Text Editor (JavaFX)

A lightweight text editor built with JavaFX featuring a custom document model (Document → Paragraph → Word → Character), a render pipeline, and a keyboard/mouse-driven cursor. This project is intended as a learning-focused editor with a clear separation between model, rendering, and UI.

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Features

• Custom document model:
  • Document contains Paragraphs; Paragraphs contain Words; Words contain DocumentCharacters.
  • Whitespace is represented explicitly (spaces are Words with a single space character; newlines create Paragraphs).
• Rendering pipeline:
  • Converts the document model into positioned JavaFX Text nodes with word-wrapping based on window width.
  • Maintains a 2D array of DocumentText to map on-screen positions back to model indices.
• Cursor/navigation:
  • Arrow keys (up/down/left/right), mouse click positioning, and enter/new paragraph.
  • Backspace and delete behavior for characters and word/paragraph merges.
• Basic formatting state:
  • Font family selection, font size increment/decrement, bold/italic toggles.

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Project Structure

• src/main/java/Classes
  • CharConfig: Tracks current font settings (family/size/bold/italic) and produces Font via buildFont().
  • Cursor: Logical cursor (paragraph/word/char indices) plus on-screen position/height. Handles movement (via display-format mapping).
  • Display: JavaFX Application. Builds the toolbar, scene, handles key/mouse events, and draws text/caret.
  • Document: Core text model with paragraphs/words/chars. Insertion (characters, spaces, paragraphs) and deletion/merging logic.
  • DocumentCharacter: A character with a Font; width/height measured using a JavaFX Text node.
  • DocumentText: Wrapper for a Text node along with its model indices (paragraph, word, char).
  • EventHandler: Dispatches KeyEvent/MouseEvent to Document/Display/Cursor.
  • Paragraph: Holds a list of Word objects and a default Font.
  • Renderer: Lays out the document into lines within the window width; returns DocumentText[][] for Display/Cursor.
  • Word: Holds a linked list of DocumentCharacter with helpers for width/height and sub-word operations.
• module-info.java
  • Module name: Classes; requires javafx.controls, javafx.fxml, java.desktop; exports Classes.

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How It Works (High-level)

• Input flow:
  • Keyboard input -> EventHandler -> Document mutation (addCharacter, addSpace, addParagraph, deleteLeft) -> Display.displayFlow()/Cursor.update() -> caret reposition.
  • Mouse clicks -> Cursor.cursorClick() to find the nearest DocumentText in the rendered grid and set logical indices accordingly.
• Rendering:
  • Renderer.renderDocument(Document) walks the model, wraps lines based on Display.getWindowLength(), and computes x/y for each character, returning DocumentText[][] which Display paints.
• Cursor mapping:
  • Cursor maintains both logical indices and on-screen coordinates. It updates via the current DocumentText[][] to stay in sync with layout.

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Running the App

This project uses JavaFX without a build tool file in the repo. Recommended setup is via an IDE (e.g., IntelliJ IDEA) with a JavaFX SDK installed, or via plain javac/java.

Prerequisites

• Java 17 or later (project uses module-info.java).
• JavaFX SDK 17+ (download from https://openjfx.io/).

Run in IntelliJ IDEA (recommended)

1. Open the project in IntelliJ.
2. Configure the JavaFX SDK in Project Structure (or use IntelliJ’s JavaFX plugin).
3. Create a Run Configuration for the main class:
   • Main class: Classes.Display
   • VM options (adjust path to your JavaFX SDK): --module-path /path/to/javafx-sdk/lib --add-modules javafx.controls,javafx.fxml
4. Run the configuration.

Run from the command line

Set PATH_TO_FX to your JavaFX SDK lib directory:

• macOS/Linux: export PATH_TO_FX=/path/to/javafx-sdk/lib

• Windows (PowerShell): $env:PATH_TO_FX="C:\path\to\javafx-sdk\lib"

Compile to out/ using the classpath (put JavaFX jars on the classpath):

• macOS/Linux: find src/main/java -name ".java" > sources.txt javac -cp "$PATH_TO_FX/" -d out @sources.txt

• Windows (PowerShell): Get-ChildItem -Recurse src/main/java -Filter .java | ForEach-Object { $_.FullName } | Set-Content sources.txt javac -cp "$env:PATH_TO_FX/" -d out @sources.txt

Run the app (classpath; JavaFX on classpath):

• macOS/Linux: java -cp "out:$PATH_TO_FX/*" Classes.Display

• Windows (PowerShell): java -cp "out;$env:PATH_TO_FX/*" Classes.Display

Note: You can alternatively use the module path for JavaFX and keep your classes on the classpath. The provided commands follow that pattern for simplicity.

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Controls

• Typing: Inserts characters at the cursor.
• Space: Insert space (special handling ensures correct word boundaries).
• Enter: New paragraph (splits content at cursor into a new paragraph as appropriate).
• Backspace: Deletes left, merging words/paragraphs when needed.
• Arrow keys: Move caret (left/right/up/down).
• Mouse click: Repositions caret to the nearest character in the clicked line/column.
• Toolbar:
  • Bold/Italic toggles.
  • Font size +/−.
  • Font family dropdown.
  • Underline/Color buttons are placeholders in this version.

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Screenshots / Images

• Editor UI overview:

• Document model (Document → Paragraph → Word → Character) diagram:

• Caret movement and selection demo:

• Toolbar and formatting controls:

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Developers

Developed by Joe Huber & Connor Jordan.