Tweak Javas Look and Feel

Question

Hello everybody,
just wondering if you can help me here, I want to tweak the Look and Feel of some of the objects within a program such a menu backgrounds etc. I think that I am the right lines with this but it does not appear to do anything
I have a class which is called DefaultDEFTheme in this I am declaring the following lines:
public ColorUIResource getRedBackground()/*Could this be problem because getRedBackground does not exist?*/
return new ColorUIResource(255, 0, 0);
Then I have a class that is called DEFLookandFeel and I want to set the colors in the UIDefaults table, so for instance this is the code if I wanted to change the menu background
protected void initSystemColorDefaults(UIDefaults table)
Object[] systemColors = {
"desktop", getDesktopColor(), /* Color of the desktop background */
"activeCaption", getWindowTitleBackground(), /* Color for captions (title bars) when they are active. */
"activeCaptionText", getWindowTitleForeground(), /* Text color for text in captions (title bars). */
"activeCaptionBorder", getPrimaryControlShadow(), /* Border color for caption (title bar) window borders. */
"inactiveCaption", getWindowTitleInactiveBackground(), /* Color for captions (title bars) when not active. */
"inactiveCaptionText", getWindowTitleInactiveForeground(), /* Text color for text in inactive captions (title bars). */
"inactiveCaptionBorder", getControlShadow(), /* Border color for inactive caption (title bar) window borders. */
"window", getWindowBackground(), /* Default color for the interior of windows */
"windowBorder", getControl(), /* ??? */
"windowText", getUserTextColor(), /* ??? */
"menu", getMenuBackground(), /* Background color for menus, I am right in presuming this does not change? */
"menuText", getMenuForeground(), /* Text color for menus */
"text", getWindowBackground(), /* Text background color */
"textText", getUserTextColor(), /* Text foreground color */
"textHighlight", getTextHighlightColor(), /* Text background color when selected */
"textHighlightText", getHighlightedTextColor(), /* Text color when selected */
"textInactiveText", getInactiveSystemTextColor(), /* Text color when disabled */
"control", getControl(), /* Default color for controls (buttons, sliders, etc) */
"controlText", getControlTextColor(), /* Default color for text in controls */
"controlHighlight", getControlHighlight(), /* Specular highlight (opposite of the shadow) */
"controlLtHighlight", getControlHighlight(), /* Highlight color for controls */
"controlShadow", getControlShadow(), /* Shadow color for controls */
"controlDkShadow", getControlDarkShadow(), /* Dark shadow color for controls */
"scrollbar", getControl(), /* Scrollbar background (usually the "track") */
"info", getPrimaryControl(), /* ToolTip Background */
"infoText", getPrimaryControlInfo() /* ToolTip Text */
for (int i = 0; i < systemColors.length; i += 2)
table.put( (String) systemColors, systemColors[i + 1]);
UIManager.put("Button.select", getButtonSelectColor());
// Set the color for selected button */
UIManager.put("Button.background", getButtonBackground());
/* Set the color for selected button */
UIManager.put("Menu.background", getRedBackground());
/* Set the color for the menu to red background*/
Then further on I set this:
public static ColorUIResource getRedBackground(){ return getCurrentTheme().getRedBackground(); }
But i have left in the getMenuBackground above it, I have also tried to take it out but nothing happens.
I also have a class called DEFTheme and in this I declare the following
public ColorUIResource getRedBackground()
return new ColorUIResource(255, 0, 0 );
Yet after changing all of this nothing ever happens. Am I going about this the completley wrong way ie should I change the colors in the DEFTheme and thats it?
Please please help, this is becoming a real problem and I cannot find any relevant resources!!
Thanks so much in advance,
Z.

Answer 1

Yes, its a crosspost, but this is the correct forum since this a Swing related question. Your crosspost comment belongs in the other forum.
Check out this article:
http://www.javareference.com/jrexamples/viewexample.jsp?id=66