Handling User Input in Full Screen Exclusive Mode in Java

Introduction

When running a Java application in full screen exclusive mode, the usual event handling mechanisms may not work as expected. This article explores the correct approach to handle user input from keyboard and mouse in this mode.

Problem

Passive rendering mode allows the use of KeyListener and ActionListener interfaces to handle user input. However, in full screen exclusive mode, these methods may not function as intended.

Solution

The following skeleton provides a revised example that implements event handling for mouse clicks and key presses in full screen mode:

import java.applet.Applet;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.DisplayMode;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.GraphicsConfiguration;
import java.awt.GraphicsDevice;
import java.awt.GraphicsEnvironment;
import java.awt.Rectangle;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.awt.event.KeyEvent;
import java.awt.event.MouseAdapter;
import java.awt.event.MouseEvent;
import java.awt.image.BufferStrategy;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.Timer;

public class applet extends Applet {

    Timer timer;
    JFrame frame;
    DisplayMode[] displayModes = new DisplayMode[] {
            new DisplayMode(1280, 800, 32, 60)
    };

    BufferStrategy bufferStrategy;
    Rectangle bounds;

    /**
     * 
     */
    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;

    /**
     * @param args
     */

    public void init() {
        // ... Same as before
        // ...

        // Register key event listeners
        this.getInputMap().put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_Q, 0), "EXIT");
        this.getActionMap().put("EXIT", new AbstractAction() {
            @Override
            public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
                // Exit key handling
            }
        });

        // Register mouse event listeners
        this.addMouseMotionListener(new MouseAdapter() {
            @Override
            public void mouseMoved(MouseEvent e) {
                // Mouse movement handling
            }
        });
    }

    // ... Same as before
    // ...
}