Adding a "Page" effect to an Internal Frame

Question

Hi all,
This topic is in the 2D thread but i have possibly used the wrong forum.
I am developing a gui that uses an internal frames as a user workspace.
The internal frame has a canvas on it an i was intending to add 2D objects to the canvas . EG a UML editor.
I want the canvas(Do i need a canvas or may i add 2D objects directly to the frame, or use a jpanel to keep all the components swing?) to look similar to a word/ visio application
where there is an A4/ letter /A3... Page on the internal Frame. If the user creates a 'New' project a new InternalFrame object is created with the "blank" document waiting for a creative touch ;)
and goto begining...
I have the GUI upp and running so far but can find any ideas on how to implement the "Word Doc" type internal look.
I susspect i am correct in saying that i can use scale to "Zoom" in and out of the document.
any suggestions would be most welcome.
Regards,
Graham

Answer 1

Here is a working sample.
Only 2 classes are left, the Destop class was useless.
See how actions are managed (I implemented the "New" function)
I leave you the imagination for the rest...
GUIMainFrame.java:
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import javax.swing.AbstractAction;
import javax.swing.Action;
import javax.swing.ImageIcon;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JDesktopPane;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JMenu;
import javax.swing.JMenuBar;
import javax.swing.JMenuItem;
import javax.swing.JToolBar;
public class GUIMainFrame extends JFrame {
   public JMenuBar menuBar = new JMenuBar();
   public JToolBar toolbar = new JToolBar();
   public JDesktopPane desktop = new JDesktopPane();
   public GUIMainFrame() {
      super("UML database Design Editor");
      initComponents();
      this.setName("GUIMain");
   private JMenu createMenu(String title, int nbitems) {
      JMenu menu = new JMenu(title);
      for (int i=0; i<nbitems; i++) {
         JMenuItem item = new  JMenuItem("option "+i);
         menu.add(item);
      return menu;
   private JButton createButton(Action action) {
      JButton button = new JButton(action);
      return button;
   private void initComponents() {
      setDefaultCloseOperation(javax.swing.WindowConstants.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
      menuBar.add(createMenu("File", 5));
      menuBar.add(createMenu("Edit", 3));
      menuBar.add(createMenu("Help", 1));
      setJMenuBar(menuBar);
      toolbar.add(createButton(new DesktopAction("new")));
      toolbar.add(createButton(new DesktopAction("open")));
      toolbar.add(createButton(new DesktopAction("save")));
      this.getContentPane().add(toolbar, BorderLayout.NORTH);
      this.getContentPane().add(desktop, BorderLayout.CENTER);
      this.setSize(400,400);
      this.setVisible(true);
   public static void main(String[] args) {
      new GUIMainFrame();
   // Manages actions sent to the application
   private void doAction(String name) {
       if (name.equals("new")) {
          Project project = new Project();
          desktop.add(project);
          project.toFront();
          project.setVisible(true);
       else if (name.equals("open")) {
       else if (name.equals("save")) {
   // Class defining the actions to send to the application
   private class DesktopAction extends AbstractAction {
      public DesktopAction(String name) {
         super(name, new ImageIcon(name + "16.gif"));
      /* (non-Javadoc)
       * @see java.awt.event.ActionListener#actionPerformed(java.awt.event.ActionEvent)
      public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent event) {
         // the action is only redispatched to the application
         doAction(event.getActionCommand());
Project.java:
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import javax.swing.JInternalFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
public class Project extends JInternalFrame {
   static int projectCount = 0, projectX = 20, projectY = 20;
   /** Creates a new instance of Project */
   public Project() {
      super("Project: " + (++projectCount), true,   //resizable
               true,   //closable
               true,   //maximizable
               true);  //iconifiable
      JPanel p = new JPanel();
      p.setOpaque(true);
      p.setBackground(Color.WHITE);    
      p.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(200, 200));
      this.setLocation(projectX, projectY);
      this.setContentPane(p);
      this.pack();
      projectX += 20;
      if (projectX >= 220) {
         projectX= 20;
         projectY += 20;
}Regards.