NadeauSoftware.com articles from November, 2008

Mac Java tip: How to create Aqua single and segmented buttons

Dave_Nadeau — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 14:31:00 -0800

Java's Swing has just one generic notion of a button and just one look for that button. However, Apple's Aqua user interface for the Mac has about a dozen different button types to build stand-alone buttons and bars of adjacent segmented buttons. Each Aqua button type has a specific use, from the purple ? button for help, to glossy OK/Cancel/Open/Save buttons, and recessed scope buttons used to modify search operations. This article shows how to use Apple's "Mac OS X" look and feel for Java to access these hidden button types using Java on a Mac.

Mac Java tip: How to create Aqua small-sized components

Dave_Nadeau — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 12:01:00 -0800

The default size of Java's Swing components feels large and clunky when building tightly-packed user interfaces for Mac tool palettes, inspectors, ribbons, and info windows. Beneath Swing, however, Apple's Aqua user interface for the Mac includes predefined smaller component sizes designed explicitly for tightly-packed control panels. This article shows how to use Apple's "Mac OS X" look and feel for Java to create these hidden smaller components using Java on a Mac.

All UI defaults names for common Java look and feels on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux

Dave_Nadeau — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 08:01:00 -0800

Each Swing look and feel has a long list of User Interface Defaults (UI defaults) used to initialize Java components with default fonts, colors, icons, borders, and more. You can get and set these defaults to tune your application's overall appearance. This article shows how to use these defaults and surveys the principal look and feels for Java on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, to create a long list of the names and data types for their many UI defaults.