Java AttributedString, both bold and superscript

Question

I am trying to render a java.text.AttributedString which is both bold and superscript. While it works to make some range either bold or superscripted, the rendering can't seem to handle a range that is both bold and superscript.

The following SSCCE shows that rendering this using a JLabel with HTML text works fine. Is there a way to get this behaviour without a JLabel?

Btw, I had a look into the created AttributedString properties and they look okay by me, so it is definitively a rendering problem.

package funky.chart;

import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Font;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.font.TextAttribute;
import java.text.AttributedString;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.UIManager;

public class AttributedStringTest
{
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // prevent using the default UI manager who renders in bold by default for the HTML label
        try {
            UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
        } catch (Exception ex) {
            System.err.println("Could not set look and feel: " + ex);
        }

        JFrame frame = new JFrame("AttributedString superscript with font");

        frame.getContentPane().add(new JPanel() {
            @Override
            public void paint(Graphics gfx) {
                super.paint(gfx);

                Font bold = gfx.getFont().deriveFont(Font.BOLD);

                // superscript and bold only works fine
                AttributedString test1 = new AttributedString("test superscript and bold");
                test1.addAttribute(TextAttribute.SUPERSCRIPT, TextAttribute.SUPERSCRIPT_SUPER, 5, 16);
                test1.addAttribute(TextAttribute.FONT, bold, 21, 25);

                // both superscript and bold is only rendered as bold
                AttributedString test2 = new AttributedString("test superscript and bold");
                test2.addAttribute(TextAttribute.SUPERSCRIPT, TextAttribute.SUPERSCRIPT_SUPER, 5, 25);
                test2.addAttribute(TextAttribute.FONT, bold, 5, 25);

                gfx.drawString(test1.getIterator(), 5, 20);
                gfx.drawString(test2.getIterator(), 5, 40);
            }

            @Override
            public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
                return new Dimension(200, 70);
            }
        });

        // HTML label works fine
        frame.getContentPane().add(
                new JLabel("<html>test <b>bold</b>, <sup>super</sup> and <b><sup>both</sup></b>"),
                BorderLayout.SOUTH);

        frame.pack();
        frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
        frame.setVisible(true);
    }
}

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:29

Some notes on your complete example:

Use TextAttribute.WEIGHT to specify bold.
Use TextAttribute.SIZE to specify font size.
Use TextLayout to calculate the preferred size, as shown here.
Swing GUI objects should be constructed and manipulated only on the event dispatch thread.
"Swing programs should override paintComponent() instead of overriding paint()."—Painting in AWT and Swing: The Paint Methods.

import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.font.TextAttribute;
import java.text.AttributedString;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;

/** @see https://stackoverflow.com/a/31360762/230513 */
public class AttributedStringTest {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        EventQueue.invokeLater(new AttributedStringTest()::display);
    }

    private void display() {
        JFrame frame = new JFrame("AttributedString superscript with font");
        frame.getContentPane().add(new JPanel() {
            @Override
            public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
                super.paintComponent(g);

                // superscript and bold only works fine
                AttributedString test1 = new AttributedString("test superscript and bold");
                test1.addAttribute(TextAttribute.SIZE, 28, 0, 25);
                test1.addAttribute(TextAttribute.SUPERSCRIPT, TextAttribute.SUPERSCRIPT_SUPER, 5, 16);
                test1.addAttribute(TextAttribute.WEIGHT, TextAttribute.WEIGHT_BOLD, 21, 25);

                // both superscript and bold is only rendered as bold
                AttributedString test2 = new AttributedString("test superscript and bold");
                test2.addAttribute(TextAttribute.SIZE, 28, 0, 25);
                test2.addAttribute(TextAttribute.SUPERSCRIPT, TextAttribute.SUPERSCRIPT_SUPER, 5, 25);
                test2.addAttribute(TextAttribute.WEIGHT, TextAttribute.WEIGHT_BOLD, 5, 25);

                g.drawString(test1.getIterator(), 5, 35);
                g.drawString(test2.getIterator(), 5, 70);
            }

            @Override
            public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
                return new Dimension(300, 80);
            }
        });

        // HTML label works fine
        frame.getContentPane().add(new JLabel(
            "<html>test <b>bold</b>, <sup>super</sup> and <b><sup>both</sup></b>", JLabel .CENTER),
            BorderLayout.SOUTH);

        frame.pack();
        frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
        frame.setVisible(true);
    }
}

Thanks, trashgod... I overlooked the `WEIGHT` attribute. You're also right about the general Swing guidelines you mentioned, of course. But what's that `new AttributedStringTest()::display` syntax -- looks like C++ to me, or is it some functional Java 8 stuff? — Franz D., Jul 12 '15 at 05:09
@FranzD.: Exactly; see [*Method References*](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/javaOO/methodreferences.html). — trashgod, Jul 12 '15 at 05:20
I like that... Thanks for enlightening me in more than one ways :) — Franz D., Jul 12 '15 at 07:24

Java AttributedString, both bold and superscript

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