Set vertical gap of menu items, list items...

Question

Hi, is there any way to adjust the vertical gaps between menu items, between list items, between combo box list lits? I am trying to make my Java application look like Windows application, but the vertical gaps in these Java components are just too big. Thanks!
Yu

Answer 1

Sorry for the massive bit of code, but you can use this to display the UI defaults and decide what to change if you want to try to affect (simple) global changes to the look and feel:
It's far from beautiful but I've found it helpful from time to time.
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.Icon;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JScrollPane;
import javax.swing.Box;
import javax.swing.BoxLayout;
import javax.swing.UIManager;
import javax.swing.UIDefaults;
import javax.swing.border.Border;
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Component;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Font;
import java.awt.Insets;
import java.util.Iterator;
import java.util.Set;
import java.util.TreeSet;
import java.util.Comparator;
import java.util.Enumeration;
public class DefaultsDisplayer extends JFrame
     private static class ResourceLabel extends JLabel
          private ResourceLabel(Object key, Object value)
               super(key.toString());
               if(value instanceof Icon)
                    setIcon(new SafeIcon((Icon)value));
               else if(value instanceof Color)
                    setIcon(new ColorIcon((Color)value));
               else if(value instanceof Font)
                    setIcon(new ColorIcon(null));
                    setFont((Font)value);
               else if(value instanceof Border)
                    setIcon(new ColorIcon(null));
                    setBorder(new SafeBorder((Border)value));
               else if(value instanceof String)
                    setIcon(new ColorIcon(null));
                    setText(key.toString() + ": '" + value.toString() + "'");
               else
                    setIcon(new ColorIcon(null));
                setText(key.toString() + ": " + value.getClass().getName());
     private static class SafeIcon implements Icon
          private Icon icon;
          private SafeIcon(Icon icon)
               this.icon = icon;
          public int getIconWidth()
               return icon.getIconWidth();
          public int getIconHeight()
               return icon.getIconHeight();
          public void paintIcon(Component comp, Graphics g, int x, int y)
               try
                    icon.paintIcon(comp, g, x, y);
               catch(Exception e)
     private static class ColorIcon implements Icon
          private Color color;
          private ColorIcon(Color color)
               this.color = color;
          public int getIconWidth()
               return 32;
          public int getIconHeight()
               return 32;
          public void paintIcon(Component comp, Graphics g, int x, int y)
               if(color == null)
                    return;
               g.setColor(color);
               g.fillRect(x, y, 32, 32);
     private static class SafeBorder implements Border
          private Border border;
          private SafeBorder(Border border)
               this.border = border;
          public Insets getBorderInsets(Component c)
               try
                    return border.getBorderInsets(c);
               catch(Exception e)
                    return new Insets(0, 0, 0, 0);
          public boolean isBorderOpaque()
               return border.isBorderOpaque();
          public void paintBorder(Component c, Graphics g, int x, int y, int w, int h)
               try
                    border.paintBorder(c, g, x, y, w, h);
               catch(Exception e)
     private static class ObjectComparator implements Comparator
          public int compare(Object o, Object p)
               String s = o.toString().toLowerCase();
               String t = p.toString().toLowerCase();
               return s.compareTo(t);
     public DefaultsDisplayer()
          super("Default Displayer");
          setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
          Box box = new Box(BoxLayout.Y_AXIS);
          UIDefaults defaults = UIManager.getDefaults();
          Set keys = new TreeSet(new ObjectComparator());
          for(Enumeration e = defaults.keys(); e.hasMoreElements(); )
               keys.add(e.nextElement());
          Object key, value;
          JLabel label;
          for(Iterator i = keys.iterator(); i.hasNext(); )
               key = i.next();
               value = defaults.get(key);
               label = new ResourceLabel(key, value);
               box.add(label);
               box.add(box.createVerticalStrut(5));
          getContentPane().setLayout(new BorderLayout());
          getContentPane().add(new JScrollPane(box), BorderLayout.CENTER);
          setLocation(50, 50);
          setSize(500, 500);
          doLayout();
          setVisible(true);
     public static void main(String[] args)
          new DefaultsDisplayer();
}