Question

Back in my, ahem, Visual Basic programming days, I remember it was very easy to create a multi-form program.

In the gui designer I could simply create as many forms as I wanted and then load them in my program where needed.

I’m having a very difficult time doing this in Java.

I started out using the Java FX Scene Builder but soon discovered there doesn’t seem to be good MDI support. So, back to Swing. But, again, I don’t see a simple way to design a multi form application.

I read somewhere that JDesktopPane was the way to go as it will allow you to have different internal frames, but there is no way, that I can see, to design multiple frames in the NetBeans gui designer.

You would think that you could hide an internal frame in the designer so you can layout another frame. While I can add multiple frames to my JDesktopPane, they all overlap each other making it impossible to design multiple frames.

Are there any tools available to do what I’m trying to do, or do I just need to bite the bullet and code the guis without the help of a designer?

In brief, I just want to create a simple application that displays three or four options on a home screen

1. Enter new customer
2. Search for existing customer
3. Quick estimate

And depending on which the user selects, opens the appropriate form. It would seem that this would be a basic requirement for almost any program and I don’t understand why it seems like actually creating an application with multiple windows/forms was never thought of when developing the design/development tools. Thoughts? Suggestions?

Answer 1

If you’re really keen on using the multi document interface (MDI) of the JDesktopPane, create each form in it’s own class form. Don’t drag them to the desktop. This will allow you to isolate them.

(You can double click a internal frame and it should enter “isolation” mode, basically making it the only thing you can see)

However, unless the windows are sharing information (ie you want to see the information in one window to change the information in another), I’d avoid it.

A better solution might be to use a CardLayout which will allow you to switch between each form as you need.

Again, I’d start by building your forms from something like a JPanel, individually, and when you’re ready, add them to your main form.

I always encourage people who are coming into Swing anew to hand code their forms, it will give you a great appreciation for how to design forms and the power of the layout managers.