Once you have created a GUI component such as GTextfieldit it will always exist as long as the programs run (as you have discovered). When I created the library I never expected people would want to dump the component.

Using your code

1. textfield = new GTextField(this, "example", 230, 260, 90, 10);

Then you can disable event handling with

1. textfield.setEnable(false);  // you can re-eanble later by passing the value true

The textfield component will no longer respond to mouse or keyboard events until you re-anable it., but it will still be visible.

Alternatively you can use

1. textfield.setVisible(false);

Not only is the component invisible but it will not respond to mouse or keyboard until made visible again.


The component still exists waiting to be reactivated but it uses minimal CPU time in this state.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For your information when you create a GUI component it will automatically be drawn each iteration of the draw() method. This can cause problems if you are using one of the 3D renderers OpenGL or P3D so a call to

1. G4P.disableAutoDraw();

will disable auto drawing and components should be drawn by calling the method

1. G4P.draw();

from inside the main draw() method. It is not recommended to call the draw() method on a component directly e.g.

1. textfield.draw(); // Not recommended
   

The remove method is rather special. There is a component called GPanel which can be dragged expanded/collapsed which can hold other GUI components (see showcase - the green box is the GPanel). Other GUI components once created can be 'added' to the panel wit the add() method, the remove() method can be used to remove it from the panel.

thank you!

Provided the GOption button has been added to a GOptionGroup then you can use option.setSelected(true);

Glad you like the library keep an eye open for the next version of G4P as it has a new component the 'knob'  should be out in a few weeks.

perfect thanks a lot!

The new G4P library(1.7.0) now has an option to dispoae of unwanted components.

How does that option in G4P 1.7.0 to dispose of unwanted components work? Can you post a quick example?

Actually, to answer my own question (sort of), the following code works for me for a 6-element array of buttons I have in the panel:

How does that option in G4P 1.7.0 to dispose of unwanted components work?

When a G4P component is created using the new comand e.g.

1. textfield = new GTextField(this, "example", 230, 260, 90, 10);

it does several things.

1. it registers itself into Processing's draw cycle so that it will be displayed.
2. it registers itself into Processimg's mouse-event cycle so it will respond to mouse events
3. and some components register themselves into Processimg's key-event cycle so it will respond to key events

It also means that the component exists as long as the sketch runs, even if it is made invisible and disabled.

So what to do if you are really finished with a G4P control and you want to free up the resources? The solution is to first use the dispose() method (which will unregister the component from Processing), then set the reference to null,the garbage collector will do the rest i.e.

1. textfield.dispose();
2. textfield = null;

Thank you Quarks - and special thanks for your library and tools. I think they're terrific.

I have my program setup to restart on pressing a function key. Since there is no "restart" function in Processing (that can provide the equivalent function as clicking the IDE run button while a sketch is running) I am manually resetting all of my global variables and running setup() again.

Personally I would not recommend calling setup directly because it would mean that the size() method is called again and I am sure that I have read somewhere in the documentation that this is not a good idea. I would recommend that you create another function called reset() that resets all the global variables. If you do this and are using the GUI builder tool then your program will look something like this.

Main Tab

1. // Need G4P library
2. import guicomponents.*;
3. void setup(){
4.   size(480, 320);
5.   createGUI();
6.   customGUI();
7.   reset();
8. }
9. 
   
10. void reset(){
11.   // reset global variables
12. }
13. 
    
14. void draw(){
15.   background(200,220,200); 
16. }
17. 
    
18. // Use this method to add additional statements
19. // to customise the GUI controls
20. void customGUI(){
21. }

Now when you press the function key call reset() intead of setup(). It is more efficient because you are not recreating everytime from scratch.

Is there a way to have the tool edit the current G4P design/configuration in the sketch without reverting to the last time the GUI Tool was used?

Everything in the gui tab is recreated  when you move from the design window to the code window (although it does remember any code entered into the event handler methods). Since the tool does not expose all the GUI component functionality you may want to add some additional code to tweak settings not available in the tool. This code should NOT be added to the gui tab it should be placed inside the customGUI() method on the main tab.

This code is unaffected by the tool provided you do not rename the GUI components in the tool.

Glad you like the library and tool.

HTH

Problem with G4P Version 3.0 and Processing 2.0 b7 scroll up a little please

G4P V3.0.0  was a complete rewrite of the library and the dispose method sort of dissappeared ooops!

The next version of G4P will have the dispose() method reinstated.

So to remove a control called myButton it will be

1. myButton.dispose();
2. myButton = null;

Please note that G4P is compatible with Processing 2.0b6 but not with 2.0b7 - the problem area is with multiple windows but this will be fixed in the next version.

I expect the next version of G4P and the updated GUI builder tool will be released before Christmas.

Thank you for the fast answer.
Struggled half the day with it. But I really like your library and didn't want to switch to another.

Thanks for building and uploading the new Version.

When I reintroduced the dispose method I also introduced a couple of bugs.

I have removed the bugs and tested it with your example above so now it works as expected.

The next version will have a dispose method that works. In the meantime if you replace

1. b.dispose();
2. b = null;

with

1. b.setVisible(false);

then change it back when the new version is released.