What are the differences between a JTextPane and a JEditorPane in Java?

JTextPane

A JTextPane is a subclass of JEditorPane. A JTextPane is used for a styled document with embedded images and components. A JTextPane is a text component that can be marked up with the attributes that are represented graphically and it can use a DefaultStyledDocument as the default model.

Methods

The important methods of JTextPane are:

addStyle()

Adds a new style to the logical style hierarchy. Styles can be used to define formatting attributes (e.g., font, color) for text in a JTextPane.

Method Initialization:

JTextPane textPane = new JTextPane();
Style style = textPane.addStyle("BoldRed", null);

getCharacterAttributes()

Fetches the character-level attributes (e.g., font, color) at the current caret position or selection in a JTextPane.

Method Initialization:

JTextPane textPane = new JTextPane();
AttributeSet attrs = textPane.getCharacterAttributes();

getStyledDocument()

Returns the StyledDocument associated with the JTextPane or JEditorPane, which allows manipulation of styled text (e.g., applying fonts, colors).

Method Initialization:

JTextPane textPane = new JTextPane();
StyledDocument doc = textPane.getStyledDocument();

setDocument()

Associates a Document model (e.g., PlainDocument, StyledDocument) with the JTextPane or JEditorPane. This controls the content and structure of the text.

Method Initialization:

JTextPane textPane = new JTextPane();
textPane.setDocument(new DefaultStyledDocument());

setEditorKit()

Sets the EditorKit (e.g., for HTML, RTF, or plain text) that determines how content is handled in JEditorPane or JTextPane.

Method Initialization:

JEditorPane editorPane = new JEditorPane();
editorPane.setEditorKit(new HTMLEditorKit());

setStyledDocument()

Sets a StyledDocument (e.g., DefaultStyledDocument) for JTextPane, enabling styled text (fonts, colors, paragraphs).

Method Initialization:

JTextPane textPane = new JTextPane();
textPane.setStyledDocument(new DefaultStyledDocument());

Use Cases for JTextPane

The following are some of the use cases for JTextPane in Java:

• Advanced text editing applications are similar to word processors.
• Applications requiring detailed text styling, like desktop publishing tools.
• When you need to embed other components within text, such as images or buttons.

Example of JTextPane

Below is an example of JTextPane on Swing GUI in Java:

import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.text.*;
public class JTextPaneTest {
   public static void main(String args[]) throws BadLocationException {
      JFrame frame = new JFrame("JTextPane Test");
      Container cp = frame.getContentPane();
      JTextPane pane = new JTextPane();
      SimpleAttributeSet set = new SimpleAttributeSet();
      StyleConstants.setBold(set, true);
      pane.setCharacterAttributes(set, true);
      pane.setText("Welcome to");
      set = new SimpleAttributeSet();
      StyleConstants.setItalic(set, true);
      StyleConstants.setForeground(set, Color.blue);
      Document doc = pane.getStyledDocument();
      doc.insertString(doc.getLength(), " Tutorials ", set);
      set = new SimpleAttributeSet();
      StyleConstants.setFontSize(set, 20);
      doc.insertString(doc.getLength(), " Point", set);
      JScrollPane scrollPane = new JScrollPane(pane);
      cp.add(scrollPane, BorderLayout.CENTER);
      frame.setSize(375, 250);
      frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
      frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
      frame.setVisible(true);
   }
}

Output

JEditorPane

A JEditorPane is a kind of text area that can display various text formats. By default, JEditorPane supports HTML and RTF (Rich Text Format). We can build our own editor kits to handle a specific content type.

Methods

The important methods of JEditorPane are:

setContentType()

The setContentType() method is used to choose the document we want to display.

Method Initialization:

JEditorPane editorPane = new JEditorPane();
editorPane.setContentType("text/html");

setEditorKit()

The setEditorKit() method is used to set a custom editor for JEditorPane explicitly.

Method Initialization:

JEditorPane editorPane = new JEditorPane();
editorPane.setEditorKit(new HTMLEditorKit());

Use Cases for JEditorPane

The following are some of the use cases for JEditorPane in Java:

• Displaying HTML content or help files within an application.
• Basic text editing with HTML support, like simple web page editors or viewers.
• Situations where you need to show formatted text but don't require complex editing features.

Example of JEditorPane

Below is an example of JEditorPane on a Swing GUI in Java:

import javax.swing.*;
public class JEditorPaneTest extends JFrame {
   public JEditorPaneTest() {
      setTitle("JEditorPane Test");
      JEditorPane editorPane = new JEditorPane();
      editorPane.setContentType("text/html");
      editorPane.setText("<h1>Java</h1><p>is a general-purpose computer programming language that is
      concurrent, class-based, object-oriented, and specifically designed to have as few          
      implementation dependencies as possible.</p>");
      setSize(350, 275);
      setContentPane(editorPane);
      setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
      setLocationRelativeTo(null);
      setVisible(true);
   }
   public static void main(String[] a) {
      new JEditorPaneTest();
   }
}

Output

Difference Table

Below is the difference table to show the difference between a JTextPane and a JEditorPane in Java: