we will see how to create a select and multi-select functionality using ListView in JavaFX.

The JavaFX ListView control enables users to choose one or more options from a predefined list of choices. The JavaFX ListView control is represented by the class javafx.scene.control.ListView.

JavaFX ListView Select Example

Here is a full JavaFX example with a button added which reads the selected items of the ListView when clicked:

package sample;

import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.collections.ObservableList;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.control.Button;
import javafx.scene.control.ListView;
import javafx.scene.control.SelectionMode;
import javafx.scene.layout.VBox;
import javafx.stage.Stage;

public class Main extends Application  {

    @Override
    public void start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception {
        primaryStage.setTitle("ListView Select Example");

        ListView listView = new ListView();

        listView.getItems().add("Item 1");
        listView.getItems().add("Item 2");
        listView.getItems().add("Item 3");

        Button button = new Button("Read Selected Value");

        button.setOnAction(event -> {

            ObservableList selectedItems = listView.getSelectionModel().getSelectedItems();

            for(Object o : selectedItems){
                System.out.println("o = " + o + " (" + o.getClass() + ")");
            }
        });

        VBox vBox = new VBox(listView, button);

        Scene scene = new Scene(vBox, 300, 120);
        primaryStage.setScene(scene);
        primaryStage.show();
    }

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

Output:

JavaFX ListView Multi-Select Example

To allow multiple items in the ListView to be selected you need to set the corresponding selection mode on the ListView selection model. 

Here is an example of setting the selection mode on the JavaFX ListView:

listView.getSelectionModel().setSelectionMode(SelectionMode.MULTIPLE);

Here is a full JavaFX example that shows how to set a ListView into multiple selection modes, including a button that when clicked will write out the indices of the selected items in the ListView :

package sample;

import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.collections.ObservableList;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.control.Button;
import javafx.scene.control.ListView;
import javafx.scene.control.SelectionMode;
import javafx.scene.layout.VBox;
import javafx.stage.Stage;

public class Main extends Application  {

    @Override
    public void start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception {
        primaryStage.setTitle("ListView Select Example");

        ListView listView = new ListView();
        listView.getSelectionModel().setSelectionMode(SelectionMode.MULTIPLE);
        listView.getItems().add("Item 1");
        listView.getItems().add("Item 2");
        listView.getItems().add("Item 3");

        Button button = new Button("Read Selected Value");

        button.setOnAction(event -> {

            ObservableList selectedItems = listView.getSelectionModel().getSelectedItems();

            for(Object o : selectedItems){
                System.out.println("o = " + o + " (" + o.getClass() + ")");
            }
        });

        VBox vBox = new VBox(listView, button);

        Scene scene = new Scene(vBox, 300, 120);
        primaryStage.setScene(scene);
        primaryStage.show();
    }

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

Output:

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