Oracle's menu demo with a few events. The trail can be found here: http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/uiswing/components/menu.html Make sure you use frame.validate() to correctly display the frame.

MenuLookDemo.java

package dev.sysadmin.test;

import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;

import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JMenu;
import javax.swing.JMenuItem;
import javax.swing.JCheckBoxMenuItem;
import javax.swing.JRadioButtonMenuItem;
import javax.swing.ButtonGroup;
import javax.swing.JMenuBar;
import javax.swing.KeyStroke;
import javax.swing.ImageIcon;
import javax.swing.ScrollPaneConstants;

import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JTextArea;
import javax.swing.JScrollPane;
import javax.swing.JFrame;

/* MenuLookDemo.java requires images/middle.gif. */

/*
 * This class exists solely to show you what menus look like.
 * It has no menu-related event handling.
 */
public class MenuLookDemo implements ActionListener {
	private JFrame frame;
	private JTextArea output = null;
	private JScrollPane scrollPane = null;
	private JTextArea output0 = null;
	private JScrollPane scrollPane0 = null;
	private JTextArea output1 = null;
	private JScrollPane scrollPane1 = null;
	private JPanel p0;
	private JPanel p1;

	public MenuLookDemo() {

	}

	public void setP0(JPanel jpanel) {
		this.p0 = jpanel;
	}

	public JPanel getP0() {
		this.output = this.output0;
		this.scrollPane = this.scrollPane0;
		return this.p0;
	}

	public void setP1(JPanel jpanel) {
		this.p1 = jpanel;
	}

	public JPanel getP1() {
		this.output = this.output1;
		this.scrollPane = this.scrollPane1;
		return this.p1;
	}

	public JMenuBar createMenuBar() {
		JMenuBar menuBar;
		JMenu menu, submenu, submenu2;
		JMenuItem menuItem;
		JRadioButtonMenuItem rbMenuItem;
		JCheckBoxMenuItem cbMenuItem;

		// Create the menu bar.
		menuBar = new JMenuBar();

		// Build the first menu.
		menu = new JMenu("Menu0");
		menu.setMnemonic(KeyEvent.VK_A);
		menu.getAccessibleContext().setAccessibleDescription(
				"First Menu top left");
		menu.setActionCommand("Menu0");
		menuBar.add(menu);

		// a group of JMenuItems
		menuItem = new JMenuItem("A text-only menu item", KeyEvent.VK_T);
		// menuItem.setMnemonic(KeyEvent.VK_T); //used constructor instead
		menuItem.setAccelerator(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_1,
				ActionEvent.ALT_MASK));
		menuItem.getAccessibleContext().setAccessibleDescription(
				"This doesn't really do anything");
		// Added this
		menuItem.setActionCommand("MenuItem01");
		menuItem.addActionListener(this);

		menu.add(menuItem);

		ImageIcon icon = createImageIcon("images/middle.gif");
		menuItem = new JMenuItem("Both text and icon", icon);
		menuItem.setActionCommand("MenuItem02");
		menuItem.addActionListener(this);
		menuItem.setMnemonic(KeyEvent.VK_B);
		menu.add(menuItem);

		// NEW
		menu.addSeparator();
		menuItem = new JMenuItem("Repaint");
		menuItem.setActionCommand("Repaint");
		menuItem.addActionListener(this);
		menu.add(menuItem);

		menuItem = new JMenuItem("Two");
		menuItem.setActionCommand("Two");
		menuItem.addActionListener(this);
		menuItem.setMnemonic(KeyEvent.VK_D);
		menu.add(menuItem);

		// a group of radio button menu items
		menu.addSeparator();
		ButtonGroup group = new ButtonGroup();
		rbMenuItem = new JRadioButtonMenuItem("A radio button menu item");
		rbMenuItem.setSelected(true);
		rbMenuItem.setMnemonic(KeyEvent.VK_R);

		// Added these two
		rbMenuItem.setActionCommand("rbMenuItem");
		rbMenuItem.addActionListener(this);

		group.add(rbMenuItem);
		menu.add(rbMenuItem);

		rbMenuItem = new JRadioButtonMenuItem("Another one");
		rbMenuItem.setMnemonic(KeyEvent.VK_O);
		group.add(rbMenuItem);
		menu.add(rbMenuItem);

		// a group of check box menu items
		menu.addSeparator();
		cbMenuItem = new JCheckBoxMenuItem("A check box menu item");
		cbMenuItem.setMnemonic(KeyEvent.VK_C);
		// Added these two
		cbMenuItem.setActionCommand("cbMenuItem");
		cbMenuItem.addActionListener(this);
		menu.add(cbMenuItem);

		cbMenuItem = new JCheckBoxMenuItem("Another one");
		cbMenuItem.setMnemonic(KeyEvent.VK_H);
		menu.add(cbMenuItem);

		// a submenu
		menu.addSeparator();
		submenu = new JMenu("A submenu");
		submenu.setMnemonic(KeyEvent.VK_S);

		menuItem = new JMenuItem("An item in the submenu");
		menuItem.setAccelerator(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_2,
				ActionEvent.ALT_MASK));
		// Added these two
		menuItem.setActionCommand("An item in the subment");
		menuItem.addActionListener(this);
		submenu.add(menuItem);

		menuItem = new JMenuItem("Another item 2a");
		// Added these two
		menuItem.setActionCommand("Another item 2a");
		menuItem.addActionListener(this);
		submenu.add(menuItem);
		menu.add(submenu);

		// Build second menu in the menu bar.
		menu = new JMenu("Menu1");
		menu.setMnemonic(KeyEvent.VK_N);
		menu.getAccessibleContext().setAccessibleDescription(
				"This menu does nothing");
		menuBar.add(menu);

		// Menu10
		menuItem = new JMenuItem("Menu10");
		menuItem.setActionCommand("Menu10");
		menuItem.addActionListener(this);
		menu.add(menuItem);

		// Menu 11
		menuItem = new JMenuItem("Menu11");
		menuItem.setActionCommand("Menu11");
		menuItem.addActionListener(this);
		menu.add(menuItem);

		menu.addSeparator();

		// Menu 12
		menuItem = new JMenuItem("Menu12");
		menuItem.setActionCommand("Menu12");
		menuItem.addActionListener(this);
		menu.add(menuItem);

		// *********************************************
		// submenu2
		submenu2 = new JMenu("Submenu 1X");
		submenu2.setMnemonic(KeyEvent.VK_S);
		menuItem = new JMenuItem("**Top:");
		menuItem.setAccelerator(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_2,
				ActionEvent.ALT_MASK));
		// Added these two
		menuItem.setActionCommand("An item in the subment");
		menuItem.addActionListener(this);
		submenu2.add(menuItem);

		menuItem = new JMenuItem("1a");
		// Added these two
		menuItem.setActionCommand("1a");
		menuItem.addActionListener(this);
		submenu2.add(menuItem);
		menu.add(submenu2);

		// Menu 13
		menuItem = new JMenuItem("Menu13");
		menuItem.setActionCommand("Menu13");
		menuItem.addActionListener(this);

		menu.add(menuItem);

		menu = new JMenu("Refresh0");
		menu.setMnemonic(KeyEvent.VK_N);
		menu.setActionCommand("Refresh0");
		menu.addActionListener(this);
		menu.getAccessibleContext().setAccessibleDescription(
				"This menu does nothing");
		menuBar.add(menu);

		menu = new JMenu("Refresh1");
		menu.setActionCommand("Refresh0");
		// menu.addActionListener(this);
		menu.setMnemonic(KeyEvent.VK_N);
		menu.getAccessibleContext().setAccessibleDescription(
				"This menu does nothing");
		menuBar.add(menu);

		return menuBar;
	}

	public void setFrame(JFrame frame) {
		this.frame = frame;
	}

	public Container createContentPane() {
		// Create the content-pane-to-be.
		JPanel contentPane = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
		contentPane.setOpaque(true);

		// Create a scrolled text area.
		if (output == null)
			output = new JTextArea(5, 30);

		output.setEditable(false);

		if (scrollPane == null)
			scrollPane = new JScrollPane(output);

		// Add the text area to the content pane.
		contentPane.add(scrollPane, BorderLayout.CENTER);

		return contentPane;
	}

	public JPanel createPanel0() {
		JPanel p = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
		p.setOpaque(true);
		p.setBackground(Color.WHITE);

		GridBagConstraints c = new GridBagConstraints();
		c.insets = new Insets(0, 0, 0, 0); // insets for all components

		c.gridwidth = 1;
		c.gridheight = 1;

		c.gridx = 0; // column 0
		c.gridy = 0; // row 0

		// c.ipadx = 850; // width x
		// c.ipady = 400; // width y

		// New
		c.ipadx = 1;
		c.ipady = 1;

		JButton button0 = new JButton("Button 1");
		button0.addActionListener(this);
		p.add(button0, c);

		c.gridx = 1;
		JButton button1 = new JButton("Button 2");
		button1.addActionListener(this);
		p.add(button1, c);

		c.gridx = 0;
		c.gridy = 1;
		JButton button3 = new JButton("Button 3");
		button3.addActionListener(this);
		p.add(button3, c);

		c.gridx = 1;
		c.gridy = 1;
		JButton button4 = new JButton("Button 4");
		button4.addActionListener(this);
		p.add(button4, c);

		c.gridx = 0;
		c.gridy = 2;
		c.gridwidth = 2;

		/*
		 * if (output == null) output = new JTextArea(5, 30);
		 */
		System.out.println("p0");

		// output and scrollPane
		JTextArea output = new JTextArea(5, 30);
		this.output0 = output;
		JScrollPane scrollPane = new JScrollPane(output);
		this.scrollPane0 = scrollPane;
		scrollPane
				.setVerticalScrollBarPolicy(ScrollPaneConstants.VERTICAL_SCROLLBAR_AS_NEEDED);
		output.setEditable(true);
		output.setBackground(Color.GREEN);
		p.add(scrollPane, c);

		return p;

	}

	public JPanel createPanel1() {
		JPanel p = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
		p.setOpaque(true);
		p.setBackground(Color.getHSBColor(0.3f, 0.3f, 0.3f));

		GridBagConstraints c = new GridBagConstraints();
		c.insets = new Insets(0, 0, 0, 0); // insets for all components

		c.gridwidth = 1;
		c.gridheight = 1;

		c.gridx = 0; // column 0
		c.gridy = 0; // row 0

		// c.ipadx = 850; // width x
		// c.ipady = 400; // width y

		// New
		c.ipadx = 1;
		c.ipady = 1;

		JButton button0 = new JButton("Button 1");
		button0.addActionListener(this);
		p.add(button0, c);

		c.gridx = 1;
		JButton button1 = new JButton("Button 2");
		button1.addActionListener(this);
		p.add(button1, c);

		c.gridx = 0;
		c.gridy = 1;
		JButton button3 = new JButton("Button 3");
		button3.addActionListener(this);
		p.add(button3, c);

		c.gridx = 1;
		c.gridy = 1;
		JButton button4 = new JButton("Button 4");
		button4.addActionListener(this);
		p.add(button4, c);

		c.gridx = 2;
		c.gridy = 0;
		JButton button5 = new JButton("Button 5");
		button5.addActionListener(this);
		p.add(button5, c);

		c.gridx = 0;
		c.gridy = 2;
		c.gridwidth = 2;

		// output and scrollPane

		// output and scrollPane
		JTextArea output = new JTextArea(5, 30);

		JScrollPane scrollPane = new JScrollPane(output);
		scrollPane
				.setVerticalScrollBarPolicy(ScrollPaneConstants.VERTICAL_SCROLLBAR_AS_NEEDED);
		output.setEditable(true);
		output.setBackground(Color.GREEN);
		this.output1 = output;
		this.scrollPane1 = scrollPane;
		p.add(scrollPane, c);

		return p;

	}

	/** Returns an ImageIcon, or null if the path was invalid. */
	protected static ImageIcon createImageIcon(String path) {
		java.net.URL imgURL = MenuLookDemo.class.getResource(path);
		if (imgURL != null) {
			return new ImageIcon(imgURL);
		} else {
			System.err.println("Couldn't find file: " + path);
			return null;
		}
	}

	/**
	 * Create the GUI and show it. For thread safety, this method should be
	 * invoked from the event-dispatching thread.
	 */
	private static void createAndShowGUI() {

		// Create and set up the window.
		JFrame frame = new JFrame("MenuLookDemo With Events");
		frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);

		// Create and set up the content pane.
		MenuLookDemo demo = new MenuLookDemo();
		frame.setJMenuBar(demo.createMenuBar());
		// frame.setContentPane(demo.createContentPane());

		demo.setP0(demo.createPanel0());
		demo.setP1(demo.createPanel1());

		frame.add(demo.getP1());

		demo.setFrame(frame);

		// Display the window.
		frame.setSize(550, 360);

		frame.setVisible(true);
	}

	public static void main(String[] args) {
		// Schedule a job for the event-dispatching thread:
		// creating and showing this application's GUI.
		javax.swing.SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
			public void run() {
				createAndShowGUI();
			}
		});
	}

	@Override
	public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
		// TODO Auto-generated method stub

		System.out.println("Event:" + e.getActionCommand().toString());

		if (e.getActionCommand().toString().equalsIgnoreCase("Button 1")) {
			System.out.println("Removing from frame 1");
			this.frame.remove(getP0());
			this.frame.add(getP1());
			this.frame.validate();
			this.frame.repaint();

		}

		if (e.getActionCommand().toString().equalsIgnoreCase("Button 2")) {
			System.out.println("Removing from frame");
			this.frame.remove(getP1());
			this.frame.add(getP0());
			this.frame.validate();
			this.frame.repaint();
		}

		// Extra's
		if (e.getActionCommand().toString().equalsIgnoreCase("Another item 2")) {
			System.out.println("Removing from frame");
			this.frame.remove(getP1());
			// this.frame.repaint();
			this.frame.add(getP0());
			this.frame.validate();
			this.frame.repaint();
		}
		if (e.getActionCommand().toString()
				.equalsIgnoreCase("An item in the subment")) {
			System.out.println("Removing from frame");
			this.frame.remove(getP0());
			this.frame.add(getP1());
			this.frame.validate();
			this.frame.repaint();

		}

		if (e.getActionCommand().toString().equalsIgnoreCase("Repaint")) {
			System.out.println("In Repaint: this.frame.validate()");
			getP0().repaint();
			this.frame.validate();
			this.frame.repaint();

		}

		// Repaint
		this.output.setText(this.output.getText() + "\nEvent:"
				+ e.getActionCommand().toString());

	}

}