How to fix Java FXML Loader crashing even though a location is set?

Question

I am trying to use FXML loader to load an fxml file that is in another package.

I have debugged for over a week now. I have asked around and looked everywhere but what seems to be working for everyone else isn't working for me. I have tried using an absolute path, a relative path, the getResource() method. Anything you've seen posted, I've probably tried it. The location gets set no problem. The problem comes when I actaully call the load method from FXML Loader.

Here is my directory layout here

Here is where the loader is called (this is FXMLUtil):

    FXMLLoader loader = new FXMLLoader(); 
    //  Two separate Try/Catch as to narrow down the the loading issue
    try {
        loader.setLocation(fxmlPath.toUri().toURL());
    } catch (MalformedURLException e) {
        e.printStackTrace();
    }
    try {
        //  Error occurs when trying to load loader
        parent = loader.load();
    } catch (IOException e) {
        e.printStackTrace();
    }

I have checked the path. The absolute path points to where it needs to be pointing to, there is indeed a file there it passes inspection here (still in FXMLUtil):

    Path currentPath = Paths.get(System.getProperty("user.dir"));
    file += ".fxml";

    //  Paths are located and joined together as so to try and avoid OS incompatibility
    Path filePath = Paths.get(currentPath.toString(),"src", "main", "java", "Views", file);

    File check = new File(filePath.toString());

    //  Need to determine if file is there or not
    if(check.exists()) {
        return filePath;
    }

Since FXMLUtil and the fxml file are in different packages, as described earlier, I try to do relative paths as well. For example:

loader.setLocation("../Views/WelcomeView.fxml");
loader.setLocation("/Views/WelcomeView.fxml");
loader.setLocation("WelcomeView.fxml");

The console spits out a forever repeating error (it's this but repeated until it crashes):

    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader$ValueElement.processStartElement(FXMLLoader.java:752)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader.processStartElement(FXMLLoader.java:2722)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader.loadImpl(FXMLLoader.java:2552)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader.loadImpl(FXMLLoader.java:2466)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader.loadImpl(FXMLLoader.java:3237)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader.loadImpl(FXMLLoader.java:3194)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader.loadImpl(FXMLLoader.java:3163)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader.loadImpl(FXMLLoader.java:3136)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader.loadImpl(FXMLLoader.java:3113)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader.load(FXMLLoader.java:3106)
    at Utilities.FXMLUtil.loadParent(FXMLUtil.java:48)
    at Controllers.WelcomeController.<init>(WelcomeController.java:28)
    at jdk.internal.reflect.GeneratedConstructorAccessor2.newInstance(Unknown Source)
    at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance(DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.java:45)
    at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Constructor.newInstance(Constructor.java:490)
    at java.base/java.lang.Class.newInstance(Class.java:584)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader$ValueElement.processAttribute(FXMLLoader.java:936)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader$InstanceDeclarationElement.processAttribute(FXMLLoader.java:980)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader$Element.processStartElement(FXMLLoader.java:227)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader$ValueElement.processStartElement(FXMLLoader.java:752)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader.processStartElement(FXMLLoader.java:2722)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader.loadImpl(FXMLLoader.java:2552)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader.loadImpl(FXMLLoader.java:2466)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader.loadImpl(FXMLLoader.java:3237)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader.loadImpl(FXMLLoader.java:3194)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader.loadImpl(FXMLLoader.java:3163)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader.loadImpl(FXMLLoader.java:3136)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader.loadImpl(FXMLLoader.java:3113)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader.load(FXMLLoader.java:3106)
    at Utilities.FXMLUtil.loadParent(FXMLUtil.java:48)
    at Controllers.WelcomeController.<init>(WelcomeController.java:28)
    at jdk.internal.reflect.GeneratedConstructorAccessor2.newInstance(Unknown Source)
    at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance(DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.java:45)
    at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Constructor.newInstance(Constructor.java:490)
    at java.base/java.lang.Class.newInstance(Class.java:584)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader$ValueElement.processAttribute(FXMLLoader.java:936)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader$InstanceDeclarationElement.processAttribute(FXMLLoader.java:980)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader$Element.processStartElement(FXMLLoader.java:227)
    at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader$ValueElement.processStartElement(FXMLLoader.java:752)
Exception running application InitScreen

This is the output when I run it with --stacktrace (sorry for all the lines but I feel it is necessary to get a full grasp of the problem):

* Exception is:

org.gradle.api.tasks.TaskExecutionException: Execution failed for task ':run'.
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.executeActions(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:110)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.execute(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:77)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.OutputDirectoryCreatingTaskExecuter.execute(OutputDirectoryCreatingTaskExecuter.java:51)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.SkipUpToDateTaskExecuter.execute(SkipUpToDateTaskExecuter.java:59)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ResolveTaskOutputCachingStateExecuter.execute(ResolveTaskOutputCachingStateExecuter.java:54)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ResolveBuildCacheKeyExecuter.execute(ResolveBuildCacheKeyExecuter.java:79)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ValidatingTaskExecuter.execute(ValidatingTaskExecuter.java:59)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.SkipEmptySourceFilesTaskExecuter.execute(SkipEmptySourceFilesTaskExecuter.java:101)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.FinalizeInputFilePropertiesTaskExecuter.execute(FinalizeInputFilePropertiesTaskExecuter.java:44)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.CleanupStaleOutputsExecuter.execute(CleanupStaleOutputsExecuter.java:91)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ResolveTaskArtifactStateTaskExecuter.execute(ResolveTaskArtifactStateTaskExecuter.java:62)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.SkipTaskWithNoActionsExecuter.execute(SkipTaskWithNoActionsExecuter.java:59)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.SkipOnlyIfTaskExecuter.execute(SkipOnlyIfTaskExecuter.java:54)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteAtMostOnceTaskExecuter.execute(ExecuteAtMostOnceTaskExecuter.java:43)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.CatchExceptionTaskExecuter.execute(CatchExceptionTaskExecuter.java:34)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.EventFiringTaskExecuter$1.run(EventFiringTaskExecuter.java:51)
    at org.gradle.internal.operations.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor$RunnableBuildOperationWorker.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:300)
    at org.gradle.internal.operations.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor$RunnableBuildOperationWorker.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:292)
    at org.gradle.internal.operations.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:174)
    at org.gradle.internal.operations.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.run(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:90)
    at org.gradle.internal.operations.DelegatingBuildOperationExecutor.run(DelegatingBuildOperationExecutor.java:31)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.EventFiringTaskExecuter.execute(EventFiringTaskExecuter.java:46)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.LocalTaskInfoExecutor.execute(LocalTaskInfoExecutor.java:42)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskExecutionGraph$BuildOperationAwareWorkItemExecutor.execute(DefaultTaskExecutionGraph.java:277)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskExecutionGraph$BuildOperationAwareWorkItemExecutor.execute(DefaultTaskExecutionGraph.java:262)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskPlanExecutor$ExecutorWorker$1.execute(DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.java:135)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskPlanExecutor$ExecutorWorker$1.execute(DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.java:130)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskPlanExecutor$ExecutorWorker.execute(DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.java:200)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskPlanExecutor$ExecutorWorker.executeWithWork(DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.java:191)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskPlanExecutor$ExecutorWorker.run(DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.java:130)
    at org.gradle.internal.concurrent.ExecutorPolicy$CatchAndRecordFailures.onExecute(ExecutorPolicy.java:63)
    at org.gradle.internal.concurrent.ManagedExecutorImpl$1.run(ManagedExecutorImpl.java:46)
    at org.gradle.internal.concurrent.ThreadFactoryImpl$ManagedThreadRunnable.run(ThreadFactoryImpl.java:55)
Caused by: org.gradle.process.internal.ExecException: Process 'command 'D:\Programming\Java\jdk-11.0.1\bin\java.exe'' finished with non-zero exit value 1
    at org.gradle.process.internal.DefaultExecHandle$ExecResultImpl.assertNormalExitValue(DefaultExecHandle.java:395)
    at org.gradle.process.internal.DefaultJavaExecAction.execute(DefaultJavaExecAction.java:37)
    at org.gradle.api.tasks.JavaExec.exec(JavaExec.java:79)
    at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:62)
    at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
    at org.gradle.internal.reflect.JavaMethod.invoke(JavaMethod.java:73)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.project.taskfactory.StandardTaskAction.doExecute(StandardTaskAction.java:46)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.project.taskfactory.StandardTaskAction.execute(StandardTaskAction.java:39)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.project.taskfactory.StandardTaskAction.execute(StandardTaskAction.java:26)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.AbstractTask$TaskActionWrapper.execute(AbstractTask.java:801)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.AbstractTask$TaskActionWrapper.execute(AbstractTask.java:768)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter$1.run(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:131)
    at org.gradle.internal.operations.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor$RunnableBuildOperationWorker.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:300)
    at org.gradle.internal.operations.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor$RunnableBuildOperationWorker.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:292)
    at org.gradle.internal.operations.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:174)
    at org.gradle.internal.operations.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.run(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:90)
    at org.gradle.internal.operations.DelegatingBuildOperationExecutor.run(DelegatingBuildOperationExecutor.java:31)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.executeAction(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:120)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.executeActions(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:99)
    ... 32 more

All I am trying to do is load a new scene with that parent but it is just crashing.

@DHARMENDRASINGH Sorry I forgot it was referenced in earlier. I was just using MyFile for convenience — MahBoi, Jan 10 '19 at 05:19
_Unrelated to question:_ You don't need to switch from `Path` to `File` to check if it exists, just use [`Files.exists(Path, LinkOption...)`](https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/11/docs/api/java.base/java/nio/file/Files.html#exists(java.nio.file.Path,java.nio.file.LinkOption...)). And if you do want to switch between them use `Path.toFile()` and `File.toPath()`. — Slaw, Jan 10 '19 at 07:29
This is not an issue with the location (at least not the first stacktrace snippet shown) and you cut the important part of the stacktrace. `at javafx.fxml/javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader$ValueElement.processAttribute(FXMLLoader.java:936)` indicates that the fxml file is already being parsed; the rest of the lines in the stacktrace indicate that a object is created and the creation fails. We need the rest of the stacktrace and possibly the class `FXMLLoader` is trying to create an instance of involved to answer the question. — fabian, Jan 10 '19 at 10:11
@fabian I have added some more to the output however this is all it give me. I have scanned the whole output and this is all it gives. — MahBoi, Jan 10 '19 at 18:13
Are you loading the fxml in the constructor/initializer of your `WelcomeController` class in addition to specifying it as controller via `fx:controller` attribute? — fabian, Jan 10 '19 at 18:44
@fabian yes it is being loaded in the constructor and yes it is specified as a controller in the fx:controller, is this bad? — MahBoi, Jan 10 '19 at 18:47
@fabian That fixed it! Thank you so much! I was unaware that was not allowed! — MahBoi, Jan 10 '19 at 18:50

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 10 '19 at 18:53

fabian fixed the problem in the comments but I want to make it easier to find just in case some of you don't read the comments.

I was trying to load the fxml file in my controller constructor and that controller was also defined in the fx:controller attribute in the fxml file. So I just deleted the fx:controller attribute in the fxml file and it works!

score -1 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 10 '19 at 04:54

-1

Use in this way loader.setLocation(getClass().getResource("../Views/MyFile.fxml")); and for more reference follow this link FXML

answered Jan 10 '19 at 04:54

DHARMENDRA SINGH

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When I do this I get an error "Location is not set" – MahBoi Jan 10 '19 at 05:23

How to fix Java FXML Loader crashing even though a location is set?

2 Answers2