🚀 go-pugleaf

I cannot figure out how to set new text in an object (text component or
label) created in a JFrame from a JDialog.  For example, to simplify things
I have used the visual designer to create an application with a frame
containing a JTextArea and a JButton, both declared with package scope.
When the user clicks the button in the frame, a dialog (in the same package)
is displayed which also has a JButton and JTextArea.  When the button in the
dialog is clicked, I would like the dialog to disappear (which is does) and
the text I can get from the textarea in the dialog (using the getText
method) to appear in the textarea in the frame (using the setText method).
I can get text from either textarea and place it in a database just fine
but I cannot move text between the two objects.  I have tried simply calling
frameTextArea.setText from the dialog and I have tried passing the text as a
argument into a public method in the frame (and it makes it according to
calls to System.out.println), but the text will not show up in the textarea
in the frame.  What am I doing wrong?  I can set new text in a frame
textarea obtained from selected nodes in a tree within the frame (using
methods in the frame class) just fine, but the frame textarea acts "dead"
from outside the frame class.  An example would be helpful.  Thanks.