Form Object Nodes in the Explorer
See Also
The Explorer displays all Java source files that contain GUI forms as form
object nodes (
).
The Form Editor recognizes only form objects that were created using the IDE's
form templates, such as JFC/Swing templates and AWT templates. You cannot manipulate
other form objects using the Form Editor.
 |
The Form Editor might not be available in your
version of the IDE. If it is available, you see a GUI Editing workspace.
You can enable the Form Editor module by choosing Tools Update
Center. |
Each form object node expands to reveal subnodes for each of its classes (
)
and interfaces (
).
When you open a file in the Form Editor, a Top Form Component node (
)
appears under the form object node. The Top Form Component node contains nodes for
all of the file's components. Right-click any component's node to manipulate
its appearance and behavior.
Contextual Menu Commands
You can right-click any form object node to access a contextual menu containing
the following commands:
- Open. Displays the file in the Form Editor and Source Editor.
- Edit. Displays the file in the Source Editor only.
- Customize Bean. Creates a serialized instance of the class.
- Cut, Copy, and Paste. Provides several Paste options for moving files
between packages. You can choose to paste a copy of the file, a link to the
file, a serialized instance of the file, or the default instance of the file.
If the file is a template, you can also choose to paste a new instance of
the file. If you paste a copy of a form file into a different package, the
class declaration is adjusted accordingly.
- Tools. Contains commands for performing various actions on your code,
such as synchronizing changes, generating Javadoc, and managing import statements.
- Save as Template. Saves the file as a template. You can then use
the New wizard to create new instances of the class.
- Properties. Displays a property sheet with basic information about
the form file.
Badge Icons
The IDE affixes badge icons to Explorer icons to indicate a particular state
of the object. The following table lists the badge icons used by the IDE.
Icon |
Description |
 |
The file needs to be compiled. It has not been compiled or the source
has changed since the last compilation. |
 |
The file is a runnable object. |
 |
The file cannot be parsed. The file might contain an unrecoverable syntactic
error or there might have been a problem reading the file. |
Form Object Node Properties
The Properties tab of the property sheets for form object nodes contain the
following properties:
- Name. Displays the name of the source file.
- Synchronization Mode. Specifies how the IDE keeps your implementation
classes synchronized with their interface and abstract superclass methods.
See Synchronizing Source Code for
more information.
- Template. Specifies whether the source file is also used as a template.
The Execution tab in the property sheets for form object nodes let you specify
how files are compiled and executed in the IDE. Any settings you set here override
project-wide defaults.You can set the following properties on the Expert tab:
- Arguments. Specifies the command-line arguments that are passed
to the program's main method when you run the program.
- Compiler. Specifies the compiler used for the file. You can
choose from the combo box, or click the ellipsis (...) button to open a property
editor where you can configure each compiler type.
- Debugger. Specifies the debugger used for the file. You can
choose from the combo box, or click the ellipsis button to open a property
editor where you can configure each debugger type.
- Executor. Specifies the executor used for the file. You can
choose from the combo box, or click the ellipsis button to open a property
editor where you can configure each execution type.
The Text tab of the property sheet for form object nodes has the following
property:
- Encoding. Sets the encoding that the IDE uses to save and display
the file. If you do not want to specify the encoding at this level, leave
the property blank. See Setting Character Encoding
for Java Files for more information
Legal Notices