Window System

• The window system is a framework provided by the NetBeans Platform.
• It is responsible for the administration and display of all application windows.
• It allows the user to customize the layout of the user interface.

Introduction

• The window system is document based.
• The central section – that is, the editor section – is all about the display of several files in tabs.
• View sections are placed around the editor section.
• Components are arranged within the view sections.
• The window system is comprised of modes.
• A mode is a NetBeans Platform class that provides a container for window, displayed like a tab.
• The windows must be subclasses of TopComponent.
• Evey displayed window is managed by the WindowManager.
• Windows can be grouped as well.
• The assembly of the window system is described in the layer file.

Customization

• You can disable several features to prevent undesired changes by the end user, such as the undocking or closing of windows.
• Go to the Properties dialog of your NetBeans Platform Application (or Module Suite) and open the category Build –> Window System.

Window: TopComponent

• Creating a TopComponent
• Definition and mapping of a TopComponent in the layer file
• Settings file to declaratively add a TopComponent
• TopComponent Reference file mapping a TopComponent to a mode
• Definition of an action for opening a TopComponent
• Docking a TopComponent into a specific mode programmatically
• States
• Different states of a TopComponent
• opened
• closed
• visible
• invisible
• active
• inactive
• Methods for the different states
• opened: protected void componentOpened()
• closed: protected void componentClosed()
• visible protected void componentShowing()
• invisible: protected void componentHidden()
• active: protected void componentActivated()
• Context Menu
• Persistence
• Registry

Docking Container: Mode

• Creating a mode

• Modifying a Mode

Groups of Windows: TopComponentGroup

• Creating a TopComponentGroup

Administration: WindowManager

• findMode(String name)
• findMode(TopComponent t)
• findTopComponent(String id)
• findTopComponentID(TopComponent t)
• findTopComponentGroup(String name)

Window System Architecture