Question

How do I play an alert sound in Java FX 2?
Is there a way of using the OS default notification sound?

Answer 1

Play a sound with pure JavaFX

Simply use an instance of AudioClip. This one is very suitable for just playing single short sounds.

Play a default notification sound

Concerning Windows OS there is a way accessing properties via java.awt.Toolkit. A returned sound property is a simple Runnable which can be fired directly without any worries about sound sources etc.

Use the example below to see how both options work (you have to add ‘alert.wav’ to your src folder).

package audioplayer;

import java.awt.Toolkit;
import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.event.ActionEvent;
import javafx.event.EventHandler;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.control.Button;
import javafx.scene.layout.VBox;
import javafx.scene.media.AudioClip;
import javafx.stage.Stage;

public class AudioPlayer extends Application {

    private static final AudioClip ALERT_AUDIOCLIP = new AudioClip(AudioPlayer.class.getResource("/alert.wav").toString());

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        launch(args);
    }

    @Override
    public void start(Stage primaryStage) {
        VBox root = new VBox();
        Scene scene = new Scene(root, 300, 250);

        Button btn = new Button();
        btn.setText("Play (My Sound)");
        btn.setOnAction(new EventHandler<ActionEvent>() {

            @Override
            public void handle(ActionEvent event) {
                AudioPlayer.ALERT_AUDIOCLIP.play();
            }
        });

        Button btn2 = new Button();
        btn2.setText("Play (Windows Default)");
        btn2.setOnAction(new EventHandler<ActionEvent>() {

            @Override
            public void handle(ActionEvent event) {
                final Runnable runnable = (Runnable) Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getDesktopProperty("win.sound.default");

                if (runnable != null) {
                    runnable.run();
                }
            }
        });

        root.getChildren().add(btn);
        root.getChildren().add(btn2);

        primaryStage.setScene(scene);
        primaryStage.show();
    }
}