/**
* Create a new instance of RecentFileMenu.
* @param name The name of this menu, not displayed but used to store the list of recently used file names.
* @param count The number of recent files to store.
*/
public RecentFileMenu(String name,int count){
    super();
    this.setText("Recent");
    this.setMnemonic('R');
    this.itemCount=count;
    //initialize default entries
    this.recentEntries=new String[count];
    for(int index=0;index<this.itemCount;index++){
        this.recentEntries[index]=defaultText;
    }
    //figure out the name of the recent file
    this.pathToSavedFile=System.getProperty("user.dir");
    if((this.pathToSavedFile==null)||(this.pathToSavedFile.length()<=0)){
        this.pathToSavedFile=new String(name+".recent"); //probably unreachable
    } else if(this.pathToSavedFile.endsWith(File.separator)){
        this.pathToSavedFile=this.pathToSavedFile+name+".recent";
    } else{
        this.pathToSavedFile=this.pathToSavedFile+File.separator+name+".recent";
    }
    //load the recent entries if they exist
    File recentFile=new File(this.pathToSavedFile);
    if(recentFile.exists()){
        try{
            LineNumberReader reader=new LineNumberReader(new FileReader(this.pathToSavedFile));
            while(reader.ready()){
                this.addEntry(reader.readLine(),false);
            }
        } catch(Exception x){
            x.printStackTrace();
        } 
    } else{ //disable
        this.setEnabled(false);
    }
}

/**
* Adds a new entry to the menu. Moves everything "down" one row.
* @param filePath The new path to add.
* @param updateFile Whether to update the saved file, only false when called from constructor.
*/
private void addEntry(String filePath,boolean updateFile){
    //check if this is disabled 
    if(!this.isEnabled()){
        this.setEnabled(true);
    }
    //clear the existing items
    this.removeAll();
    //move everything down one slot
    int count=this.itemCount-1;
    for(int index=count;index>0;index--){
        //check for duplicate entry
        if(!this.recentEntries[index-1].equalsIgnoreCase(filePath)){
            this.recentEntries[index]=new String(this.recentEntries[index-1]);
        }
    }
    //add the new item, check if it's not alredy the first item
    if(!this.recentEntries[0].equalsIgnoreCase(filePath)){
        this.recentEntries[0]=new String(filePath);
    }
    //add items back to the menu
    for(int index=0;index<this.itemCount;index++){
        JMenuItem menuItem=new JMenuItem();
        menuItem.setText(this.recentEntries[index]);
        if(this.recentEntries[index].equals(defaultText)){
            menuItem.setVisible(false);
        } else{
            menuItem.setVisible(true);
            menuItem.setToolTipText(this.recentEntries[index]);
            menuItem.setActionCommand(this.recentEntries[index]);
            menuItem.addActionListener(new ActionListener(){
            public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent actionEvent){
                onSelectFile(actionEvent.getActionCommand());
            }
            });
        }
        this.add(menuItem);
    }
    //update the file
    if(updateFile){
        try{
            FileWriter writer=new FileWriter(new File(this.pathToSavedFile));
            int topIndex=this.itemCount-1;
            for(int index=topIndex;index>=0;index--){
                if(!this.recentEntries[index].equals(defaultText)){
                    writer.write(this.recentEntries[index]);
                    writer.write("\n");
                }
            }
            writer.flush();
            writer.close();
        } catch(Exception x){
            x.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
}

//class properties
private RecentFileMenu recentMenu;

[....]

//code to setup the file menu
JMenu menuFile=new JMenu();
menuFile.setText("File");
menuFile.setMnemonic('F');
this.recentMenu=new RecentFileMenu("RecentFileMenu_Test",10){
public void onSelectFile(String filePath){
        onRecentFile(filePath);
    }
};
menuFile.add(recentMenu);

[....]

//code to handle onRecentFile
public void onRecentFile(String filePath){
    call-your-open-file-routine(filePath);
}

[....]

//code to add a recent file to the menu
public void addRecentEntry(){
    recentMenu.addEntry(browsePanel.getFilePath());
}