Running a NetBeans 5.5.1 GUI in Java 1.5?

Question

Hi everyone, thanks for your interest.
I've created a GUI in NetBeans 5.5.1 using the Group Layout package, which is included in Java 1.6.
The only problem is I need this app to run in a Java 1.5 environment.
I'm not an expert at this but after extensive searching it looks like I can import a .jar file to make everything work again?
The problem is I add this swing-layout-1.0.jar to my class path but in the source file for my application it refers to these classes by javax.swing.________ and not by the org.whatever that the .jar I took uses. Futhermore, there seem to exist some differences between the classes in the javax.swing and my .jar file.
Is there ANY way for me to make all this java 1.6 code to run in java 1.5. Perhaps by including some extra package?
If so, where would I find such a package?
If you don't think this can be done please let me know so I can stop bashing my head against the wall.
Thanks,
Craig

Answer 1

From this URL
http://java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/tools/nb_guibuilder/
The Free Design layout has been available since NetBeans IDE 5.0. NetBeans IDE 5.0's GUI Builder provided support for this layout strategy by using a separate library called the Swing Layout Extensions. The IDE provided that library because the support for the underlying GroupLayout layout manager was not yet part of the core Java platform in J2SE 5.0. The Swing Layout Extensions are still available, but now that functionality also exists in the core libraries of the Java SE 6 platform.
You can use NetBeans IDE 5.5 to develop applications and UIs for Java SE 6 or earlier Java platform versions. If you write applications for any platform version prior to Java SE 6, you must continue to use the Swing Layout Extensions. However, the new GUI builder can also generate your UI using the layout manager functionality supported in the Java SE 6 platform. In the latter case, you do not need to use or include the layout extensions in your final product.
If you create a new project in NetBeans IDE 5.5 and your target platform is Java SE 6, the GUI builder will automatically generate your UI using the Java SE 6 platform's core libraries. However, if you import an old project into NetBeans IDE 5.5, you should manually update the project's layout to use the new Java SE 6 platform libraries. Of course, you can still use the layout extensions if you like, but doing so is not necessary with the Java SE 6 platform.
You can change the Layout Generation Style for your UI by accessing the properties for your form. In the NetBeans IDE GUI Builder main window, make sure the Design mode is active. This shows your UI design graphically in the Design pane. Click on the form in the Inspector pane to see the form's properties. One of the properties is Layout Generation Style. You can select either Standard Java 6 Code or Swing Layout Extensions Library. Changing this setting does not affect how your UI will look, but it does change how the GUI builder generates the code to create the UI. Figure 16 shows the Layout Generation Style property.