My swing gui's look HORRIBLE

any tips on how to make a swing UI look good? Any new and interesting java technologies for developing non web UI?

I forgot the Substance Look and Feel:
https://substance.dev.java.net/docs/watermarks.html
https://substance.dev.java.net/

Similar Messages

Need help with threading in Swing GUI !!!

I've written an app that parses and writes
files. I'm using a Swing GUI. The app
could potenially be used to parse hundreds or even
thousands of files. I've included a JProgressBar
to monitor progress. The problem is when I parse
a large number of files the GUI freezes and only
updates the values of the progress bar when the
parsing and writing process is finished.
I assume I need to start the process in a seperate thread. But, I'm new to threads and I'm not sure
whether to start the Progressbar code in a seperate
thread or the parsing code. As a matter of fact I really
don't have any idea how to go about this.
I read that Swing requires repaints be done in the
event dispatch thread. If I start the parsing in a seperate
thread how do I update the progressbar from the other
thread? I'm a thread neophyte.
I need a cigarette.

In other words do this:
Inside event Thread:
handle button action
start thread
return from action listener
Inside worker Thread:
lock interface
loop
perform action
update progress bar
unlock interface
return from worker ThreadDoesn't updating the progress bar (and locking/unlocking the interface components) from within the worker thread violate the rule that you shouldn't mess with Swing components outside the event thread? (Do I have that rule right?)
In any case, is there any way to just post some kind of event to the progress bar to update it from within the worker thread, thereby insuring that the GUI progress bar update is being invoked from the event thread? This would also obviate the need to use a timer to poll for an update, which I think is a waste especially when the monitored progress is at a variable rate, (or for number crunching, is executing on different speed machines).
Also, doesn't using invokeLater() or invokeAndWait() still block the event dispatching thread? I don't understand how having a chunk of code started in the event thread doesn't block the event thread unless the code's executed in a "sub-thread", which would then make it not in the event thread.
I'm also looking to have a progress bar updated to monitor a worker thread, but also want to include a "Stop" button, etc. and need the event queue not to be blocked.
The last thing I can think of is to implement some kind of original event-listener class that listens to events that I define, then register it with the system event queue somehow, then have the worker thread post events to this listener which then calls setValue() in the progress bar to insure that the bar is updated from the event queue and when I want it to be updated. I don't know yet if it's possible to create and register these kinds of classes (I'm guessing it is).
Thanks,
Derek

Learning swing gui by hand or gui builder?

Hello,
Which is a better way of start learning writing swing gui based apps? by hand or using gui builder?
Do you know any useful web links? or do you consider buying books?
Thanks.

>>
Hmm, the differences:
1) The GUI builder app resizes correctly.-->>falseJust stating it is false doesn't make it so. I never have any issues with my GUI builder apps resizing correctly. I do have issues making my coded by hand apps resize correctly. Ignorance on my part? Possibly
I used to use a GUI builder just for complicated layouts and use GridBagLayout for simple dialogs inside an app, but I find myself just using a GUI builder now. Just much quicker and much less hassle.
As far as maintaining the code if you use the GUI builder for maintanence where is the issue?
i have never seen a GUI builer that uses
layoutmangers please point me to the one that you are
using i would love to take a look
secondly have you seen tried the little exersise you
will be suprised at how complex the code is compared
to the one done by hand!!!!IntelliJ's GUI builder appears to use a custom GridLayout manager, the code it generates appears pretty straightforward to me, doesn't seem overly complicated:
private void $$$setupUI$$$() {
        mainPanel = new JPanel();
        mainPanel.setLayout(new com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridLayoutManager(1, 1, new Insets(0, 0, 0, 0), -1, -1));
        final JSplitPane splitPane1 = new JSplitPane();
        splitPane1.setContinuousLayout(true);
        splitPane1.setDividerLocation(142);
        mainPanel.add(splitPane1, new com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints(0, 0, 1, 1, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.ANCHOR_CENTER, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.FILL_BOTH, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_CAN_SHRINK | com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_CAN_GROW, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_CAN_SHRINK | com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_CAN_GROW, null, new Dimension(200, 200), null));
        fileListing = new JTree();
        splitPane1.setLeftComponent(fileListing);
        tabPane = new JTabbedPane();
        splitPane1.setRightComponent(tabPane);
        renameTab = new JPanel();
        renameTab.setLayout(new com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridLayoutManager(2, 7, new Insets(0, 0, 0, 0), -1, -1));
        tabPane.addTab("Untitled", renameTab);
        final JLabel label1 = new JLabel();
        label1.setHorizontalAlignment(4);
        label1.setText("Current Filename");
        renameTab.add(label1, new com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints(1, 0, 1, 1, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.ANCHOR_WEST, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.FILL_NONE, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_FIXED, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_FIXED, null, null, null));
        imageScrollPane = new JScrollPane();
        imageScrollPane.setHorizontalScrollBarPolicy(30);
        imageScrollPane.setVerticalScrollBarPolicy(20);
        renameTab.add(imageScrollPane, new com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints(0, 0, 1, 7, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.ANCHOR_CENTER, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.FILL_BOTH, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_CAN_SHRINK | com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_WANT_GROW, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_CAN_SHRINK | com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_WANT_GROW, null, null, null));
        currentFilenameField = new JTextField();
        renameTab.add(currentFilenameField, new com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints(1, 1, 1, 1, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.ANCHOR_WEST, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.FILL_HORIZONTAL, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_WANT_GROW, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_FIXED, null, new Dimension(150, -1), null));
        final JLabel label2 = new JLabel();
        label2.setText("New Filename");
        renameTab.add(label2, new com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints(1, 2, 1, 1, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.ANCHOR_WEST, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.FILL_NONE, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_FIXED, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_FIXED, null, null, null));
        newFilenameField = new JTextField();
        renameTab.add(newFilenameField, new com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints(1, 3, 1, 1, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.ANCHOR_WEST, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.FILL_HORIZONTAL, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_WANT_GROW, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_FIXED, null, new Dimension(150, -1), null));
        renameButton = new JButton();
        renameButton.setText("Rename");
        renameTab.add(renameButton, new com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints(1, 4, 1, 1, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.ANCHOR_CENTER, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.FILL_HORIZONTAL, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_CAN_SHRINK | com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_CAN_GROW, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_FIXED, null, null, null));
        previousButton = new JButton();
        previousButton.setText("");
        renameTab.add(previousButton, new com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints(1, 5, 1, 1, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.ANCHOR_CENTER, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.FILL_HORIZONTAL, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_CAN_SHRINK | com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_CAN_GROW, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_FIXED, null, null, null));
        nextImageButton = new JButton();
        nextImageButton.setText("");
        renameTab.add(nextImageButton, new com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints(1, 6, 1, 1, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.ANCHOR_CENTER, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.FILL_HORIZONTAL, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_CAN_SHRINK | com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_CAN_GROW, com.intellij.uiDesigner.core.GridConstraints.SIZEPOLICY_FIXED, null, null, null));
        htmlGeneratorTab = new JPanel();
        tabPane.addTab("Untitled", htmlGeneratorTab);
    }

XML = Swing GUI, which framework would you recommend?

Hi,
I'm looking for a framework that translates an XML description to a Swing GUI.
There're a lot available, e.g. gui4J, swixml, Thinlet, XUL, XULUX, Jelly, SwingML
Can you recommend one?
Are there any drawbacks I should be aware of from using such a framework? How about performance?
Many thanks

Hello,
The SwingAppKit is provided with the source :
http://www.swingappkit.com
It focuses on dialogs, preferences, XML application descriptor.
Best wishes,
A.Brillant

Embedding applets in Swing GUI?

I'm pretty new to developing with Swing.
I want to know what I would need to do in order to embed an applet inside a Swing GUI (if this is possible). I've looked around, but can't seem to find anything with an answer to my question.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

import javax.swing.*;
import java.applet.Applet;
import java.awt.Label;
/** Simplistic example of putting an Applet in a JFrame. */
public class AppletInSwingGui extends Applet {
public void init() {
    add( new Label("I am an applet!") );
public static void main(String[] args) {
    final AppletInSwingGui applet = new AppletInSwingGui();
    // very important!
    applet.init();
    Runnable r = new Runnable() {
      public void run() {
        JFrame f = new JFrame();
        f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        f.getContentPane().add( applet );
        f.pack();
        f.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
        f.setVisible(true);
    SwingUtilities.invokeLater(r);
}Note that if the applet uses the functionality of the AppletContext, the programmer needs to implement it. Some of the Applet specific methods (like getDocumentBase() and getCodeBase()) are also a bit tricky.
Edited by: AndrewThompson64 on May 20, 2008 12:37 PM

New Skype chatt window looks horrible and make it ...

New Skype chatt window looks horrible and make it a lot harder to use efficiantly.
I just restarted PC and got the new Skype version 6.22.0.107
To my big disappointment the new layout of the chatt conversations looks much worse that the previous version.
I use SKype everyday for work and this new layout makes it very hard to foolow long conversations.
Please add an option to get the previous version back.
If it works liek this our team has to swicth tools to something better.
/Johan D

The main thread for UI feedback is here - http://community.skype.com/t5/Windows-desktop-client/7-0-and-your-feedback-on-the-new-chat-UI/m-p/38...
Sean Ellis - uses Skype chat for serious work
Click here to read my blog post on Skype 7 and basic principles of GUI design

Java Swing GUI Button Image

Hi, I really need help with this one, I have tried many things and looked at many pages for this but to no avail as of yet.
I have a Swing GUI in which I want to display an image. The way I am displaying it at the moment is as a button icon as I do not need to be able to alter the images. I can also use the button functionality as displaying something when the image is clicked. So I have an array of image paths which are accesed to load an image into the button and a "Next" button to change the image as required.
My problem is that when I load an image into the button it moves from it's original location. When there is no image displayed the button is where I want it to be, but when I load an image it moves, this cannot happen. Any ideas.
Also, when I am trying to click thru the array of images, it starts at the 1st image in the array but then skips to the last image in the array. Here is the code for that.
// Handle events that arise from the "Next" button being clicked
private void jButton5MouseClicked(java.awt.event.MouseEvent evt) {
if (jComboBox1.getSelectedIndex() == 1)
     for (int i = 1; i < juniorImageIndex.length; i++)
     jButton8.setIcon(new javax.swing.ImageIcon(juniorImageIndex));
else if (jComboBox1.getSelectedIndex() == 2)
     for (int i = 1; i < seniorImageIndex.length; i++)
     jButton8.setIcon(new javax.swing.ImageIcon(seniorImageIndex[i]));
juniorImageIndex and seniorImageIndex are obviuosly the arrrays with the file paths for the images. The reason I start at index 1 is that I use the 0 index image as the starting image for each part.
Any help gratefully appreciated, I really hope someone can help, Thanks.

// Handle events that arise from the "Next" button
being clicked
private void
jButton5MouseClicked(java.awt.event.MouseEvent evt) {
myImageIndex =(myImageIndex + 1) % imageArray.size();
resetButtonImage();
private void resetButtonImage() {
if (jComboBox1.getSelectedIndex() == 1)
{//take this out
//> for (int i = 1; i < juniorImageIndex.length; i++)
//> {
jButton8.setIcon(new//> javax.swing.ImageIcon(array[myImageIndex]));
//> }
else if (jComboBox1.getSelectedIndex() == 2)
{//this too
//> for (int i = 1; i < seniorImageIndex.length; i++)
//> {
jButton8.setIcon(new
javax.swing.ImageIcon(array2[myImageIndex]));//> }

How to call ejb from a Swing gui application client?

Hi Everyone,
I am new to EJB and I have question for calling an ejb from a Swing GUI application client. Can anyone give me an example of how my Swing GUI can call an EJB from a SUN ONE Application Server. If anyone can give me some insight, I appreciate it.

I have looked up various sources and just can't get it to work. I know I have to use the lookup() method, but I have also seen lookups using IIOP://servename......
Context ctx = getInitialContext();
DemoHome dhome = (DemoHome)ctx.lookup("demo.DemoHome");
or
Context ctx = getInitialContext();
DemoHome dhome = (DemoHome)ctx.lookup(java:comp/......)
so can anyone tell what is the difference between using iiop://servername..... as the lookup string and java:comp/......
and if using java:comp/ what does this mean? Does it mean that lookup() method is looking for the ejb somewhere in this directory. I would really appreciate if someone can give an example of a Swing GUI calling a ejb from an application server and how the code is actually doing the lookup in and what are each steps it goes through.
Thanks

Swing GUI resizing

Hello Users,
I am writing a swing app for a 12 and 15 inch screen.
When I create the JButtons for example, they have a
Panel.add(jButton, new AbsoluteConstraints(10, 80, 70, 30));
Obviously when the application is run on a 15 inch and I resize the frame the size of the buttons do not adjust.
So my question is, if I develop a app for a 12 inch and want to show it on 15 inch is there a
way to automatically resize the swing components?
Regards,
Bobby

Hello Bobby,
So you are saying set the frame size to the size of the screen?Yes. That's what you wanted to do, having the application frame adapted to the screen size, isn't it?
But when I create a button don't I have to specify the X, Y length etc...?No, only if you use a null layout (which I guess is close to your Absolute thing).
Can you provide a quick code example pleaseThere is nothing special. Give a frame a BorderLayout and put one or more buttons into a panel placed at the NORTH or SOUTH edge and see what happens when resizing the frame.
I'm afraid you are using a GUI builder without having learned the basics.
And since we have no idea how your GUI shall look like, it's difficult to make precise suggestions.
Bye
Jörg

Help with exporting. Video looks horrible after export, but great when in premiere pro

Hey guys, looking for some advice on exporting.
When I finish a video, the color and everything looks great while in premiere pro, but after exporting it, the color ends up looking dull and the whole video looks blurry. I'm filming with a canon vixia hf200 at 60i. It imports as a AVCHD file, I deinterlace it, and then export at the Vimeo HD settings. What can be causing the video to look horrible after exporting? What settings should I be exporting under? Any help would be appreciated!

It looks like you're coming up against some of the colorspace handling issues that the Premiere pipeline has.
Since your source is 60i AVCHD it's HD and thus rec709 colorspace. If it gets encoded with the standard rec601 colorspace (SD sizes are this) then all the colors get crushed. Look for a "709" and "601" radio button in your export settings. If it's not there you're out of luck.
The "blurry" is probably a poor quality de-interlacer. If Vimeo permits interlaced vs progressive do that instead. it's always cleaner to stay in the same video format all the way through.
TECHNICAL ASIDE:
rec709 is a triangle of possible colors that can be expressed by mixing of ratios of 3 emitters (the R G B corners of the triangle). (they are the RGB phosphors of a CRT and now LCD pixel elements)
rec709 is a bigger triangle than rec601 so it's capable of more colors. but if you accidently map that triangle's corners to the coordinates of rec601 it gets crushed.
In photography the "sRGB" uses the rec709 triangle. A bigger triangle that that is "Adobe RGB". So if you work in Adobe RGB and export to sRGB without conversion the colors get crushed because sRGB in inside the triangle of "Adobe RGB".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srgb
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rec._709
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/CIExy1931_sRGB.svg

Loading large files in Java Swing GUI

Hello Everyone!
I am trying to load large files(more then 70 MB of xml text) in a Java Swing GUI. I tried several approaches,
1)Byte based loading whith a loop similar to
pane.setText("");
             InputStream file_reader = new BufferedInputStream(new FileInputStream
                       (file));
             int BUFFER_SIZE = 4096;
             byte[] buffer = new byte[BUFFER_SIZE];
             int bytesRead;
             String line;
             while ((bytesRead = file_reader.read(buffer, 0, BUFFER_SIZE)) != -1)
                  line = new String(buffer, 0, bytesRead);
                  pane.append(line);
             }But this is gives me unacceptable response times for large files and runs out of Java Heap memory.
2) I read in several places that I could load only small chunks of the file at a time and when the user scrolls upwards or downwards the next/previous chunk is loaded , to achieve this I am guessing extensive manipulation for the ScrollBar in the JScrollPane will be needed or adding an external JScrollBar perhaps? Can anyone provide sample code for that approach? (Putting in mind that I am writting code for an editor so I will be needing to interact via clicks and mouse wheel roatation and keyboard buttons and so on...)
If anyone can help me, post sample code or point me to useful links that deal with this issue or with writting code for editors in general I would be very grateful.
Thank you in advance.

Hi,
I'm replying to your question from another thread.
To handle large files I used the new IO libary. I'm trying to remember off the top of my head but the classes involved were the RandomAccessFile, FileChannel and MappedByteBuffer. The MappedByteBuffer was the best way for me to read and write to the file.
When opening the file I had to scan through the contents of the file using a swing worker thread and progress monitor. Whilst doing this I indexed the file into managable chunks. I also created a cache to further optimise file access.
In all it worked really well and I was suprised by the performance of the new IO libraries. I remember loading 1GB files and whilst having to wait a few seconds to perform the indexing you wouldn't know that the data for the JList was being retrieved from a file whilst the application was running.
Good Luck,
Martin.

Running a Java application from a Swing GUI

Hi,
I was wondering if there is a simple way to run a Java application from a GUI built with Swing. I would presume there would be, because the Swing GUI is a Java application itself, technically.
So, I want a user to click a button on my GUI, and then have another Java application, which is in the same package with the same classpaths and stuff, run.
Is there a simple way to do this? Do any tutorials exist on this? If someone could give me any advice, or even a simple "yes this is possible, and it is simple" or "this is possible, but difficult" or "no this is not possible" answer, I would appreciate it. If anyone needs more information, I'll be happy to provide it.
Thanks,
Dan

I don't know if it is possible to run the main method from another Java app by simply calling it...
But you could just copy and paste the stuff from your main method into a new static method called something like runDBQuery and have all the execution run from there.
How does that sound? Is it possible?
What I'm suggeting is:
Original
public class DBQuery{
public static void methodA(){
public static void doQuery(){
methodA();
public static void main(String[] args){
// Your method calls
//Your initializing
doQuery();
}Revised:
public class DBQuery{
public static void methodA(){
public static void doQuery(){
methodA();
public static void doMyQuery(){
// Your method calls
//Your initializing
doQuery();
// No main needed!!
//public static void main(String[] args){
// Your method calls
//doQuery();
//}

I have a Black i-phone 5, iOS 7 on a black phone is horrible, there should be a darker setting for black phones... it look horrible on a black phone because it does not match... its too bright... I think there should be a darker option!!

I have a Black i-phone 5, iOS 7 on a black phone is horrible, there should be a darker setting for black phones... it look horrible on a black phone because it does not match... its too bright... I think there should be a darker option!! Is there going to be a darker option of the software???

jsavage9621,
It pains me to hear about your experience with the Home Phone Connect. This device usually works seamlessly and is a great alternative to a landline phone. It sounds like we've done our fair share of work on your account here. I'm going to go ahead and send you a Private Message so that we can access your account and review any open tickets for you. I look forward to speaking with you.
TrevorC_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

Adobe Bridge full screen previews look horrible??? Any ideas???

OSX finder previews and ViewNX look tac sharp????? I have scoured through other forums and have found this is a known issue but none of the tips are working. Full screen previews still look horrible!!!

Have already played with all the Preference settings as recomended by other forums with the same issue.....

(Youtube-) Video in a Swing GUI

Hey everyone,
I'm currently trying to play a video in my Swing GUI with JMF but I really can't get it to work.
With the help of google I got this far:
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Component;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.net.MalformedURLException;
import java.net.URL;
import javax.media.CannotRealizeException;
import javax.media.Manager;
import javax.media.NoPlayerException;
import javax.media.Player;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
public class MediaPanel extends JFrame {
    public MediaPanel() {
        setLayout(new BorderLayout()); // use a BorderLayout
        // Use lightweight components for Swing compatibility
        Manager.setHint(Manager.LIGHTWEIGHT_RENDERER, true);
        URL mediaURL = null;
        try {
            mediaURL = new URL("http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7_Z_mQUBa8");
        } catch (MalformedURLException ex) {
            System.err.println(ex);
        try {
            // create a player to play the media specified in the URL
            Player mediaPlayer = Manager.createRealizedPlayer(mediaURL);
            // get the components for the video and the playback controls
            Component video = mediaPlayer.getVisualComponent();
            Component controls = mediaPlayer.getControlPanelComponent();
            if (video != null) {
                add(video, BorderLayout.CENTER); // add video component
            if (controls != null) {
                add(controls, BorderLayout.SOUTH); // add controls
            mediaPlayer.start(); // start playing the media clip
        } // end try
        catch (NoPlayerException noPlayerException) {
            System.err.println("No media player found");
        } // end catch
        catch (CannotRealizeException cannotRealizeException) {
            System.err.println("Could not realize media player");
        } // end catch
        catch (IOException iOException) {
            System.err.println("Error reading from the source");
        } // end catch
    } // end MediaPanel constructor
}But all I get is errors:
Warning: The URL may not exist. Please check URL
No media player found
Can you please please help me get this working? I would really appreciate a little walkthrough
Best regards,
Patrick
Edited by: 954807 on Aug 24, 2012 6:52 AM

Just use \ tags. People don't like to go to external sites.
I really advise you to consider using JavaFX 2 here. Swing is old and not really supported anymore, JMF is also old and absolutely not supported anymore.

My swing gui's look HORRIBLE

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