# Java: Shadowing this

When an inner class refers to `this`, it refers to the current instance of the inner class. To refer to the instance of the outer class from the inner class, `this` must be qualified by the name of the outer class.

## Example of referring to outer `this` from inner class

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    // ShadowThis.java -- Illustrate shadowing of this.
    // Fred Swartz - 2003 - Jun

    class ShadowThis {
        public static void main(String[] args) {
            ShadowThis st = new ShadowThis();
            st.testOuter();
        }//end main

        private void testOuter() {
            System.out.println(this);
            InnerShadowThis ist = new InnerShadowThis();
            ist.testInner();
        }//end test

        class InnerShadowThis {
            void testInner() {
                System.out.println(this);
                System.out.println(ShadowThis.this);
            }
        }//end class InnerShadowThis
    }//end class ShadowThis

Produces the following output.

    ShadowThis@601bb1
    ShadowThis$InnerShadowThis@ea2dfe
    ShadowThis@601bb1

## Typical usage

The above example fails to show why referencing an outer `this` might be used. A common situation is to implement an action listener as an inner class of a JPanel. If the listener wants to display a dialog (eg, a JFileChooser), it may tell which component to center the dialog over. The component is exactly the outer `this`. For example, this is from an inner class listener that wants to center a file dialog over the current TestGUI panel.

    int retval = fileChooser.showOpenDialog(TestGUI.this);

Some IDEs put no code in an inner class listener except a call to an outer method to process the action. The same code could be used, but the need to refer to the outer `this` is no longer necessary.